# PacketFence: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 22 judge labels across 1 category by 13 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/packetfence

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Network access control](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/network-access-control/index.md) | 20% | 2 | 5% | 22 |

## What the models said for it

- "Best Overall Open-Source Option: PacketFence ... If you have an in-house IT engineer comfortable with Linux, start with PacketFence." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, NAC)
- "Tightest budget, technical staff available: PacketFence self-hosted free + optional paid support. Best cost, higher operational effort." (Muse Glimmer 30B, NAC)
- "The best network access control solution for a company with a limited budget is PacketFence, as it is free to use" (Llama 4 Maverick, NAC)
- "the best NAC choice is usually PacketFence if you have some in-house Linux/networking skill" (GPT-5.4 mini, NAC)

## And against it

- "Self-hosting shifts licensing savings into implementation and support effort" (Perplexity Sonar, NAC)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mistral Small | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimi K2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named PacketFence, from 64 of the 70 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- softwareadvice.com: 40
- g2.com: 30
- portnox.com: 30
- cyberpress.org: 28
- gane.ai/index: 26
- peerspot.com: 26
- packetfence.com: 24 (its own site)
- capterra.com: 23
- cybersecuritynews.com: 21
- thectoclub.com: 20

### Pages cited

- https://softwareadvice.com/network-access-control: 32
- https://cyberpress.org/nac-solutions-by-business-size: 28
- https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/network-access-control/smb: 23
- https://cybersecuritynews.com/best-nac-solutions: 21
- https://g2.com/categories/network-access-control-nac/small-business: 20
- https://thectoclub.com/tools/best-network-access-control-software: 20
- https://guideflow.com/blog/network-access-control-software: 18
- https://portnox.com/pricing: 16

## In its own words

What PacketFence's own pages state, read 2026-10-05. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Positioning: Enterprise NAC for network security, device compliance, and guest access. Cloud or self-hosted. (https://packetfence.com/)
- For: campuses, hospitals, and global enterprises (https://packetfence.com/)
- Price stated: Predictable OPEX with no hidden costs; Free software • Optional support packages; consumption pricing (https://packetfence.com/)
- Starting price: 0 (https://www.packetfence.com/pricing)
- Free plan or trial: Limited Time: 30-Day Extended Trial; Start Free with PacketFence Cloud; No credit card required • Full enterprise features • Cancel anytime (https://packetfence.com/)
- Customers named: Savoye, Calvert Hall, Curia, NTW Solutions, Lafayette College ITS, Cosun Shared Service Centre ICT, Hollins University, Infraops

## What it publishes

Every page packetfence.com exposes, read 2026-10-05: 207 addresses. By kind, pages and the last 90 days:

- webinar or virtual event: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- conference or event: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- news or press: 108 pages, 1 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-08-25
- Recent: 2026-08-25 news or press: 2026 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2026
- Recent: 2025-10-27 news or press: 2025 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2025
- Recent: 2024-09-06 news or press: 2024 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2024
- Recent: 2023-08-09 news or press: 2023 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2023
- Recent: 2022-11-22 news or press: 2022 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2022
- Recent: 2021-10-28 news or press: 2021 https://www.packetfence.com/news/2021

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.