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Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches vs MikroTik Cloud Router Switch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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 Linksys Ethernet Swit...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
79
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches is 3.4%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches3.4%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch2.0%
Other94.6%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

DolfKrikke - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Architect at Previder
Long experience has delivered fast, reliable networking and intuitive management for clients
Regarding Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches, there is nothing technically that needs improvement, but the support and cost are significant concerns. The main issue is that many customers are hesitant to purchase Cisco products because the support costs are very high. When I compare it to HP Aruba switches, for example, the support from HP is almost free. Cisco always charges for support, which is understandable because Cisco has a very large support organization like Cisco TAC behind it. Additionally, upgrades are not free with Cisco. Other vendors offer switch upgrades and firmware upgrades mostly free of charge. These are my main concerns.
Andriejus Artamonovas - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I am impressed with the tool's features like routing, Layer 2 security, and port security."
"Ease-of-use and ease-of-management are good qualities of this product."
"The most valuable feature is the dynamic routing."
"Manageable features, which we heavily used like web GUI and SNMP."
"They have so many series that can cater to SMBs, banks, or telcos. They have a wide range of options."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its command line interface, which is very easy to use."
"The stability should be fine because I'm using Cisco, and I think I have no problem with that."
"The solution provides a big network that can handle advanced, sophisticated projects and daily work routines."
"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."
"They are very well suited for small and medium businesses, and here in Tanzania, in some cases, even some large enterprises are using MikroTik due to the fact that they provide many features at zero cost."
"It is user-friendly, reliable, and cheap."
"I think that Mikrotik is the best solution for SOHO and small businesses because the price is very good and it includes a lot of features."
"This product is easy to configure."
"The simplicity of how one can set it up is the most valuable aspect."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
 

Cons

"Managing things is a little bit difficult, definitely, so manageability can be improved."
"Technical documents and other configuration-related information should be more freely available online."
"Cisco Linksys could be more secure. It could also add a controller to control all the devices, like the access points and so on."
"In the next release I would really love to see a list option."
"Scalability is an area that can be improved."
"They are stable, but not as good as Juniper, they could be improved."
"They just need to simplify the learning curve."
"It would be nice if they can provide support for local authentication protocol, which is a security feature. It is not supported right now. They already support security features, so adding some local authentication features would be very nice. Currently, they only support external databases for the stuff for the authentication feature. If they could improve the existing feature or add a feature to support local databases, local username, password authentication, I think it would be very amazing."
"If MikroTik had a marketing team and support team in India then it would be much easier for us to get the product, as well as support."
"Aspects such as zero trust, security, and management interface could be improved, which would be useful."
"Most of the time, the MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is stable. If I were to rate the stability on a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is the best, I would give it a 5."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"Proper LACP support, more software support for hardware capabilities, true wirespeed Layer 3 routing."
"The area for improvement is security. MikroTik is mostly used by medium and small businesses, so the security is not as robust as Cisco."
"It can be difficult to identify key functions for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch. I experience functionality limitations, particularly when trying to find specific features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing cost has not been much for the last five years. We have the same license working for Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches."
"The licensing cost is not bad and is actually very competitive within the product category."
"I think that pricing should be more competitive. While the Cisco product is good, the pricing is not competitive. People will end up going with other cheaper solutions such as Arista."
"Cisco switches are a little expensive when it comes to the price."
"Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches prices are high. However, it was acceptable. The price is higher than competitors."
"The tool is expensive."
"The solution is more expensive than competitors but is reliable and worth the money."
"It is cheap."
"The price is competitive."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"In Pakistan, if you buy this cloud router, it's approximately $700 for the device."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches?
Regarding pricing, I take the cost of Cisco Linksys Ethernet switches into consideration.
What needs improvement with Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches?
Regarding Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches, there is nothing technically that needs improvement, but the support and cost are significant concerns. The main issue is that many customers are hesitant...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches?
I am still working with Cisco products, but not exclusively. I also work with HP, Aruba, and other products like Mellanox and HP. I am a senior network engineer and architect for an integrator.
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...
What is your primary use case for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
I mostly work with network equipment now, focusing mainly on routers. I work with FortiGates and MikroTik routers. When referring to FortiGate routers, I mean the firewalls, but not the enterprise-...
 

Also Known As

Linksys Ethernet Switches
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.