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Cisco Nexus vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Nexus offers stability and efficiency, with long-term cost savings and reliability justifying its initial expense for users.
Sentiment score
6.9
NETGEAR Switches enhance efficiency and profitability through reliability, remote management, and long-term cost savings despite initial investment.
Speeding up our response times and reducing errors and incidents with automation and available APIs.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Nexus support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, despite high costs, being favored for reliability and assistance.
Sentiment score
6.8
NETGEAR Switches support is generally effective, though some face challenges with documentation, quick assistance, and complex configurations.
For us, we have a time advantage because we know the solution, and the technological refresh is easier.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
I would rate the support of Cisco an eight out of ten.
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
There are issues distinguishing which switches support cloud features.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Nexus provides robust scalability and versatility for enterprise networks, despite being costly and having some limitations.
Sentiment score
7.0
NETGEAR Switches provide scalable solutions with virtual stacking, supporting high performance and adaptability for diverse network environments.
The scalability of NETGEAR Switches is easy and very beneficial for us.
Assistant Manager ICT at IHS
We used to use a lot of the 4300 switches and they're not completely compatible with the new AV line.
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
NETGEAR's scalability through its Insight Cloud system is on par with Ubiquiti's, although it must offer features beyond its competitors.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Cisco Nexus is reliable and high-performing, with minor issues, praised for data center use and stability with updates.
Sentiment score
7.8
NETGEAR Switches are reliable and efficient, offering high stability with minor glitches easily fixed through firmware updates.
Initially, the stability of Cisco Nexus, particularly with the ACI, was problematic due to unstable codes, requiring replacements.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
We've experienced failures such as a 16-port dying after three to four years.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
I rarely see glitches, but we had some minor glitches over the past years, and they were easily resolved.
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
 

Room For Improvement

Users want Cisco Nexus improvements in GUI, integration, scalability, programmability, cost-efficiency, compatibility, management, and training resources.
NETGEAR Switches need enhanced security, improved management, better performance, and more intuitive interfaces, addressing cost and support concerns.
We have standard Equinix data centers with standard installations, but somehow the temperature is always maintained and there is no ducting, yet the ports and the SFPs heat up or become faulty.
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
It might be pretty expensive for other companies.
Director at WAJDA GROUP
The solution is on-premises and stable.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
Real-time analytics would be helpful regarding the analytics aspect, and this feature is not yet present and would be an improvement regarding analytics.
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
They should introduce features like dual firmware or dual boot that allow systems to be updated without downtime.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands.
Assistant Manager ICT at IHS
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Nexus pricing is high but justified by features, with varied licensing options and favorable long-term ownership costs.
NETGEAR Switches offer excellent value and advanced features, making them ideal for budget-conscious buyers like schools and municipalities.
All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
The price of Cisco Nexus is on the higher side due to the premium services Cisco offers.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Some high-end switches required for specific advanced features, like precision time protocols, can be more expensive.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
It is an expensive product.
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Nexus is praised for its performance, scalability, advanced routing, integration, low latency, automation, security, and redundancy.
NETGEAR Switches provide affordable, easy-to-manage, energy-efficient networking with diverse models and strong security, ideal for small businesses.
The VPC feature of Cisco Nexus is great because it provides an active-active way of forwarding the traffic and avoids blocking any of the links.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
I encountered an issue where different models within the same series, the 95308 DC, do not support VPC between the EX series and FX3 series.
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
For us, we have a time advantage because we know the solution, and the technological refresh is easier.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
The precision time protocol feature caught our interest for future use in specific settings like churches, where low latency is required.
Managing Director at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features are routing and access control.
Assistant Manager ICT at IHS
The best things about NETGEAR Switches are the support they provide and the ease of implementation.
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (5th)
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (4th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.7%, up from 8.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 7.7%, up from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Nexus8.7%
NETGEAR Switches7.7%
Other83.6%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
Migration between data centers has strengthened core connectivity and simplified segmentation
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches, which made this a quite difficult part to manage and to onboard the teams and to understand the impact of the migration. We encountered an issue where we have two data centers, and unknowingly we were configuring the devices with the same VPC number on both devices. By doing that, we were not able to terminate the lease lines over those core switches. According to Cisco, we had to change the VPC number of one of the data center's core switches since they are in a VPC. We are still waiting, and it has been more than five to six years just to change the VPC number and migrate back the lease line. Now we are having cabin switches for the lease line and then the core switch. That VPC number issue was quite surprising for us. However, we have a very frequent issue with Cisco Nexus, particularly with the SFPs. Every time a port or the SFP heats up, it gets faulty. We have almost sixteen Nexus switches per data center. In a year, we experience one or two port issues per annum. We have standard Equinix data centers with standard installations, but somehow the temperature is always maintained and there is no ducting, yet the ports and the SFPs heat up or become faulty. This is a very frequent issue with the SFP-based port.
Tomas Devriese - PeerSpot reviewer
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
VLAN support has improved audiovisual installations and secures network traffic for our projects
Our major use cases include audiovisual installations and we mainly use the AV line for that. We work with the VLAN support feature The best things about NETGEAR Switches are the support they provide and the ease of implementation. The ease of installation helps with network performance. It helps…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise83
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
We are a reseller, and we sell products to our customers.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus may not be very popular because of the requirements that we come across, as it will go into the core data centers, whereas we work with most of the corporate sectors, so Cisco Nexus is ...
How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, and are AV-over-IP ready. NetGear switches also have a command line interface and...
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...
What do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
 

Also Known As

No data available
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.