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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 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

Aruba ClearPass
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
9th
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 September 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 17.5%, down from 23.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 3.1%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass17.5%
Sophos Network Access Control3.1%
Other79.4%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Darko Skurla - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Enterprise Customer Solutions Specialist at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Role-based policies have simplified secure access control for all users and smart devices
I do not know about the functionality of Aruba ClearPass integration with a third party. If you ask me if there is support for Zebra and for different IoT devices, they have it. However, I do not know how to describe integration with other products. Aruba ClearPass can act as a RADIUS server and it can connect to the domain RADIUS server, for example. The biggest problem is when a customer does not know what they want with Aruba ClearPass. I can recommend Aruba ClearPass to other users because it is very stable. My review rating for this product is ten out of ten.
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

"A lot of the issues in Forescout are mitigated in Aruba ClearPass, it supports all the expected protocols."
"As opposed to Cisco ISE and their tech act solution, hands down, Aruba is far better."
"The most valuable thing about Aruba ClearPass is ease of use for security policies, as it has a much better granular configuration on policies for security."
"Aruba ClearPass has complete NAC features."
"The advantage of Aruba is that it is open to any operating system or mobile app."
"This product helps the organization to perform the NAC concept and check the health of computers before granting them access to the network."
"It keeps your organization secure in many ways, has easy guest logins, tons of options to customize the portal page, and many other useful enterprise-level features."
"Aruba ClearPass is a very stable solution."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."
"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."
"There is good documentation that helps to deploy a new wireless access point and a controller in a very easy way."
"The return on our investment was huge, mostly due to the time saved in managing thousands of physical endpoints."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement would be the possibility of using social media providers for user authentication."
"The response from technical support can be very late. We have faced delays in the resolution of production issues after raising tickets, which impacts productivity."
"Aruba ClearPass needs significant improvement in being user-friendly. The configuration and overall use are not easily understandable."
"The policy management capabilities of Aruba ClearPass can be complicated for normal users, but for experienced users, it is quite straightforward."
"Aruba ClearPass could improve the complexity of the initial usage. It takes some time to be good at it. It's not simple to build and connect the rules to the network you want to deploy them on."
"I would like the area of managing wired technology to be improved. Wireless is very good but I'm still struggling a bit to do my end to end configurations in the wired technology area."
"There is scalability but it's linked to the licensing model and is quite inferior to other solutions like Cisco ISE or Macmon."
"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."
"Endpoint and firewall synchronization is not as smooth as we are expecting from Sophos Network Access Control."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"The solution could offer more useful documentation."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in pricing."
"Users are not controlled by role-based access; it's basically device-based control. The definition of role-based control is a little vague here because on the cloud level, it regulates access rather than tasks."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. When you want to build redundant systems it can be seen as necessary, so the enterprise will manage all of those costs."
"The solution is costly."
"The product is very costly."
"I can't give the exact cost of Aruba ClearPass because that's handled by the purchasing team, but it's on the cheaper side, and on a scale of one to five, I'm rating the cost a four. Initially, the pricing for the solution is expensive in terms of deployment, but in the long term, for example, after more than five to ten years, the operational cost incurred by the company is quite affordable because you don't have to renew the license. It's a one-time purchase. My company only uses the standard license for Aruba ClearPass."
"The licensing model is very straightforward. There are two types of licensing for Aruba ClearPass, a perpetual license, and a subscription. Both of them are straightforward. We don't need to read an ordering guide, it's very clear."
"The starting price of Aruba ClearPass is 200k Hong Kong dollars. The licensing is based on the endpoints. For example, 100 - 500 end points."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is too expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"There is a license to use Aruba ClearPass."
"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
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba ClearPass?
Compared to Cisco and others, the pricing is reasonable. Licensing costs are case-specific and have been manageable.
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

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: September 2026.
912,753 professionals have used our research since 2012.