Ubiquiti Switch Pro Max 24 PoE vs Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9500: Specs & Price Comparison

Ubiquiti Switch Pro Max 24 PoE

★ 4.1 Value Score

Switching Capacity: 112 Gbps
Non-Blocking Throughput: 56 Gbps
Forwarding Rate: 83.3 Mpps
Ports: 24 total: 8x 2.5GbE PoE++, 8x 1GbE PoE++, 8x 1GbE PoE+, plus 2x 10G SFP+ uplinks
PoE Budget: 400W total (max 60W per port)
Layer: L3
Stacking support: Not confirmed; no physical stacking documented in sources reviewed
MAC Address Table Size: 32,000 entries
Packet Buffer Size: 2 MB
Form Factor: 1U rack-mountable, 442 x 325 x 44 mm, 5.1 kg without brackets
Management: UniFi Network 8.0.24+
Operating Temperature: -5 to 40u00b0C (23 to 104u00b0F)
Certifications: CE, FCC, IC (one listing states NDAA compliant)

✔ Pros: Layer 3 switching in a 24-port 1U chassis; 8x 2.5GbE PoE++ ports for multi-gig wireless and workstation uplinks; 400W total PoE budget with up to 60W per port; 2x 10G SFP+ uplinks; 112 Gbps switching capacity and 56 Gbps non-blocking throughput; managed centrally through UniFi Network; list price of $799 USD from Ubiquiti's US store is competitive for L3 PoE++ hardware
✘ Cons: 400W total PoE budget is limited if many high-power PoE++ devices are connected at once; No physical stacking documented, so scaling beyond one unit needs separate management; Port breakdown is described inconsistently across retailer listings, so the official Ubiquiti datasheet should be checked; Reseller prices vary widely (about $799 to $951 USD, plus higher regional prices); Independent hands-on reviews with measured performance were not found; Requires UniFi Network 8.0.24 or later for management
Est. Price: $799 - $951

Cisco Cisco Catalyst 9500

★ 3.3 Value Score

Switching Capacity: Up to 3.2 Tbps (48Y4C); up to 480 Gbps full duplex (40X, Cisco table); up to 12.8 Tbps (9500X, Silicon One Q200). Varies by model
Forwarding Rate: Up to 1 Bpps (48Y4C; one source says 1,440 Mpps, unresolved); up to 720 Mpps (40X); up to 8 Bpps (9500X). Varies by model
Ports (breakdown): Varies by SKU. Examples: 48Y4C = 48 x 1/10/25G SFP28 + 4 x 40/100G QSFP28; 40X = 40 x 1/10G SFP+ + 8 x 10G uplink module; 24Y4C, 16X, 24Q, 32C, 12Q and 48X variants also exist
PoE Budget: Not applicable to most models. PoE+ variants are limited to a few SKUs; budget not confirmed in this research
Layer: L3 (Network Essentials and Network Advantage licensing tiers)
Stacking Support: StackWise Virtual (two-switch virtual stack); not verified against Cisco's current datasheet in this research
Form Factor: 1RU rack-mountable
Research Note: Figures come mainly from third-party reseller datasheets and an older Cisco performance table. Verify per SKU against Cisco's official datasheet before publishing

✔ Pros: Family spans 10G and 25G access/aggregation to 40G/100G uplinks, covering a wide range of core and distribution roles; Layer 3 routing on Network Advantage licensing; StackWise Virtual provides redundant two-switch resilience; 9500X variant offers up to 12.8 Tbps switching capacity for next-generation cores; mature, widely deployed enterprise platform with broad reseller and partner support
✘ Cons: High acquisition cost compared with Catalyst 9300 class switches; PoE is available on only a few SKUs, so most models cannot power endpoints; throughput and port figures differ between sources, so SKU-level verification is required; 40X uplink modules are limited to 1/10G and 40G, unlike the 40/100G uplinks on the 48Y4C; 9500X top-end performance requires newer Silicon One hardware and is not available on earlier SKUs
Est. Price: $9,793 - $39,072

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