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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Ping Identity Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Identity Services Engine enhances security, simplifies operations, and reduces costs while boosting productivity and ensuring regulatory compliance.
Sentiment score
5.3
Ping Identity Platform simplifies identity management, lowers IT overhead, enhances security, improves efficiency, boosts satisfaction, and offers scalability.
Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
We also save money because we increased security, stopped incidents, and reduced breaches and security breaches.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco ISE support is highly rated for knowledge and responsiveness but struggles with response times and communication challenges.
Sentiment score
6.3
Ping Identity Platform offers responsive, knowledgeable support with some portal confusion; ratings typically range from six to eight.
I rate the technical support as one out of ten.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Cisco support has pretty good teams for support and every time we had good answers and we could somehow solve the issues we had.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
TAC support from Cisco is a notable feature; it provides very professional support.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
I have reached out to technical support for troubleshooting SAML certificate mismatches and federated errors between Ping and enterprise apps.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco ISE supports smooth scalability for diverse enterprises, but virtualization and hardware challenges may require strategic solutions.
Sentiment score
7.2
Ping Identity Platform efficiently scales for diverse users, featuring adaptable environments, clustering, and load balancing for seamless performance.
You can run an all-in-one deployment and switch to distributed mode as your company grows, relying on Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to support your scalability needs.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
However, you can have some latency issues depending on where your devices are.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ISE is stable and reliable, but large deployments may face challenges, requiring proper configuration and effective support.
Sentiment score
7.8
Ping Identity Platform is stable, generally rated 8-10/10, with minor issues in integrations and external dependencies.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The stability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is poor for certain use cases, like authentication.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes when we have upgrades or failovers with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), we had some minor issues.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE is hindered by complexity, compatibility issues, costly licensing, and needs improvements in usability, support, and performance.
Ping Identity Platform needs improvements in biometrics, integration, cloud capabilities, user interface, and documentation for better security and flexibility.
The whole setup works well with Cisco access points and Cisco switches, but when you have multiple vendors in the environment, such as HP switches or access points like Aruba, you'll find they will not work well with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE).
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Pricing can be more expensive compared to other vendors, and there is a significant price gap observed, which doesn't seem justified by some specific features.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
I would like to enable ServiceNow Generative AI for auto-diagnosing PingFederate SSO failures and suggest remediation steps.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
Ping Identity Platform has multiple products for access management, identity management, a solution for API security, a solution for authorization, and a product for identity verification.
VP Engineering at Inspirit Vision
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, with strong vendor partnerships needed for discounts, favoring large enterprises over smaller businesses.
Ping Identity Platform offers competitive, subscription-based pricing, ideal for large enterprises but less suitable for smaller companies.
Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.
Solution Architect, Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The license costs can range between $50,000 to $100,000 per year for enterprises.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.
Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ISE excels in security, network access control, and integration, offering adaptability, scalability, and centralized management for organizations.
Ping Identity Platform offers customizable authentication, robust security features, and seamless integration for diverse client needs and device management.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.
Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions
There is value because it helps us secure the network and prevents certain things from happening which could cause financial loss.
Ag Systems & Networks Head at UNBS
The adaptability of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) policy enforcement can fit to the site we have depending on which kind of devices we have on site and then the needs for authentication, granting access and then assigning each device into its correct network for segmentation.
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
The platform enhances security measures by analyzing multi-factor authentication attempts, highlighting suspicious patterns, and generating compliance reports.
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
It's a converged platform which can do both identity management, access management, and recently they are bringing privilege management capability as well.
VP Engineering at Inspirit Vision
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
145
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (2nd), Cisco Security Portfolio (4th)
Ping Identity Platform
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (4th), Authentication Systems (7th), Data Governance (9th), Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (5th), Access Management (3rd), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (3rd), Directory Servers (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Ping Identity Platform aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is designed for Network Access Control (NAC) and holds a mindshare of 22.4%, down 28.3% compared to last year.
Ping Identity Platform, on the other hand, focuses on Authentication Systems, holds 3.6% mindshare, up 3.6% since last year.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)22.4%
Aruba ClearPass21.6%
Fortinet FortiNAC16.1%
Other39.9%
Network Access Control (NAC)
Authentication Systems Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Ping Identity Platform3.6%
Microsoft Entra ID8.2%
Cisco Duo5.3%
Other82.9%
Authentication Systems
 

Featured Reviews

NF
Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis
Has improved authentication management and simplified visitor network access
The log capacity in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced because today natively on the ISE can only have a look at the logs from the day before. You cannot search into the oldest logs; you have to use another tool for that. This can be blocking if you don't have any log consolidation solution. To do a search for an issue or something that happened two days ago, you cannot search directly in there. The capacity of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could be enhanced. Something between one week and one month for the log capacity would be nice.
SV
Senior ServiceNow Developer at Wells Fargo
Generative AI automates access reviews and provides workflow efficiencies
I work with Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), IT Service Management (ITSM), and Customer Service Management (CSM) modules of ServiceNow. My project is related to cybersecurity. I have touched on generative AI and integrations like SOAP APIs. I have used the Ping Identity Platform for seamless…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
22%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise91
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise20
 

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 are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
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 PingID?
The mobile biometric authentication option improved user experience. It's always about security because, with two-factor authentication, it's always a separate device verifying the actual user logg...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PingID?
The pricing is neither too expensive nor too cheap.
What needs improvement with PingID?
The management console needs to be improved. PingID should revise it.
 

Also Known As

Cisco ISE
Ping Identity (ID), PingFederate, PingAccess, PingOne, PingDataGovernance, PingDirectory, OpenDJ
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
Equinix, Land O'Lakes, CDPHP, Box, International SOS, Opower, VSP, Chevron, Truist, Academy of Art University, Northern Air Cargo, Repsol
Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: December 2025.
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