NETGEAR Ethernet Switches vs. Ubiquiti Networks UniFi

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
NETGEAR Ethernet Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
NETGEAR offers Ethernet Switches.N/A
Ubiquiti Networks UniFi
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Ubiquiti Networks in San Jose provides their UniFi wi-fi hotspot technology.N/A
Pricing
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Editions & Modules
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Considered Both Products
NETGEAR Ethernet Switches
Chose NETGEAR Ethernet Switches
While the Ubiquiti are much easier to manage remotely through their cloud controllers, the Netgear is much more reliable in harsh environments than the other simple switches we use, as they seem less susceptive to high temperatures and humidity. (TP-Link and Zycel are the other …
Chose NETGEAR Ethernet Switches
We made use of the NETGEAR switches, as we did not need ongoing support for the service as required by Cisco and Unifi at the time. Other benefits were the cost against the Cisco switches and the reliability against unifi
Ubiquiti Networks UniFi
Chose Ubiquiti Networks UniFi
Ubiquiti uses profiles to manage their devices, like other vendors, but the functionality, easy of configuration, automated updates make Ubiquiti a better fit for SMB.
Chose Ubiquiti Networks UniFi
One way of looking at network equipment is by grouping all into two categories: Standalone, and Centrally Managed.
Most home or SOHO network equipment is standalone, meaning each device is configured individually. If you need to adjust settings off-site, you need to allow it …
Chose Ubiquiti Networks UniFi
Unifi trails the competitors in the switch/gateway category but exceeds all competitors in WiFi and IP cameras.
Cisco Meraki equipment is too expensive along with monthly costs. Netgear equipment is fine for simple networks but a small increase in upfront spend will get you …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

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Medium-sized Companies
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.6 out of 10

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Enterprises
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10

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All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(6 ratings)
8.9
(38 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.5
(3 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.9
(6 ratings)
User Testimonials
NETGEAR Ethernet SwitchesUbiquiti Networks UniFi
Likelihood to Recommend
NETGEAR
Great for entry-level networking, and the cost-to-quality ratio is great for the average consumer. I've used them in a crawl space that is not climate controlled, and it just works and provides the switching capabilities I need. These are great for users that don't have a ton of experience and can simply try to troubleshoot with a simple power cycle.
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Ubiquiti Networks
In the past few months we purchased thousands of dollars in brand new networking equipment from Ubiquiti. IT DOES NOT WORK CORRECTLY We bought 2 sets of hardware. 1 for home office and 1 for work. They both have the same issue (internet stops working). We have emailed literally dozens of times with customer service and they have not been able to resolve the issue. We have requested escalation to more trained technicians and have asked them to log into our system to assess. None of this has happened and our internet continues to intermittently work.
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Pros
NETGEAR
  • Manage extra connections in a switched network.
  • Provide good throughput for those extra connections.
  • Easy to add into an existing network environment.
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • AP's are very affordable.
  • Most of the AP's are highly reliable and can be used indoors or in covered outdoor spaces.
  • Outdoor Mesh AP's with an external directional antenna can effectively cover outdoor spaces with dual band wifi better than much more expensive APs.
  • Unifi Protect via the Cloud Key Gen2+ is probably the slickest, most affordable IP camera system on the market right now.
  • Unifi controller is powerful yet simple to administrate.
  • Remote management of entire networks through a single pane of glass is easy to accomplish with the Unifi controller.
  • Cloud Key Gen2 solves problems with the first Cloud Key wiht a built-in battery backup.
  • When you are "full stack" Unifi with wifi, network switches and gateways, the control you can wield over a network in just a few clicks and the amount of data you can glean from a quick glance in the controller is incredibly impressive. It makes an IT guy wish every product/service could be so tightly and well-integrated.
  • Community support is excellent, Unifi staff monitors their official forums and responds to almost every thread.
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Cons
NETGEAR
  • Better advertisement about advanced enterprise features. My experience is with smaller switches and not with the fully managed switches.
  • Additional management tools to monitor multiple switches in the environment. Similar to Cisco Network Assistant.
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • VLANs: They can make these work more smoothly. Setup can be more intuitive.
  • Cloud Key: These need to be stabilized; they lose their programming a little too easily.
  • Stop selling the Gen-1 cloud key: No battery means you need an external power source or you must be onsite to power it off before updating.
  • Portal can be modernized.
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Usability
NETGEAR
No answers on this topic
Ubiquiti Networks
UniFi's system is intuitive in how options are placed and explained throughout the interface. What is not directly explainable within the interface, Ubiquiti does provide several knowledgebase documents explaining best practices and methods of troubleshooting when things don't go exactly right. We've been using them for over three years, and the benefits vastly outweigh any negatives we could come up with on the equipment and system.
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Support Rating
NETGEAR
No answers on this topic
Ubiquiti Networks
Support tickets can be proactively created within the dashboard with full detailed documentation. The Ubiquiti website provides detailed documentation on support. Forum and user groups also provide the interested community with information that covers all aspects of issues or questions users can encounter with the latest and most updated information.
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Alternatives Considered
NETGEAR
While the Ubiquiti are much easier to manage remotely through their cloud controllers, the Netgear is much more reliable in harsh environments than the other simple switches we use, as they seem less susceptive to high temperatures and humidity. (TP-Link and Zycel are the other major brands we use for simple switches.)
Read full review
Ubiquiti Networks
Ubiquiti is overall easier to work with. There is no special training needed to accomplish many of the things required with a Cisco product. Since my time is stretched thin, I need something that I can manage without being weighed down by command-line communications. Also, I am able to use my wireless devices to maintain every Ubiquiti device on my network.
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Return on Investment
NETGEAR
  • Keeps our investment in infrastructure connections low because they can provide those connections.
  • A lower cost alternative to adding in wall connections.
  • Sometimes they can cause collision issues due to traffic across them.
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Ubiquiti Networks
  • The access points and switch were extremely affordable and we've had minimal downtime over the life of the products.
  • The switch was in our main rack and there was a bug in the firmware that would reboot the switch if you made a change to one of the switch ports (that was not in use at the time). This caused our entire organization to have a network outage, in the middle of the day. Fortunately we didn't have any customer refunds to issue. We've had to purchase different switches for the main racks, and place the UniFi switch in a better suited place.
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