Cisco IOS VS Cisco NX-OS
As of 30 October 2026, Cisco NX-OS is named by 123 companies and Cisco IOS by 175; Cisco IOS skews to companies under 200 people (42% vs 39%), Cisco NX-OS to companies over 1,000 (41% vs 37%).
As of 30 October 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Cisco IOS's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Cisco NX-OS rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Cisco IOS: 2–200 employees
- 42%
- Cisco NX-OS: 2–200 employees
- 39%
- Cisco IOS: 1,000+ employees
- 37%
- Cisco NX-OS: 1,000+ employees
- 41%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.6 · 2.5
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 0
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Cisco IOS | share | Cisco NX-OS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed | 1 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| 2-10 employees | 13 | 7% | 14 | 11% | Cisco NX-OS |
| 11-50 employees | 20 | 11% | 15 | 12% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 40 | 23% | 19 | 15% | Cisco IOS |
| 201-500 employees | 23 | 13% | 14 | 11% | even |
| 501-1000 employees | 14 | 8% | 11 | 9% | even |
| 1001-5000 employees | 35 | 20% | 25 | 20% | even |
| 5001-10000 employees | 9 | 5% | 9 | 7% | Cisco NX-OS |
| 10,001+ employees | 20 | 11% | 16 | 13% | even |
| Segment | Cisco IOS | share | Cisco NX-OS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 77 | 44% | 58 | 47% | Cisco NX-OS |
| Manufacturing & industry | 25 | 14% | 18 | 15% | even |
| Business & finance services | 21 | 12% | 26 | 21% | Cisco NX-OS |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 14 | 8% | 3 | 2% | Cisco IOS |
| Consumer services & leisure | 10 | 6% | 4 | 3% | Cisco IOS |
| Public, community & associations | 9 | 5% | 2 | 2% | Cisco IOS |
| Health care | 5 | 3% | 3 | 2% | even |
| Property & construction | 5 | 3% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 4 | 2% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Media & content | 3 | 2% | 5 | 4% | Cisco NX-OS |
| Commerce & trade | 2 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| Segment | Cisco IOS | share | Cisco NX-OS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 137 | 78% | 95 | 77% | even |
| Germany | 8 | 5% | 3 | 2% | Cisco IOS |
| United Kingdom | 7 | 4% | 6 | 5% | even |
| Switzerland | 3 | 2% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Canada | 2 | 1% | 2 | 2% | even |
| India | 2 | 1% | 2 | 2% | even |
| Netherlands | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Portugal | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1% | 1 | 1% | even |
| France | 1 | 1% | 5 | 4% | Cisco NX-OS |
| GH | 1 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Greece | 1 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Ireland | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Lithuania | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| NP | – | – | 1 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Cisco IOS | share | Cisco NX-OS | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 497 | 73% | 348 | 79% | Cisco NX-OS |
| Engineering (non-software) | 32 | 5% | 7 | 2% | Cisco IOS |
| Software engineering | 29 | 4% | 26 | 6% | even |
| Skilled trades and field service | 13 | 2% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Sales | 8 | 1% | 18 | 4% | Cisco NX-OS |
| Customer service & success | 7 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Data & AI | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Facilities cleaning and security | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Finance & accounting | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| General management & consulting | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Product, program & project management | – | – | 2 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Quality, safety & environment | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Cisco IOS →
Companies using Cisco NX-OS →
routing switching wireless ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Cisco NX-OS is named by 123 companies in job postings and Cisco IOS by 175; 88 name both. (Breaknorm, 30 October 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/cisco-ios-vs-cisco-nx-os)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Cisco IOS vs Cisco NX-OS: questions
Which is more used, Cisco IOS or Cisco NX-OS?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Cisco IOS (175) over Cisco NX-OS (123). By website-and-DNS footprint, Cisco NX-OS (0 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Cisco IOS?
42% of Cisco IOS companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 39% for Cisco NX-OS. 37% of Cisco IOS companies have over 1,000 employees, against 41% for Cisco NX-OS.
Do companies run both?
88 companies name both in their postings, usually Cisco IOS in marketing and Cisco NX-OS in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
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