Apica vs Security Onion comparison

Apica and Security Onion Solutions, LLC are both solutions in the Log Management category. Apica is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.7, while Security Onion Solutions, LLC is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.7. Apica holds a 0.2% mindshare in Log Management, compared to Security Onion Solutions, LLC’s 5.3% mindshare. Additionally, 81% of Apica users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Security Onion Solutions, LLC users who would recommend it.

Apica

Read 11 Apica reviews

398 Views
42 Comparison Views

81% willing to recommend

Security Onion

Read 3 Security Onion reviews

7,270 Views
1,476 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Apica

Security Onion

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Apica and Security Onion are frequently compared in the network monitoring and cybersecurity domain. Security Onion often has the upper hand due to its extensive features which many users find worth the investment.

Features: Apica's monitoring capabilities, real-time analytics, and system performance insights are key features. Security Onion provides a comprehensive suite of security tools, customizable analysis, and superior threat detection and response capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Apica could benefit from improved integration options, more intuitive reporting capabilities, and refining user interface aspects. Security Onion users seek simpler configuration processes, streamlined updates, and enhanced user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Apica is known for straightforward deployment and responsive customer support. Security Onion's complex setup requirements are noted but backed by solid support, though some users seek more guidance during installation.

Pricing and ROI: Apica offers competitive pricing with a valuable ROI. Security Onion, being open-source, presents a cost-effective option with high ROI despite the initial configuration challenges.

To learn more, read our detailed Apica vs. Security Onion Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Apica vs. Security Onion

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Apica

Ranking in Log Management

17th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (17th), IT Operations Analytics (5th), Observability Pipeline Software (2nd)

Security Onion

Ranking in Log Management

20th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

AWS Marketplace (11th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Apica is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Security Onion is 5.3%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management

Featured Reviews

Punith H K

Senior Systems Engineer at Infosys

Enables users to create scripts easily and provides excellent real-time monitoring features

It is easy to create scripts. We don't have to write any script. Ready-made options are available. We can select, drag, and drop the options, and the script is ready. The solution’s real-time monitoring features have had a huge impact on our service delivery. If we have an application and the script for it, we keep monitoring it. When the script goes red, it indicates that something is not working. So, we check and analyze the applications. We keep track of applications and monitor whether they are live or not. The tool is also useful for monitoring cloud services.

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Jörg Kippe

Scientist at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

A mature and affordable solution that is easy to install and easy to update

The product takes time to learn, it's not that easy. In the beginning we had a lot of questions. If you want to use such a tool in an real (industrial) environment, you have to ask how to get the network data. Can we do a full packet capture? Can we provide agents to our end systems? There are no simple solutions to these questions. It's a general problem when running such systems in an industrial environment.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Our application SREs do script checks in such a way that closely mimic our customers' actions using the platform. Because there are so many different ways and options to be able to configure checks to closely mirror your applications' capabilities, it provides a lot of optionality for teams to create the right type of check that can notify when there are any issues. At the end of the day, we want our monitoring tools to be able to catch any outage before our customers do. This is where Apica Synthetic does a great job."

"The solution’s real-time monitoring features have had a huge impact on our service delivery."

"It is easy for beginners to learn and use Apica."

"We see the benefit almost every day. It allows us to be alerted whenever there is a store that is not responding properly around the world. We do have a network operation center (NOC) who receives these alerts, immediately checking if everything is okay."

"It helps with releases because we monitor them in staging. We can tell if something is critically wrong before it gets into production, e.g., if it was load related or function related and also what was different in the dev stage. It then alerts us straightaway inside of our production monitors once it has been released. Therefore, it has improved how we run our systems since we monitor multiple environments."

"The solution captures all our requests and responses."

"I like the transcript download feature. And with UI scripting, it's helpful that Apica handles a lot of the backend work automatically. I don't have to tag everything manually, though I can tag elements later if needed. It's really good at recording the steps."

"Anyone can understand the solution easily because it doesn't require a specific scripted language."

More Apica pros

"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."

"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."

"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."

Cons

"There are some components of the user interface that are not up to date. Just to give you an idea, today we have web applications that are called single-page applications that are much faster than the old style of web application. If we can move faster into the flow of the graphic user interface, and in a more effective way, it will save us a lot of time."

"Learning the tool has always been a little difficult from a scripting perspective because the framework is proprietary and unique. Once we became used to what it does and how to perform it, then it became easier for my team and me. I would like to see some of the testing steps be part of a more well-known language, like Java or Python. That would be a big improvement."

"The initial screen on their dashboard could have a bit more data, but this is a small thing. It could have more data, so we do not need to drill down to a screen behind that initial information. I would like them to get a little better on the user interfaces that we need to go into."

"The reporting part that we use for our executives needs a bit more customization capabilities. Right now, you can use only the three main templates for reporting. We would like to be able to customize them."

"It is difficult to create a script using ZebraTester."

"I have noticed that the tool isn't widely recognized outside our organization. Also, there aren't any tutorials or dedicated resources for this tool, making it challenging for newcomers to learn. It would be beneficial if someone experienced with it could provide guidance."

"Apica should add more features and integrations with different tools and certain ticketing systems, like ServiceNow."

"The having to install an application on your desktop to utilize something like ZebraTester is a little cumbersome. It would be nice to see that become a web-based application. Having the documentation a little more accessible, and easier to digest by people who are just learning how to use the framework, especially when it comes to more complex or more edge-based cases would be really helpful to have."

More Apica cons

"The product is not easy to learn."

"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."

"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is very reasonable, but it is not cheap."

"Another main difference between Apica and the other products was the cost. We really thought that the balance in Apica between the features and costs was the best among all the products on which we did a PoC."

"The tool is completely free and open source. I've been using it for about two and a half years and installed it on both my personal and client machines without needing a license. All features are available for use without any hidden fees."

"I am sure that Apica's price will be lower than LoadRunner."

"The product is less expensive compared to LoadRunner."

"I know Apica is an expensive solution, but it is worth the money for the service it provides."

"The level of alerting accuracy has saved us time and money in operational costs. Overall, it has automated a lot of the manual efforts which have been more complex with some of our other scripting tools or monitors. So, it brings things together by doing things faster and saves us money."

"Apica is pretty cost-effective if you buy both solutions together: Synthetic and LoadTest. If you are going for one solution, the cost is on par with any tool in the market."

More Apica pricing and cost advice

"It is an open-source solution."

"Security Onion is an open-source solution."

"Security Onion is a free solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

29%

Computer Software Company

10%

Media Company

Insurance Company

Computer Software Company

11%

University

11%

Government

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apica Synthetic?

The GUI is powerful and doesn't require scripting or regular expressions. It has a vast finder for correlation, which is easier than other tools like JMeter and LoadRunner. It's also easy to integr...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apica Synthetic?

I know Apica is an expensive solution, but it is worth the money for the service it provides.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Apica Synthetic?

Apica cannot perform endurance or scale-up tests independently. It requires other tools like ALM. When editing scripts, only one can be accessed at a time, risking changes affecting other folders. ...

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What do you like most about Security Onion?

The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?

Security Onion is an open-source solution. On a scale from one to ten, where ten is expensive and one is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Security Onion?

The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult.

See all answers

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Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Apica

June 2025

Download Apica product report

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

May 2025

Download Security Onion product report

Also Known As

Apica LoadTest, Apica Synthetic

No data available

Overview

Apica offers a unified platform to remove complexity and cost associated with data management. You collect, control, store, and observe your data and can quickly identify and resolve performance issues before they impact the end-user. Apica Ascent swiftly analyzes telemetry data in real-time, enabling prompt issue resolution, while automated root cause analysis, powered by machine learning, streamlines troubleshooting in complex distributed systems. The platform simplifies data collection by automating and managing agents through the platform’s Fleet product. Its Flow product simplifies and optimizes pipeline control with AI and ML to help you easily understand complex workflows. Its Store component allows you to never run out of storage space while you index and store machine data centrally on one platform and reduce costs, and remediate faster. Observe offers modern observability data management, helping you with MELT data, effortless dashboarding, and seamless integration of synthetic and real data.

Experience the Apica Ascent Platform

Apica

Security Onion is an open-source Linux distribution for intrusion detection, network security monitoring, and log management. It offers comprehensive solutions for enterprises seeking to enhance their cybersecurity infrastructure.

Security Onion provides a full suite of tools to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats efficiently. As a robust and versatile distribution, it includes capabilities for real-time analysis, network visibility, and threat detection, making it indispensable for security operations centers. Users value this tool for its integration of open-source software with advanced analytics, affording professionals a detailed overview of network traffic and potential intrusions.

What are Security Onion’s most important features?

Intrusion Detection: Utilizes Suricata or Zeek for effective threat monitoring.
Network Security Monitoring: Offers powerful visualization tools for network analysis.
Log Management: Centralizes log collection and analysis.
Comprehensive Dashboards: Provides integrated dashboards for threat visibility.

What benefits or ROI should you look for in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduced cybersecurity costs due to its open-source nature.
Improved Threat Detection: Enhanced ability to identify and respond to threats quickly.
Integration Capability: Seamless integration with existing security infrastructures.
Scalability: Support for scaling network security operations as needed.

Security Onion finds extensive application in industries such as finance, healthcare, and government sectors, where robust network monitoring is critical. Its ability to integrate with existing security tools makes it a preferred choice for organizations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Security Onion Solutions, LLC

Sample Customers

HBO, JPMC, Morgan Stanley, Xander, EA Sports, Volvo

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Apica vs. Security Onion

June 2025

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