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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)
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 July 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Aruba ClearPass is 17.7%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 3.1%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Aruba ClearPass17.7%
Sophos Network Access Control3.1%
Other79.2%
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

"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."
"ClearPass prevents hackers from accessing the network, no one can get inside without authentication, it provides a lot of features we were missing, and it is incredibly powerful and stable."
"The initial setup was straightforward."
"It supports AAA and offers a range of features, including guest authentication for visitors and 802.1X authentication for employees. ClearPass provides options for customized authentication methods, such as SMS and social media authentication, which customers are effectively utilizing."
"Scalability is fine because it's batched upon endpoint devices, and licensing."
"We are mainly using Aruba ClearPass for our clients for securing access to their on-premise assets. As per customer expectations, we are trying our best to track the complete user activity in the network. This is the main and the core feature we require."
"Aruba Clearpass has a great set of networking securing features and, with its four modules policy manager, guests, onboard, and insight, it will give you the best NAC solution along with AAA, RADIUS, TACACS+ and BYOD features, which will help you to have a robust security on your network."
"We find that at the end of the projects we manage, all functionalities perform quite well, we've tested it a lot and find it to be overall a very good solution, excellent in terms of securing local networks for our clients."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
"Sophos has helped us to save time and money and to better manage web activities. It has also helped us to reduce misuse of the network and restrict hacking attempts."
"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"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."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."
"The initial setup is very easy."
"We get full visibility into the network as a product, which is one of the key features of the product because recently they have acquired another product called Secure Wave, which is integrated into Sophos Network Access Control and provides advanced capabilities for managed detection and remediation, MDR, a major plus for customers."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement would be the possibility of using social media providers for user authentication."
"The solution needs to upgrade its user interface. Right now, it's not so user friendly, and it's an aspect that my clients' wish was improved upon."
"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."
"ClearPass isn't hard to set up, but it takes a long time."
"Some functions could be improved."
"The product's graphical user interface (GUI) could use an update and better integration between the guest management and policy management interfaces."
"I would like for Aruba to make it easier to configure. They could integrate the different engines (Policy Manager, Guest, Onboard) into one single product."
"Configuration should be more easy to understand between the link of two topics."
"In order to provide better management, it would be ideal with they offered better plugins for their firewall."
"Sometimes we encounter intermediate-level support staff who use trial-and-error approaches, but sometimes we receive support from excellent staff members who resolve issues within seconds."
"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."
"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"I would like to be able to fully customize the reports."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"In Indonesia, there are a lot of false positives. For example, many websites from our government and local industries are blocked by the IPS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is quite expensive. I rate its pricing a seven out of ten."
"The starting price of Aruba ClearPass is 200k Hong Kong dollars. The licensing is based on the endpoints. For example, 100 - 500 end points."
"The pricing is not bad and everything is included."
"The solution has a licensing model."
"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."
"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."
"​Cost is important. I switched because Aruba's costs were well below Cisco's."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. However, Cisco ISE was as expensive when we were comparing."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"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."
"It is quite expensive."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Government
6%
 

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: June 2026.
904,899 professionals have used our research since 2012.