ExtremeCloud IQ vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

Extreme Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Network Access Control (NAC) category. Extreme Networks is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.5, while Sophos is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.2. Extreme Networks holds a 0.9% mindshare in NAC, compared to Sophos’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Extreme Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

ExtremeCloud IQ

Read 76 ExtremeCloud IQ reviews

2,659 Views
213 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Sophos Network Access Control

Read 22 Sophos Network Access Control reviews

1,049 Views
1,018 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

ExtremeCloud IQ

Sophos Network Access Control

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Sophos Network Access Control and ExtremeCloud IQ are network management and security solutions. Sophos offers robust security features, while ExtremeCloud IQ excels in cloud capabilities, making it more suitable for cloud-centric environments.

Features: Sophos Network Access Control provides excellent device authentication, threat response, and compliance management, ensuring a secure network. ExtremeCloud IQ offers advanced cloud management, AI-driven insights, and exceptional scalability, catering to complex cloud environments.

Room for Improvement: Sophos could enhance cloud integration, simplify its deployment process, and improve scalability for larger networks. ExtremeCloud IQ may benefit from more comprehensive on-premise support, improved user interface customization, and expanded reporting capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sophos Network Access Control offers complex on-premise deployment, but benefits from comprehensive support. ExtremeCloud IQ's cloud-based model ensures easier deployment with ongoing support options, providing more flexibility in customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos Network Access Control has higher initial setup costs but delivers strong ROI for security-focused enterprises. ExtremeCloud IQ offers competitive pricing and higher ROI in cloud environments, due to its scalability and advanced features, resulting in better long-term value for cloud integration.

To learn more, read our detailed ExtremeCloud IQ vs. Sophos Network Access Control Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ vs. Sophos Network Access Control

July 2025

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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:

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeCloud IQ

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

12th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (11th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (21st)

Sophos Network Access Control

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of ExtremeCloud IQ is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Access Control (NAC)

Featured Reviews

KristianLarsen

Senior Consultant at Mikla IT

Helps resolve network-related issues quickly and is reasonably priced

The tool has both advantages and weaknesses because it has several pieces of software on which it has been working because of buyouts. The tool has several branches of software versions, and you can consolidate it into ExtremeCloud, but it also has the disadvantage that sometimes people can get issues because the software on the hardware is different than they expected, especially if it is not converted to the tool used. The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users. In the future, I think the tool’s onboarding setup of a new tenant could be smoother or faster. I also think that they could provide a simpler setup for first-level support so that it can be easier for them to have a support dashboard that would help them. I am talking about customer support organizations, so you usually have a high turnaround, but you need to have something that is easier to use and where you don't need so much training.

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Vishal Deshwal

technical associate at seamlessinfotech.com

Technical support excels but hardware enhancements are needed for faster processing

The best features in Sophos Network Access Control are fewer than FortiNAC and Cisco ISE, but when discussing budget and customer support, different vendors have different perspectives. Cisco is better in support, FortiNAC is better in security, and different vendors maintain different perspectives. I utilized the device quarantine feature around eight months ago. It is specifically for when any malicious or harmful file comes to the system. Through NAC, we can put it in quarantine, and if anything comes or goes from this system, it will be monitored continuously. We can define these parameters as needed. The role-based access controls feature of Sophos Network Access Control allows persons at different positions in an organization to have different types of roles. We can give them full access as an administrator, provide some network access, or give users only read-only access. This depends on the user's requirements and the position they hold within the organization, allowing us to grant roles according to their post. The integration capabilities of Sophos Network Access Control are good, as it can easily integrate with other solutions and vendors.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Everything can be seen from the dashboard."

"The deployment made my life very easy."

"The tech who handles Extreme IQ tells me it's easy to use and learn. He felt like it was pretty intuitive. It comes with solid training materials. He also has talked about the security features that give you as much or as little control as you want."

"The most valuable feature is the centralized management capability."

"HiveManager is incredibly useful for managing APs and switches from one cloud interface."

"ExtremeCloud IQ is a complete package with the pilot and the co-pilot feature that gives me full visibility of the network."

"What I like best about ExtremeCloud IQ is its ease of use. Flexibility is another pro of ExtremeCloud IQ. I also find ExtremeCloud IQ feature-rich."

"It excels in Wi-Fi and switch management, as well as other internal management aspects, offering speed and efficiency that surpass what other competitors provide."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pros

"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."

"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."

"The scalability of the system and the performance of the system and the solution's most valuable features."

"What Sophos has done is integrate almost the entire OSI layer infrastructure. It gives me visibility across my infrastructure. It gives me visibility into all the mobile devices that are on my network and into the security I have on those mobile devices."

"The initial setup is very easy."

"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."

"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."

"Sophos Network Access Control saves our clients time and money."

More Sophos Network Access Control pros

Cons

"For me, the only issue is the potential delay in the tool statistics updating in real time after making changes."

"Lacks cyber asset tracking."

"They can improve just the onboarding process. More user information about the introduction to the product would be helpful. It would be good if they have a better user introduction to the new product because it is different than the prior version."

"Integrating the network access control solution can be complex, as it essentially combines two separate products."

"The product could support multi-vendor infrastructures."

"An area for improvement in ExtremeCloud IQ is its technical support. Support could be better, especially when you need help concerning ExtremeCloud IQ and WinG."

"ExtremeCloud should invest in an SD-WAN solution or integration with SD-WAN."

"Browser load time for the cloud is long and needs improvement."

More ExtremeCloud IQ cons

"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."

"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."

"The solution could increase the integration with other platforms or other systems. This would be very useful."

"What needs to be improved on is the fact that Sophos consumes a lot of processor resources and, once it starts scanning, the RAM utilization is very high."

"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."

"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."

"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."

"There is room for improvement in pricing."

More Sophos Network Access Control cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Customers need to pay a yearly licensing fee for ExtremeCloud IQ, which is a little bit expensive."

"The price was okay."

"I am not involved in the price, but I am sure that it is not cheap."

"I did a multi-year license. It was a three-year license. It compares well with others in terms of the price. It is about a hundred dollars per year on a three-year scale."

"It is costly as compared to Meraki, Aruba, Juniper, and Cisco. Cloud IQ is an enterprise solution, whereas Meraki is specifically a single solution."

"The pricing is so cost-effective that it leaves no room for competition with other vendors."

"I would advise that you be sure to compare apples with apples. Many customers just look at the price per AP and licences, and compare that against other solutions. But, they do not look at the complete picture such as: TCO - how much the equipment will cost you over, say, seven years? Will the customer need to change complete infrastructure when they want to buy the newest hardware? Does support include a lifetime warranty and RMA?"

"ExtremeCloud IQ's pricing is high."

More ExtremeCloud IQ pricing and cost advice

"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."

"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 is quite expensive."

"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."

"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?

Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?

The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...

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What advice do you have for others considering ExtremeCloud IQ?

I rate the overall solution nine out of ten only due to the poor documentation. Despite this, I was very happy with ExtremeCloud IQ as it greatly eased my workload, allowing me to manage the networ...

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What do you like most about Sophos Network Access Control?

Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Network Access Control?

I am not able to say much on the financial specifics as it pertains to the sales unit.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Network Access Control?

A point for improvement for Sophos Network Access Control would be to implement a SIEM tool functionality. For example, CrowdStrike is direct competition to Sophos Network Access Control, not even ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 32% of the time

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Compared 26% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 14% of the time

Portnox vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ

August 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Sophos Network Access Control

July 2025

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Also Known As

Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity

No data available

Overview

ExtremeCloud is a resilient and scalable cloud-based network management solution offered by Extreme Networks as a subscription service.

The network is your platform of engagement for clients and staff. We have designed ExtremeCloud to provide superior user experience by empowering you and the applications that drive your business. The combination of Extreme Networks’ smart wired and wireless edges and the elasticity, resilience and scalability provided via state-of-the-art datacenters distributed strategically for worldwide availability allows you to respond to the changing needs of your business, at the speed of cloud, through a simple, multi-site aware user interface.

Extreme Networks

Sophos NAC Provides comprehensive, easy-to-deploy network access control that protects enterprise networks from the threats posed by non-compliant, compromised, or misconfigured endpoint computers. The software solution is vendor-neutral and works with existing network infrastructure and security applications. Computers are permitted or denied access to the network, based on a centrally defined, policy-driven assessment - and isolated, quarantined for remediation, automatically remediated, or sent alerts. Administrators can define and manage policies uniquely for managed and guest computers, including checking their security status and ensuring that no unwanted applications are run.

Sophos

Sample Customers

Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange

Rushmoor Borough Council

Buyer's Guide

ExtremeCloud IQ vs. Sophos Network Access Control

July 2025

Free Report: ExtremeCloud IQ vs. Sophos Network Access Control

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