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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)
7th
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 June 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 18.0%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 3.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass18.0%
Sophos Network Access Control3.0%
Other79.0%
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

"It is a robust product."
"ClearPass is the best Network Access Control Swiss army knife out there right now."
"What I like best about Aruba ClearPass is its 802.1X certificate-based authentication feature."
"Aruba ClearPass is very flexible and you can implement any complex solution, so I can say that this is the best solution on the market."
"The product's policy management capabilities enable precise control over user access and device compliance."
"I like the integration options with a multitude of other vendors and Aruba applications."
"ClearPass offers a complete NAC solution including standard AAA functions with advanced policy enforcements for multi-vendor wired and wireless networks."
"All of the features work in concert to provide secure on-boarding for guests and bring-your-own-device users."
"The installation is very straightforward."
"We get full visibility into the network as a product, which is one of the key features of the product because recently they have acquired another product called Secure Wave, which is integrated into Sophos Network Access Control and provides advanced capabilities for managed detection and remediation, MDR, a major plus for customers."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"The return on our investment was huge, mostly due to the time saved in managing thousands of physical endpoints."
"Sophos Network Access Control saves our clients time and money."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
 

Cons

"Aruba ClearPass has a complex pricing scheme, so that's an area for improvement. The process for setting up Aruba ClearPass also needs improvement. It could be easier."
"I can't think of an area where the solution is lacking a feature or a capability."
"It should be clearer in the pre-sales stage that clear, documented, executive-supported InfoSec policy is the key to success."
"There is room for improvement in terms of scalability."
"I would like to see is “AAS”. Not only Aruba APs with central, but NAC/ClearPass, AirWave, and everything licensed as a Service. This way, like AWS, they can spin up what they need when they need it and vice versa."
"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."
"I would like for Aruba to make it easier to configure. They could integrate the different engines (Policy Manager, Guest, Onboard) into one single product."
"The product's technical support services need improvement."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"Sometimes we encounter intermediate-level support staff who use trial-and-error approaches, but sometimes we receive support from excellent staff members who resolve issues within seconds."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"Continuous development in specific areas might be required."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"What needs to be improved on is the fact that Sophos consumes a lot of processor resources and, once it starts scanning, the RAM utilization is very high."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost for Aruba ClearPass is a bit expensive. Its pricing could be better. The license costs around $125,000 for the perpetual license and support for one year. Aruba can give you a license with five thousand endpoint access and one thousand five hundred onboard licenses on one hundred endpoints and two controllers."
"I can say that the package or licensing model offered for the solution is a permanent one."
"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 is affordable. In Lebanon, companies are small, and they do not have a big budget. They cannot invest a lot of money, and Aruba ClearPass is quite affordable for them."
"Aruba is a little more expensive than other products in the market here."
"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."
"The licensing model is very straightforward. There are two types of licensing for Aruba ClearPass, a perpetual license, and a subscription. Both of them are straightforward. We don't need to read an ordering guide, it's very clear."
"Compared to the functionality, the pricing is very favorable. It's affordable and provides good value for the money."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"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."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
University
6%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
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.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.