Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs Tenable Security Center comparison

The compared Cisco and Tenable solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco is ranked #2 in NAC , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 22.4% mindshare in the category. Tenable is ranked #2 in RBVM , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 9.0% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Tenable users who would recommend it.

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

Read 145 Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) reviews

15,135 Views
9,838 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Tenable Security Center

Read 56 Tenable Security Center reviews

7,525 Views
3,537 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco Identity Services Eng...

Tenable Security Center

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Tenable Security Center based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC).

To learn more, read our detailed Network Access Control (NAC) Report (Updated: January 2026).

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Network Access Control (NAC)

January 2026

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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

6.5

Tenable Security Center boosts ROI by minimizing costs, enhancing security, reducing manpower needs, and preventing costly data breaches.

Direct comparisons with Forescout reveal up to 30% to 40% difference in cost savings.

SunilkumarNaganuri

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.

Mohamed Fouad

Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

If we cannot adjust how to operate the solution, then it becomes very difficult, so hearing and initial tuning are very important.

Hiroshi Watanabe

Marketing Expert at J's communication

Through the use of Tenable Security Center, my clients achieve more efficient patching and gain visibility and understanding of security operations, leading to improved resilience and infrastructure insight.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

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

7.4

Tenable Security Center customer support is responsive and knowledgeable, with U.S. support rated higher than the European counterpart.

I rate the technical support as one out of ten.

SunilkumarNaganuri

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.

NicolasFigaro

Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis

TAC support from Cisco is a notable feature; it provides very professional support.

Mohamed Fouad

Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

Longer response times and less thorough assistance.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

They are helpful and were very helpful to us, coordinating with us on several issues.

reviewer1534134

Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

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

8.0

Tenable Security Center is praised for its seamless scalability, adaptability, and integration, accommodating diverse organizational needs and sizes effectively.

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.

Mohamed Fouad

Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions

Factors like architecture, business nature, and legal limitations such as GDPR affect it.

SunilkumarNaganuri

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.

NicolasFigaro

Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

I can scale it extensively with the use of agents, allowing scanning in restrictive environments and loosely connected devices.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

Scalability is a bit limited with Tenable Security Center.

Kevin Mwangi

Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

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

8.0

Tenable Security Center is highly stable and reliable, handling large tasks efficiently with users rating its stability highly.

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is considered very reliable and stable.

reviewer2590572

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.

SunilkumarNaganuri

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.

NicolasFigaro

Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

The stability of the solution is outstanding.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

Room For Improvement

Cisco ISE is hindered by complexity, compatibility issues, costly licensing, and needs improvements in usability, support, and performance.

Users desire improved reporting, third-party integration, interface design, vulnerability handling, web scanning, pricing, support, and user-friendly features.

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).

Jeremiah Ngure

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.

reviewer2590572

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.

SunilkumarNaganuri

Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

It's important for Tenable to catch up on testing capabilities that are present in solutions like Qualys.

Kevin Mwangi

Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

The reports and plugins for reports and scans could benefit from enhancements.

MB24

IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees

Translating reports into European languages is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

Setup Cost

Cisco ISE pricing is complex and costly, with strong vendor partnerships needed for discounts, favoring large enterprises over smaller businesses.

Tenable Security Center is costly per asset, with options including subscription and perpetual licenses, generally pricier than competitors.

Compared to other solutions like HPE ClearPass, Cisco is more costly, and the conversation suggests a possible forty percent price gap compared to competitors.

reviewer2590572

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.

Jeremiah Ngure

Technical Services Lead at Telenet Solutions

Cloud solutions are expensive, while on-prem setups with shared environments are cheaper but not effective.

SunilkumarNaganuri

Service Line Manager (Service Operations Expert) - Network Access Control at a pharma/biotech company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

The product is somewhat pricey, reflecting its valuable features and status as a high-quality solution in the vulnerability management market.

MB24

IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees

Tenable Security Center is quite expensive, particularly for the CEE region, causing us to lose cases due to its pricing.

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.

Hiroshi Watanabe

Marketing Expert at J's communication

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

Valuable Features

Cisco ISE excels in security, network access control, and integration, offering adaptability, scalability, and centralized management for organizations.

Tenable Security Center offers comprehensive vulnerability management with intuitive tools, strong integration, and flexible compliance for effective threat detection.

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers authentication using RADIUS, enhancing network security by separating and segregating networks.

Jeremiah Ngure

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.

John Ntambi

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.

NicolasFigaro

Network and Technology Information Manager at Akkodis

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

We obtained good reports showing when patches were closed and the details of each patch, including who executed it and everything related to the patching process until it was closed.

reviewer1534134

Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees

Tenable Security Center provides an overall score of vulnerabilities, comparing an organization with others in the same industry.

MB24

IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees

The most effective feature of Tenable Security Center for detecting vulnerabilities is its capability for critical mapping.

Kevin Mwangi

Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Tenable Security Center report

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)

Tenable Security Center

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (5th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (10th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) and Tenable Security Center 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.
Tenable Security Center, on the other hand, focuses on Risk-Based Vulnerability Management, holds 9.0% mindshare, down 18.1% since last year.

Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)	22.4%
Aruba ClearPass	21.6%
Fortinet FortiNAC	16.1%
Other	39.9%

Network Access Control (NAC)

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Tenable Security Center	9.0%
Qualys VMDR	12.7%
Rapid7 InsightVM	11.0%
Other	67.3%

Risk-Based Vulnerability Management

Featured Reviews

NicolasFigaro

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.

Read full review

OndrejKOVAC

Solution engineer at EXPERTience

Empower clients with risk-based vulnerability management through continuous workflow and valuable insights

Tenable Security Center could improve by implementing more dynamic data displays and translating reports into European languages. This is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages. Additionally, the licensing model could be more flexible for managed security providers, similar to a pay-as-you-go model.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	44
Midsize Enterprise	32
Large Enterprise	91

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	27

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 ...

See all answers

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, ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about Tenable SC?

The tool's dashboard and reporting capabilities match our company's needs since we are able to modify the basic view to create a new dashboard, and it works out very well for our needs.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable SC?

The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tenable SC?

We did conduct a long implementation which relates to what I think can be improved about Tenable Security Center. In some cases, we needed to refer back to Tenable itself, and in other cases, we ne...

See all answers

Comparisons

Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 24% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 20% of the time

Forescout Platform vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 8% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

Portnox vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Competitors

Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 11% of the time

Qualys VMDR vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 10% of the time

Tenable Nessus vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 9% of the time

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 7% of the time

The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai vs Tenable Security Center

Compared 5% of the time

More Tenable Security Center Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

January 2026

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) report

Download Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) product report

Buyer's Guide

Tenable Security Center

December 2025

Download Tenable Security Center product report

Also Known As

Cisco ISE

Tenable.sc, Tenable Unified Security, Tenable SecurityCenter

Overview

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers comprehensive network access control and visibility, supporting features like 802.1X authentication, profiling, and posturing. It integrates with Microsoft and other Cisco products, facilitating robust security policies across distributed networks.

Cisco Identity Services Engine is a key player in network access control, offering centralized management and a user-friendly interface. It supports zero trust principles and provides strong authentication for wired and wireless networks. ISE's capabilities include granular security policies, enhanced device posturing, and seamless integration, bolstering security infrastructure. Users benefit from its dual authentication through EAP, simplifying access management across networks.

What are the key features of Cisco ISE?

802.1X Authentication: Supports network security for authorized device access.
Profiling: Identifies devices for accurate policy enforcement.
Posturing: Evaluates device compliance for access decisions.
TACACS: Streamlines network device authentication and authorization.
Guest Access: Provides secure access to visitors.
Microsoft Compatibility: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft environments.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Security Enhancement: Offers strong network security policies.
Operational Efficiency: Centralized management improves operational aspects.
Improved Compliance: Ensures adherence to industry standards.
Scalability: Supports growing network demands effectively.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and education, Cisco ISE is pivotal for securing wired and wireless networks, implementing BYOD policies, and managing user access. Organizations leverage ISE for effective authentication and authorization, while maintaining compliance with industry security standards.

Cisco

Get a risk-based view of your IT, security and compliance posture so you can quickly identify, investigate and prioritize your most critical assets and vulnerabilities.

Managed on-premises and powered by Nessus technology, the Tenable Security Center (formerly Tenable.sc) suite of products provides the industry’s most comprehensive vulnerability coverage with real-time continuous assessment of your network. It’s your complete end-to-end vulnerability management solution.

Tenable

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

IBM, Sempra Energy, Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Union Pacific

Buyer's Guide

Network Access Control (NAC)

January 2026

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