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NordLayer vs Portnox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 2025

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

NordLayer
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
15th
Ranking in ZTNA
16th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (28th), Internet Security (12th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (23rd), ZTNA as a Service (20th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (14th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (22nd)
Portnox
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
6th
Ranking in ZTNA
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Passwordless Authentication (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of NordLayer is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Portnox is 3.9%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

Christophe Derdeyn - PeerSpot reviewer
A convenient and easy tool with an incredibly high number of dialing points
The solution is convenient and easy. It has an incredibly high number of dialing points for pretty much every single country in the world. It has a few additional security features. It has a function that prevents unsecured access if my connection were to drop for any reason. It’s something I like. It has threat protection features. It can protect my web connection and files against malicious downloads and trackers.
Scott Kerr - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is convenient and easy."
"The solution has a valuable reporting feature."
"The Portnox dashboard is very easy to use, and the UI is simple."
"The simplicity of the product is commendable."
"One of the features I enjoyed the most about Portnox was the ability to dive in with proper details on an endpoint."
"The product is a valuable solution within zero-trust architecture, enhancing network security and visibility."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"The simplicity of the product is commendable."
"The cloud-based feature is very nice."
 

Cons

"The tool is not perfectly stable."
"Allowing for a search of MAC addresses in the interface, whether they are authenticated on the network or not, would be beneficial. Currently, it only finds authenticated MAC addresses, which complicates troubleshooting when the same MAC address is used for different requests."
"The price could be better."
"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."
"Portnox CORE can improve on support for unmanaged switches (or hubs) and other brands of network devices. These kinds of devices are still in use in organisations, especially SMEs who cannot afford to buy a managed switch."
"Their filtering system tends to lag quite a bit, so when I'm doing filtering at times, it doesn't filter the items properly."
"The Wi-Fi integration could be done better from their end."
"It could be a little cheaper."
"It would be good to integrate Portnox CORE with CLEAR."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The vendor price is fair."
"We pay for port licensing and support on a yearly basis, and it's not cheap."
"The tool is more expensive than Fortinet."
"It is not bad. It is a bit on the high side, but considering the cloud features and how much it costs to run the instance in the cloud, it is not unreasonable. We do have RADIUS servers for the US, Asia, and Europe."
"The users are not very happy with the new licensing option where there is only a subscription license. There is no perpetual license."
"Pricing is not cheap. It is based on licenses per port. After licensing is purchased, you only pay for support."
"It's not cheap. It's not expensive. It's in the middle."
"Pricing is quite reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
29%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Legal Firm
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Portnox CORE?
It's easy to manage and troubleshoot thanks to the lightweight components.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Portnox CORE?
It's not cheap. It's not expensive. It's in the middle, so I'll probably give it a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Portnox CORE?
We have been having some issues with it. That's why we're considering migrating to Portnox Clear due to some limitations with CORE. At the end of the day, Portnox Clear's capabilities are much more...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hostinger, Shutterstock, USMobile, Soundcloud, Calendly, whatagraph.
Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Access Control (NAC). Updated: June 2025.
862,514 professionals have used our research since 2012.