Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE vs Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G

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

all judged against network switches at a similar price

The Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G scores 6.3/10 overall, ahead of the Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE at 5.9/10.

The Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE leads on management, port count and uplinks and noise and efficiency.

The Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G leads on port speeds.

They score the same on poE and firmware and support.

The biggest difference is port speeds, where the Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G scores 7/10 to the Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE's 4/10.

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

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Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G

6.3/10verdict: good, not the best

The UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G is for people who run UniFi gear and want multi-gig speeds on a small five-port switch. It suits a home office or homelab that needs a few 2.5GbE devices linked and managed from the UniFi Network application. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs PoE output, more than five ports or fibre uplinks.

Typically about £52.99 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK

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

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE	Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G
Port speeds	30%	4/10	7/10
Management	20%	8/10	7/10
Port count and uplinks	15%	5/10	4/10
Noise and efficiency	15%	9/10	8/10
PoE	10%	5/10	5/10
Firmware and support	10%	5/10	5/10
Overall		5.9/10	6.3/10

Specifications

Spec	Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Lite 8 PoE	Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G
Ports	8 RJ45 ports in total, of which 4 are PoE+	5 x 2.5 GbE RJ45 ports
Port speeds	10/100/1000 Mbps on all ports	2.5G/1G/100M/10M per port
Management	Layer 2 managed, configured through the UniFi Network Controller, in-band Ethernet management	not listed
PoE budget	52 W total PoE budget; up to 30 W per PoE+ port (802.3at)	not listed
Uplinks (SFP/SFP+)	No SFP or SFP+ port; RJ45 networking ports only	None; no SFP/SFP+ uplink ports
Switching capacity	16 Gbps switching capacity; 8 Gbps non-blocking line rate	25 Gbps switching capacity, 12.5 Gbps non-blocking throughput, 19 Mpps forwarding rate, 256 VLANs, 4,000 MAC addresses
Cooling	Fanless; heat dissipation 27.3 BTU/hr excluding PoE output	Fanless (retailer listing; not on manufacturer spec page)

Strengths and weaknesses

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 ›

Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G

+ All five ports run 2.5GbE
+ Managed through UniFi Network, with 256 VLANs
− Only five ports
− No PoE output
− No SFP or SFP+ uplink

Skip it if:

Buyers who need PoE output for access points or cameras
Anyone who needs more than five ports or SFP/SFP+ uplinks
Users who want advanced layer 2 or layer 3 switching features

Read the full Ubiquiti UniFi Flex Mini 2.5G review ›

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