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Aruba ClearPass vs Fortinet FortiNAC comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
Aruba ClearPass secures data and reduces IT time, providing varied ROI by industry despite licensing challenges and costs.
Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiNAC boosts security, reduces costs and configuration time, offering financial benefits and substantial ROI with minimal post-sale support.
Using Aruba ClearPass has resulted in less engineering time compared to other products we've used.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Aruba ClearPass customer service is highly rated, though some users suggest improvements in response time and issue escalation.
Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiNAC support is responsive and helpful but criticized for slow responses, knowledge gaps, and lacking UK-based support.
Portnox is one level up, as their customer support is outstanding.
We have escalated questions to tech support, and I would rate the technical support an eight out of ten.
We have local support, so it's much easier.
They provide sessions to help with various questions.
They could do more to improve, not because of the product itself but because of the support they provide.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Aruba ClearPass is scalable, praised for modular growth, efficient in large deployments, and adaptable despite minor competitive gaps.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiNAC is generally scalable, flexible, suitable for enterprises, but user experiences vary due to licensing and integration challenges.
I believe the scalability of ClearPass is rated as ten out of ten.
In our environment, ClearPass handles up to 100,000 users, which is better than some other NAC solutions like Fortinox that scale up to 25,000.
Once the policy is defined, scaling works automatically and is fast.
The pricing model makes it challenging as the cost is substantial due to the per-node licensing model.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Aruba ClearPass is widely trusted for stability and reliability, with high performance ratings and quickly resolved issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiNAC's stability receives mixed reviews, with praises for improvements but concerns about initial issues and support challenges.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba ClearPass needs user interface and integration enhancements, improved support, better scalability, simplified administration, and refined licensing models.
Fortinet FortiNAC faces issues with integration, user interface, training, support, and network visibility, while being costly.
The language and policy enforcement mechanisms are not clear, making it difficult to use the product effectively.
I don't see any limitations in ClearPass.
It is also better to improve threat intelligence for built-in threat detection and prevention.
Improvement in the interface design would make FortiNAC a better solution.
The graphical user interface (GUI) of Fortinet FortiNAC is very poor compared to competitors like Forcepoint and Cisco ISE.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba ClearPass is considered costly with complex licensing, but many find its value justifies the expense compared to alternatives.
Fortinet FortiNAC offers competitive pricing with flexible licensing, good value, and affordability, especially in larger deployments.
Aruba ClearPass is a premium product with higher pricing, which seems unnecessary given its complexity.
Achieving the best price requires careful selection from a menu of licensing options.
We cannot mix in prices, and of course, prices are going higher.
Fortinet FortiNAC is relatively cheap compared to other solutions.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba ClearPass excels in flexible security features, integration, user-friendly management, network visibility, and supports multi-vendor environments cost-effectively.
Fortinet FortiNAC provides strong security with device visibility, seamless integration, user management, compliance checks, and effective reporting tools.
The ClearPass solution has reduced the amount of engineering time compared to previous solutions, making it more efficient for our purposes.
The most effective feature for us is the OnGuard feature.
I appreciate the feature where it can connect with different vendor equipment, regardless of the network devices from other vendors.
The main advantage of Fortinet FortiNAC is its integration with the entire Fortinet product portfolio.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba ClearPass
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
85
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiNAC
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 24.4%, down from 25.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiNAC is 18.8%, up from 15.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Abdelhamid Saber - PeerSpot reviewer
Secures the network with flexible controls and excellent support
We use Aruba ClearPass as a network access control solution. It prevents unauthorized access and allows access for users in the internal environment, performing checks and onboarding We use ClearPass to secure our environment. Before ClearPass, our environment wasn't as secure. The most…
Boaz Katabazi - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless device discovery with integration and discovery capabilities
FortiNAC is very good in terms of device discovery and integration. I appreciate the feature where it can connect with different vendor equipment, regardless of the network devices from other vendors. That's something I appreciate about it, particularly in terms of adaptability. Despite the complexity of its interface, its discovery capabilities are commendable.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Educational Organization
34%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?
Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...
What is the biggest difference between Aruba ClearPass and FortiNAC?
I've done quite a lot of work with ClearPass, and not a lot with FortiNAC/Bradford. ClearPass incorporates a number of different functions including ClearPass Guest for creating complex wireless g...
What do you like most about Aruba ClearPass?
If you are looking at the base installation, then it was a very straightforward process, which I would rate an eight or nine out of ten.
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiNAC?
The support responds to our queries within two to four hours.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiNAC?
I am not directly involved with pricing, but I know that Fortinet FortiNAC is relatively cheap compared to other solutions. Licensing is on a yearly basis.
 

Also Known As

Avenda eTIPS
FortiNAC, Bradford Networks, Bradford Networks Sentry, Network Sentry Family
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Isavia, Pepperdine University, Medical University of South Carolina, Columbia University Medical Center, Utah Valley University
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba ClearPass vs. Fortinet FortiNAC and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.