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Aruba ClearPass vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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

Aruba ClearPass
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
88
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
22
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 Aruba ClearPass is 24.3%, down from 24.9% 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

Abdelhamid Saber - PeerSpot reviewer
Secures the network with flexible controls and excellent support
We use Aruba ClearPass as a network access control solution. It prevents unauthorized access and allows access for users in the internal environment, performing checks and onboarding We use ClearPass to secure our environment. Before ClearPass, our environment wasn't as secure. The most…
Vishal Deshwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A lot of the issues in Forescout are mitigated in Aruba ClearPass, it supports all the expected protocols."
"The most valuable features of Aruba ClearPass are the GUI and its ease-to-do configuration. Additionally, we can troubleshoot many things in one window."
"ClearPass is effortless to use and configure. It's not hard to learn the tool, and it has lots of features."
"It eliminated the management of 10 different individual discrete RADIUS servers."
"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten."
"It has an easy to learn web GUI and ​command lines.​"
"The solution has been working well."
"The product's policy management capabilities enable precise control over user access and device compliance."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
"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."
"The most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."
"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer."
"The initial setup is very easy."
 

Cons

"The implementation can improve because it is challenging to explain some of the concepts to the client."
"ClearPass' interface could be more user-friendly."
"Aruba ClearPass could improve the user interface, it is a bit chunky."
"Aruba ClearPass has a complex pricing scheme, so that's an area for improvement. The process for setting up Aruba ClearPass also needs improvement. It could be easier."
"The initial setup phase of the solution was really very difficult, owing to which the setup phase can be considered as an area that can be improved."
"We cannot onboard IoT devices such as printers, cameras, and some smaller devices."
"In the next version, I would like to see some enhancement or extension on the tracking side. For example, when any user enters the network, it should be more visible in the graphical form."
"I found the internal authentication policy and user authentication problematic. I was facing issues with user authentication, but we eventually resolved these problems."
"An area that could be improved is the information about licensing, which is fairly confusing at present."
"The difficult thing was finding the metrics."
"There is room for improvement in pricing."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"It would be beneficial to consider some improvements regarding the dashboard."
"I would like more details on the incoming connection, like what is the download speed and how it fluctuates. If Sophos can give that information, it would be really good."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has a licensing model."
"There is a license to use Aruba ClearPass."
"The licensing model is very straightforward. There are two types of licensing for Aruba ClearPass, a perpetual license, and a subscription. Both of them are straightforward. We don't need to read an ordering guide, it's very clear."
"In terms of your fixed cost, it is much less than a lot of other solutions in the market. The initial cost is very high."
"The solution is costly."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is too expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"Aruba ClearPass has permanent licenses. You purchase it one time and this license is yours. You don't need to refresh it for five years, et cetera. They have a couple of licenses for enabled features with not only one license."
"The price of Aruba ClearPass is expensive. However, Cisco ISE was as expensive when we were comparing."
"It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
"Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
"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."
"Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
"I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
"It is quite expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
What is the biggest difference between Aruba ClearPass and FortiNAC?
I've done quite a lot of work with ClearPass, and not a lot with FortiNAC/Bradford. ClearPass incorporates a number of different functions including ClearPass Guest for creating complex wireless g...
What do you like most about Aruba ClearPass?
If you are looking at the base installation, then it was a very straightforward process, which I would rate an eight or nine out of ten.
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.
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.
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 ...
 

Also Known As

Avenda eTIPS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Consulate Health Care, Los Angeles Unified School District, Science Applications International Corp (SAIC), San Diego State University, KFC, ACTS Retirement-Life Communities
Rushmoor Borough Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Aruba ClearPass vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.