Network access control · November 2026 Edition
Portnox Cloud vs Aruba ClearPass
Ten of fourteen models named Portnox Cloud first on the direct prompt; zero named Aruba ClearPass. Both were named by all fourteen models and Portnox Cloud carries 48 labels and Aruba ClearPass 27, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share46%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate2%33%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#7A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels4827A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Portnox Cloud reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Portnox Cloud vs PacketFence · Portnox Cloud vs Fortinet FortiNAC · Portnox Cloud 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.
Portnox CloudFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAruba ClearPass
Direct100
Paraphrase101
Comparative01
Budget-constrained104 against Aruba ClearPass
Scale-constrained402 against Aruba ClearPass
Negative011 against Portnox Cloud · 3 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, Portnox Cloud and Aruba ClearPass were named in the same answer sixty-four times, of the 151 answers naming Portnox Cloud and the 91 naming Aruba ClearPass. In those answers Aruba ClearPass took the first choice six times and Portnox Cloud forty.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Portnox Cloud 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 | | | |
Portnox Cloud Aruba ClearPass first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Portnox Cloud on the left and Aruba ClearPass on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Portnox Cloud and Aruba ClearPass stood in it.
Portnox Cloud first, Aruba ClearPass an alternative
10 of 14 modelsAruba ClearPass was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cloudflare Access, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, SecureW2 JoinNow, Twingate
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
DeepSeek V4 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC
Llama 4 MaverickPortnox Cloud alternatives: NordLayer NAC, OPSWAT MetaAccess, PacketFence
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
Muse Glimmer 30BPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, OPSWAT MetaAccess, macmon NAC
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 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
Kimi K2Portnox CLEAR alternatives: Aruba ClearPass
Neither was named
2 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
Qwen 3.7 FlashPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Fortinet 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
Portnox Cloud leads by forty points.
Portnox Cloud41%#1 of 11Aruba ClearPass2%#6 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Portnox Cloud leads by forty-four points.
Portnox Cloud46%#1 of 10Aruba ClearPass2%#7 of 10Enterprise
Portnox Cloud leads by ten points.
Portnox Cloud18%#2 of 7Aruba ClearPass8%#4 of 7What the models said about Portnox Cloud
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of five in this category shown.
“Portnox has raised several security and usability concerns... Unencrypted RADIUS traffic” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Portnox Cloud appears to be the best overall choice based on its high rating, cloud-native architecture, strong ROI metrics” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Portnox and OPSWAT MetaAccess are the top picks due to their cloud-native approach, ease of use, and scalability” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“Portnox Cloud — The clear front-runner for mid-market. SaaS, agentless, published pricing, deploys in days” DeepSeek V4 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
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 PacketFencePortnox Cloud vs Fortinet FortiNACPortnox Cloud vs NordLayer NACPortnox Cloud vs HPE Aruba ClearPassPortnox Cloud vs ForescoutPortnox Cloud vs Cisco Identity Services EnginePacketFence vs Aruba ClearPassFortinet FortiNAC vs Aruba ClearPassNordLayer NAC vs Aruba ClearPassHPE Aruba ClearPass vs Aruba ClearPassForescout vs Aruba ClearPassAruba 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.