How much does Cisco ISE cost?

Here's the honest breakdown: Cisco ISE typically runs $50,000-150,000+ for enterprise setups. You're looking at hardware appliances ($15,000-50,000), Base license ($3-8 per endpoint), Plus license ($4-10 per endpoint if you need advanced features), Apex license for pxGrid ($6-15 per endpoint), and don't forget annual SmartNet support (18-20% of what you paid for licenses). For a 1,000-endpoint deployment with Plus features, expect around $60,000-80,000 in year one, plus $10,000-15,000 every year after that for support.

What is the difference between Cisco ISE and IronWiFi?

Think of it this way: Cisco ISE is the Swiss Army knife of network security - it handles wired and wireless authentication, device profiling, posture assessment, and pxGrid integration. It does a lot. IronWiFi? We're focused on doing one thing really well: WiFi authentication with RADIUS, captive portals, and OpenRoaming. If you need the full NAC toolkit with device compliance checking, ISE might be worth it. But if WiFi authentication is what you're really after, IronWiFi gets you there at about 10% of the cost.

Can IronWiFi replace Cisco ISE for WiFi authentication?

For WiFi authentication? Absolutely. We support all the same RADIUS authentication methods as ISE (EAP-TLS, PEAP, TTLS), connect to the same identity providers (Active Directory, Azure AD, LDAP), and work great with Cisco access points and controllers. If you're running ISE mainly for WiFi 802.1X without the fancy NAC stuff like posture assessment, IronWiFi does the same job at $5/device/month instead of $50,000+. That's not a typo.

Does IronWiFi work with Cisco Meraki?

You bet! IronWiFi works great with Cisco Meraki. Just point your Meraki setup to use IronWiFi as the RADIUS server for WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise, and we'll handle authentication against Azure AD, Okta, Google Workspace, or Active Directory. Lots of folks use this combo as a simpler, way more affordable alternative to ISE when they just need WiFi authentication.

IronWiFi vs Cisco ISE

Let's be real: you probably don't need everything ISE offers. Here's how we stack up - and where we can save you a small fortune.

Do You Really Need All That?

Look, Cisco ISE is impressive. It's a serious NAC platform with tons of features. But here's the thing - if you're mainly using it for WiFi authentication, you're probably paying for a whole lot of stuff that's just sitting there. We built IronWiFi to give you the WiFi authentication you actually need, without the price tag (or complexity) you don't.

Here's What We've Noticed

A lot of companies set up Cisco ISE for WiFi 802.1X authentication... and never touch the advanced NAC features like posture assessment or pxGrid. Sound familiar? If WiFi auth is what you're really after, switching to IronWiFi could save you $50,000-100,000+ while doing the same job. As of 2026, that gap has only widened with Cisco's latest licensing changes.

How Much Does Cisco ISE Actually Cost?

Cost Component	IronWiFi	Cisco ISE
Hardware	$0 (cloud)	$15,000-50,000
Base License	Included	$3-8/endpoint
Plus Features	Included	$4-10/endpoint additional
Annual Support	Included	18-20% of license
Deployment Time	30 minutes	4-12 weeks
1,000 Users Year 1	~$2,400	~$70,000+
3-Year TCO	~$7,200	~$100,000+

How Do the Features Compare?

Feature	IronWiFi	Cisco ISE
802.1X WiFi Authentication	✓	✓
EAP-TLS / PEAP / TTLS	✓	✓
Azure AD / Entra ID	✓ Native	✓
Active Directory	✓	✓
Okta / Google Workspace	✓ Native	Limited
Captive Portal	✓	✓
Guest WiFi Management	✓	✓
OpenRoaming	✓ WBA Partner	✗
Wired NAC	✗	✓
Device Profiling	Basic MAC	✓ Advanced
Posture Assessment	✗	✓
pxGrid Integration	✗	✓
Cisco Hardware Lock-in	None	Optimized for Cisco
Cloud-Native	✓	✗

When Does Cisco ISE Make Sense?

You need both wired and wireless NAC under one roof
Device posture assessment is a must-have (checking MDM compliance, antivirus status, that kind of thing)
You're using pxGrid to tie into the broader Cisco security ecosystem
You need advanced device profiling that goes way beyond MAC addresses
Your whole network is Cisco and you want everything talking to each other seamlessly

When Is IronWiFi the Better Fit?

WiFi authentication is what you're really trying to solve
You need to work with modern identity providers like Okta or Google Workspace
OpenRoaming or Passpoint is something you're planning for
You'd rather skip the hardware appliances and ongoing maintenance headaches
Budget matters (in 2026, we're talking $5/device/month vs $50,000+)
Your network isn't 100% Cisco - and that's okay
You want to be up and running in 30 minutes, not 4-12 weeks

So, What's the Bottom Line?

If you need the full NAC experience - wired, wireless, device compliance, the works - Cisco ISE is still a solid choice. But if you're honest with yourself and WiFi authentication is what you actually need, IronWiFi gets you there at 90% less cost, deploys in a fraction of the time, and is way easier to manage. If you're running ISE mainly for WiFi 802.1X with RADIUS, you could be overspending by $50,000+ over the next 3 years. That's real money.

Ready to Give It a Try?

Take IronWiFi for a spin with a 14-day free trial. Works great with Cisco access points and Meraki. No credit card needed - just dive in.

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