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Forescout Platform vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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

Forescout Platform
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
IoT Security (4th), Endpoint Compliance (3rd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (18th)
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
7th
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 April 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Forescout Platform is 10.3%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 2.3%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Forescout Platform10.3%
Sophos Network Access Control2.3%
Other87.4%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

AshishKumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Comprehensive visibility has strengthened endpoint control and automated threat response across networks
When it comes to improving Forescout Platform, I have faced some issues recently, particularly with the switch integration part. When integrating a switch, it asks for the vendor type, and often it does not match. For example, one series of HP switches may not be found in that vendor list. This leads to frustration because you have to check again with different HP models, and once you integrate a switch, you cannot edit the vendor list without removing it. Other issues are being worked on, particularly related to switch integration. I believe they will be fixed in the next upgrade or patch fix. There are no major issues, but the configuration changes needed for the switch model are necessary, and I think it would help if during integration, an admin user could check the password or credential used, as they currently cannot see the password after it is entered and saved.
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

"The virtual firewall available on this solution is great and assists us in securing our servers, and the threat prevention feature provides complete visibility, making it very helpful in detecting, blocking, and monitoring heavy scanning on the system."
"With Forescout we can get a detailed view of every device that attaches or tries to attach to our network."
"We use it to prevent malicious activities on our network that potentially infiltrate it."
"The actions that the agentless visibility, allow us to perform on the endpoint, are really amazing, especially in the way that it is done."
"Forescout is easy to integrate with a lot of end systems."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of deployment, which does not require the use of an agent."
"It gives us a clear initial and secondary view of what's happening on our network to determine its health."
"The scalability is good."
"Sophos' technical support is great, very fast and responsive, and they always know how to fix the problem."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"There is really good visibility for the appliance."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"I think this is one of the best products I've discovered in the last few years."
"Sophos Network Access Control saves our clients time and money."
"The return on our investment was huge, mostly due to the time saved in managing thousands of physical endpoints."
 

Cons

"First and foremost, that information is not accessible."
"The console is a fat client, and a web interface would be preferable."
"Maybe the licensing and cost can be improved."
"The solution could always improve by adding more features to make it more robust."
"The biggest disadvantage is the pricing."
"In terms of technical support, their engineering team is very rigid."
"Forescout Platform could improve the integration or compatibility with other solutions, such as Chinese-made and other market solutions; they do not have any integration with H3C, RUCKUS Switching, Lenovo, CommScope, IBM Switching, etc., and they do not have integration with new solutions in the market."
"Forescout Platform sometimes returns false positives, so there's some fine-tuning to be done there."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal if they offered better plugins for their firewall."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
"The difficult thing was finding the metrics."
"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."
"Endpoint and firewall synchronization is not as smooth as we are expecting from Sophos Network Access Control."
"The solution could offer more useful documentation."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Forescout Platform is too expensive, so the price should be reduced."
"The cost of the solution depends on the customer's requirement because the customer is asking for different integration with a different product. Forescout Platform's price would start to get a bit higher. However, overall the price is a little expensive. It's can fit within the customer budget."
"We went with the virtual appliance option. The biggest cost to running these types of appliances would be to either have multiple virtual appliances at every data center or running Remote SPAN hardware to provide you the real-time network visibility."
"I would rate Forescout Platform's pricing as four out of five."
"The tool's pricing is expensive but reasonable."
"5,000 user licenses will cost you between seven and eight million dollars, compared to 20 million for Aruba."
"The solution’s pricing is fine."
"We need to pay for integration for each integration that we want to do and there is an additional license fee. This adds more costs. It is not something that anyone can afford. If you want to integrate this with a lot of other tools, it can be costly."
"It is quite expensive."
"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."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
7%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
Forescout is a very powerful NAC product that does not rely on port level configuration. It can detect and block unauthorized devices very quickly. But it has a lot of capabilities and really would...
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I would rate the Forescout Device and Visibility Control Platform at a six out of ten.
What advice do you have for others considering Forescout Platform?
I recommend doing a compression demo. If people use it, they will buy it. So they have to see the product in place. That's the main recommendation is to do a proof of concept. If they do, they will...
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

Forescout Platform, CounterACT for Endpoint Compliance, ForeScout CounterACT
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

NHS Sussex, SAP, SEGA, Vistaprint, Miami Children's Hospital, Pioneer Investments, New York Law School, OmnicomGroup, Meritrust
Rushmoor Borough Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Forescout Platform vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
885,880 professionals have used our research since 2012.