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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Aruba ClearPass
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 17.7%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 3.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass17.7%
Sophos Network Access Control3.1%
Other79.2%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Darko Skurla - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Enterprise Customer Solutions Specialist at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Role-based policies have simplified secure access control for all users and smart devices
I do not know about the functionality of Aruba ClearPass integration with a third party. If you ask me if there is support for Zebra and for different IoT devices, they have it. However, I do not know how to describe integration with other products. Aruba ClearPass can act as a RADIUS server and it can connect to the domain RADIUS server, for example. The biggest problem is when a customer does not know what they want with Aruba ClearPass. I can recommend Aruba ClearPass to other users because it is very stable. My review rating for this product is ten out of ten.
HirenPatel2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at rspl
Have faced delays in support despite strong multi-layer policy configuration
I have observed some disadvantages as we have experienced one particular problem. We were facing an issue of synchronization of the endpoint with our firewall with help on a cloud for heartbeat syncing. However, it was not syncing as per our requirement. The user has to connect our firewall with the help of VPN. We were supposed to assume a solution on a cloud, which has good synchronization on a cloud with Sophos Central. It will sync with our firewall as well with the help of Sophos Central. Endpoint and firewall synchronization is not as smooth as we are expecting from Sophos Network Access Control. We have to connect with VPN. We are expecting that if we have already installed an endpoint on our system and it is connected to the internet, then it must be synchronized on a cloud with Sophos Central. Through Sophos Central, it must connect with our firewall. If the endpoint is configured on Sophos Central and the firewall is also configured in Sophos Central, then there should be no need to connect to VPN.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ClearPass is one of the best solutions we have ever worked with; it is very stable and secure, and it has a lot of features that an institution can benefit from."
"Whatever we have thought can be done, they have done it."
"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."
"ClearPass prevents hackers from accessing the network, no one can get inside without authentication, it provides a lot of features we were missing, and it is incredibly powerful and stable."
"It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It is a robust product."
"We are mainly using Aruba ClearPass for our clients for securing access to their on-premise assets. As per customer expectations, we are trying our best to track the complete user activity in the network. This is the main and the core feature we require."
"ClearPass is the best Network Access Control Swiss army knife out there right now."
"The solution offers very good visibility."
"The biggest advantage of Sophos Network Access Control is that it is very synchronized with the security on both the endpoint and the firewall on a single platform, and it is easy to maintain."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"There is really good visibility for the appliance."
"The role-based access controls feature of Sophos Network Access Control allows persons at different positions in an organization to have different types of roles."
"Sophos Network Access Control is easy to implement, use, and manage, and I recommend it."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
 

Cons

"It would be good if ClearPass made it a SaaS solution."
"ClearPass from Aruba is easier to understand compared to Cisco, which has more features but is more complicated. Cisco also has much more expensive prices, based on my checks."
"They need to improve the wizard to make things easier to manage."
"The main issue I have seen with Aruba ClearPass is specific integration with Juniper firewalls, and this is definitely something I would like to see in the future."
"Customer service was 2/10 - it was very difficult to find the correct assistance."
"The user interface could be more polished and modern. It would be useful to have more options for automation."
"In my opinion, the price of Aruba ClearPass could be better."
"One area for improvement would be the possibility of using social media providers for user authentication."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting."
"I would like to be able to fully customize the reports."
"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
"Sophos Network Access Control could be improved by having an ASIC chip similar to FortiNAC, as this would provide better processing for big organizations."
"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal with they offered better plugins for their firewall."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are three types of licenses."
"In terms of your fixed cost, it is much less than a lot of other solutions in the market. The initial cost is very high."
"The pricing model for Aruba ClearPass is complex. Customers only pay for the license fees, with no additional costs."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. However, Cisco ISE was as expensive when we were comparing."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. When you want to build redundant systems it can be seen as necessary, so the enterprise will manage all of those costs."
"We pay an annual licensing fee for Aruba and there are no additional costs."
"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is too expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"It is quite expensive."
"Sophos Network Access Control is costly but has a similar price range as CrowdStrike and Check Point. The product can get more market share if Sophos can play around with Sophos Network Access Control pricing and improve it."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba ClearPass?
Compared to Cisco and others, the pricing is reasonable. Licensing costs are case-specific and have been manageable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Network Access Control?
The pricing of Sophos Network Access Control is good, but it is somewhat high.
What needs improvement with Sophos Network Access Control?
In my opinion, one feature that should be added is the ability to trace emails from individuals who change their IP address or send misbehaving emails from alternative networks. If someone sends a ...
What is your primary use case for Sophos Network Access Control?
Sophos Network Access Control serves primary use cases for both networking purposes and security purposes.
 

Also Known As

Avenda eTIPS
No data available
 

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
Rushmoor Borough Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba ClearPass vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
906,887 professionals have used our research since 2012.