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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Portnox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances security, simplifies operations, and reduces costs while boosting productivity and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Sentiment score
4.8
Portnox CORE improved network visibility, security, and efficiency, reducing costs and enhancing decision-making through detailed analytics and automated features.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
We also save money because we increased security, stopped incidents, and reduced breaches and security breaches.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
If you were moving from a traditional on-premise NAC that was 100% managed by the IT department, there would be great savings in going to a cloud-based NAC with Portnox.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco ISE support is highly rated for knowledge and responsiveness but struggles with response times and communication challenges.
Sentiment score
6.7
Portnox customer service is responsive, but needs improvement in local support, ticketing, and technical training for better service.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
TAC support from Cisco is a notable feature; it provides very professional support.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
The main area needing improvement is the technical knowledge of support staff.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
They respond very immediately and provide detailed, amazing support.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I was seeing weird things, and they were able to explain things to me and help me quickly find a resolution.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco ISE supports smooth scalability for diverse enterprises, but virtualization and hardware challenges may require strategic solutions.
Sentiment score
7.5
Portnox is highly scalable and flexible, efficiently supporting many endpoints with its adaptable cloud-based licensing model.
You can run an all-in-one deployment and switch to distributed mode as your company grows, relying on Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to support your scalability needs.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is stable and reliable, but large deployments may face challenges, requiring proper configuration and effective support.
Sentiment score
7.5
Portnox is stable but CORE faces issues; improved communication and support are needed, especially during updates and for older versions.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
The product itself is available and its uptime is 100%.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In the four years that I used Portnox, if it crashed or the server crashed, that would not have been more than once.
Information Technology System Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
If there is a version one and another version, the communication between the organization using it and Portnox should be firm so they can coordinate effectively.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE is hindered by complexity, compatibility issues, costly licensing, and needs improvements in usability, support, and performance.
Portnox should optimize licensing, integration, UI, partner training, support hours, Wi-Fi integration, and resolve cloud authentication delays.
The whole setup works well with Cisco access points and Cisco switches, but when you have multiple vendors in the environment, such as HP switches or access points like Aruba, you'll find they will not work well with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Ideally, we should be able to search for any MAC address in the database, regardless of its authentication status, to see all its associated groups and potential conflicts.
President at TrackerSoft
When I'm doing filtering at times, it doesn't filter the items properly.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They don't have much support during Asia Pacific hours.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, with strong vendor partnerships needed for discounts, favoring large enterprises over smaller businesses.
Portnox pricing is considered balanced, offering scalable licenses, with mixed reactions to subscription-only plans and varying regional costs.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
If you compare Portnox with all other well-known standard products, it is the cheapest.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The pricing is a bit high, possibly due to the cloud features and running instances across regions like the US, Asia, and Europe.
President at TrackerSoft
You are charged according to the number of users.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ISE excels in security, network access control, and integration, offering adaptability, scalability, and centralized management for organizations.
Portnox offers scalable, intuitive network management with seamless integration and security compliance for efficient endpoint management and visibility.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
The adaptability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policy enforcement can fit to the site we have depending on which kind of devices we have on site and then the needs for authentication, granting access and then assigning each device into its correct network for segmentation.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
It's notable how Portnox has improved operational efficiency.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is a very robust application because three teams use that part: the network team, the security team, and the support people.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is very easy to implement on our current network hardware.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
145
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Portnox
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (11th), Passwordless Authentication (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is 22.4%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portnox is 5.5%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)22.4%
Portnox5.5%
Other72.1%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Has improved authentication management and simplified visitor network access
The log capacity in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced because today natively on the ISE can only have a look at the logs from the day before. You cannot search into the oldest logs; you have to use another tool for that. This can be blocking if you don't have any log consolidation solution. To do a search for an issue or something that happened two days ago, you cannot search directly in there. The capacity of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced. Something between one week and one month for the log capacity would be nice.
Scott Kerr - PeerSpot reviewer
President at TrackerSoft
It is seamless and integrates well with our Azure setup
We use devices like PLCs and controllers, and when we receive a request to allow one on the network, we bypass typical authentication, associate it with a group account, and push it to a firewalled VLAN. However, problems arise when the same MAC address is requested for a different project. Our current system only finds authenticated MAC addresses, making it difficult to troubleshoot when the same device is used for multiple purposes. Ideally, we should be able to search for any MAC address in the database, regardless of its authentication status, to see all its associated groups and potential conflicts.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

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 are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
What do you like most about Portnox CORE?
It's easy to manage and troubleshoot thanks to the lightweight components.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Portnox CORE?
It's not cheap. It's not expensive. It's in the middle, so I'll probably give it a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Portnox CORE?
We have been having some issues with it. That's why we're considering migrating to Portnox Clear due to some limitations with CORE. At the end of the day, Portnox Clear's capabilities are much more...
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Portnox and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.