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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 August 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 17.5%, down from 24.3% 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 ClearPass17.5%
Sophos Network Access Control3.1%
Other79.4%
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

"Gives us network access control, visibility, scalability, security, and control in what is becoming an uncontrollable, inundated BYOD and IoT world."
"Aruba ClearPass is easy to manage and less complicated compared to other NAC solutions, which makes it valuable."
"The greatest feature in Aruba ClearPass, in my opinion, is its modularity and its openness to all vendors."
"One of the most valuable features of the solution is the maturity of the product and, of course, the functionality is also very good."
"All of the features work in concert to provide secure on-boarding for guests and bring-your-own-device users."
"I have managed to transfer many customers from different NACs to Aruba ClearPass, even though they already had NAC implemented that was not Aruba ClearPass, because the service fee was much more expensive than buying Aruba ClearPass."
"Aruba ClearPass is a solution I would highly recommend to others looking into implementing it because, in my experience, it's really easy to manage."
"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 role-based access controls feature of Sophos Network Access Control allows persons at different positions in an organization to have different types of roles."
"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 found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"There is really good visibility for the appliance."
"Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
"The scalability of the system and the performance of the system and the solution's most valuable features."
 

Cons

"What needs improvement in Aruba ClearPass is just the endpoint context server, in particular, the indication with the context server because sometimes the daily process isn't as smooth-sailing. Sometimes, the information isn't up-to-date. I'm not sure if that's a vendor limitation, but currently, it's the only tricky part of the current configuration. What I'd like to see in the next release of Aruba ClearPass is a dashboard or a monitoring feature that would allow users to see the integration process with an external server because there's no visibility into that right now."
"For future updates of Aruba ClearPass, I would like to see improvements to the GUI, and adding wizards for specific tasks would be helpful."
"The monitoring of Aruba ClearPass needs improvement."
"ClearPass isn't hard to set up, but it takes a long time."
"ClearPass Insight needs to be worked on. The functionality is not quite there yet."
"This solution could be improved by making it possible to use it across different territories. Currently, if a user moves from the US to the UK, their usage and access will be restricted."
"It was a complex solution to set up because of its newness."
"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 solution could offer more useful documentation."
"I'd like to see them include direct integration with Active Directory."
"Users are not controlled by role-based access; it's basically device-based control. The definition of role-based control is a little vague here because on the cloud level, it regulates access rather than tasks."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
"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."
"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."
"I would like more details on the incoming connection, like what is the download speed and how it fluctuates. If Sophos can give that information, it would be really good."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to the functionality, the pricing is very favorable. It's affordable and provides good value for the money."
"There is a license to use Aruba ClearPass."
"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."
"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten."
"​Cost is important. I switched because Aruba's costs were well below Cisco's."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. However, Cisco ISE was as expensive when we were comparing."
"Aruba ClearPass has permanent licenses. You purchase it one time and this license is yours. You don't need to refresh it for five years, et cetera. They have a couple of licenses for enabled features with not only one license."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"It is quite expensive."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
"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 very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
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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%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
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: August 2026.
908,402 professionals have used our research since 2012.