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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 February 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 24.6%, down from 26.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 1.3%, down from 1.8% 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 like the stability and the GUI, which is always improving."
"Aruba ClearPass has improved the security control in our network environment."
"The most valuable features of Aruba ClearPass are the GUI and its ease-to-do configuration. Additionally, we can troubleshoot many things in one window."
"Document authentications allows us to decide which users can connect to an office VLAN and this has been the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable feature, I would say, is the cost-effectiveness of the solution when compared to others."
"The most valuable features of Aruba ClearPass are its ease of use and the general network access controls."
"What I like most about Aruba ClearPass is that it has the best enforcement feature for the network. I also like its Guest Captive Portal and virtual security enforcement features, but the virtual security enforcement feature is still under testing by my company. Aruba ClearPass also has a wonderful UI which I find valuable."
"ClearPass is open to any operating system or mobile app."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"The installation is very straightforward."
"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 most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."
"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."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the support."
"If you look at the tool's deployment phase from a fine-tuning perspective, I feel it was very complex."
"The initial setup was quite complex, it is not that easy."
"ClearPass from Aruba is easier to understand compared to Cisco, which has more features but is more complicated. Cisco also has much more expensive prices, based on my checks."
"A more streamlined menu of licensing options would be helpful."
"They should include SMP functionalities."
"I found the internal authentication policy and user authentication problematic. I was facing issues with user authentication, but we eventually resolved these problems."
"Lacks the ability to handle more than one certificate for both the management process and the Captive Portal."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"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."
"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."
"Continuous development in specific areas might be required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is not bad and everything is included."
"The solution is costly."
"There is a license to use Aruba ClearPass."
"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 model for Aruba ClearPass is complex. Customers only pay for the license fees, with no additional costs."
"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."
"There are three types of licenses."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
"It is quite expensive."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

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: January 2025.
838,533 professionals have used our research since 2012.