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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer reliability and efficiency, resulting in higher uptime, cost-effectiveness, and substantial long-term investment returns.
Sentiment score
7.5
NETGEAR Switches offer cost-effective, reliable solutions with labor savings, minimal management, and enhanced efficiency for business growth.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco customer service is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though support quality varies globally and integration issues exist.
Sentiment score
7.0
Customers find NETGEAR's support effective and responsive but face challenges with service navigation and understanding new products.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
There are issues distinguishing which switches support cloud features.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer flexibility and scalability, but some users are concerned about high costs and limited scalability.
Sentiment score
7.0
NETGEAR Switches offer adaptability and scalability, supporting various network sizes with easy expansion and robust connectivity features.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
The scalability depends on the model.
The scalability of NETGEAR Switches is easy and very beneficial for us.
NETGEAR's scalability through its Insight Cloud system is on par with Ubiquiti's, although it must offer features beyond its competitors.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Ethernet Switches are praised for stability, reliability, and durability, offering minimal disruptions and consistent low-maintenance performance.
Sentiment score
8.0
NETGEAR Switches are praised for their reliability and stability, making them ideal for demanding applications despite minor quirks.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
We've experienced failures such as a 16-port dying after three to four years.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Ethernet Switches need improved usability, security, pricing, support, integration, stability, scalability, and enhanced management features.
Enhancing security, management, compatibility, and support while refining costs and integration could strengthen NETGEAR's position in enterprise networks.
In the data center portion, we need to provide the fiber channel and Nexus switch to use a more reliable solution.
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
They should introduce features like dual firmware or dual boot that allow systems to be updated without downtime.
They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Ethernet Switches are considered expensive but valued for quality and reliability, despite cheaper alternatives and licensing costs.
Enterprise users praise NETGEAR Switches for competitive pricing, excellent performance, low costs, and strong warranties compared to rivals.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
The tool is quite expensive.
Some high-end switches required for specific advanced features, like precision time protocols, can be more expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable performance, ease of management, advanced security features, scalability, and excellent support for diverse networking needs.
NETGEAR Switches offer affordability, ease, reliability, advanced features, robust performance, and strong support for diverse networking needs.
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
Cisco Duo is a great tool for increasing security within our company, making resources more protected.
Cisco is mainly known for its security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features which support my organization's expansion.
The precision time protocol feature caught our interest for future use in specific settings like churches, where low latency is required.
The most valuable features are routing and access control.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
135
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
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 June 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 8.7%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Myint Aung - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases
I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.
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…
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
855,752 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
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

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
855,752 professionals have used our research since 2012.