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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

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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 October 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 17.8%, down from 23.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 3.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass17.8%
Sophos Network Access Control3.1%
Other79.1%
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.
PS
System Administrator And Network Engineer at Vidyashilp University
Access control has strengthened security and central console management streamlines device oversight
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 misbehaving email from the network but is not connected to our network and uses a personal network instead, it becomes difficult to trace and identify which network the email is coming from. An inventory system should also be added in the future. Some antivirus solutions have inventory systems that provide all system details. Since we install the Sophos client on client machines, we could obtain details about which software is being used and what the configuration of the machines is. This information would be valuable, as some information was missing when I was using the product previously.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Aruba prefers the cloud deployment, yet you could also have it on your private cloud environment."
"It's very easy to access support and the documentation is self-explanatory."
"It provides a single access point and is highly available."
"This product helps the organization to perform the NAC concept and check the health of computers before granting them access to the network."
"As opposed to Cisco ISE and their tech act solution, hands down, Aruba is far better."
"Access Tracker is invaluable for troubleshooting access control incidents and quickly getting to the root cause."
"If you are looking for a NAC solution ClearPass is one of the best all in one solution it covers all authentication methods and has a large flexibility that can be easily customized to fit any scenario in any industry vertical."
"ClearPass's best feature is its comprehensiveness."
"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."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"The scalability of the system and the performance of the system and the solution's most valuable features."
"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."
"The product has the capabilities to satisfy all kinds of needs that a company may have, and you can find the right solution without spending a lot of money."
"Sophos' technical support is great, very fast and responsive, and they always know how to fix the problem."
"Sophos has helped us to save time and money and to better manage web activities. It has also helped us to reduce misuse of the network and restrict hacking attempts."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
 

Cons

"I remember our technical team stating that the installation front of the solution was a bit difficult when compared to other solutions."
"The policies are quite complex to set up."
"The product's graphical user interface (GUI) could use an update and better integration between the guest management and policy management interfaces."
"The licensing model can be frustrating. A more streamlined menu of licensing options would be helpful."
"ClearPass' interface could be more user-friendly."
"Aruba ClearPass has fewer deployment scenarios and flexibility than Forescout."
"There is room for improvement in the support."
"ClearPass Insight needs to be worked on. The functionality is not quite there yet."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal with they offered better plugins for their firewall."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"The difficult thing was finding the metrics."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"Sophos Network Access Control requires a lot of resources to work, which is an area for improvement. Pricing could also be improved because it's costly."
"Continuous development in specific areas might be required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven 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 pricing is not bad and everything is included."
"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."
"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't give the exact cost of Aruba ClearPass because that's handled by the purchasing team, but it's on the cheaper side, and on a scale of one to five, I'm rating the cost a four. Initially, the pricing for the solution is expensive in terms of deployment, but in the long term, for example, after more than five to ten years, the operational cost incurred by the company is quite affordable because you don't have to renew the license. It's a one-time purchase. My company only uses the standard license for Aruba ClearPass."
"There are three types of licenses."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Construction Company
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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: September 2026.
915,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.