Network access control · November 2026 Edition
PacketFence vs HPE Aruba ClearPass
Zero of fourteen models named PacketFence first on the direct prompt; zero named HPE Aruba ClearPass. PacketFence was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and HPE Aruba ClearPass by ten and PacketFence carries 22 labels and HPE Aruba ClearPass 17, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
HPE Aruba ClearPass
accepted challengerNamed in one category this edition.
First-choice share20%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate5%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#5A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels2217A 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 HPE Aruba ClearPass · PacketFence vs Fortinet FortiNAC
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 modelsHPE Aruba ClearPassDirect001 against PacketFence
Paraphrase01
Comparative01
Budget-constrained110
Scale-constrained00
Negative00
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.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where PacketFence and HPE Aruba ClearPass stood in it.
| Model | DirectHA | ParaphraseHA | ComparativeHA | Budget-constrainedHA | Scale-constrainedHA | NegativeHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | HA | | ||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | HA | HA | | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | | HA | HA | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | HA | HA | HA | |||
| Mistral Small | | |||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | HA | | ||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | HA | HA | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | |||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | |||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | HA | HA | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | HA | HA | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | HA | |
PacketFenceHA HPE Aruba ClearPass first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, PacketFence on the left and HPE Aruba ClearPass on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where PacketFence and HPE 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.Gemini 3.5 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cloudflare Access, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, SecureW2 JoinNow, Twingate
Grok 4.20Portnox Cloud alternatives: Forescout, HPE Aruba ClearPass
Llama 4 MaverickPortnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess, PacketFence
Qwen 3.7 FlashPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
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
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
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
Mistral SmallOPSWAT MetaAccess, Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC
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
MiniMax M2.5Portnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess
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 11HPE Aruba ClearPass0%#– of 11
The full small business standing →Mid-marketThe figures above
PacketFence leads by nineteen points.
PacketFence20%#2 of 10HPE Aruba ClearPass2%#5 of 10
The full mid-market standing →Enterprise
The order flips: HPE Aruba ClearPass leads at enterprise.
HPE Aruba ClearPass13%#3 of 7
PacketFence3%#– 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 HPE Aruba ClearPass
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“I'd usually recommend HPE Aruba ClearPass as the default NAC choice” GPT-5.4 mini · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“For large enterprises: Start with Cisco ISE or Aruba ClearPass” Grok 4.20 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Best for Complex Environments (Incumbents) Recommendation: Cisco ISE or HPE Aruba ClearPass” Qwen 3.7 Flash · paraphrase prompt · alternative
Also compared
Portnox Cloud vs PacketFencePortnox Cloud vs HPE Aruba ClearPassPacketFence vs Fortinet FortiNACPacketFence vs NordLayer NACPacketFence vs ForescoutPacketFence vs Aruba ClearPassPacketFence vs Cisco Identity Services EngineFortinet FortiNAC vs HPE Aruba ClearPassNordLayer NAC vs HPE Aruba ClearPassHPE Aruba ClearPass vs ForescoutHPE Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba ClearPassHPE Aruba 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.