Cisco ISE vs CyberArk Comparison: Reviews, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2026

Detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right solution for your team

Updated Apr 2026 8 min read

Cisco ISE

0.0 (0 reviews)

Cisco Identity Services Engine is a network administration product that enables you to create and enforce security policies for users and devices connecting to your organization's network infrastructure.

Starting at --
Free Trial 90 days
VS

CyberArk

0.0 (0 reviews)

CyberArk provides a comprehensive identity security platform centered on privileged access management to protect your critical assets across cloud, hybrid, and enterprise environments from advanced cyber threats.

Starting at --
Free Trial 30 days

Quick Comparison

Feature Cisco ISE CyberArk
Website cisco.com cyberark.com
Pricing Model Custom Custom
Starting Price Custom Pricing Custom Pricing
FREE Trial ✓ 90 days free trial ✓ 30 days free trial
Free Plan ✘ No free plan ✘ No free plan
Product Demo ✓ Request demo here ✓ Request demo here
Deployment saas on-premise saas on-premise
Integrations Cisco DNA Center Splunk ServiceNow Microsoft Azure AD Okta Check Point Palo Alto Networks Rapid7 Tenable Qualys AWS Azure Google Cloud ServiceNow Splunk SailPoint Okta Active Directory Ansible Terraform
Target Users mid-market enterprise mid-market enterprise
Target Industries finance healthcare government
Customer Count 0 0
Founded Year 1984 1999
Headquarters San Jose, USA Newton, USA

Overview

C

Cisco ISE

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) gives you a centralized way to manage security across your entire network. You can see exactly who and what is connecting to your environment, whether they are using a wired, wireless, or VPN connection. By gathering real-time data from users and devices, you can make informed decisions about who gets access to specific resources and under what conditions.

You can automate your network security by creating granular policies that adapt based on the user's role, device type, and location. This helps you stop threats before they spread by automatically isolating suspicious devices. Whether you are managing a corporate office or a distributed workforce, it provides the visibility you need to maintain a zero-trust security posture without slowing down your team.

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CyberArk

CyberArk helps you secure identities across your entire organization, focusing on protecting privileged access to your most sensitive data and infrastructure. You can manage human and machine identities through a unified platform that prevents unauthorized access and stops lateral movement during a breach. Whether you are securing cloud consoles, DevOps pipelines, or traditional on-premise servers, you get a centralized way to monitor and control who has access to what.

The platform is designed for mid-market and enterprise organizations that need to meet strict compliance requirements and reduce their attack surface. You can automate the rotation of credentials, record privileged sessions for auditing, and detect anomalous behavior in real-time. By implementing a zero-trust approach to identity, you ensure that every access request is verified and authorized, regardless of where it originates.

Overview

C

Cisco ISE Features

  • AI Endpoint Analytics Identify and profile every device on your network automatically using AI-driven behavioral modeling to eliminate blind spots.
  • Zero Trust Access Enforce software-defined segmentation to ensure you only grant users access to the specific applications they need for work.
  • Automated Containment Block or quarantine compromised devices instantly through integrations with your security tools to prevent lateral movement of threats.
  • Guest Access Management Create custom web portals for your visitors to provide secure, time-limited internet access without compromising your internal data.
  • Compliance Monitoring Check the security posture of every device before it connects to ensure they meet your corporate encryption and antivirus standards.
  • Centralized Policy Management Define your security rules once and push them across your entire global network from a single, unified management console.
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CyberArk Features

  • Privileged Access Manager. Securely store and rotate credentials for your most sensitive accounts to prevent unauthorized access to critical systems.
  • Identity Security Platform. Manage both human and machine identities from a single dashboard to maintain consistent security policies everywhere.
  • Session Recording. Monitor and record privileged sessions in real-time so you can audit activities and meet compliance regulations easily.
  • Secrets Manager. Protect and automate the delivery of secrets used by applications and DevOps tools without hardcoding credentials.
  • Endpoint Privilege Manager. Remove local admin rights from your workstations and servers to stop malware from spreading across your network.
  • Cloud Entitlements Manager. Visualize and manage permissions across your multi-cloud environments to eliminate excessive or unused access rights.

Pricing Comparison

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Cisco ISE Pricing

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CyberArk Pricing

Pros & Cons

M

Cisco ISE

Pros

  • Unmatched visibility into every device connected to your network
  • Granular policy control for complex enterprise environments
  • Seamless integration with the broader Cisco security ecosystem
  • Powerful automation for isolating and remediating infected endpoints
  • Highly scalable for global organizations with thousands of users

Cons

  • Significant learning curve for initial setup and configuration
  • Requires substantial hardware resources for on-premise deployments
  • Licensing structure can be complex to navigate and manage
A

CyberArk

Pros

  • Industry-standard protection for high-value privileged accounts
  • Comprehensive session recording and auditing for compliance
  • Strong automation capabilities for password rotation
  • Scales effectively across massive enterprise environments

Cons

  • Initial setup and configuration can be complex
  • Requires dedicated administrative resources to manage
  • User interface can feel overwhelming for beginners
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