Network access control · November 2026 Edition
Forescout vs Aruba ClearPass
Zero of fourteen models named Forescout first on the direct prompt; zero named Aruba ClearPass. Forescout was named by twelve of the fourteen models and Aruba ClearPass by fourteen and both carry 27 labels, so the shares below are directly comparable.
Named in three categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share2%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate30%33%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#6#7A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels2727Equal, which is what makes the shares comparable.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Forescout reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Portnox Cloud was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Portnox Cloud vs Forescout · Portnox Cloud vs Aruba ClearPass · PacketFence vs Forescout
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the network access control page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
ForescoutFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAruba ClearPass
Direct002 against Forescout
Paraphrase113 against Forescout
Comparative11
Budget-constrained001 against Forescout · 4 against Aruba ClearPass
Scale-constrained002 against Forescout · 2 against Aruba ClearPass
Negative013 against Aruba ClearPass
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Forescout and Aruba ClearPass were named in the same answer thirty-five times, of the 100 answers naming Forescout and the 91 naming Aruba ClearPass. In those answers Aruba ClearPass took the first choice three times and Forescout zero.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Forescout and Aruba ClearPass stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | |||||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | ||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Forescout Aruba ClearPass first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Forescout on the left and Aruba ClearPass on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Forescout and Aruba ClearPass stood in it.
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniCisco Identity Services Engine alternatives: Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager, Cisco Access Manager, Forescout, InfoExpress EasyNAC, Portnox Cloud
Perplexity SonarPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, Cisco Identity Services Engine
Grok 4.20Portnox Cloud alternatives: Forescout, HPE Aruba ClearPass
DeepSeek V4 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC
Kimi K2Portnox CLEAR alternatives: Aruba ClearPass
GLM 4.7 FlashXPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, FortiNAC, NordLayer NAC
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Fortinet FortiNAC alternatives: Microsoft Entra, Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Gemini 3.5 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cloudflare Access, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, SecureW2 JoinNow, Twingate
Mistral SmallOPSWAT MetaAccess, Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC
Llama 4 MaverickPortnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess, PacketFence
Qwen 3.7 FlashPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
MiniMax M2.5Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess
GPT-6 LunaPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
Muse Glimmer 30BPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, OPSWAT MetaAccess, macmon NAC
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Aruba ClearPass leads by two points.
Aruba ClearPass2%#6 of 11Forescout0%#10 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Forescout2%#6 of 10Aruba ClearPass2%#7 of 10Enterprise
Aruba ClearPass leads by eight points.
Aruba ClearPass8%#4 of 7Forescout0%#5 of 7What the models said about Forescout
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Skip Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, or Forescout unless you have specific needs” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Forescout is highly regarded, though it's typically more suited for larger or more diverse environments” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“Some enterprise NAC platforms (e.g., legacy Cisco ISE or Forescout) can take months to deploy correctly.” Kimi K2 · scale prompt · soft negative
“For large enterprises with complex networks, Cisco ISE or Forescout remain strong choices.” MiniMax M2.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“I'd suggest looking at Fortinet FortiNAC or Forescout” Claude Haiku 4.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Forescout is excellent for agentless visibility and control, though it's often positioned as more enterprise-oriented and can be pricier.” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · alternative
What the models said about Aruba ClearPass
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“frequently mentioned as a solution to avoid due to its high cost and steep learning curve” Mistral Small · negative prompt · hard negative
“Skip Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, or Forescout” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Outdated or poorly maintained NAC products (e.g., older versions of Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass, or generic 802.1X setups without ongoing updates)” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“For most modern organizations, FortiNAC, Aruba ClearPass, or Palo Alto Prisma Access offer the best balance of features and flexibility.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
“Aruba ClearPass — Consistently praised for reliability and integration” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · first choice
“Best Overall Choice: Aruba ClearPass” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Portnox Cloud vs ForescoutPortnox Cloud vs Aruba ClearPassPacketFence vs ForescoutPacketFence vs Aruba ClearPassFortinet FortiNAC vs ForescoutFortinet FortiNAC vs Aruba ClearPassNordLayer NAC vs ForescoutNordLayer NAC vs Aruba ClearPassHPE Aruba ClearPass vs ForescoutHPE Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba ClearPassForescout vs Cisco Identity Services EngineAruba ClearPass vs Cisco Identity Services EngineAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full NAC standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.