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Network access control · October 2026 Edition

Aruba ClearPass vs Cisco ISE

One of fourteen models named Aruba ClearPass first on the direct prompt; zero named Cisco ISE. Aruba ClearPass was named by eleven of the fourteen models and Cisco ISE by thirteen and Aruba ClearPass carries 21 labels and Cisco ISE 35, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Aruba ClearPass

criticized challenger

Named in one category this edition.

Cisco ISE

criticized challenger

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 rate43%51%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#4#5A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels2135A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Aruba ClearPass reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Portnox Cloud was named alongside these two in eight of the fourteen direct answers. Portnox Cloud vs Aruba ClearPass · Portnox Cloud vs Cisco ISE · PacketFence vs Aruba ClearPass

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.
Aruba ClearPassFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCisco ISE
Direct101 against Aruba ClearPass · 6 against Cisco ISE
Paraphrase002 against Cisco ISE
Comparative04
Budget-constrained013 against Aruba ClearPass · 3 against Cisco ISE
Scale-constrained001 against Aruba ClearPass · 3 against Cisco ISE
Negative004 against Aruba ClearPass · 4 against Cisco ISE
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 October 2026 Edition, Aruba ClearPass and Cisco ISE were named in the same answer fifty-one times, of the 79 answers naming Aruba ClearPass and the 104 naming Cisco ISE. In those answers Cisco ISE took the first choice three times and Aruba ClearPass one.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Aruba ClearPass and Cisco ISE stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
Claude Haiku 4.5
GPT-5.4 mini
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Perplexity Sonar
Grok 4.1 Fast
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
Aruba ClearPass Cisco ISE first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Aruba ClearPass on the left and Cisco ISE on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Aruba ClearPass and Cisco ISE stood in it.

Aruba ClearPass first, Cisco ISE not the choice

1 of 14 modelsCisco ISE was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
GPT-5.4 miniAruba ClearPass alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, FortiNAC, Portnox Cloud

Neither was the first choice, one was named

3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Mistral SmallPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Cisco ISE, Fortinet FortiNAC
DeepSeek V4 FlashPortnox CLEAR, Portnox Cloud alternatives: Aruba ClearPass, Fortinet FortiNAC
GPT-6 LunaPortnox Cloud alternatives: Cisco ISE, FortiNAC, HPE Aruba Networking ClearPass

Neither was named

10 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5Cloudflare One, Jamf Zero Trust alternatives: Fortinet FortiGate, Microsoft Entra ID
Gemini 3.5 FlashPortnox Cloud alternatives: Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass, macmon NAC
Perplexity SonarPortnox Cloud alternatives: Forescout, Fortinet FortiNAC, HPE Aruba ClearPass
Grok 4.1 FastPortnox CLEAR alternatives: OPSWAT MetaAccess
Llama 4 MaverickOPSWAT MetaAccess alternatives: Portnox Cloud
Qwen 3.7 FlashPortnox CLEAR alternatives: Cisco Identity Services Engine, HPE Aruba ClearPass
Kimi K2Portnox CLEAR alternatives: FortiNAC
GLM 4.7 FlashXPortnox Cloud alternatives: HPE Aruba ClearPass, Ivanti Policy Secure
MiniMax M2.5Portnox Cloud alternatives: HPE Aruba ClearPass, Ivanti Policy Secure, OPSWAT MetaAccess
Muse Glimmer 30BOPSWAT MetaAccess / MetaDefender NAC, Portnox CLEAR

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 five points.
Aruba ClearPass5%#3 of 9
Cisco ISE0%#9 of 9
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Aruba ClearPass2%#4 of 10
Cisco ISE2%#5 of 10
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
The order flips: Cisco ISE leads at enterprise.
Cisco ISE20%#2 of 7
Aruba ClearPass6%#5 of 7
The full enterprise standing →

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.

“What to Avoid - Cisco ISE and Aruba ClearPass – While excellent solutions, they are typically expensive and complex” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Cisco/Aruba/Forescout – these are enterprise-priced” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Support ticket resolution delays; challenging to identify responsible support teams; additional costs for maintenance and regional service” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best overall: Aruba ClearPass” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
“Choose Aruba ClearPass for multi-vendor flexibility with mature policy capabilities” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · alternative
“ClearPass is famous for its flexibility and ability to handle complex BYOD” Qwen 3.7 Flash · comparative prompt · alternative

What the models said about Cisco ISE

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.

“Avoid Cisco ISE unless you're already deeply committed to Cisco and have the operational maturity to manage its complexity.” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“What to Avoid - Cisco ISE and Aruba ClearPass – While excellent solutions, they are typically expensive and complex” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · hard negative
“Avoid Cisco/Aruba/Forescout – these are enterprise-priced” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Cisco ISE is the enterprise standard for organizations that want policy depth, identity‑based segmentation, and tight Cisco ecosystem integration.” GLM 4.7 FlashX · comparative prompt · first choice
“Best low-budget enterprise option: Cisco ISE Essentials if you already use Cisco gear or want a mainstream enterprise NAC.” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · first choice
“Choose Cisco ISE if you're deeply invested in Cisco and need the most feature-rich enterprise solution” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared

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.