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ExtremeControl vs Portnox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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
6.4
ExtremeControl's ROI opinions varied, with mixed views on financial returns, Wi-Fi connectivity, security benefits, and cost concerns.
Sentiment score
4.8
Portnox CORE improved network visibility, security, and efficiency, reducing costs and enhancing decision-making through detailed analytics and automated features.
Having good connectivity through Wi-Fi is essential for the entire business.
Manager, Service Delivery & Support at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
If you were moving from a traditional on-premise NAC that was 100% managed by the IT department, there would be great savings in going to a cloud-based NAC with Portnox.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
ExtremeControl's support is praised for problem-solving but criticized for upgrade policies, varying satisfaction levels among users.
Sentiment score
6.7
Portnox customer service is responsive, but needs improvement in local support, ticketing, and technical training for better service.
If we are out of upgrades or there is a new upgrade, they sometimes require us to upgrade to provide support.
Manager, Service Delivery & Support at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
For technical support of ExtremeControl, I have no doubts that they cope with problems effectively.
System Engineer at Poczta FM
The main area needing improvement is the technical knowledge of support staff.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
They respond very immediately and provide detailed, amazing support.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I was seeing weird things, and they were able to explain things to me and help me quickly find a resolution.
IT Infrastructure Manager at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Opinions on ExtremeControl's scalability vary, with some praising its capacity while others find it limited across platforms.
Sentiment score
7.5
Portnox is highly scalable and flexible, efficiently supporting many endpoints with its adaptable cloud-based licensing model.
For scalability in larger environments, it can be rated a maximum of 10.
System Engineer at Poczta FM
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.7
ExtremeControl is highly stable, with users consistently rating it 8-9/10, indicating reliable performance meeting expectations.
Sentiment score
7.5
Portnox is stable but CORE faces issues; improved communication and support are needed, especially during updates and for older versions.
The product itself is available and its uptime is 100%.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
In the four years that I used Portnox, if it crashed or the server crashed, that would not have been more than once.
Information Technology System Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
If there is a version one and another version, the communication between the organization using it and Portnox should be firm so they can coordinate effectively.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

ExtremeControl requires better user control, third-party integration, on-premise enhancements, and clarity on wireless component configuration for optimal performance.
Portnox should optimize licensing, integration, UI, partner training, support hours, Wi-Fi integration, and resolve cloud authentication delays.
We rely more on the cloud for analytics rather than on-premise, and some customers prefer relying on an on-premise solution rather than a cloud solution.
Engineer at NewLogics
For their wired network, especially with third-party switching, this is where most of the features are lost.
Manager, Service Delivery & Support at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
There is also another product called UZTNA, which is said to have NAC in this solution, but it is not as advanced as our regular ExtremeControl.
System Engineer at Poczta FM
Ideally, we should be able to search for any MAC address in the database, regardless of its authentication status, to see all its associated groups and potential conflicts.
President at TrackerSoft
When I'm doing filtering at times, it doesn't filter the items properly.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They don't have much support during Asia Pacific hours.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

ExtremeControl offers competitive pricing for large enterprises, but may be costly for smaller ones due to minimum user requirements.
Portnox pricing is considered balanced, offering scalable licenses, with mixed reactions to subscription-only plans and varying regional costs.
Compared to other competitors, they have the best pricing.
Manager, Service Delivery & Support at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
The pricing of ExtremeControl is considerable; I would rate it at eight or nine.
Engineer at NewLogics
For smaller ones, they need to consider that the price for less than 1,000 users is important, as this is the minimum number of users required for a license.
System Engineer at Poczta FM
If you compare Portnox with all other well-known standard products, it is the cheapest.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
The pricing is a bit high, possibly due to the cloud features and running instances across regions like the US, Asia, and Europe.
President at TrackerSoft
You are charged according to the number of users.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

ExtremeControl provides robust security, seamless integration, and easy use with flexible policies and comprehensive network monitoring.
Portnox offers scalable, intuitive network management with seamless integration and security compliance for efficient endpoint management and visibility.
The biggest benefits for my customers from ExtremeControl include the ability to integrate third-party devices, integration with user databases like Microsoft Active Directory or other directory software, and it is easy to maintain by customers.
System Engineer at Poczta FM
Integrating ExtremeControl with ExtremeConnect provides an additional layer of security and control over what devices are onboarding to the network, granting full visibility.
Engineer at NewLogics
The most effective feature of ExtremeControl is that whenever any user is connected through the network, I can really dig down and check exactly what applications they have been using.
Manager, Service Delivery & Support at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
It's notable how Portnox has improved operational efficiency.
IT Network Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is a very robust application because three teams use that part: the network team, the security team, and the support people.
Windows Server Administrator/ IT Support Officer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
It is very easy to implement on our current network hardware.
Systems Analyst at a construction company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

ExtremeControl
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Portnox
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (11th), Passwordless Authentication (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of ExtremeControl is 2.2%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portnox is 5.5%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Portnox5.5%
ExtremeControl2.2%
Other92.3%
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

JZ
System Engineer at Poczta FM
Features support flexible integration and high compatibility with third-party equipment
I have a little experience with reporting and analytics tools for network visibility in ExtremeControl, but I am not a specialist. I'm not a big fan of this analytics feature because it is an in-built component, and customers usually don't use it frequently since they often don't measure it. It is not very popular among my customers right now. I would definitely recommend ExtremeControl to customers because we can support many features as they need, and we can provide a demo license for even 80 days for testing all required features, which is not a problem for us. On a scale of 1-10, I rate ExtremeControl a 10.
Scott Kerr - PeerSpot reviewer
President at TrackerSoft
It is seamless and integrates well with our Azure setup
We use devices like PLCs and controllers, and when we receive a request to allow one on the network, we bypass typical authentication, associate it with a group account, and push it to a firewalled VLAN. However, problems arise when the same MAC address is requested for a different project. Our current system only finds authenticated MAC addresses, making it difficult to troubleshoot when the same device is used for multiple purposes. Ideally, we should be able to search for any MAC address in the database, regardless of its authentication status, to see all its associated groups and potential conflicts.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Healthcare Company
11%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ExtremeControl?
It has effectively enhanced network security and integrated with other security tools to streamline operations.
What needs improvement with ExtremeControl?
Regarding improvements for ExtremeControl, I think it is good as it is; however, some other products can support features like certificate management, which ExtremeControl currently lacks. Adding c...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeControl?
The main use cases for ExtremeControl among my customers are to authenticate the users here for the end systems in their companies and to manage authentication, authorization, and systems, and they...
What do you like most about Portnox Clear?
The product's initial setup phase was straightforward.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Portnox Clear?
I know that IT solutions are expensive. You are charged according to the number of users. For now, the organisation can afford it, but smaller organisations may not be, so Portnox can also consider...
What needs improvement with Portnox Clear?
The area Portnox needs to organise more training for its partners. They are doing well, but areas of knowledge gaps are still visible. There are times unexpected things happen with Portnox, like Po...
 

Also Known As

Extreme Access Control, Enterasys NAC
Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Street Crane, Robert Bosch, Molex Chengdu, Weir Valves & Controls UK, Renault, AESSEAL, Ducati, Alexander Dennis, UK Ministry of Defence, Manz
Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Find out what your peers are saying about ExtremeControl vs. Portnox and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,844 professionals have used our research since 2012.