Network access control · November 2026 Edition
PacketFence vs Fortinet FortiNAC
Zero of fourteen models named PacketFence first on the direct prompt; one named Fortinet FortiNAC. PacketFence was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Fortinet FortiNAC by fourteen and PacketFence carries 22 labels and Fortinet FortiNAC 31, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in two categories this edition.
First-choice share20%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate5%16%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#3A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels2231A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, PacketFence 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 PacketFence · Portnox Cloud vs Fortinet FortiNAC · PacketFence vs NordLayer NAC
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.
PacketFenceFirst choices, of fourteen modelsFortinet FortiNAC
Direct011 against PacketFence
Paraphrase02
Comparative011 against Fortinet FortiNAC
Budget-constrained110
Scale-constrained00
Negative004 against Fortinet FortiNAC
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, PacketFence and Fortinet FortiNAC were named in the same answer twenty-five times, of the 70 answers naming PacketFence and the 82 naming Fortinet FortiNAC. In those answers Fortinet FortiNAC took the first choice zero times and PacketFence five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where PacketFence and Fortinet FortiNAC 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 | | | | |
PacketFence Fortinet FortiNAC first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, PacketFence on the left and Fortinet FortiNAC on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where PacketFence and Fortinet FortiNAC stood in it.
Fortinet FortiNAC first, PacketFence not the choice
1 of 14 modelsPacketFence was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Fortinet FortiNAC alternatives: Microsoft Entra, Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cloudflare Access, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, SecureW2 JoinNow, Twingate
DeepSeek V4 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC
Llama 4 MaverickPortnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess, PacketFence
Qwen 3.7 FlashPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
Muse Glimmer 30BPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, OPSWAT MetaAccess, macmon NAC
Neither was named
8 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.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
Mistral SmallOPSWAT MetaAccess, Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC
Kimi K2Portnox CLEAR alternatives: Aruba ClearPass
GLM 4.7 FlashXPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, FortiNAC, NordLayer NAC
MiniMax M2.5Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess
GPT-6 LunaPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
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
PacketFence leads by sixteen points.
PacketFence16%#2 of 11Fortinet FortiNAC0%#9 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
PacketFence leads by fifteen points.
PacketFence20%#2 of 10Fortinet FortiNAC6%#3 of 10Enterprise
PacketFence leads by three points.
PacketFence3%#– of 7Fortinet FortiNAC0%#6 of 7What the models said about PacketFence
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Self-hosting shifts licensing savings into implementation and support effort” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · soft negative
“Best Overall Open-Source Option: PacketFence ... If you have an in-house IT engineer comfortable with Linux, start with PacketFence.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
“Tightest budget, technical staff available: PacketFence self-hosted free + optional paid support. Best cost, higher operational effort.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
“The best network access control solution for a company with a limited budget is PacketFence, as it is free to use” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Fortinet FortiNAC
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“its legacy software architecture has suffered multiple high-severity unauthenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerabilities” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Fortinet FortiNAC is also mentioned as a solution to be cautious about, especially if you have older network infrastructure” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · soft negative
“Limited value outside the Fortinet ecosystem, reported declining innovation and support, fewer advanced features” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative 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
“Most mid-sized B2B companies find Aruba ClearPass or Fortinet FortiNAC offer the best balance” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Fortinet FortiNAC - Good balance of features and ease of use” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
Portnox Cloud vs PacketFencePortnox Cloud vs Fortinet FortiNACPacketFence vs NordLayer NACPacketFence vs HPE Aruba ClearPassPacketFence vs ForescoutPacketFence vs Aruba ClearPassPacketFence vs Cisco Identity Services EngineFortinet FortiNAC vs NordLayer NACFortinet FortiNAC vs HPE Aruba ClearPassFortinet FortiNAC vs ForescoutFortinet FortiNAC vs Aruba ClearPassFortinet FortiNAC 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.