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Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs NetScaler comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 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

Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass
Ranking in Network Management Applications
24th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetScaler
Ranking in Network Management Applications
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (3rd), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 3.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NetScaler3.3%
Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass1.7%
Other95.0%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Karthikeyan Ravi - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President of Technology at Netcon Technologies India Private Limited
Has an automated feature for user onboarding and supports heterogeneous devices
We use the product for the automated onboarding of corporate users with secure network access. It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks. It allows us to control the devices, including posture, endpoint verification, validation, latest patching, and signatures The product’s most…
MP
Senior Data Center Engineer at Axians
Load balancing and secure access have supported complex migrations and automation at scale
NetScaler has positively impacted my organization because I work for a system integrator and deploy it for customers. Many customers are really happy with NetScaler, except for the pricing, as Citrix has changed a lot of their pricing in the last two or three years when they transitioned to Cloud Software Group. However, despite that, I know customers are really satisfied with the technical capabilities that NetScaler provides. While I do not have specific outcomes or metrics from my customers, I think using Core Logic has made it much easier for the big municipality I mentioned to implement NetScaler as a total solution, thus speeding up their automation. There are likely many benefits, but I lack benchmarks or timing figures to quantify that.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I think the best features are the user profiling and the BYOD facilities."
"It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks."
"With Netscaler, we have a solution divided in two data centers, a secure and unique point of access, and balanced traffic between all the critical components in the Citrix solutions."
"If you have a use case for an application controller for load balancing, web application firewall, or virtual infrastructure, you can straight away go for this solution."
"NetScaler is a very good solution to load balance the load off the application itself, from Citrix or from another solution."
"The most valuable features are the VDA Delivery, Gateway Fort, and the load balancing."
"The installation is simple for both manual configuration and automatic deployment."
"Citrix ADC is highly scalable; you can upgrade it and increase the bandwidth or add more security features, starting from the basic standard version up to the Platinum version."
"One feature that works really well is the SSL VPN. It's very easy to set up and you can go very granular with it. You can define what user groups get what kind of access and the management overhead is very low."
"For desktop application management, I recommend the NetScaler edition; this product is like a Swiss army knife and Citrix NetScaler ADC supports the education front-end."
 

Cons

"I think the solution would be greatly improved by adding application level visibility on the dashboard."
"There could be in-built end-to-end map integration features for IoT devices instead of using third-party tools."
"The solution has too many bugs in the software and it's always difficult when you need to update."
"The tool's pricing is a pain point since we have many cheaper alternatives."
"It should offer more flexible cost-effective licensing for small to medium sized organizations i.e. a pooled licensing option on entry level MPXs like 5901s."
"The support on the ADCs isn't that great and there's a lot of work required with upgrading plant environments because of security vulnerabilities that come to light."
"Citrix is more expensive than Horizon."
"We are looking for some in-depth monitoring and analytics and more information that Citrix Director doesn't provide."
"There are specific features that we like but are not available at our licensing level."
"I would like to see support for scripting, like "iRule", which gives you the option to implement any configuration which is not available out of the box."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is an expensive product compared to other vendors."
"You can do CapEx and then a yearly monthly fee, or you can do a subscription model, whether that's one month, month-to-month, or three-year subscription model."
"There isn't much of a difference between the cost of Citrix and that of other similar solutions."
"It is very pricey, but we get it. If you need the best, money shouldn't be a problem."
"The license for Citrix NetScaler is on an annual basis and it is reasonably priced."
"Regarding pricing, while it's expensive, I can't comment on the exact ROI without a budget analysis. However, in terms of service quality, it's worth the price."
"NetScaler does the same thing as an F5 and it's cheaper."
"Price-wise, I feel that the solution is a little bit expensive."
"Costly product and complicated licensing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise59
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What advice do you have for others considering Citrix NetScaler?
My advice to others looking into using NetScaler is simply to go use it. I give this product an overall rating of 8.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADM?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has revealed that the licensing recently changed to a plus model, which is manageable if you know what you are doing. However, the transition f...
What needs improvement with Citrix Web App and API Protection?
I think NetScaler can improve in pricing, and with the recent release of version 15.1, the successor to 14.1, there are claims of improved performance due to the kernel change. I believe that integ...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent ClearPass, ClearPass Policy Management System, ClearPass
Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall, NetScaler VPX - Customer Licensed
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blickle and Scherer, Loughborough University, CSF Inox, Caritas Speyer
ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs. NetScaler and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.