Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Cisco Catalyst 9300: Specs & Price Comparison

Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE

★ 4.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 80 Gbps
Forwarding Rate: 59.52 Mpps (Ubiquiti tech specs list 60 Mpps)
Non-Blocking Throughput: 40 Gbps
Ports (breakdown): 8 x 2.5GbE RJ45 (all PoE+; 2.5G/1G/100M/10M) + 2 x 10G SFP+ (10G/1G)
PoE Budget: 120W total PoE; 802.3af/at (PoE+) only, up to 32W per port
Layer: L3 (managed)
Stacking Support: Not stated in official specs
Packet Buffer: 1.5 MB
MAC Address Table: 16,000 entries
Power Consumption: 30W excluding PoE; 150W including PoE output
Form Factor: Compact desktop, wall-mount kit included
Dimensions: 200 x 248 x 44 mm
Management Display: 1.3-inch color LCM touchscreen
Product Status: Listed as 'Enterprise 8 PoE (Vintage)' on Ubiquiti's store; no official replacement or EOL announcement found

✔ Pros: Eight 2.5GbE PoE+ ports suit multi-gig Wi-Fi 6 access points and desktop devices; Layer 3 managed feature set at a low price for the class; 80 Gbps switching capacity and 59.52 Mpps forwarding rate cover small-office and branch loads; Two 10G SFP+ uplinks allow 10G backhaul or fiber links; Compact desktop form factor with wall-mount kit and LCM touchscreen for local status; 120W PoE budget is enough for several PoE+ access points or cameras
✘ Cons: Only 802.3af/at PoE+ (max 32W per port), so it cannot power PoE++ devices such as Ubiquiti's U7/E7 access points; Product is listed as Vintage with no official successor named, so long-term availability and firmware support are uncertain; 120W total PoE budget limits how many high-draw devices can be powered at once; Only two SFP+ uplinks and no stacking support, which limits scaling; Price varies widely across resellers ($479 on Ubiquiti's US store, up to about $688 or more at third-party sellers)
Est. Price: $479 - $688

Cisco Catalyst 9300

★ 3.2 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 208 Gbps (C9300-24P) to 256 Gbps (C9300-48P) for PoE+ models; 640 Gbps (C9300-24UX) for UPOE+; up to 1,760 Gbps (C9300X-48HX) and 2,000 Gbps (C9300X-24Y)
Forwarding Rate: 154.76 Mpps (C9300-24P) to 190.47 Mpps (C9300-48P); 476.19 Mpps (C9300-24UX); 1,309 Mpps (C9300X-48HX) to 1,488 Mpps (C9300X-24Y)
Ports (breakdown): 24 or 48 ports per switch. Copper GE (PoE+/UPOE/UPOE+) on the 9300, mGig on 9300X-48TX/24UX-class models, and SFP or SFP+/25G fiber on 9300-24S/48S and 9300X-24Y. Modular uplink modules add 1G/10G/25G/40G/100G depending on module
PoE Budget: Model and PSU dependent. Reseller sheets cite about 490 W for C9300-24UX-A and about 645 W for C9300-48S-E. Verify the exact figure for your configuration on the Cisco datasheet
Layer: L2 (Network Essentials) or L3 (Network Advantage), licensed per switch
Stacking support: Yes. StackWise-480 on modular-uplink models, StackWise-320 on fixed-uplink models, and up to 1 Tbps local stackable switching bandwidth on 9300X

✔ Pros: Enterprise-grade stackable access switch with a mature, widely deployed platform; Modular uplink options and StackWise stacking scale from 24 to 48 ports and into multi-switch stacks; Full L2/L3 feature set with the Network Advantage license, including routing and advanced security; Strong PoE and UPOE/UPOE+ options for powering APs, cameras, and phones; 9300X models add mGig, 25G fiber, and up to 1 Tbps stacking bandwidth; Cisco DNA Center and IOS-XE support for automation and programmability
✘ Cons: High acquisition cost, and Network Advantage and DNA licensing add significantly to total cost; Feature and throughput specs differ widely across sub-models, which makes selection complex; PoE budget depends on the chosen power supply and can be a constraint on high-power UPOE deployments; Spec figures in reseller datasheets are inconsistent, so official Cisco data must be checked before purchase; Stacking and modular uplinks require matching modules and licenses, which raises complexity and cost
Est. Price: $10,120 - $40,227

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