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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

"Scalability is fine because it's batched upon endpoint devices, and licensing."
"The setup is simple."
"The most valuable feature of Aruba ClearPass is its ease of use and the GUI is user-friendly."
"The visibility and security features are most valuable. We get a clear view. It is a very secure product for educational institutions."
"What I like best about Aruba ClearPass is its 802.1X certificate-based authentication feature."
"Overall, Aruba ClearPass is a very good product, we feel very confident using it, and it is a product that I would recommend."
"The most valuable feature for us is its ability to provide clear authentication mechanisms to support multiple authentication requirements."
"ClearPass's best feature is its comprehensiveness."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
"The installation is very straightforward."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
"I think this is one of the best products I've discovered in the last few years."
"Sophos Network Access Control has many valuable features: for access controls, MAC binding is available, the authentication page is useful, and continuous device assessments have a positive impact on our network security management."
"Sophos Network Access Control is easy to implement, use, and manage, and I recommend it."
"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."
 

Cons

"I felt we did not get a return on investment."
"Aruba ClearPass could improve the user interface, it is a bit chunky."
"One a scale of one to five, I would give the scalability a three. It is not scalable enough."
"The setup of ClearPass can be a bit convoluted at times."
"The licensing model could be improved."
"There is scalability but it's linked to the licensing model and is quite inferior to other solutions like Cisco ISE or Macmon."
"I remember our technical team stating that the installation front of the solution was a bit difficult when compared to other solutions."
"I found the internal authentication policy and user authentication problematic. I was facing issues with user authentication, but we eventually resolved these problems."
"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."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting."
"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."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal with they offered better plugins for their firewall."
"The solution could offer more useful documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a licensing model."
"The product is very costly."
"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."
"Aruba is a little more expensive than other products in the market here."
"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten."
"The starting price of Aruba ClearPass is 200k Hong Kong dollars. The licensing is based on the endpoints. For example, 100 - 500 end points."
"Compared to the functionality, the pricing is very favorable. It's affordable and provides good value for the money."
"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."
"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."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"It is quite expensive."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
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.
903,871 professionals have used our research since 2012.