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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

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
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Ubiquiti UniFi Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.7%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is 6.8%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Pradeep Adhav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security enhancement with sturdy switches despite high costs
The Cisco Ethernet switches are primarily used as regular core switches for networking, distribution, and access levels. We also utilize Cisco Wi-Fi, VPN, and Wi-Fi controllers The Cisco Ethernet switches have improved our network's security, ensuring it is 100% secure by not allowing any…
John Balogh - PeerSpot reviewer
Centrally managed solution makes it easy to build one configuration and apply it to new devices
We have one or two UniFi switches, but they don't really compete with the Ciscos. It's a nice environment as far as keeping track of things and being able to manage ports, turn off rogue users, and stuff like that. The access points have been pretty convenient compared to Meraki, Lucent, Cisco, or any of the other bigger vendors that I used to deal with for other consulting projects. Ubiquiti is one step above the consumer level. They cost a little bit more, but they just seem to be drop-dead reliable, and they're keeping up with the latest standards. Their latest versions of access points are all Wi-Fi 6, and they don't take very much power when there aren't a lot of users. It's really easy to build one configuration and just apply it to new devices. It's a check mark box: Do I want this to be the staff VLAN, or the public VLAN, or the Voice over IP VLAN, or the security VLAN, or the house wiring VLAN, or the building logistics VLAN? You just check things off and then you make groups, so if you click on it, it applies all the appropriate things automatically. It makes it very easy. This solution is good for the prosumer, small office, medium office, under 500 people range, but probably over 50 people and maybe distributed around five or 10 sites. That's a pretty good sweet spot as far as the price for the equipment and the configurability, and it's just drop-dead reliable. It's been boring, which is what I love because I don't get any calls in the middle of the night that something isn't working.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very scalable."
"The solution is easy to use."
"A stable product that is absolutely dependable."
"We use Cisco Ethernet Switches to configure VLANs in the VPN network."
"Being able to deal with multiple VLANs to segment the network logically is the biggest feature for us. The management of these switches is okay for us. These switches work very well, and they meet our needs."
"The quality of service is one of the main reasons we use Cisco in our organization. It's quite high and very reliable. The switches also end up working for a long time, so there's less need to replace them as often as others. We have some switches in our company that has been running since 2006, for example. They are quite old, but they still work."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the performance of the product."
"The tool is stable."
"The product is seamless and robust."
"The two most valuable features are the remote access user and the side-to-side connection."
"UniFi Switches' best feature is the ability to switch voltage from 24 to 48, and it's almost the only device on the market with this feature."
"The GUI interface is very easy to use and the Linux-based command-line interface is also good."
"The product's easy integration with other Ubiquiti devices is a huge advantage."
"Great information on the graphical interface."
"It is very easy to deploy. The deployment time for a single device is a near instant."
"It's very easy to deploy – much easier than MikroTik. It's very seamless and well-designed."
 

Cons

"The interface and dashboard could look better."
"The price could be better."
"You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."
"It'll also help if it can support more network utilization."
"In terms of features, all features are there. I can't find anything new that needs to be added. Its price, however, is a bit higher than other brands and can be improved."
"Cisco can improve its stability for the BGP protocol. It is not stable while recalculating the BGP table. Its price should also be improved. It is very expensive."
"The user interface, the UI, could be better."
"From a system integrator's perspective, Cisco must train system integrators, partners, and customers about their services."
"There is currently an issue with supply of switches which needs to be sorted out."
"The product needs to improve its pricing."
"I had some initial problems with the configuration that necessitated contacting technical support."
"Ubiquiti UniFi Switches can improve by putting more effort into security. There are not many options in security. Other solutions, you can filter, do access control, and functionality. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches provides all the basic network security where it's all about the password for someone to access the SSID on the network, but it doesn't go beyond advanced network features of packet filtering, monitoring, and managing users."
"Ubiquiti UniFi Switches need to add DNS lookup features."
"To use Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, a controller needs to be installed on a device."
"I would like to see the pricing improved."
"It would be nice if there was a way to label all of the ports on it so that I could include information about where the various connections go."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Ethernet Switches are more expensive than Huawei Ethernet Switches."
"The pricing is reasonable so I rate it a six out of ten."
"Users have to pay an annual licensing fee for Cisco Ethernet Switches, which is expensive."
"We get the SMARTnet and one of the switches has that Cisco ONE licensing. It's probably running about $12,000 a year right now."
"When you compare with other products, they are more or less the same price."
"The price of this solution is high."
"There are different licensing based on the model of the solution."
"I pay a fixed price on it. I'm not the person on the pursing, so I don't really compare."
"The price of the solution is fair compared to others. However, it is expensive."
"It's around $179 a device."
"Ubiquiti is much more affordable than enterprise brands."
"It is expensive."
"Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are more expensive than other competitors."
"Ubiquiti is very reasonable."
"The solution's pricing in the marketplace would probably be about three out of ten."
"The setup costs are reasonable, and there are no additional licensing fees beyond the initial purchase."
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
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...
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...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfi...
Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?
Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or ga...
What do you like most about Ubiquiti UniFi Switches?
We have integrated the tool for PoE switches and non-PoE switches. Its most valuable feature is SD-WAN. UniFi SD-WAN can access all statistics and performance data in one interface, enabling us to...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
UniFi Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Staypineapple
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.