Ubiquiti Enterprise 8 PoE vs Cisco Catalyst 9200L: 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 9200L

★ 3.4 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 176 Gbps (48-port 4x10G model; other SKUs range from 56 to 176 Gbps, reseller listings conflict)
Forwarding Rate: 130.95 Mpps (48-port 4x10G model; some listings show 261.9 Mpps for the same SKU)
Ports: 24 or 48 x 10/100/1000 Ethernet (PoE+ or non-PoE, depending on SKU); 4 x 10G SFP+ or 4 x 1G uplinks; 2 x 25G/10G uplink options on multigigabit variants
PoE Budget: 30W per port PoE+; total budget varies by PSU, e.g. 740 W for C9200L-48P-4X-E, 370 W for the partial-PoE 48PL variant (reseller listings, not verified against Cisco)
Layer: L2 with Network Essentials; L3 routing with Network Advantage (Essentials supports basic routed access only)
Stacking support: Yes, StackWise-80 (80 Gbps stack bandwidth, up to 8 members per stack, requires C9200L-STACK-KIT; some sources cite StackWise-160 or StackWise-480, which appear to be errors)

✔ Pros: Compact, cost-effective access layer switch for small and mid-sized networks; PoE+ on 30W per port for powering IP phones, cameras and APs; 10G SFP+ uplinks on 4X models; stacking supports up to 8 members managed as one logical unit; Network Advantage adds full L3 routing (OSPF, EIGRP, IS-IS, VRF, VXLAN) and SD-Access support; runs Cisco IOS XE with DNA Center and Catalyst Center management options; perpetual base licenses with optional term-based DNA subscriptions
✘ Cons: Network Essentials limits routing to basic protocols such as RIP and limited OSPF; SD-Access supports only one virtual network versus more on the modular Catalyst 9200; no field-replaceable fans and no modular uplink options; stack members must run the same license level, and mixing -A and -E is not supported; published switching, forwarding and PoE figures vary across reseller listings, so the official Cisco datasheet must be checked per SKU; the 9200L is positioned below the modular 9300 for larger deployments and higher port density
Est. Price: $1,783 - $4,604

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