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Cisco Unified Communications vs Digium Asterisk comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Unified Communications
Ranking in Unified Communications
1st
Ranking in IP Telephony & Unified Communications
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Digium Asterisk
Ranking in Unified Communications
3rd
Ranking in IP Telephony & Unified Communications
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Unified Communications category, the mindshare of Cisco Unified Communications is 10.2%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Digium Asterisk is 7.0%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Unified Communications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Unified Communications10.2%
Digium Asterisk7.0%
Other82.8%
Unified Communications
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1194252 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Sales & Solution Sales - MEA at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Has supported collaboration across distributed teams and continues to deliver reliable communication features
Currently, all future propositions for UC are not Cisco-based. Easy integration with Microsoft Windows would be beneficial. It integrates with SharePoint and Outlook, which was not available at one point in Cisco Webex. Regarding improvements, the focus should be on how cloud-friendly Cisco Unified Communications products are and how technically and commercially simple they are compared to competitors such as Genesys. All features are present. The concerns lie in the ease of using features, pricing, and whether it is available directly on the cloud or requires going through a Cisco channel partner. Features themselves are not an issue, and Cisco can develop new ones quickly if needed. If current customers are using Cisco Unified Communications and enjoying its features with devices that are not end of life or end of sale, they will continue using it. However, when moving to the cloud, comparisons become necessary. The simplicity, customer journey, transformation journey, and architecture complexity define whether Cisco Unified Communications is the right product or if third-party solutions are more suitable.
AK
Technical Lead at a marketing services firm with 11-50 employees
Call recording, call logging, and the stability are pivotal features for our clients
We mainly replace old telephony equipment. If, for instance, there is an old Alcatel telephone system (digital or analog), and the customer asks us for a new option for IP telephony, then we offer both the Cisco- and Asterisk-based systems. We know the billing, we know the pricing of the items and what we can offer with both solutions. There are multiple factors involved when selecting a vendor * stability * support * features. If the product is stable, the product has good support, and it has enough features which we can offer to our clients, then the product is under our consideration.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use Extension Mobility and Jabber a lot with mobile remote access. In addition to video calls with Jabber, this greatly enriched communications between coworkers."
"Using the Communication Manager, it gave us the possibility to move around the office, and even outside the office, keeping our phone number always accessible using Jabber."
"The best feature I would say about Cisco Unified Communications is the Telepresence."
"Technical Support: Cisco TAC is the very best support I have seen from any company I have ever had to work with."
"Having a single system including the routers and switches all from the same system gives ease of use."
"Cisco supports third-party gadgets, including workforce management systems."
"I have work on Cisco Unified Communication Manager (Call Manager) for one and a half years and it is a remarkable device which provides fully integrated communications, converging voice, video, and data over a single network infrastructure using standard protocols."
"The Click to dial feature was one of the most important features for the customer."
"Highly customizable for customer needs"
"The most valuable features are call recording, call logging, and the stability."
"Best Telecommunication solution in the world."
"With the passage of time I am sure that these cons will be solved, particularly because it has added a lot savings for communication needs."
"If the client requires an economical solution with many features, we can offer them Digium Asterisk, where there is no licensing, and it is a good, economical solution."
 

Cons

"An improvement option could be to incorporate the Voicea solution with Communication Manager, allowing it to make a translation between different languages automatically in a conversation."
"Some features take a lot of steps to configure, so having areas where a few clicks can configure a feature for a user would be nice."
"Sometimes, minor temporary issues can arise while updating the servers."
"Licensing can be an unbelievable mess."
"An improvement option could be to incorporate the Voicea solution with Communication Manager, allowing it to make a translation between different languages automatically in a conversation."
"Some features take a lot of steps to configure, so having areas where a few clicks can configure a feature for a user would be nice."
"To have 2 call management server configured as failover would be expensive."
"One of the major flaws in the unified CM is handling the configuration of the Voice mail port."
"CTI, computer telephony integration, is a necessary component. It must be a part of the basic code. Currently, we need to use external connectors for call centers."
"CTI, computer telephony integration, is a necessary component. It must be a part of the basic code."
"The asterisk VoIP has a delay of about 400 milliseconds."
"Difficult to configure and maintain."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"If the client requires an economical solution with many features, we can offer them Digium Asterisk, where there is no licensing. It is a good, economical solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
12%
Educational Organization
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Unified Communications?
I want to see improvements, especially for the GUI interface, as it should be much easier and user-friendly in Cisco Unified Communications. It would be beneficial if it could be more web interface...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Unified Communications?
We use this only for communication purposes, which includes a few use cases for it. We haven't used the video calls and other features because we based our use on basic communication, so I cannot g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Unified Communications?
Regarding price and value, it is already expired and has reached end of life.
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Also Known As

No data available
Asterisk
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Afni, Allied Irish Banks, Bellevue, Came Group, Children's Hospital Colorado, Erickson Living, IDEALondon, Instituto Zaldivar, John Lewis, Linz AG, London Hydro, Lone Star College System, Lone Star College System, Mondi Group, North West Redwater, Park Nicollet, Pentana Solutions Australia, Pilatus, Pirelli, Portugal Ministry, Presidio Inc., Republic Bank & Trust Company, Saipem, SickKids Foundation, Top Right Group, Vital Images
Yahoo, Penn Univeristy of Pennsylvania, US Army, Google, eBay
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Unified Communications vs. Digium Asterisk and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.