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HPE Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR 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
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (4th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of HPE Ethernet Switches is 2.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 8.6%, down from 9.1% 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.
Umang Shah - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient routing and access control with an easy setup
We use NETGEAR Switches for networking, particularly for switch-to-switch connectivity. We connect them with core switches, especially for camera installation NETGEAR Switches have increased the throughput and speed of internal communication, and have improved our network efficiency. The most…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We were able to onboard HPE Ethernet Switches easily to the cloud. It was fast and took only five minutes to complete."
"HPE Ethernet Switches are scalable, and their software is also quite sturdy."
"The solution is highly stable."
"The scalability is very good."
"A very robust solution."
"The initial setup of this solution is easy."
"HPE Ethernet Switches offer a good return on investment. They offer a lifetime warranty, which is good. Cisco SMB level only declares a one-year warranty, and for the enterprise level, you need to get a service pack, which costs extra."
"The initial setup is straightforward. The steps are simple, and you can always contact support if needed. Overall, it's easy."
"The product is easy to deploy."
"It's nice, if there is an issue, to be able to go in through the remote. The fact that the remote doesn't require a static IP... is nice. They initiate the contact to the outside world, without requiring a static to get in."
"The initial setup is easy."
"This is a cost-effective solution."
"One of the biggest benefits of the remote management is that it's easy to use and you can use it from a mobile device or tablet with the app they've developed... If one of my engineers is out in the field at a client and an alert comes in from another client, that engineer can take that alert and look at it in real-time."
"We have one client that has three Insight switches and when we make a change to their network... we can make the configuration change and push it down to all three switches at once. We don't have to individually log on to each switch to make the change."
"The most important feature is the failover, the LACP links. That's the dual set it allows. We have redundant core switches and, if one fails or one network adapter fails, the other one can take over without problems."
"As far as remoting into it goes, it is very efficient because I can do it from anywhere, through the remote software. I can get right into it, I can change settings really quickly, if a customer needs to add another device into it or if I need to make changes on the VLANs that we created."
 

Cons

"The VLAN tagging could be improved,"
"HPE Ethernet Switches must ensure that the updates and patching are done regularly. When we have new software updates, we can resolve issues quickly."
"They should continue to work on new features."
"They should release more updates for the solution."
"Installation could be made more secure."
"It's gone up in price in the last 12 months."
"The cost could be better. HPE has to study it carefully with other vendors in the market, like Cisco or Juniper."
"It is a bit complex to configure."
"I'd like to see a little bit of slowdown on the firmware updates. They've been doing a lot of them. I don't know if that's just because it's such a new product line, but the firmware updates have been a little annoying because they've been coming once a week. For a switch, that's a little extreme."
"Their old firmware was a problem for us and we're still working on it. It didn't apply correctly so it took about half of our switches offline, which meant we couldn't use some of the functionality like the firmware updates. Unfortunately with that firmware, which they've sorted out, if you don't go through all the firmware and make sure it's past that point and back online, that's an issue with them. It's something to cautious about"
"It's worked for the most part, but we've had to power cycle a few devices. We've had to ask customers to manually power cycle them with the power cord, after some of the firmware updates. Their updating needs a little improvement."
"Perhaps in the future, we will have even more different types of switches and be able to fulfill more collections."
"Support needs to be improved."
"The tool does not offer extra firewall security."
"They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands."
"NETGEAR should focus on eliminating single points of failure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"All the solutions have a license for the QSFP. Additionally, there is a one-time license fee to increase the interface speed."
"It would be great if certain features, like licensing, were included in the base price of the switches."
"The licensing cost is set up annually or every three years."
"Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
"We need to pay when we buy the switch. We pay for a license to use the software, but it is not required."
"HPE costs almost the same as Cisco."
"The tool's pricing is very cheap."
"We have to pay for a yearly license for HPE Ethernet Switches."
"The product has the best price in the market."
"They're good value. They're good entry-level switches. I know Cisco generally has a lot more capability. But, for an organization this size, we don't need that. So they're good value for the cost and what we need."
"The price to performance of the switches is excellent. The price point of these switches is great compared to big brands, like Cisco or Extreme Networks, with approximately the same functionality."
"Licensing is always a hassle and a pain point."
"The pricing is very good for 10GbE switches and you get a lot of throughput. It is about 60 percent of the costs of other switches from competitive manufacturers, which is really good."
"They are on par with other AV switch manufacturers, e.g., Pakedge, Cisco Small Business Series, and Extreme Networks. Though, they are closer in cost to Extreme Networks. They are more in the mid-range from an AV product price, maybe a bit higher. You can't beat their features compared to other vendors in that product range and capacity. AV specific only, they are mid-range price-wise."
"The solution is expensive. You need to pay the costs one-time."
"It is not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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 ...
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

HP Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Emirates Palace Hotel
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about HPE Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.