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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

 

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)
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 May 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 18.5%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 2.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass18.5%
Sophos Network Access Control2.7%
Other78.8%
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

"What I like best about Aruba ClearPass is its 802.1X certificate-based authentication feature."
"The solution is highly stable."
"I have managed to transfer many customers from different NACs to Aruba ClearPass, even though they already had NAC implemented that was not Aruba ClearPass, because the service fee was much more expensive than buying Aruba ClearPass."
"Bringing mobile devices on to the network has been simplified and secured at the same time."
"The policy manager is the most valuable feature for us because it allows us to manage every client request in the way we want."
"Aruba has improved my organization because it supported me on my level of access."
"The customized modules for guests, the self-registration and login, one license for all, no license for guest users, and the self-integration of sandbox integration are the most valuable features."
"The continuous server and posturing are valuable."
"The return on our investment was huge, mostly due to the time saved in managing thousands of physical endpoints."
"There is really good visibility for the appliance."
"There is good documentation that helps to deploy a new wireless access point and a controller in a very easy way."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"The solution offers very good visibility."
"The solution offers very good visibility."
"Sophos Network Access Control has many valuable features: for access controls, MAC binding is available, the authentication page is useful, and continuous device assessments have a positive impact on our network security management."
"The system right now covers all my needs and it's very comfortable to work with."
 

Cons

"Aruba ClearPass has fewer deployment scenarios and flexibility than Forescout."
"For ClearPass Insight: it currently has low limits and a lot of use cases couldn’t be applied by the customer which required customization by the Aruba TAC."
"Reporting module has room for improvement. It also need integration with SIEM solutions and Next Generation Firewalls."
"The solution should be more precise for VMs and allow for management of the entire system."
"The policies are quite complex to set up."
"In the future, I would like to see plugins for AI and machine learning."
"If they try and do it on their own and try to figure things out, they are going to hate the solution because it's not built for them to figure things out on their own."
"ClearPass from Aruba is easier to understand compared to Cisco, which has more features yet is more complicated."
"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."
"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."
"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."
"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."
"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
"The difficult thing was finding the metrics."
"Endpoint and firewall synchronization is not as smooth as we are expecting from Sophos Network Access Control."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing model for Aruba ClearPass is complex. Customers only pay for the license fees, with no additional costs."
"I can say that the package or licensing model offered for the solution is a permanent one."
"There is a license to use 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."
"Licensing and pricing are extremely straightforward."
"Aruba ClearPass has permanent licenses. You purchase it one time and this license is yours. You don't need to refresh it for five years, et cetera. They have a couple of licenses for enabled features with not only one license."
"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten."
"In terms of your fixed cost, it is much less than a lot of other solutions in the market. The initial cost is very high."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
"It is quite expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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: April 2026.
896,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.