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HPE Ethernet Switches vs Meraki MS Switches 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

HPE Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of HPE Ethernet Switches is 2.7%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 3.2%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Dinesh Upadhyay - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience years of robust features and strong technical support
It is a nice and robust tool where we use HPE Ethernet Switches. It is a lower switch, and we have received good warranty support with HPE switches. The security features of the HPE Ethernet Switches are good. The UI mode is available, and we can easily configure the access list and SNMP. All these configurations can be done here. Users can enable the Layer 3 features.
MajidKhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Remote access enhances troubleshooting with potential for more intuitive interface
We are working with Citrix and router, but in Cisco for Cisco vendor only. We are taking from them since 2015.  The main use case involves some small business customers needing one router, one switch, and two to three access points. It is easy to handle the devices with just a small knowledge of…

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 in HPE Ethernet Switches is programmability and analytics."
"I like that HPE's management functions are GUI-based, so it doesn't rely on command lines."
"These are the basic access layer switches used for connectivity among users, and they are cost-effective."
"The speed is very fast."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability."
"The initial setup is straightforward. The steps are simple, and you can always contact support if needed. Overall, it's easy."
"HPE Ethernet Switches are easy to configure."
"Stable and scalable."
"The technical support is very good. They offer some of the best support on the market."
"Easy to set up, stable switches with good accessibility that makes it quicker to identify problems, find solutions, and fix problems."
"I like the portal, it's really interesting."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to orchestrate the network from the cloud."
"These switches are not expensive and their configuration is very easy. You can provision them on the dashboard, then you just connect them to everything."
"Quality of Service is easy to deploy. The ease of deployment, in general, is valuable. It is easy to do port configuration and VLAN assignments."
"Meraki's site-to-site VPN function is phenomenal, and the VLAN is simple to use and set up. If you need the VLAN to sort the networks out, that works very well. The performance is also excellent."
"The most valuable features are the cloud management, the monitoring, and the visibility available on the report's facts on the cloud controller."
 

Cons

"Price is an area for improvement. Cisco is very competitive on price, considering future business. HPE Ethernet Switches and Aruba need to think about their pricing. Aruba's price was 25 percent higher than Cisco's in a recent Central Bank project in Sri Lanka."
"When we have a lot of clients on the system, we lose signal and have to restart our antenna."
"The solution’s licensing could be improved."
"It's gone up in price in the last 12 months."
"The technical support does not match up to the standard of Cisco."
"The ability to stack, as well as a unified operating system, would be extremely beneficial."
"Integrating AI features could make it better."
"I would like to see more updates for the solution."
"The switch capacity needs to be improved."
"In this solution, you are lacking a feature that Cisco Classic has that allows you to save your configuration with a serial cable."
"Tracking native ports with IP addresses is not currently possible in Meraki. This is a potential area of improvement."
"The MS Switches are incapable of doing trunking."
"Technical support hold times seem to be getting longer."
"There was an issue with the uplink when the port was removed and had to be reinstalled, which caused a temporary dropout."
"Licensing is the only thing I can complain about. It's expensive, but everything is these days."
"Management from a single dashboard is what I want to see from Meraki MS Switches."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"HP switches are priced well."
"There are free software updates and there is a lifetime warranty for a few of the switch series."
"All the solutions have a license for the QSFP. Additionally, there is a one-time license fee to increase the interface speed."
"The price is fair."
"I believe HPE is less expensive than Aruba's and UniFi and that is why certain clients have chosen them as their solution."
"The licensing cost is set up annually or every three years."
"We have to pay for a yearly license for HPE Ethernet Switches."
"The product's licensing cost is about 30% to 40% of the hardware cost."
"The only drawback is the cost — that's what kills them."
"The Layer 3 switch is the most expensive switch."
"If you buy a license for one switch, it will include the licensing for the device RMA, device failure warranty, technical support, and everything else. Also covered is support for software updates for future releases. It's a single license for everything and there's nothing that customers need to pay in addition to the license."
"It would be better if they had a one-time purchase option instead of a subscription model."
"It depends on what type of equipment you have and other things. We're about $17,000 a year."
"This is not a cheap solution."
"The price of Meraki MS Switches is high."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about HPE Ethernet Switches?
The solution is very stable and easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Ethernet Switches?
The price of HPE Ethernet Switches is reasonable and less than other OEM brands.
What needs improvement with HPE Ethernet Switches?
The price should be reduced in comparison to Cisco, as sometimes we cannot use the HPE one at the core level, where generally public users are using Cisco. The price of HPE core switches and Cisco ...
What do you like most about Meraki MS Switches?
The most valuable features of Meraki MS Switches are their reliability and simplicity.
What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
What could be improved is that when a switch disconnects from the internet, you can't make any changes to that switch. Sometimes the switches lose internet connectivity, and we can't do anything to...
 

Also Known As

HP Ethernet Switches
MS220, MS320, MS420
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Emirates Palace Hotel
Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Ethernet Switches vs. Meraki MS Switches and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.