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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control 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:
 

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
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
20
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 Sophos Network Access Control is 1.4%, down from 1.7% 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…
Abdul  Basit - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable solution that provides web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering
Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting. Big companies with 1,000 or 1,500 users might face difficulties using…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I recommend Aruba ClearPass. It is more flexible, stable, and easy to redeploy compared to ISE or FortiNAC."
"Authentication capabilities are one of the most valuable features."
"A lot of the issues in Forescout are mitigated in Aruba ClearPass, it supports all the expected protocols."
"Aruba ClearPass is a simple solution for customers to see what is happening on their network."
"Aruba ClearPass is feature-rich and fairly straightforward to implement."
"It has an easy to learn web GUI and ​command lines.​"
"ClearPass prevents hackers from accessing the network. No one can get inside without authentication. It provides a lot of features we are missing. It's incredibly powerful and stable."
"The customized modules for guests, the self-registration and login, one license for all, no license for guest users, and the self-integration of sandbox integration are the most valuable features."
"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."
"The platform's most valuable features include robust reporting and analytics capabilities, which provide deep insights into our sales performance and customer behavior."
"What Sophos has done is integrate almost the entire OSI layer infrastructure. It gives me visibility across my infrastructure. It gives me visibility into all the mobile devices that are on my network and into the security I have on those mobile devices."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The scalability of the system and the performance of the system and the solution's most valuable features."
"There is really good visibility for the appliance."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
 

Cons

"We cannot onboard IoT devices such as printers, cameras, and some smaller devices."
"ClearPass' interface could be more user-friendly."
"I would like the area of managing wired technology to be improved. Wireless is very good but I'm still struggling a bit to do my end to end configurations in the wired technology area."
"Aruba ClearPass could improve when it comes to troubleshooting, it can be difficult. Some advanced problems are difficult."
"The product's technical support services need improvement."
"After HP, their support is the worst."
"A more streamlined menu of licensing options would be helpful."
"The interface could be made easier and more intuitive."
"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."
"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"There is room for improvement in pricing."
"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."
"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"One area in which the product could be improved is the user interface. While functional, it can be somewhat cluttered and unintuitive, especially for new users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is costly."
"​Cost is important. I switched because Aruba's costs were well below Cisco's."
"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten."
"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."
"Compared to the functionality, the pricing is very favorable. It's affordable and provides good value for the money."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. However, Cisco ISE was as expensive when we were comparing."
"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."
"There are three types of licenses."
"It is quite expensive."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
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.
What do you like most about Sophos Network Access Control?
Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Network Access Control?
I am not able to say much on the financial specifics as it pertains to the sales unit.
What needs improvement with Sophos Network Access Control?
For now, I may not be able to say exactly what needs improvement. However, continuous development in specific areas might be required.
 

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: April 2025.
847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.