Cisco Ethernet Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

Cisco and MikroTik are both solutions in the Ethernet Switches category. Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7, while MikroTik is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.9. Cisco holds a 8.8% mindshare in ES, compared to MikroTik’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of MikroTik users who would recommend it.

Cisco Ethernet Switches

Read 138 Cisco Ethernet Switches reviews

11,746 Views
11,746 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Read 25 MikroTik Cloud Router Switch reviews

3,030 Views
2,151 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco Ethernet Switches

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Cisco Ethernet Switches and MikroTik Cloud Router Switches both compete in the networking equipment category. Cisco seems to have the upper hand in scalability and enterprise support, whereas MikroTik stands out for its affordability and feature-rich offerings catering to smaller budgets.

Features: Cisco Ethernet Switches offer advanced QoS, MACSec encryption for enhanced security, and Scalability features like StackPower. They are known for power-efficient designs and extensive documentation. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch provides flexible VLAN handling, user-friendly configuration, and competitive pricing, making it suitable for small and medium-sized businesses.

Room for Improvement:Cisco Ethernet Switches could improve in pricing, simplifying configuration processes, and enhancing compatibility with third-party solutions. They also need to focus on reducing system bugs and licensing challenges. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can enhance security features like IDS/IPS, improve integration capabilities with other systems, and upgrade their support documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:Cisco Ethernet Switches are well-regarded for deployment across hybrid and on-premises environments, backed by strong technical support, though some users find responses slow. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch boasts a straightforward deployment, especially in cloud setups, with support viewed as adequate but having potential for improvement to elevate user satisfaction.

Pricing and ROI:Cisco Ethernet Switches are premium-priced often requiring additional licenses and contracts, however, offering high ROI through reliability. MikroTik Cloud Router Switches are more cost-effective, with a one-time cost, providing excellent value for smaller budgets, though the perceived ROI may be lower compared to Cisco's solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

April 2026

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Helped 893,244 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Ethernet Switches

Ranking in Ethernet Switches

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

138

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Ranking in Ethernet Switches

16th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Routers (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 8.8%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Ethernet Switches	8.8%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch	2.1%
Other	89.1%

Ethernet Switches

Featured Reviews

Myint Aung

Head of the Solutions Department at BIM Group of Companies

Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases

I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.

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Andriejus Artamonovas

IT Specialist at a outsourcing company with 501-1,000 employees

Has supported deeper configuration through traffic mirroring and advanced VLAN setup

The main reason why MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is usually chosen is its raw performance to price ratio. In comparison to UniFi switches, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch can mirror all ports for traffic inspection for further traffic analysis, which UniFi cannot do. VLANs in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch are always useful. The way MikroTik implements VLAN-aware switching at the bridge level is hidden in the configuration. Making CRS work as a simple VLAN-aware switch requires deeper configuration, which is not intuitive. VLANs support individual interfaces not part of the bridge, allowing for double VLANing. You can create a VLAN interface in the interfaces context and also create a bridge interface, add physical ports, create VLANs for that bridge interface, and assign tagged and untagged ports and VLANs. Load balancing is one of the key components. The feature itself is quite efficient and works reliably on MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. The very basic setup is one of my favorites because they have their protocol where I can connect through the MAC address right on Layer 2, and I don't lose connectivity to the switch if I mess up with bridging or IP addressing.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is their stability. They are rock solid, and that's the advantage of Cisco."

"The initial setup is really easy."

"We have found it to be scalable. We have approximately three million subscribers."

"Once you install the switch, it just keeps running with little maintenance."

"It is a scalable solution, and we have more than 35 customers who use it."

"It's all-encompassing and can help you in all these different areas. If people realize that they want something that's going to work, that's pretty foolproof, then Cisco's always worth the investment."

"The queue functionality is the solution's most valuable feature, specifically because we are delivering a lot of Layer 2 services. Layer 2 protocol tunnels work well on Cisco switches."

"Cisco Ethernet Switches is stable and robust."

More Cisco Ethernet Switches pros

"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch stands out for its features, especially those available at that price point."

"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."

"The wiki page that describes the scripting and other features is very good."

"Some of the most valuable features are the simplicity, cost, usability, and power; as a package, it's extremely effective."

"The performance has been good."

"The best aspect is that it remains affordable."

"This product is easy to configure."

"The beauty of MikroTik is that you have flexibility with the routing parts."

More MikroTik Cloud Router Switch pros

Cons

"The pricing can be improved to make them more suitable for SMBs."

"The technical support could improve, they are about average quality."

"Cisco should look into more flexible licensing for hardware/IOS."

"Cisco switches are very highly-priced in comparison to other similar products."

"When you contact support, they don't give you the expert at first, they give you the beginner. Only after going around in a circle do they give you experts. Why don't they just give the expert from the beginning?"

"When Cisco products integrate with a third party module it not easy to renew support on the third party modules software."

"The price could be reduced. Cisco is costly."

"The licensing needs to be improved."

More Cisco Ethernet Switches cons

"The scalability is good except if you are using version OS 6. However, once you begin to use version OS 7, it only uses some of the processes at a time, and it doesn't thread the things but instead uses them one at a time, which is a hold-back for that product."

"The bulk efficiencies and the control of traffic could be a bit better."

"The initial setup is complex."

"Stuff that I'd like to be improved is really just training and documentation because I think the feature set is full."

"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch needs improvement in the area of security, although the recent models are addressing this."

"This product is not recommended for enterprise-level projects."

"Proper LACP support, more software support for hardware capabilities, true wirespeed Layer 3 routing."

"The packet filtering, user log data, and user access log could all be improved."

More MikroTik Cloud Router Switch cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is very high, but it is a good device. Cisco must work on its price. Other solutions provide a better price for similar functionalities."

"Cisco now has more products that are priced for small businesses, so they do have some cheaper models."

"The last time I bought a 24-port switch, which was a while ago, I paid about five or six thousand Euros. In this part of the world, that's quite expensive for us."

"The cost of the solution is by unit."

"The price of this solution is high."

"The solution is highly expensive compared to other solutions. The prices get tripled when they arrived in my country of Angola."

"When we want an extra feature then we need to purchase another license bundle."

"Price is a pain point for us. We've lost a lot of bids, and the reason has been that we majorly quoted Cisco devices. Some of our competitors quoted other devices like Ubiquity or Microchip. Some even quoted this Chinese product TP-Link, and they won the bid over us because we quoted Cisco. Meanwhile, the major reason why we quoted Cisco is reliability and stability from day one. They also last longer. The prices could be worked on so that they become more affordable. We had to deploy a city-wide WiFi network, and we were working in conjunction with Google. Because of the price, even Google recommended a product called Ruckus, so we used Ruckus over Cisco. Its price and license were the main reasons. You have to pay to renew the license every year. Even though you also renew the licenses for Ruckus, but they are much cheaper than Cisco. So, while I would recommend Cisco any time, the trouble remains with the pricing."

More Cisco Ethernet Switches pricing and cost advice

"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."

"The price is competitive."

"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."

"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."

"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."

"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."

"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."

"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."

More MikroTik Cloud Router Switch pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

12%

Educational Organization

12%

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	60
Midsize Enterprise	35
Large Enterprise	55

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?

Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...

See all answers

Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?

We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...

See all answers

In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...

See all answers

What do you like most about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?

The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?

The Python solution pricing is on the lower side.

See all answers

What needs improvement with MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?

It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features. It would be beneficial to...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 12% of the time

H3C Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches

Compared 5% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches

Compared 5% of the time

Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Ethernet Switches Competitors

MikroTik Routers and Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Compared 9% of the time

TP-Link Omada Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Compared 8% of the time

Huawei Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Enterprise Routers vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

Compared 5% of the time

More MikroTik Cloud Router Switch Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Ethernet Switches

May 2026

Download Cisco Ethernet Switches product report

Buyer's Guide

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

April 2026

Download MikroTik Cloud Router Switch product report

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches

MikroTik CRS Series

Overview

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable, high-performance networking with advanced features suitable for demanding environments, offering flexibility and easy management. These switches integrate well with different technologies, making them a go-to option for enterprises needing robust network solutions.

Renowned for superior performance and reliability, Cisco Ethernet Switches offer advanced networking features like network virtualization, VLAN, and quality of service. Robust design ensures durability in harsh conditions, while enhanced security features and remote management capabilities provide exceptional flexibility and troubleshooting ease. Users appreciate the support and comprehensive documentation provided, alongside the switches' ability to integrate seamlessly with technologies, supporting scalability and making them a preferred choice for businesses looking for efficient, secure networking solutions.

What are the key features of Cisco Ethernet Switches?

Network Virtualization: Supports multiple virtual networks for enhanced resource management.
VLAN Support: Enables segmentation of network traffic for increased efficiency.
Quality of Service: Prioritizes network traffic to ensure optimal performance.
Remote Management: Facilitates troubleshooting and configuration from anywhere.
Enhanced Security: Provides robust protection against network threats.

What benefits and ROI can be expected from Cisco Ethernet Switches?

Performance Reliability: Ensures consistent network uptime and stability.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands without compromising performance.
Integration Capability: Seamlessly connects with existing technologies, reducing operational disruption.
Comprehensive Support: Access to extensive documentation and responsive technical support.
Longevity: Robust design leads to longer lifecycle and investment protection.

Cisco Ethernet Switches are widely used in industries focusing on local area networking, data center infrastructure, and core to edge connectivity. Supporting LAN, data centers, security networks, and others, these switches facilitate robust communication and reliable connections. With advanced routing and stacking features, they optimize latency and handle high-throughput traffic, making them ideal for industries requiring stable and efficient networking.

Cisco

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch offers a balance of price and performance ideal for businesses needing efficient routing and traffic management. It enables load balancing, VLAN support, and comprehensive monitoring, making it suitable for diverse network environments.

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is recognized for its flexible routing capabilities and cost-efficient solutions, benefiting sectors like public services and education. With user-friendly setup and advanced configuration options, it efficiently manages ISP business routes, integrates into corporate networks, and scales for government projects and data centers. However, it could benefit from improvements in security aspects like VPNs, and better technical support. While admired for intuitive interfaces, there’s a desire for enhancements in hardware quality, MPLS support, and OS utilization.

What are the key features of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?

Flexible Routing: Allows for sophisticated traffic management suited for ISPs and corporate networks.
Intuitive Interfaces: User-friendly GUI and command-line setup for ease of use across tech levels.
Advanced Security: Offers firewall features and VPN support for secure network environments.
Load Balancing: Efficiently manages network traffic to optimize performance.
VLAN Support: Enables segmenting networks to enhance security and management.

What benefits should users expect in MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?

Cost Efficiency: Competitive pricing aligned with high-performance delivery.
Scalability: Adaptable to network size, from small organizations to data centers.
User-Friendly: Simple setup and flexible configuration reduce deployment time.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Effective tools for real-time traffic and network status insights.
Support for Diverse Applications: Integrates well into educational, governmental, and commercial settings.

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch sees extensive use in industries requiring robust networking, like ISPs for core routing and client management, as well as government and educational sectors for large-scale network integration. Key users include distributors and service providers, leveraging its traffic control and secure routing in complex environments.

MikroTik

Sample Customers

Linz AG

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch

April 2026

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