Catalyst 9200 vs 9300: Which Cisco Switch Should You Buy?

The Cisco Catalyst 9200 and Catalyst 9300 are both stackable access switches running Cisco IOS XE. The 9300 is the bigger platform, with faster stacking, more memory, StackPower, and UPOE, UPOE+ and SFP fiber ports that the 9200 and 9200L don’t offer.

The short version: a 9200L or 9200 covers most closets of PoE+ phones and access points. Buy the 9300 for UPOE or UPOE+ devices, fiber access ports, 8× 10G uplinks or stacks with heavy traffic between switches. Adding to an existing stack? Buy the family you already have, because they don’t stack with each other.

Catalyst 9200 vs 9300 at a glance

	Catalyst 9200L	Catalyst 9200	Catalyst 9300L	Catalyst 9300
Uplinks	Fixed: 4× 1G (-4G models), 4× 10G (-4X), or 2× 25G (PXG-2Y)	Network module: 4× 1G or 4× 10G	Fixed: 4× 1G (-4G models), 4× 10G (-4X), or 2× 40G (UXG-2Q)	Network module: up to 8× 10G, 2× 25G or 2× 40G
Stacking	StackWise-80	StackWise-160	StackWise-320	StackWise-480
Switching capacity, 24-port PoE+	-4G models: 56 Gbps -4X models: 128 Gbps	128 Gbps	-4G models: 56 Gbps -4X models: 128 Gbps	208 Gbps
PoE budget, 48-port PoE+, standard power supply	740 W	740 W	48P models: 505 W 48PF models: 890 W	437 W
Memory	2 GB	4 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Access ports	1G; multigigabit on PXG models	1G; multigigabit on PXG models	1G; multigigabit on UXG models	1G, multigigabit or SFP fiber
PoE types	PoE+	PoE+	PoE+; UPOE on UXG models	PoE+, UPOE, UPOE+

The modular 9200 and 9300 need a separately ordered network module for uplinks. On the 9200, 25G and 40G modules fit only the multigigabit PXG models. Every family stacks up to 8 switches.

What else the 9300 adds

• Faster stacking. Stacking bandwidth matters when traffic crosses between switches in the stack, such as when devices on one member use uplinks on another. It does not make each access port faster.
• Built-in stack ports. The 9300 stacks with StackWise cables such as the STACK-T1-50CM. The 9200, 9200L and 9300L each need a stack kit, sold separately.
• StackPower. 9300 switches can share power across a stack with StackPower cables.
• UPOE and UPOE+. Models with U, UB, UN, UX, UXB or UXM in the part number are UPOE; H models are UPOE+.
• Fiber access. The S models have 24 or 48 SFP ports.

Check the PoE budget before you buy

More ports don’t always mean more PoE. A PoE+ port can draw up to 30 W, so 48 ports at full draw need 1,440 W.

48-port switch and power	PoE budget	Ports at 30 W
C9200-48P-E, standard 1000 W supply	740 W	24
C9300-48P-E, standard 715 W supply	437 W	14
C9300-48P-E with the 1100 W PWR-C1-1100WAC-P	822 W	27
C9200-48P-E with a second PWR-C6-1KWAC, or C9300-48P-E with two PWR-C1-1100WAC-P	1,440 W	48

UPOE ports can draw up to 60 W and UPOE+ ports up to 90 W, so their budgets run out sooner. The C9300-48U-E’s 822 W covers 13 ports at 60 W, or 27 with the 1900 W PWR-C1-1900WAC-P (1,622 W). The C9300X-48HX-E has 590 W with its standard 1100 W supply, enough for 6 ports at 90 W, or 15 with the 1900 W supply (1,390 W).

Add up what your devices actually draw rather than assuming the maximum for every port. More in how a PoE switch works.

9200L or 9300L?

The L models have fixed uplinks instead of a module slot, and cost less once you count the module a modular switch needs. With the same 1G ports and uplinks, the 9200L and 9300L have the same switching capacity; the 9300L adds faster stacking and more memory. PoE depends on size: at 24 ports the 9300L has more (505 W against 370 W), at 48 ports the 9200L does (740 W against 505 W), unless you buy the 9300L-48PF (890 W).

Which one should you buy?

You need	Buy	Start with
PoE+ phones and access points, fixed uplinks	9200L	C9200L-24P-4G-E or C9200L-48P-4G-E (1G uplinks), C9200L-24P-4X-E or C9200L-48P-4X-E (10G uplinks)
Uplinks you can change later	9200	C9200-24P-E with a C9200-NM-4X (4× 10G)
Multigigabit access points	9200L PXG, 9300L UXG or 9300	C9200L-48PXG-4X-E (12 multigigabit PoE+ ports), C9300L-48UXG-4X-E (12 multigigabit ports, all UPOE), C9300-24UX-E (24 multigigabit UPOE ports)
Faster stacking and more memory, fixed 10G uplinks	9300L	C9300L-48P-4X-E, or the C9300L-48PF-4X-E for 890 W of PoE
UPOE or UPOE+ devices	9300	C9300-48U-E (UPOE, 822 W) or C9300-48H-E (UPOE+), with a module such as the C9300-NM-8X (8× 10G)
Fiber to the access port	9300	C9300-24S-E or C9300-48S-E
10G multigigabit on all 48 ports, or 100G uplinks	9300X	C9300X-48HX-E (48 multigigabit UPOE+ ports); add a C9300X-NM-2C module for 2× 100G uplinks
More switches in an existing stack	The family you have	Plus a stack kit for each 9200, 9200L or 9300L: C9200-STACK-KIT, C9200L-STACK-KIT or C9300L-STACK-KIT2

For the software tier, -E (Network Essentials) runs most access closets; -A (Network Advantage) adds advanced routing. The 9200L, 9300L and 9300 also come in -M versions, managed from the Meraki Dashboard. Our Cisco switch buying guide explains the rest of the part number.

Can a Catalyst 9200 stack with a 9300?

No. The 9200 and 9200L each stack only with their own family. The 9300 stacks with the 9300X, except the higher-scale UB and UXB models, which stack only with each other. The 9300L stacks with the 9300LM. All members need the same license level.

Get a quote

We sell new and refurbished Catalyst 9200 and 9300 switches, network modules, stack kits and power supplies, with the condition labeled on every listing and our 90-day warranty. Send us the part numbers or your port and PoE counts, and we’ll quote it the same business day.