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Portnox vs Yubico YubiKey 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Portnox
Ranking in Passwordless Authentication
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (6th), ZTNA (11th)
Yubico YubiKey
Ranking in Passwordless Authentication
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (6th), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Passwordless Authentication category, the mindshare of Portnox is 13.5%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Yubico YubiKey is 8.6%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Passwordless Authentication Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Portnox13.5%
Yubico YubiKey8.6%
Other77.9%
Passwordless Authentication
 

Featured Reviews

Reviewer921606 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Centralized access control has simplified operations but still needs more flexible on‑prem options
Portnox has design considerations that limit its applicability. If you are in a highly regulated industry with mandates requiring the solution to be completely on-premises, Portnox does not work at all. I do not think they position their products for those industries. Even for non-heavily regulated industries, if you want a self-sufficient system within your own premises, there are design constraints because at some point you must reach out to Portnox infrastructure in the cloud, and if that is unavailable, it suffers. For example, on deep-sea oil rigs without proper connectivity, it struggles. I am not sure they want to enter that particular business segment, as it may not align with their value proposition. I cannot blindly select this product and deploy it everywhere; I must make deliberate decisions first. Portnox could improve by reducing its heavy reliance on the cloud. While I do not think they want to eliminate this aspect, a complete solution for regulated entities would include some on-premises setup that is self-sufficient and does not depend on the cloud. This is the most important improvement. Second, Portnox already has a robust integration ecosystem with many vendors, but not all. Even when integration exists, the extent varies, particularly regarding vendor-specific attributes. I have never faced challenges because my security tools and stack have been standard: Cisco, Aruba access points, Cisco switches, and UniFi, all of which work well with them. However, there is room for deeper integration when compared to tools like Cisco ISE and Aruba ClearPass. Their offerings are clear, easy to onboard, and their day zero and day one onboarding activities are streamlined and straightforward. They share best practice checklists that make configuration simple.
KM
Co-Founder at LBR Infosolutions
Robust authentication boosts security in restricted environments
Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones. The security features of Yubico YubiKey make it stand out among other MFA products in India, as it prevents anyone from accessing my password or PIN. Additionally, it supports receiving OTPs on phones.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The cloud-based feature is very nice."
"The cloud-based feature of Portnox is excellent."
"One of the features I enjoyed the most about Portnox was the ability to dive in with proper details on an endpoint."
"It's a stable product."
"Previous to the deployment we didn't have complete visibility of all the endpoints, all the devices that are connected to the network. But with the deployment of portnox, we could see all the devices and where they're connecting. We can equally segregate and apply different rules, policies to each location that we didn't monitor specifically."
"The most important feature is that this solution is agentless. So, you don't have to install any agents on endpoints."
"Portnox's pricing is very conservative and offers great value for money."
"The technical support is top-notch."
"YubiKey is a hardware security device with advanced security features."
"The most valuable feature of Yubico YubiKey is security."
"The solution is simple to use and we have installed it in our clients' endpoints. The tool is just plug-and-play for the end user. The end user can just put in the key to the security computer and log in without any hassle. The solution is efficient, user-friendly, and easy to use."
"Yubico YubiKey is highly valued for its anti-phishing feature, which prevents phishing of OTPs that are normally obtained through phones."
"It's small and lightweight. Like a phone, it doesn't run out of battery. It also doesn't have to be unlocked. It doesn't break. Moreover, they're very durable and it's very convenient."
 

Cons

"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 price could be better."
"As there are no agents in Portnox Clear, the customers of the product cannot download any agents on their devices, making them unsure if the product offers proper security."
"The solution did have some stability issues, however, all I had to do was restart it."
"It would be good to integrate Portnox CORE with CLEAR."
"It could be a little cheaper."
"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."
"It might be beneficial to improve the ease of integrating the product with firewalls."
"Currently, an area where the product lacks is in addressing service needs."
"Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India."
"Yubico YubiKey is inconvient. No one likes the idea of having to put a USB device into the system, having to remember to take it out, and having passwords. It may be very good for security but it is not great for people to use."
"It would be better if the product can come up with a serial number for the keys. It would be nice if they had a numbering system as a configuration identity that would help the IT and technical teams to identify the keys because they look all the same. It would be more like putting a tag on them."
"It's a hardware device, so it isn't cost-effective to use for all your accounts. You might have a hard time getting budget approval. It's better to take a strategic approach and use it only for critical accounts. You can use other forms of authentication for the rest."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is very expensive and I would rate it 10 out of 10."
"The licensing module should be reviewed to count the number of devices instead of port numbers of total switches. There is a case for this where not all ports for a switch are used by devices. Unused ports are calculated in the license, then the customer pays for license for those unused ports."
"The vendor price is fair."
"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."
"Pricing is not cheap. It is based on licenses per port. After licensing is purchased, you only pay for support."
"The cost of Portnox Clear is reasonable."
"Portnox CORE's pricing is adequate and cheaper compared to other complex solutions. Its licensing costs are yearly and include support. Cost is calculated per device."
"The tool is more expensive than Fortinet."
"We paid 100 bucks for one Yubikey."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise7
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your primary use case for Portnox Clear?
My use case for Portnox is access control, specifically focused on access control.
What needs improvement with Yubico YubiKey?
Yubico YubiKey could be improved by allowing for centralized administration, which is not currently available in India. In India, administrators typically have control over all security devices, bu...
What is your primary use case for Yubico YubiKey?
I primarily use Yubico YubiKey ( /products/yubico-yubikey-reviews ) for authentication in environments such as Active Directory, cloud administration, trading room, and dealing room where phones ar...
What advice do you have for others considering Yubico YubiKey?
From an individual perspective, no improvements are required for Yubico YubiKey. However, at a corporate or enterprise level, a central control mechanism is necessary, which is currently lacking in...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
YubiKey
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Google Inc., Salesforce, Novartis, Facebook, GitHub, CERN, Duke University, Code Enigma, Luther Burbank High School, ZorgSaam, Agfa, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Dyson Ltd, Portugal Telecom, Boral, Canonical Ltd
Find out what your peers are saying about Portnox vs. Yubico YubiKey and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.