Rate, medium, reach and the vendor coding the switch will accept

The best SFP modules for 2026

An SFP module is a small transceiver that slides into a cage on a switch or a card, and choosing one is an exercise in matching four published values. The first is the form factor and rate: SFP for a gigabit, SFP+ for ten, and the larger QSFP family above them; a cage accepts what its own specification says it accepts and nothing else. The second is the medium and reach. A copper module with an RJ45 socket runs 1000BASE-T over a patch lead and gets noticeably warm; a multimode optical module such as 1000BASE-SX runs over OM3 or OM4 fibre for a distance the maker publishes; a single-mode module such as 1000BASE-LX runs over OS2 for very much further. The third is the connector and wavelength — an LC duplex pair in most cases, or a single fibre carrying two wavelengths on a bidirectional pair that has to be bought as a matched set, one of each. The fourth is the one that surprises people: many switches read a vendor code from the module and refuse or complain about modules coded for another vendor, so the coding a seller states is part of the compatibility, and the switch maker's own published module list is the reference rather than a general assurance. Direct attach cables are a fifth option, a fixed length of copper with the transceiver moulded onto each end, cheaper than two modules and a patch lead and impossible to lengthen. We compare module form factor and rate, optical or copper medium, fibre type and stated reach, connector type, wavelength, vendor coding stated and operating temperature range.

The ones worth keeping in the drawer

1. 

   QSFPTEK 1000BASE-LX/LH single-mode SFP, 1310 nm, 10 km stated, coded for three HP part numbers

   The cheapest module on this shelf and the only one that publishes how much light leaves it and how little can arrive at the far end, sold coded for three HP part numbers with a request to confirm the switch before ordering.

   Module form factor

   SFP, called a mini-GBIC in the title — the gigabit cage rather than the larger SFP+ one. The fifth bullet lists the other form factors the seller stocks, from GBIC and SFP through SFP BIDI, DWDM and CWDM to 10G XFP, 10G SFP+ and 40G and 100G transceivers

   Module rate

   1000 Mbit/s — stated in the second bullet, and carried by the 1000BASE-LX/LH designation printed in the title

   Optical or copper medium

   Optical — the second bullet names a single-mode duplex LC connector, and the first places the module in fibre switches, routers, network cards and servers with gigabit SFP ports

   Fibre type

   Single-mode — stated in the title and again in the second bullet. The grade is not published on the listing: no OS1 or OS2 designation appears anywhere, and the maker gives a wavelength and a distance in its place

   Stated reach

   Up to 10 km — stated in the title and repeated in the second bullet as a transmission distance

   Connector type

   Duplex LC — stated in the second bullet, so the link uses two strands, one in each direction

   Wavelength

   1310 nm — stated in the title and in the second bullet, with a transmit power between -9 and -3 dBm and a receive sensitivity below -22 dBm quoted alongside it

   Vendor coding stated

   Coded for HP J4859A, J4859C and J4859B — stated in the title and in the first bullet, which adds other open switches without naming them. The fifth bullet asks the buyer to confirm the switch model before ordering, which is a seller declaring a coding rather than a switch maker certifying one

   Operating temperature range

   0 to 70 °C — stated in the second bullet as the working temperature, alongside the two optical power figures

   Amazon reference

   B07QR9HGMZ (same reference on 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0767912359670

   • Publishes transmit power and receive sensitivity, which no other module on this shelf prints
   • Names three HP part numbers outright instead of claiming compatibility in general terms
   • The fibre grade is never written, so OS1 and OS2 are left for the buyer to settle

   Best for: A gigabit link between two buildings on single-mode fibre, into a switch whose published module list names one of the three HP part numbers quoted.

   ≈ £11 / 10 €

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2. 

   DIGITUS DN-81003, bidirectional single-mode SFP, Tx 1310 / Rx 1550 nm, 20 km stated

   A single-strand module that sends on one wavelength and listens on another, sold with the longest list of switch makers on this shelf and without the reversed counterpart that a link of this kind cannot work without.

   Module form factor

   SFP, called a mini GBIC in the title — the gigabit cage. The second bullet gives the operating mode as single-mode, LC simplex, bidirectional

   Module rate

   Up to 1.25 Gbit/s — stated in the title and in the fourth bullet, and repeated in the seventh as a maximum data rate of 1.25 Gbps. The eighth bullet names IEEE 802.3z as the gigabit standard it meets

   Optical or copper medium

   Optical — the sixth bullet calls it a plug and play fibre connection, and the second names a single-mode simplex LC port

   Fibre type

   Single-mode — stated in the title and in the second bullet. The grade is not published on the listing: no OS1 or OS2 designation appears, and the maker gives a pair of wavelengths and a distance instead

   Stated reach

   Up to 20 km — stated in the title and in the fourth bullet, which prints the rate and the distance in the same line

   Connector type

   LC simplex — a single position rather than a duplex pair, stated in the title and in the second bullet, because both directions travel on the same strand of glass

   Wavelength

   Tx 1310 nm and Rx 1550 nm — stated in the title and in the third bullet. A module with those two reversed has to sit at the far end, and the listing does not say whether one is supplied, sold beside it or left to the buyer to find

   Vendor coding stated

   Twenty-two makers are listed in the first bullet — Ubiquiti, Allied Telesis, Allnet, CISCO, D-Link, Edimax, Intellinet, KTI Networks, Level One, PLANET, Tenda, TP-Link, TRENDnet, ZyXEL, ZTE, Avaya, Mikrotik, ENTERASYS, FINISAR, FORCE 10, RIVERSTONE and Fortinet. No coding scheme and no part number is named against any of them

   Operating temperature range

   0 °C to +70 °C — stated in the fifth bullet as the operating temperature range

   Amazon reference

   B00609EB0K (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4016032305682

   • One strand carries both directions, which halves the glass a link consumes
   • Twenty-two switch makers are named, the longest such list on this shelf
   • A bidirectional module is useless on its own, and nothing here says a counterpart comes with it

   Best for: A 20 km single-strand run between two buildings where fibre is scarce, bought together with the reversed counterpart it needs at the other end.

   ≈ 13 €

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3. 

   TP-Link TL-SM311LM, multimode gigabit SFP, 850 nm, 550 m stated

   The module of a switch maker sold for other makers’ switches, with the shortest specification on this shelf: a wavelength, a distance and an LC socket, plus a storage temperature standing where an operating one should be.

   Module form factor

   SFP, named a MiniGBIC in the first bullet — the gigabit cage. The second bullet places it on a switch with SFP ports

   Module rate

   Gigabit — stated as such in the title, with the first bullet calling it a multi-mode MiniGBIC module. No figure in megabits or gigabits per second is printed anywhere on the page

   Optical or copper medium

   Optical — multi-mode, stated in the title and in the first bullet, with the second naming enterprise fibre networks, campus fibre networks and ISP networks as its use

   Fibre type

   Multimode — stated in the title and in the first bullet. The grade is not published on the listing: no OM1, OM2, OM3 or OM4 designation appears, and the third bullet gives 550 m at 850 nm in its place

   Stated reach

   550 m — stated in the title as a reach of up to 550 m, and in the third bullet as a transmission distance of 550 m

   Connector type

   LC — stated in the title as an LC interface. Whether that is a duplex pair or a single position is not published on the listing, and no bullet returns to the subject

   Wavelength

   850 nm — stated in the third bullet, in the same line as the distance

   Vendor coding stated

   Not published on the listing — the title claims compatibility with Cisco, Meraki, Ubiquiti and Mikrotik, and no coding, no part number and no module list is named against any of them. This is a switch maker’s own module, offered for other makers’ switches

   Operating temperature range

   Not published on the listing — the fourth bullet publishes a storage temperature of -40 to 85 °C, an operating humidity of 10 to 90 % relative and a storage humidity of 5 to 90 % relative, and never the temperature the module is meant to work at

   Amazon reference

   B001800S6M (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   1210002612036

   • Made by a switch maker, and the model designation in the title is that maker’s own catalogue number
   • Publishes a wavelength beside the distance, which is the pair a multimode reach claim needs
   • No operating temperature anywhere, on a page that finds room for two humidity ranges

   Best for: A short multimode run inside one building, into a switch that accepts third-party modules without argument.

   ≈ £22 / 17 €

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4. 

   GIQITCK 10GBASE-T copper SFP+ to RJ45, 30 m stated, Realtek controller named

   The cheaper of the two copper ten-gigabit modules here, sold with an unusually specific compatibility bullet that excludes two Cisco series by name and a cable requirement stated twice in two incompatible ways.

   Module form factor

   SFP+, called a mini-GBIC in the title — the ten-gigabit cage. The third bullet says it belongs in a 10Gb SFP+ port and names fibre switches, routers, network cards and servers as its hosts

   Module rate

   10 Gbps — stated in the title as 10GBASE-T and in the second bullet, which says the module supports a 10 Gbps rate

   Optical or copper medium

   Copper — stated in the title and in the second bullet, which calls it a 10G copper module with a copper RJ-45 plug

   Fibre type

   Not published on the listing, and a copper module has no fibre to qualify. What the second bullet names in its place is the cable, and it names it twice: Cat 6A, Cat 7 or Cat 8 in one sentence, then Cat 5e or better in the next. Both statements are printed, neither is withdrawn

   Stated reach

   Up to 30 m — stated in the title. No shorter distance is quoted against a lesser cable, which is what would normally reconcile the two cable statements

   Connector type

   RJ45 — stated in the title and in the second bullet as a copper RJ-45 plug

   Wavelength

   Not published on the listing, and copper has none. The nearest the page comes is the first bullet, which names a Realtek controller as the newest chip and credits it with a performance improvement

   Vendor coding stated

   Coded for Cisco SFP-10G-T-S, with the Cisco Nexus and Cisco Meraki series excluded by name in the same bullet; also named are Ubiquiti UF-RJ45-10G, Ubiquiti Networks, Netgear AXM765, DEM-440XT, Mikrotik, Supermicro and other open switches

   Operating temperature range

   Not published on the listing — no working range appears in any bullet. The fifth says instead that every module was checked one after another on various switches before shipping, and the sixth offers a thirty-day return, a two-year warranty and lifetime technical support

   Amazon reference

   B0DLG7WG35 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0717325593611

   • Names two switch series it will not work in, which no other listing on this shelf does
   • Quotes Cisco, Ubiquiti and Netgear part numbers rather than brand names alone
   • Two different cable requirements sit one sentence apart and neither is withdrawn

   Best for: A ten-gigabit copper run of up to 30 m into a switch on the named list, and specifically not into a Nexus or a Meraki.

   ≈ $25 / 28 €

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5. 

   10Gtek 10GBASE-T copper SFP+, 30 m stated, Marvell AQR113C named, 2.5 W draw

   The copper module that tells you what it costs in watts and where it gets too warm, and then prints ten maker names it will not work with — the only listing on this shelf that spends a bullet on its own limits.

   Module form factor

   SFP+ — stated in the title, and the first bullet asks that the transceiver be used in a 10G SFP+ port rather than a gigabit one

   Module rate

   10 Gb/s — stated in the first bullet as the data rate, and carried by the 10GBase-T designation in the title

   Optical or copper medium

   Copper — stated in the title, which calls it a copper transceiver with an RJ45 socket

   Fibre type

   Not published on the listing, and a copper module has no fibre to qualify. The second bullet names the cable instead: CAT.6a or CAT7 RJ45 cable, quoted in the same line as the reach

   Stated reach

   Up to 30 m — stated in the title and in the second bullet, in both cases against the Cat 6a or Cat 7 cable named beside it

   Connector type

   RJ45 — stated in the title as the socket the module presents

   Wavelength

   Not published on the listing, and copper carries none. The fifth bullet names the Marvell AQR113C PHY controller in its place and calls it the latest of its kind

   Vendor coding stated

   Compatibility is claimed for Cisco, Meraki, Ubiquiti except the US-48-500W, Mikrotik, Netgear, Zyxel, QNAP NAS, Synology, D-Link, TP-Link, Supermicro and other open switches. The fourth bullet then names ten makers it is not compatible with: HP-ProCurve, HP-H3C, HP-Aruba, Intel, Arista, Mellanox, Dell Force10, Extreme, Brocade and Juniper

   Operating temperature range

   Not published on the listing as a range — the fifth bullet states instead that the module can become hot in use because the integrated circuit draws 2.5 W, and recommends using it where the ambient temperature stays below 50 °C

   Amazon reference

   B01M8O3MAL (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0603149410633

   • The only listing here that publishes what the module draws, and says what that means in practice
   • Ten makers are named as incompatible, which is worth more than any list of the compatible ones
   • The thermal statement is an ambient recommendation, not the working range a datasheet would carry

   Best for: A ten-gigabit copper link in a cabinet with air actually moving through it, into a switch outside the ten makers this listing rules out.

   ≈ £31 / 36 €

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6. 

   QINIYEK 10GBASE-LR single-mode SFP+, 1310 nm, 10 km stated, four to a pack

   The only multi-module pack on this shelf, four ten-gigabit single-mode transceivers in one order, sold with the lowest published power draw here and a first bullet that manages to describe the same fibre two incompatible ways.

   Module form factor

   SFP+ — stated in the title, sold four to a pack, which no other listing on this shelf does

   Module rate

   10 G — stated in the first bullet as the data rate, and carried by the 10GBase-LR designation in the title

   Optical or copper medium

   Optical — the first bullet names a duplex LC connector and single-mode fibre, and the second lists the switch families it is coded against

   Fibre type

   Single-mode — SMF is stated in the title and in the first bullet. The same bullet then gives the 10 km reach as obtained with a multimode fibre cable, OS2. The two halves of that sentence do not agree; the rest of the listing — SMF, 1310 nm and the 10GBASE-LR designation — reads single-mode throughout, and the page never reconciles them

   Stated reach

   Up to 10 km — stated in the title and in the first bullet, in the same line as the fibre description that contradicts itself

   Connector type

   Duplex LC — stated in the first bullet as the interface, so each link uses two strands

   Wavelength

   1310 nm — stated in the title and in the first bullet

   Vendor coding stated

   Coded for Cisco SFP-10G-LR, Ubiquiti UF-SM-10G and Meraki MA-SFP-10GB-LR, with Mikrotik, D-Link, Supermicro, Netgear and other open switches named in the second bullet without part numbers

   Operating temperature range

   Not published on the listing — no range appears in any bullet. The third publishes a power consumption of less than one watt and low EMI in its place, and adds that every module is checked individually before packing

   Amazon reference

   B09X9RZFC7 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   0771077536357

   • Four modules in one pack, which is two complete links rather than one end of one
   • Under one watt, the lowest power figure published on this shelf
   • The first bullet calls the fibre multimode and SMF in a single sentence

   Best for: Two ten-gigabit single-mode links being built at once, or one link with spares, into switches whose module lists name the Cisco, Ubiquiti or Meraki part numbers quoted.

   ≈ $36 / £45 / 35 €

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7. 

   Elfcam matched pair of bidirectional 10G SFP+, SC simplex, OS2, 20 km stated

   The dearest listing on this shelf and the only one that ships a complete link: two bidirectional modules with their wavelengths already reversed, on SC connectors where everything else here uses LC or RJ45.

   Module form factor

   SFP+ — stated in the title, supplied as one pair of two modules rather than as a single transceiver

   Module rate

   10 Gbps, 2.5 Gbps and 1.25 Gbps — three rates stated in the second bullet, with 10 Gb, 2,5 Gb and 1,25 Gb also named in the title

   Optical or copper medium

   Optical — the first and second bullets name a single-mode simplex SC fibre port of 9/125 µm

   Fibre type

   Single-mode, 9/125 µm — stated in the title and again in the first, second and fourth bullets. The grade is given as OS2 in the title and in the first and fourth bullets, which makes this one of only two optical modules on this shelf to name a grade at all

   Stated reach

   Up to 20 km — given in the first bullet as 20 KM and in the fourth as a transmission distance of up to 20 km with a single-mode simplex 9/125 µm OS2 SC cable

   Connector type

   SC simplex — stated in the title and in the first bullet. It is the only SC module on this shelf; the other six take LC or RJ45

   Wavelength

   TX 1270 nm with RX 1330 nm on one module and TX 1330 nm with RX 1270 nm on the other — stated in the first and second bullets. That reversal is what makes the pair a pair, and it is the reason the two modules are not interchangeable with each other

   Vendor coding stated

   Coded for Cisco SFP-10G-BXD-I and SFP-10G-BXU-I — the downstream and upstream halves named separately — with Ubiquiti Networks UF-SM-10G-S, Huawei, D-Link, Ruijie and open switches added in the third bullet, which prints Huawei twice

   Operating temperature range

   Not published on the listing — no range appears in any bullet. The fifth offers a warranty and a repair service centre in Paris in its place, and the sentence that should give the warranty length has no number in it: it reads as a warranty period of years, with the figure missing

   Amazon reference

   B0DBLFC335 (same reference on 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   3701528726041

   • Two modules with the wavelengths already reversed, so a single-strand link is complete in one order
   • Names both halves of the Cisco bidirectional pair, downstream and upstream, by part number
   • The warranty sentence has a blank where its number should be

   Best for: A 20 km single-strand run on SC-terminated single-mode fibre, bought once with both ends of the link in the same box.

   ≈ $66 / £60 / 60 €

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