TP-Link TL-SX1008 vs Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against network switches at a similar price

The Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE scores 5.9/10 overall, ahead of the TP-Link TL-SX1008 at 5.8/10.

The TP-Link TL-SX1008 leads on port speeds and port count and uplinks.

The Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE leads on management and noise and efficiency.

They score the same on poE and firmware and support.

The biggest difference is port speeds, where the TP-Link TL-SX1008 scores 9/10 to the Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE's 4/10.

TP-Link TL-SX1008

5.8/10verdict: good, not the best

The TL-SX1008 is for homelabbers and small offices who want eight 10GbE copper ports with no configuration. It suits people linking a NAS, servers and workstations over standard RJ45 cabling, including 2.5GbE and 5GbE devices. It does not suit anyone who needs VLANs, SFP+ uplinks or a silent switch.

Typically about £319 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

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Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE

5.9/10verdict: good, not the best

The UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE is for people already running, or planning, a UniFi setup who want a small, silent managed switch. It suits a desk, small office or home network with a few PoE devices such as access points or cameras. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs faster than gigabit speeds, fibre uplinks or lots of PoE power.

Typically about £111 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	TP-Link TL-SX1008	Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE
Port speeds	30%	9/10	4/10
Management	20%	3/10	8/10
Port count and uplinks	15%	6/10	5/10
Noise and efficiency	15%	4/10	9/10
PoE	10%	5/10	5/10
Firmware and support	10%	5/10	5/10
Overall		5.8/10	5.9/10

Specifications

Spec	TP-Link TL-SX1008	Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE
Ports	8 x RJ45 ports	8 RJ45 ports in total, of which 4 are PoE+
Port speeds	Auto-negotiating 100Mbps / 1Gbps / 2.5Gbps / 5Gbps / 10Gbps on every port	10/100/1000 Mbps on all ports
Management	Unmanaged	Layer 2 managed, configured through the UniFi Network Controller, in-band Ethernet management
PoE budget	None listed	52 W total PoE budget; up to 30 W per PoE+ port (802.3at)
Uplinks (SFP/SFP+)	None listed (no SFP/SFP+)	No SFP or SFP+ port; RJ45 networking ports only
Switching capacity	160 Gbps switching capacity, 119.04 Mpps forwarding rate, 16K MAC table, 12 Mbit packet buffer, store-and-forward	16 Gbps switching capacity; 8 Gbps non-blocking line rate
Cooling	One fan with intelligent fan-speed adjustment; not fanless	Fanless; heat dissipation 27.3 BTU/hr excluding PoE output

Strengths and weaknesses

TP-Link TL-SX1008

+ 10GBASE-T with multi-rate 100M to 10G on all eight ports
+ Plug-and-play setup with no configuration needed
+ ServeTheHome reports line-rate 8x10GbE at 64-byte frames
− Unmanaged: no VLANs or web management
− Fan is not silent; one owner calls it high-pitched
− No SFP+ uplinks, and owners say it is pricey for 10G

Skip it if:

Buyers who need VLANs or web management
Anyone who needs SFP+ uplinks or PoE
People placing a switch in a quiet room

Read the full TP-Link TL-SX1008 review ›

Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE

+ Fanless and quiet, praised by owners
+ Layer 2 management with VLANs through UniFi Network Controller
+ Easy setup and quick provisioning, per owners
− Only four of eight ports supply PoE
− Gigabit only, with no SFP or SFP+ uplink
− 52 W PoE budget may strain demanding devices

Skip it if:

Buyers who need 2.5GbE, 10GbE or SFP+ uplinks
Anyone powering many or high-demand PoE devices
People who want L3 routing on the switch itself

Read the full Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE review ›

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