MikroTik Routers and Switches vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switches comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
MikroTik Logo
12,762 views|8,280 comparisons
89% willing to recommend
Ubiquiti Networks Logo
24,066 views|11,542 comparisons
94% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Apr 4, 2022

We performed a comparison between Mikrotik Routers and Switches and Ubiquiti Unifi Switches based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both these solutions tell us the deployment is straightforward and easy to complete.
  • Features: Mikrotik Routers and Switches users are very happy with the speed and resilience of the solution. Mikrotik users tell us it is very easy to configure and is very flexible. The Hotspot is a feature many users really appreciate and the GUI makes the solution very easy to maintain. Interaction with the routers and other hardware is seamless. Mikrotik users would like to see better documentation and improvements made to the security firewalls. Some users mention that the CPU load is very high, which causes occasional lag time. Mikrotik has some hardware issues that limit its scalability and prevent Mikrotik from being a usable solution for high-end enterprise organizations.

    Ubiquiti Unifi Switches users really appreciate the single-pane management, which makes the solution very easy to manage. The GUI makes it very easy for even the most novice of users to handle - up to enterprise grade level two or three. Users tell us the documentation is great and the VPN is a valued feature. Users like that the integration with the controller is excellent and the hardware is extremely stable and reliable. Users would like to see the visibility of the networks improved to be on par with others in the marketplace. Users also tell us reporting could be better.
  • Pricing: Users of both these solutions are satisfied with the pricing and feel both solutions are competitive and cost-effective.
  • Service and Support: Mikrotik users for the most part are dissatisfied with the service and support they receive and feel it needs to improve. Ubiquiti users are also predominantly unhappy with the level of service they experience and also feel improvement is necessary.

Comparison Results: Both of these solutions are very effective at what they do, are competitively priced, and are very user-friendly. Many users feel Mikrotik is outdated and has not done a good job staying current with the needs of today's rapidly changing business dynamic. Additionally, Mikrotik is not a usable solution for an enterprise-level organization. Therefore for this comparison, Ubiquiti Unifi Switches finish ahead of Mikrotik Routers and Switches.

To learn more, read our detailed MikroTik Routers and Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Which are better - Ubiquiti UniFi switches or MikroTik routers and switches?
Answer: Each one has its pros and cons, I consider that mikrotik start with router and grows to switch and in the case of unifi start with Switch and grows to Router.in our case we use Mikrotik router with switch unifi . Mikrotik is very complete as a router/firewall and unifi has a friendly interface for switch configurations
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The deployment process of MikroTik routers and switches is very convenient since it is not command-driven and comes with a graphical user interface, making it much easier to operate.""It has a lot of features. I haven't explored them all yet.""I have found one of the most valuable features to be the hotspot network.""I have seen a return on investment since we didn't have to pay a licensing fee.""It's pretty stable.""One of the primary advantages is its competitive pricing in the market.""The most valuable feature is that you can do anything on all platforms.""It's very user-friendly."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches Pros →

"I can see which ports are connected and which ones are disconnected.""This product is very reasonably priced.""The solution's most valuable feature is its reliability.""I like the control one has with this solution.""These switches are very simple to use and the GUI is very nice.""The solution’s scalability is good.""For the world where you have to balance traffic and traffic loads and bandwidth, their GUI makes it really easy because the switches, though they are enterprise grade level two or level three switches, the GUI is designed so that it's easy to set up VLANs where you need to control your traffic so that your phones don't break up and get choppy because of other people loading the network down too heavily.""The most valuable feature of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is that once you buy them, you own them."

More Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Pros →

Cons
"The solution needs to be more robust. In case of power fluctuations, MikroTik routers are more vulnerable to malfunctioning.""The interface for management could be improved.""This product could offer better integration with VPNs.""If the client wants bigger capacity, there may be some issues. That is, there may be issues with scalability.""The product needs to include more power.""MikroTik Routers and Switches need a firewall policy to secure the network. I also want Mikrotic to add load balancing to the firewall policy, as it's currently hard to do in Mikrotik devices.""They lack the extended warranty for the equipment. They only provide a warranty for one year as compared to the other vendors who offer a warranty for three years, five years, and lifetime, etc.""The CPU load is too high. This causes the Internet to lag."

More MikroTik Routers and Switches Cons →

"The support is pretty much email-based and that's horrible for an enterprise product. I can't call anybody right away.""We have been having issues with non-homogeneity.""New products don't integrate well with their management platform. Sometimes you have to go directly to the box or the switch to do the management.""We've had issues with the power supply. I've had to change the power supply twice. I'm not sure what the issue is. We're still trying to work out why we're having problems with the switches and the cutting of the power supply. The solution should look into this to see if there is something wrong with the product.""Some of the features needed to set up the solution are too complex. There's a lot of technical information that is required.""One of the downsides of the solution stems from the limited warranty that it offers to users.""The technical support for this solution could be improved.""The product needs to improve its pricing."

More Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "This product is a one-time purchase."
  • "In our last project, we used two hundred units and the price was approximately 500 Shekels ($140 USD)."
  • "There is no licensing fee in addition to the hardware, but we do pay an annual fee for support."
  • "This product is cheaper than competing products by other vendors."
  • "There are not any external or hidden costs."
  • "The price-performance is great."
  • "MikroTik is very cost-effective and quite good for the price. It performs very well. For one of our customers, the existing setup comprises Cisco Catalyst switches, and it is about 10 to 15 years old. We're looking into upgrading in a cost-effective way to get the performance and yet still be at par with the quality and expectations that customers have from Cisco. Price-wise, Cisco is really expensive, and customers are expecting something different than Cisco so that they can save on IT costs. They don't have the same budget that they had before when they installed Cisco products. That's why they're looking for a solution that can provide performance and features without too much money or investment. We're looking at some alternative brands, such as NETGEAR and MikroTik, to support our proposal."
  • "The main reason we use this solution is for the price — it's very cheap."
  • More MikroTik Routers and Switches Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Ubiquiti switches are quite affordable and you don't have to pay extra for support."
  • "I feel that the price of this solution is definitely reasonable compared to all of the others."
  • "The price is very low and a good approach for a smaller company, with 10 to 15 people."
  • "The price of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is really good. We have deployed a few Ubiquiti UniFi Switches in New Zealand, and they are a value for money. They are cheaper and stable, but if you have the budget, I would recommend Meraki switches."
  • "The price is reasonable."
  • "The price of this product is cheap."
  • "The price of the solution is fair compared to others. However, it is expensive."
  • "The price is good, and it doesn't require additional licenses."
  • More Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
    768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Answers from the Community
    Netanya Carmi
    Gabriel Guzman - PeerSpot reviewerGabriel Guzman
    User

    Analyzing the two hardware, Mikrotik has the advantage of its anticipation. 


    He was one of the first to create a simple interface, making it more complex for those users who required more power to control their equipment. 


    Although UBNT has grown as a brand, its power is based on the unification of products and not a specific one. For me that simple reason, they make Mikrotik a rank higher than UBNT.

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Cisco Enterprise Routers are very stable and easy to use. They offer a very solid performance and are very secure. They also have a very good, long lifespan. We feel the command configuration is very… more »
    Top Answer:Ubiquiti Unifi is a great solution. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfigure an AP or… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:It is very easy to deploy. The deployment time for a single device is a near instant.
    Top Answer:Ubiquiti is very reasonable. However, they don't position themselves as an enterprise solution, but rather as a professional solution. They offer something like a network layer switches. They're not… more »
    Ranking
    6th
    out of 34 in Ethernet Switches
    Views
    12,762
    Comparisons
    8,280
    Reviews
    25
    Average Words per Review
    488
    Rating
    7.9
    3rd
    out of 34 in Ethernet Switches
    Views
    24,066
    Comparisons
    11,542
    Reviews
    18
    Average Words per Review
    512
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    UniFi Switches
    Learn More
    Ubiquiti Networks
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    MikroTik Routers and Switches provide all the features necessary for network administrators to secure and monitor their networks and are suitable for companies of any size. The solution is ideal for creating Wi-Fi hotspots, connecting multiple servers, setting up firewalls and VPNs, and distributing bandwidth. MikroTik's user-friendly dashboard helps you interact easily with your hardware. With MikroTik's user interface, you can obtain real statistics by user or IP address and monitor bandwidth consumption.

    Benefits and Key Features of MikroTik Routers and Switches

    • Affordability: MikroTik routers and switches are very reasonably priced and offer features comparable to those of other higher priced solutions.

    • Highly customizable: Flexible scripting policies and configuration options enable users to enhance the functionality of MikroTik's various products. MikroTik routers also offer hotspot profiles, which allows admins to create different customizable guest user authentication profiles.

    • Consistency: All MikroTik routers have the same operating system and features, making it simple to migrate between different products.

    • Routing protocols: MikroTik provides several dynamic routing protocols that can be deployed to build robust and secure networks.

    • Built-in firewall: MikroTik offers a very powerful firewall implementation with multiple features, including state inspection, layer-7 protocol detection, and peer-to-peer protocols filtering.

    • Stability and robust performance: MikroTik routers and switches are long-lasting, resilient, and perform well.

    Reviews from Real Users

    MikroTik stands out among competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its reasonably priced products and its user-friendly user interface, which makes it easy to work and communicate with its hardware.

    Parameshwar P., a director at Navyug Networks, writes, "I like MikroTik's GUI. It's completely handy and easy to handle because of its GUI. Despite other brands like Cisco urging me to switch, I didn't because they don't have a GUI. This is the most comfortable thing in my project that anyone can use easily. It’s effortless to maintain MikroTik routers because both screens make it very easy in GUI mode. You can easily interact with your hardware.”

    Rodney T., the chief solutions architect at Tech2go Strategic IT Solutions, says, "They are very good at providing the bandwidth for multi-tenants and multi-dwelling units. We're managing Wi-Fi hotspots for hundreds of locations, and the speed and performance are quite there. They also have very cheap 10G products that come with really good and flexible software. They are way cheaper than the top brands, and they're able to deliver the same performance and capabilities."

    A principal consultant at a tech services company notes, "The most valuable aspect of this solution is the combination of value for money. They're extremely cost effective, yet they provide you with an extensive feature set of things you can do across the board. Also, they're pretty reliable, as far as equipment goes."

    Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are managed Gigabit switches (Available with 24 or 48 RJ45 Gigabit ports) designed to meet all your network needs while delivering excellent performance. The switches’ excellent network performance is combined with fiber connectivity that includes two SFP ports and the ability to process traffic without putting packet loss at risk.

    Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Are:

    • Easy to deploy
    • Simple to use
    • Affordable
    • Reliable and stable

    Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Support These Three Output Modes:

    • PoE: Uses IEEE 802.3af standard to deliver up to 15.4W.
    • PoE+: Uses IEEE 802.3at standard to deliver up to 30W.
    • PoE++: Uses IEEE 802.3bt standard to deliver up to 60W.

    Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Support These Three Input Modes:

    • US-8 (PoE, PoE+)
    • USW-Flex (PoE, PoE+, PoE++)
    • USW-Flex Mini (PoE, PoE+)

    Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Features:

    • Scalability
    • Stability
    • Reliable hardware
    • Alarm alerting system
    • Dual-band
    • PoE+ flexibility
    • Fiber connectivity
    • User-friendly GUI
    • Mesh networking
    • Secure management
    • High speed
    • Excellent dashboards
    • Reporting and detailed analytics
    • Multi-site management
    • Deep packet inspection

    Benefits of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches:

    • Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are silent because they are designed without a fan.
    • They help simplify your network infrastructure and cabling.
    • Ubiquiti UniFi Switches offer 24 to 48 port switch versions to work with.
    • Ubiquiti UniFi Switches provide redundant power if the internal power supply fails.
    • Ubiquiti UniFi Switches include the forwarding capacity to simultaneously process traffic on all ports at line rate without any packet loss.
    • Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are rated as affordable when compared with competitors.
    • Available with 24 or 48 RJ45 Gigabit ports
    • Configuration with Ubiquiti UniFi is easy; It's simple to configure or reconfigure an AP or gateway quickly.
    • By having a mobile app, Unifi makes it easy to check on sites and to configure APs individually if necessary.
    • With Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, you can operate your IP cameras and phones through a single network cable.


    Reviews from Real Users

    A PeerSpot user who is a Director of Technical Operations/CTO at a consultancy says "The ability to deploy quickly and then having one central location for all the settings are its most valuable aspects."

    "The integration with the controller is one of the most valuable features of these switches. They are also very stable. For example, we have some equipment that we haven't touched for four years that is still reliable," says Doru I., Senior solutions architect at Aplix Technologies

    Murali S., Management Consultant at a consultancy, explains that “For the world where you have to balance traffic and traffic loads and bandwidth, their GUI makes it really easy because the switches, though they are enterprise grade level two or level three switches, the GUI is designed so that it's easy to set up VLANs where you need to control your traffic so that your phones don't break up and get choppy because of other people loading the network down too heavily."

    Sample Customers
    ABB, Boingo Wireless, JPL, HP, Allied Telesis, iPass, Mips Technologies, MicroAge, Matsushita, Telia, undp, WFP, NASA
    Staypineapple
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider24%
    University11%
    Educational Organization11%
    Marketing Services Firm8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company17%
    Comms Service Provider17%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Religious Institution9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company12%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Retailer6%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business63%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise42%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business80%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise43%
    Buyer's Guide
    MikroTik Routers and Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about MikroTik Routers and Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    MikroTik Routers and Switches is ranked 6th in Ethernet Switches with 61 reviews while Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is ranked 3rd in Ethernet Switches with 42 reviews. MikroTik Routers and Switches is rated 7.8, while Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of MikroTik Routers and Switches writes "A cost-effective networking solutions with a robust feature set, but its interface may have a steeper learning curve". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Ubiquiti UniFi Switches writes "Rock solid stability with adjustable voltage configuration for PoE". MikroTik Routers and Switches is most compared with Cisco Enterprise Routers, MikroTik Cloud Router Switch, Huawei Enterprise Routers, Aruba Switches and Juniper MX Series Routers, whereas Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is most compared with Cisco Ethernet Switches, NETGEAR Switches, Aruba Switches, Meraki MS Switches and Luxul Switches. See our MikroTik Routers and Switches vs. Ubiquiti UniFi Switches report.

    See our list of best Ethernet Switches vendors.

    We monitor all Ethernet Switches reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.