F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

F5 and Sophos are both solutions in the Network Access Control (NAC) category. F5 is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.4, while Sophos is ranked #7 with an average rating of 7.5. F5 holds a 1.4% mindshare in NAC, compared to Sophos’s 2.3% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Read 18 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews

3,270 Views
425 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Sophos Network Access Control

Read 24 Sophos Network Access Control reviews

1,276 Views
1,238 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Sophos Network Access Control

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

Sophos Network Access Control and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) are leading solutions in the network security market. Sophos is favored for its cost-effectiveness and efficient support, while F5 APM offers a more extensive feature set that justifies its higher pricing.

Features: Sophos Network Access Control provides straightforward integration, strong endpoint visibility, and effective network health checks. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) stands out with comprehensive access control, flexible policy management, and the ability to cater to complex environments.

Room for Improvement: Sophos could enhance its range of security policies, improve scalability for larger networks, and integrate with third-party systems. F5 APM could benefit from simplifying its user interface, reducing deployment complexity, and lowering resource consumption.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sophos is praised for easy deployment and responsive customer support. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) requires a more complex setup due to its extensive capabilities but provides structured deployment guides.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos's budget-friendly setup is appealing for smaller organizations seeking quick ROI. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) offers a strategic investment for larger companies, with its in-depth capabilities promising a higher ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control

March 2026

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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

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (13th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (11th), Access Management (11th)

Sophos Network Access Control

Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 2.3%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Access Control (NAC) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Sophos Network Access Control	2.3%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)	1.4%
Other	96.3%

Network Access Control (NAC)

Featured Reviews

SÜ

SalihUcpinar

Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem

Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises

I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.

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HirenPatel2

Manager at rspl

Have faced delays in support despite strong multi-layer policy configuration

I have observed some disadvantages as we have experienced one particular problem. We were facing an issue of synchronization of the endpoint with our firewall with help on a cloud for heartbeat syncing. However, it was not syncing as per our requirement. The user has to connect our firewall with the help of VPN. We were supposed to assume a solution on a cloud, which has good synchronization on a cloud with Sophos Central. It will sync with our firewall as well with the help of Sophos Central. Endpoint and firewall synchronization is not as smooth as we are expecting from Sophos Network Access Control. We have to connect with VPN. We are expecting that if we have already installed an endpoint on our system and it is connected to the internet, then it must be synchronized on a cloud with Sophos Central. Through Sophos Central, it must connect with our firewall. If the endpoint is configured on Sophos Central and the firewall is also configured in Sophos Central, then there should be no need to connect to VPN.

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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

"The portal access was very good."

"The F5 Access Policy Manager is something that I have experience with and I am happy with it."

"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."

"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."

"Our customers have never complained about the stability"

"The load balancing features are valuable."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) provides excellent WAF and bot defense solutions."

"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

"There is really good visibility for the appliance."

"What Sophos has done is integrate almost the entire OSI layer infrastructure; it gives me visibility across my infrastructure, into all the mobile devices that are on my network and the security I have on those mobile devices, my users, my servers, what is happening at all my gateways, and visibility on my switches, so it gives me a global view of my infrastructure."

"The most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."

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

"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."

"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 biggest advantage of Sophos Network Access Control is that it is very synchronized with the security on both the endpoint and the firewall on a single platform, and it is easy to maintain."

"Sophos Network Access Control has many valuable features: for access controls, MAC binding is available, the authentication page is useful, and continuous device assessments have a positive impact on our network security management."

More Sophos Network Access Control pros

Cons

"The solution’s GUI looks very old."

"The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5."

"The price of this product can be improved."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly."

"I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal."

"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."

"The technical support’s response time must be improved."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

"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."

"Sophos Network Access Control could be improved by having an ASIC chip similar to FortiNAC, as this would provide better processing for big organizations."

"There is room for improvement in pricing."

"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 solution could offer more useful documentation."

"The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to."

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

More Sophos Network Access Control cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"The product is very expensive."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"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 an expensive solution."

"It is quite expensive."

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

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture such as Anycast would be beneficial. The ability to run the Anycast feature woul...

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

The pricing of Sophos Network Access Control is good, but it is somewhat high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Network Access Control?

In my opinion, one feature that should be added is the ability to trace emails from individuals who change their IP address or send misbehaving emails from alternative networks. If someone sends a ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Sophos Network Access Control?

Sophos Network Access Control serves primary use cases for both networking purposes and security purposes.

See all answers

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

Fortinet FortiNAC vs Sophos Network Access Control

Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

More Sophos Network Access Control Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

March 2026

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Network Access Control

February 2026

Download Sophos Network Access Control product report

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager

No data available

Overview

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

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

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Rushmoor Borough Council

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Sophos Network Access Control

March 2026

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