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MikroTik Cloud Router Switch 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

MikroTik Cloud Router Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (5th)
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (6th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is 1.8%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 7.7%, down from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NETGEAR Switches7.7%
MikroTik Cloud Router Switch1.8%
Other90.5%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

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.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support for MikroTik Cloud Router Switch is superb."
"The router power is the most valuable aspect."
"The beauty of MikroTik is that you have flexibility with the routing parts."
"The interface management and the user access management is pretty good."
"The traffic monitoring capabilities are excellent."
"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."
"Some of the most valuable features are the simplicity, cost, usability, and power. As a package, it's extremely effective."
"The most valuable feature is that it has better throughput than its competitors."
"SFP, speed, and 10-Gigabit are the most valuable aspects of this solution. We're an architecture firm and we sometimes deal with large files. Anything we can do to eke out even a fraction of a second less time to get something done over the course of a year adds up. If I can get 10-Gigabit running in my server room, which I am right now, even though we're only gigabit to the desktop, due to the client computers we have, I can get more performance from everybody. I'm ready to start bringing in 10-Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop once I get the hardware to do that."
"Since it has a web interface, it is easy to set up. You don't have to take three years of training somewhere for a lot of money."
"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."
"This switch is Layer 3, so it is a totally managed system."
"The product is easy to deploy."
"The big winner for NETGEAR is their modular switch: the 96X version. That is something that you don't see in the market anywhere else, except for Cisco who has it at a high level for a high expense. The ability to customize your own switch with their modules is a big plus for what we do in the market right now. Instead of having to piece together standardized switches, trying to make something work, or fitting the design into the mold, the modular switches are aware that you can make a mark in the industry because you purchased one switch and design with different modules added and removed later on for functionality."
"Technical support is helpful and quick to respond."
"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."
 

Cons

"The packet filtering, user log data, and user access log could all be improved."
"MikroTik needs to add some features like IPS, mail security, or antivirus, et cetera."
"The solution does not yet offer a SaaS version."
"MikroTik Cloud Router Switch needs improvement in the area of security, although the recent models are addressing this."
"The port isolation and VLAN need to be improved."
"It happens that you may find your network is down, if you reboot the switch, they come up. However, sometimes, they reset themselves. That's a big issue."
"There has to be more development in the OS. It's complex for this switch as compared to others like Cisco. For NetGear and Cisco, it's easy to adapt the VLAN concept but it should be simplified for MikroTik."
"Technical support could be better."
"The tool is good, but we probably need another model with PoE connections. Our office plans to switch from analog phone lines to VoIP next year, and we need a model that supports this transition and can handle the required technology. Additionally, improved support for newer technologies like Wi-Fi would be beneficial."
"The M4250 switches needs more SFP models."
"The tool does not offer extra firewall security."
"The security features must be improved."
"Though the tool's useability is good, it has certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"Netgear switches could be cheaper."
"I would like an email notification in case of errors or failures. If it was possible for the switch to email out an error log or notification note, especially in cases where we have the switches offsite (on the other side of town), then if something was to go wrong, it would be great to know about it before our client goes to use it for a big event, and it doesn't work. While I know that it does do SNMP, which is sort of standard, in the AV world, that is not always an option for us. We are usually running our own little network box and don't always have access to an SNMP server. We may just have simple Internet access or something similar."
"There are some design issues on which they really missed the boat. The problem has to do with rack mounting them because the lights and jacks should all be on the front, and the power on the back. The way they did it makes it really difficult to use them in a rack environment, because when the lights are on the opposite side of the jacks... you usually can't see the back side of a rack. You can't get back there to see, so it's just crazy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe the price of the tool is high, but it is okay for the services we get from it."
"The licensing for MikroTik is great. It's easy to enter, especially for small businesses. Their model is great."
"This product has a one-time cost and there is no licensing fee."
"They came with the licensing when we purchased them."
"I consider it to be a cost-effective solution."
"The price of the solution is fair and there is a one-time license purchase only."
"The price is competitive."
"MikroTik is really cheap compared to the competitors."
"NETGEAR pricing is the best on the market by far. I was shocked when I saw what their price came out as for their subscription. It's extremely reasonable."
"From a price perspective, the solution comes in higher than a small business product from their competitors. The solution is a bit higher, but it's a fraction of the cost compared to an enterprise switch. For example, a Cisco Catalyst can run approximately $13,000, where their Small Business Series may run $800 on the Cisco side. With NETGEAR, it falls in around the $1,000 to $2,000 range for most of what we use it for. Essentially, at this price point, you're getting a lot of enterprise grade features (e.g., that you would on a Catalyst) on an M4300."
"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."
"For its price, it scales well."
"Compared to other large names in the marketplace, the price of NETGEAR's product is extremely cost-effective compared to what Cisco or Extreme offer."
"The pricing is great. The cost of the hardware is low... There are a few solutions that have a lower cost, but NETGEAR is very value-oriented."
"It's cheaper than Cisco. For the features it offers, the pricing is good."
"Licensing is always a hassle and a pain point."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
14%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
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 Enterprise5
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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

MikroTik CRS Series
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.