No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Meraki MS 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

Meraki MS Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
98
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Meraki MS Switches is 2.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Meraki MS Switches2.8%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch2.1%
Other95.1%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

JN
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
Central management and cloud dashboard streamline network monitoring while connectivity hiccups need addressing
I use Cisco products and Meraki MS Switches. I am a user on the user side. Network security is handled by our firewalls and other solutions. I have not explored the area of network management AI in Meraki MS Switches. For other switches, when you buy one, you can just start configuring, connect it to the network, and it works. With Meraki MS Switches, you have to first whitelist the MAC address, let it have internet, then you can manage it. They're deployed on-premises. They're quite acceptable, so I recommend them to those who want to use Meraki MS Switches. The biggest benefit that I see in Meraki MS Switches is central management and the cloud dashboard. I rate Meraki MS Switches 8 out of 10.
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

"You can access a single pane of glass and configure all the devices via the same access."
"It offers a compelling solution due to its cloud management capabilities and strong security features."
"Meraki solutions have worked extremely well for my clients."
"Its cloud feature and cloud management are great. They are the most valuable aspects."
"For me, the best functionality is provided by Meraki for any device, and the ability to manage the devices from the online dashboard is great."
"Easily installable, with good scalability, stability and technical support."
"The management is cloud-based so you do not have to be on-premises to work with it."
"Being able to look at every port and see what it is connected to is very useful. Everything seems to be running really well. They've got everything covered. They have a really cool mounting system at the bottom and an access point that you can use to level up your device. It is kind of cool."
"The beauty of MikroTik is that you have flexibility with the routing parts."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
"It's a well-rounded solution for routing."
"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."
"The wiki page that describes the scripting and other features is very good."
"The beauty of MikroTik is that you have flexibility with the routing parts."
"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."
"This product is easy to configure."
 

Cons

"I don't think that the cost is a problem, but sometimes the price requires convincing the customer of the value."
"The firewall is not very powerful. The other week, one of the switches only gave one gigabit of output. It's become a concern for our customers."
"The product has no CLI."
"When we do any changes to the core switch it causes the devices to reboot."
"The technical support for this product is difficult to deal with. With multiple levels, it is very difficult to get through to the right person that can help with the problem."
"It might be perceived as more of a niche product, partly due to its name, as it's still not entirely recognized by the market."
"Management from a single dashboard is what I want to see from Meraki MS Switches."
"If there are many users and a heavy data load, heavy data traffic, I am not suggesting Meraki. I am focusing on Meraki Catalyst for live usage. It is not scalable enough, and I do not recommend it due to its switching capability."
"This product is not recommended for enterprise-level projects."
"It would be even better with a centralized management platform."
"The user interface could improve and they should allow a license for IBS."
"Stuff that I'd like to be improved is really just training and documentation because I think the feature set is full."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"In medium to large sectors, there's a necessity for managing aspects like proxy firewalls."
"It happens that you may find your network is down, if you reboot the switch, they come up. However, sometimes, they reset themselves."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Meraki MS Switches is less expensive than other similar solutions."
"The product's licensing cost is about 30% to 40% of the hardware cost."
"We paid for our switches outright, at a cost of between $15,000 USD and $18,000 USD."
"Securing licenses and devices for more than a year can make the product expensive. In general, the product is expensive."
"One key challenge often encountered is the perception that strategic products like Cisco and Meraki tend to be more expensive than alternatives like Aruba."
"I don't have an issue with the price of this solution."
"The only drawback is the cost — that's what kills them."
"We don't use standard licensing. Most of the time, we use the advanced security model. If there is a drawback to Meraki, it is the cost, but you also have to evaluate it based upon the other factors that you do get. Their support is really good; their hardware is really good. The ease of configuration and deployment is really good, but it is more expensive than most."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"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."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"The price is competitive."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"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."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Educational Organization
12%
Marketing Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise22
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Meraki MS Switches?
Meraki MS Switches are easy to manage, but I believe they are more suitable for use on the IT side because Meraki faces the internet, requiring an open connection through the internet for control. ...
What is your primary use case for Meraki MS Switches?
I have experience with Cisco products as I implement a lot of them. For example, I implemented switches and access points when I worked for infrastructure in a motorcycle company, and I implemented...
What do you like most about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch?
The tool has impacted our company's network costs and productivity in a perfect manner and percentage-wise, I can say it is 120 percent.
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...
 

Also Known As

MS220, MS320, MS420
MikroTik CRS Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cisco Live Milan, Hyatt
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Meraki MS Switches vs. MikroTik Cloud Router Switch and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.