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Portnox vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 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 Network Access Control (NAC)
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
ZTNA (11th), Passwordless Authentication (2nd)
Sophos Network Access Control
Ranking in Network Access Control (NAC)
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Access Control (NAC) category, the mindshare of Portnox is 3.6%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Network Access Control is 1.5%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Marco-VIVALDELLI - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable with good security capabilities and an easy setup
The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better. For example, having some sort of configuration scanner could be useful. I need some sort of base solution that I can provide to the company to set up a first level of service for the company. That way, I can install the product and set up a first level of security. After that, we can run some analysis with the company, with the key manager, and so on, and then customize the product to better suit their needs. It would help us create more tailored policies. That said, we need to have some base configuration that we can use as a kickoff in terms of saying, "Okay, this is a first-level configuration; that is enough to guarantee a correct level of protection from your point of view." And in this way, there is the possibility in the weeks to follow to customize the product better and more effectively over time to introduce a second level of features more specific to a single company. What could be an improvement, and what more competitors are doing, is introducing more advanced features in terms of artificial intelligence. This product needs more AI. It's useful to introduce systems to help prevent problems and better identify issues. The product needs to centralize information from devices and work to create a common database where an AI algorithm could have access to all of the information worldwide and therefore become better at predicting issues and finding problems. They need to widen their vision in the way competitors are to provide a higher level of security going forward.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Technical support was very helpful when we needed them."
"The most important feature is that this solution is agentless. So, you don't have to install any agents on endpoints."
"It's so easy to set up, you don't need outside assistance."
"The minute people have issues on their network, we can see what is happening right away."
"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."
"The cloud-based feature of Portnox is excellent."
"The cloud-based feature is very nice. We use Meraki for our switching, and it is simple to point all of our networks and offices to Portnox. It is pretty seamless."
"This is a self-sufficient network monitoring and security product that saves time and employee resources."
"The most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."
"The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price."
"The user interface makes it easy to configure and use."
"We have had interactions with the technical support team through the Xnet platform. It's good."
"I am very satisfied with this solution overall. All of the features that we use have been working successfully."
"I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful."
"Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything."
"Web protection, URL filtering, and application filtering are the most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control."
 

Cons

"It would be good to integrate Portnox CORE with CLEAR."
"Now, the way security is viewed, maybe including something like AI, to automate some of the things that are required to be done would be great."
"The Wi-Fi integration could be done better from their end. If there is an improvement, it should be around having more functions on the integration with the Wi-Fi controller I used, which was a UniFi controller, also on-prem."
"The licensing is based on a per-port price, even when you are not using all of the ports, and this is something that could be improved."
"It could be a little cheaper."
"The solution did have some stability issues, however, all I had to do was restart it."
"The integration between Portnox CORE and Portnox CLEAR can be better. These are two different systems, and there is no unique console for both devices. Portnox CORE is agentless, whereas Portnox CLEAR is not agentless."
"Their filtering system tends to lag quite a bit, so when I'm doing filtering at times, it doesn't filter the items properly."
"Continuous development in specific areas might be required."
"I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device."
"One area in which the product could be improved is the user interface. While functional, it can be somewhat cluttered and unintuitive, especially for new users."
"It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices."
"The interface on the cloud could be a bit better - just to give more performance on it."
"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 difficult thing was finding the metrics."
"The user interface, in terms of managing the product, could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 cost of Portnox Clear is reasonable."
"We pay for port licensing and support on a yearly basis, and it's not cheap."
"It's not cheap. It's not expensive. It's in the middle."
"The tool is more expensive than Fortinet."
"The pricing is a bit high, possibly due to the cloud features and running instances across regions like the US, Asia, and Europe."
"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 solution is very expensive and I would rate it 10 out of 10."
"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."
"It is quite expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
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?
For now, I may not be able to say exactly what needs improvement. However, continuous development in specific areas might be required.
 

Also Known As

Access Layers Portnox, Portnox CLEAR
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Data Realty, Royal London, Wales Millennium Centre, McLaren Construction Group, EL AL Israeli Airlines, 
Rushmoor Borough Council
Find out what your peers are saying about Portnox vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.