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Fortinet FortiNAC 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

Fortinet FortiNAC
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
3rd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
55
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 Fortinet FortiNAC is 18.8%, up from 15.8% 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

Boaz Katabazi - PeerSpot reviewer
Seamless device discovery with integration and discovery capabilities
FortiNAC is very good in terms of device discovery and integration. I appreciate the feature where it can connect with different vendor equipment, regardless of the network devices from other vendors. That's something I appreciate about it, particularly in terms of adaptability. Despite the complexity of its interface, its discovery capabilities are commendable.
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

"The users say that FortiNAC is configurable and easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiNAC is its integration with all other Fortinet solutions."
"FortiNAC is very good in terms of device discovery and integration."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is having visibility over the IoT devices on the network."
"The solution is good at giving a deep dive into each product. It tells you, for example, what is connected to the network. It gives us good reporting tools."
"It's a very good solution and one thing I have noted is its simplicity and the ease of the set-up process."
"When it works, it's great. It keeps things off the network which are supposed to be off the network."
"The support is excellent when I encounter a problem or need to implement a new product. The support team is always helpful and responsive."
"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 wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"The scalability of the system and the performance of the system and the solution's most valuable features."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"The platform's most valuable features include robust reporting and analytics capabilities, which provide deep insights into our sales performance and customer behavior."
 

Cons

"The user interface is quite complicated."
"There could be better integration with legacy equipment. It integrates perfectly with all Fortinet solutions, but if you look at other third-party integrations—not on the networking part; but more on the security infrastructure part—it's more limited."
"Its technical support needs improvement."
"Regarding vulnerabilities, one of the concerns is with the SSL VPN. Instead, I use another VPN that doesn't have the commonly exploited vulnerabilities."
"The training documentation needs to be more transparent."
"The tool's dashboard can have some more features and visibility options."
"I think the network devices need to give more information."
"I hope that Fortinet can add a feature with a remediation mechanism when you find a broken piece so that you can click on something and download the needed update or resolve the firewall issue more easily. Currently, we have to use an external remediation server to download updates."
"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."
"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."
"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"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."
"I would like more details on the incoming connection, like what is the download speed and how it fluctuates. If Sophos can give that information, it would be really good."
"Continuous development in specific areas might be required."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal with they offered better plugins for their firewall."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If one is bad and ten is good, I rate the product price as a seven out of ten."
"FortiNAC's price has gone up in the last year. However, compared to other solutions, such as Cisco ISE, it is cheaper."
"The solution is expensive. However, it is not as expensive as other solutions, such as Cisco ISE."
"The price of Fortinet FortiNAC is less than Cisco's solution. However, the price could improve by being reduced."
"It's a subscription-based license, which is based on the usage and number of concurrent users."
"I would rate the price of Fortinet FortiNAC seven out of ten with ten being the most expensive."
"The product itself is inexpensive, but the licensing is expensive."
"It is a reasonable product."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"It is quite expensive."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
34%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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 Fortinet FortiNAC?
The support responds to our queries within two to four hours.
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

FortiNAC, Bradford Networks, Bradford Networks Sentry, Network Sentry Family
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Isavia, Pepperdine University, Medical University of South Carolina, Columbia University Medical Center, Utah Valley University
Rushmoor Borough Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiNAC vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.