AWS CloudTrail vs Idira Privileged Access Manager comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Idira by Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the User Activity Monitoring category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.6, while Idira by Palo Alto Networks is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 9.9% mindshare in UAM, compared to Idira by Palo Alto Networks’s 14.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Idira by Palo Alto Networks users who would recommend it.

AWS CloudTrail

Read 17 AWS CloudTrail reviews

2,051 Views
2,051 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Idira Privileged Access Man...

Read 231 Idira Privileged Access Manager reviews

27,682 Views
830 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

AWS CloudTrail

Idira Privileged Access Man...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 2, 2026

Idira Privileged Access Manager and AWS CloudTrail both operate in the realm of security management. Idira offers a more comprehensive suite of privileged session monitoring features, which gives it an edge in feature set.

Features: Idira Privileged Access Manager provides robust monitoring of privileged sessions, session recordings, password management, and integration with platforms such as Unix and databases. It also supports SSH keys and includes real-time monitoring and session termination. AWS CloudTrail excels at logging API calls within AWS environments, integrates with AWS applications like Lambda and Amazon S3, and enhances security audits and troubleshooting capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Idira Privileged Access Manager requires an improved user interface for broader platform compatibility, better integration of SAML, and a streamlined user experience. AWS CloudTrail would benefit from support for non-API activities, quicker event capture, and more comprehensive filtering options across various parameters.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Idira Privileged Access Manager is predominantly deployed on-premises and in hybrid cloud environments, involving a more complex setup process, with variable customer support experiences. AWS CloudTrail is easier to deploy as a cloud-native service within AWS environments, receiving positive feedback for its timely and effective customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Idira Privileged Access Manager has a higher price point, which may be prohibitive for smaller organizations despite its extensive features. It often requires significant investment but delivers ROI through enhanced security and compliance. AWS CloudTrail is more affordable, often seen as low-cost due to its integration with existing AWS subscriptions, with additional value through customizable log storage options via S3 at minimal expense.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS CloudTrail vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudTrail vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager

September 2026

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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

AWS CloudTrail

Ranking in User Activity Monitoring

2nd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Idira Privileged Access Man...

Ranking in User Activity Monitoring

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

231

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Password Managers (2nd), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (1st), Mainframe Security (1st), Operational Technology (OT) Security (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the User Activity Monitoring category, the mindshare of AWS CloudTrail is 9.9%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Idira Privileged Access Manager is 14.7%, up from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

User Activity Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Idira Privileged Access Manager	14.7%
AWS CloudTrail	9.9%
Other	75.4%

User Activity Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Chukwudi Uzoma

Head Of IT, Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Comprehensive audit trails have transformed incident investigations and strengthen security posture

The best features AWS CloudTrail offers are complete API activity logging, multi-account audit visibility, integration with AWS Organizations, event history for investigation, integration with CloudWatch and Security Hub, S3 log activity, and compliance and forensic support. Using AWS CloudTrail in that investigation has significantly improved my security posture, governance capabilities, and audit readiness. It provides data accountability across the AWS environment that helps me investigate incidents much faster than would ever be possible. AWS CloudTrail has reduced investigation times dramatically. Activities that previously required hours of manual analysis can now be resolved in seconds because the audit trail is readily available. It has also simplified audit preparation because evidence of AWS activities is automatically captured and retained. I particularly value the ability to answer the questions: who did what, when, and from where. Those are the most important questions during incident investigations and audits. AWS CloudTrail has positively impacted my organization by significantly improving my security posture, audit readiness, governance, and control capabilities. It provides accountability across AWS environments and helps me investigate incident management much faster than ever was possible. I noticed that my investigations during incidents are significantly more surgical, more reliable, and straight to the point.

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Singaravelu C

CyberArk Engineer at Tata Consultancy

Provides full visibility into user activity and ensures secure end-to-end access across critical systems

In CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, I see room for improvement as I am working in the on-premises networks, and now we are also having the cloud-based PAM. So there, everything is maintained by the CyberArk Privileged Access Manager team, and we are only maintaining the PSM servers. So it is already upgraded from the on-premises network to the cloud network. If you ask me what we can implement beyond that, I just need a few minutes to think about what new things, because it is already an end-to-end security on-premises itself. Now, when it comes to PCloud, Privileged Cloud, it is more secure than the on-premises networks because most of the things are handled using the cloud itself. So it is an already upgraded version; we do not need to implement something new. But if you think in that way, we can have a chance to implement our things. If anything could be improved in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, I think we could build a small agent AI in my team, we could give access to these logs—the Vault logs, PSM logs, and CPM logs. Whenever the system is going down, the AI will automatically check. If we actually implement agent AI in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, it will check the logs, and if any errors are coming, it automatically triggers alerts and gives the solution. That is the best improvement I can think of because these days, most things are done by agent AI. So if we also implement this agent AI in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager, we can add more features.

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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

"The solution is good as a central logging platform for showing all cloud events."

"One of the most valuable features of AWS CloudTrail is its ability to track and monitor API calls detailedly."

"The product’s most valuable feature is monitoring. It helps us audit the changes in AWS account at the application and resource level."

"It is a stable solution. AWS handles it well."

"From a scalability point of view, the tool has no issue, and it is completely fine."

"AWS CloudTrail helps in accelerating incident investigation and response. It increases it because I pull out the logs to CloudTrail, and from CloudTrail watch, I'll send it to the Security Hub and do a visualization with Prometheus and Grafana."

"AWS CloudTrail is very reasonably priced and I definitely recommend AWS CloudTrail to those who are planning or considering using it; it is a must-have service in the AWS environment, and it should be used."

"The management events and CloudTrail Insights are valuable."

More AWS CloudTrail pros

"It is an extremely scalable solution."

"The solution is scalable."

"It is best suited for mid to large-size enterprises; it is priced well, it is the market leader, and I think that it's the best solution."

"It does what it promised, it secures our platforms, has the scalability, and it is just a solid product."

"We are able to centrally manage credentials, touch applications, and rotate passwords."

"CyberArk has been easy for us to implement and the adoption has been good. We've been able to standardize a bunch of things. We've been able to standardize relatively easily with the use of the platforms and managing the policies."

"I found it valuable that CyberArk Privileged Access Manager can be integrated with PTA (privileged threat analytics), and this means that it will tell you if there's a risk to the logins and signs of risk and if risky behavior is observed. It's a good feature. Another good feature is the CPM (central password manager) because it helps you rotate the passwords automatically without involving the admins. It can go and update the scheduled tasks and the services. At the same time, if there's an application where it cannot do all of these, CPM will trigger an automatic email to the application owners, telling them that they should go ahead and change the password. This allows you to manage the account password that CyberArk cannot manage, which helps mitigate the risk of old passwords, where the password gets compromised, and also allows you to manage the security of the domain."

"Security is the solution's most valuable feature."

More Idira Privileged Access Manager pros

Cons

"The product's initial setup phase is not pretty straightforward."

"Once the organization defines its policies, it must immediately enable AWS CloudTrail and integrate it with auto-remediation procedures using Lambda functions. This ensures that the main administrator can receive information quickly and on time without delay."

"AWS CloudTrail can sometimes generate too much information, which might lead to a lot of unnecessary data, particularly false positives."

"The solution's operation visibility could be improved."

"AWS CloudTrail should be redesigned to capture non-API calls. It would be more effective to have one tool that can perform multiple tasks instead of relying on multiple services for non-API activities."

"Maybe if we could do direct queries on CloudTrail without needing to export it to Athena, that'd be great."

"AWS CloudTrail does not fit directly into our architecture as it functions more as a helper service, which limited our utilization of its capabilities."

"Searching the logs is not very easy; it requires a lot of patience and hard work to find the right information in the log."

More AWS CloudTrail cons

"The tool's UI has bugs and lags. It needs to be improved. The deployment process can be complex due to multiple components for various functionalities, each requiring separate infrastructure management. To simplify this process, consolidating all these components into a single platform could be beneficial. The product's pricing could be cheaper."

"The solution is too big and complex for any businesses that are small or medium-sized. They should offer a more compact version or make a solution better suited to smaller businesses."

"Initial setup is complex. Lots of architecture, lots of planning, and lots of education and training are needed."

"In terms of mean time to respond, I acknowledge variable response time. The L1 team is proactive, yet the vendor often pushes to close incidents swiftly, even when issues remain unresolved."

"Transitioning from a traditional on-premises deployment to the privileged cloud has resulted in losing access to many logs and administrative tools typically available on the back end."

"I think having a distributed architecture would certainly help this solution."

"Upgrading the product is very difficult, so this could be an area for improvement."

"Improvements in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager should focus on simplifying installation and upgrade times, and also consider making professional services training more accessible to implementers and partners."

More Idira Privileged Access Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"AWS CloudTrail is free."

"AWS CloudTrail is pretty affordable, and I have to double-check, but the service is free to use. I can add logs on the console, but if I want to store logs long-term, then I have to pay a storage fee, but it's relatively inexpensive."

"CloudTrail itself is free of cost."

"AWS CloudTrail is a cheap solution."

"The solution is free if you don't need customizations but is not expensive otherwise."

"It is a very cheap service because management is a SaaS offering from AWS."

"I have heard from my leaders that CyberArk is costlier in terms of licensing. The support and maintenance are also costly. We use their premium support, but for the price we pay, we do not get the value."

"The pricing is slightly higher compared to other solutions, but it is reasonable because there are better security features."

"The main problem for the tool is its licensing. I work for a really big company. When you try to develop this as a service, usually you work with leverage teams who are formed with dozens of members. You might dedicate one FTE, or less, for something, e.g., an antivirus administrator. You might have half an FTE's effort dedicated to administering the antivirus, but then you have a team of about 30 users who might access that ticket. The problem is that CyberArk eliminated the possibility of concurrent users years ago. This is a big problem for companies who work with leverage teams. You need to pay for everyone. 40 licenses are used by 20 or 30 people. This is a big problem because licenses are not precisely cheap."

"I believe that this solution is priced well. It's the market leader and I think that it's the best solution."

"Although CyberArk Privileged Access Management is expensive, its protection capabilities outweigh the cost."

"Overall, its pricing is really good. The main difference from all the other vendors is that they have one package that covers all the functionality and modules of the basic PAM, except the add-on modules like adware and server protection. It also doesn't include the licenses for domain controller protection or maybe an API call-related feature. For the basic privileged access management, the bundle pricing is really good, but when it comes to an agent-based solution for advanced cyber protection or application identity managers, it is expensive. Services are also very expensive if you hire the services team from CyberArk, but these guys are really good. For a couple of large banking projects, we had an experience with them. The banks wanted to have things quickly and efficiently, so we had to hire them. If we take four weeks, these guys can do everything on a weekend. They charge quite a big sum of money, but they know the system well."

"If you want a Ferrari, it will cost you. The solution is really nice, so it costs the client, but in the long run, it is very good. If you buy a solution that costs a lot to maintain because it is not stable, and you are frequently asking for consultant support, it costs more."

"Quite expensive"

More Idira Privileged Access Manager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

15%

Construction Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

14%

University

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	43
Large Enterprise	175

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS CloudTrail?

AWS CloudTrail is categorized into management events, data events, and CloudTrail Insights. For one hundred thousand events, management costs are approximately two dollars, data events ten cents, a...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS CloudTrail?

AWS CloudTrail could be improved by adding more intelligent anomaly detection capabilities, stronger AI-assisted investigation workflows, easier root cause analysis for complex event chains, and im...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS CloudTrail?

The primary use case for AWS CloudTrail is auditing and security monitoring. AWS CloudTrail allows me to track all API activity across my AWS organization, investigate security events, support comp...

See all answers

How does Sailpoint IdentityIQ compare with CyberArk PAM?

We evaluated Sailpoint IdentityIQ before ultimately choosing CyberArk. Sailpoint Identity Platform is a solution to manage risks in cloud enterprise environments. It automates and streamlines the m...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?

The pricing is reasonable compared to other software options we evaluated, and it is straightforward. However, overall costs depend on deployment size and licensing requirements.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?

While the access control capabilities are useful, streamlining some configuration and policy management workflows could enhance the user experience for administrators. A simpler interface for creat...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 36% of the time

Proofpoint Insider Threat Management vs AWS CloudTrail

Compared 23% of the time

Amplitude vs AWS CloudTrail

Compared 7% of the time

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Safeguard by One Identity vs Idira Privileged Access Manager

Compared 3% of the time

Keeper Enterprise Password Manager vs Idira Privileged Access Manager

Compared 3% of the time

Teleport vs Idira Privileged Access Manager

Compared 3% of the time

NetWitness Platform vs Idira Privileged Access Manager

Compared 3% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Idira Privileged Access Manager

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudTrail

October 2026

Download AWS CloudTrail product report

Buyer's Guide

Idira Privileged Access Manager

October 2026

Download Idira Privileged Access Manager product report

Also Known As

CloudTrail

CyberArk Privileged Access Security, CyberArk Enterprise Password Vault

Overview

AWS CloudTrail offers comprehensive monitoring of AWS environments, enabling detailed tracking and auditing of API calls, changes, and account activities, promoting enhanced security and compliance.

AWS CloudTrail integrates seamlessly with other AWS services to monitor API calls and provide robust logging functionality. It enhances security by logging unauthorized access and scales for comprehensive monitoring across services. CloudTrail also aids compliance by retaining logs, supports troubleshooting with detailed logs, and improves workflow efficiency through integration with tools like Dynatrace. There are opportunities for advancements such as improved filtering, real-time visibility, and better documentation.

What are AWS CloudTrail's important features?

Contextual Activity Tracking: Provides detailed insights into environment activities.
Audit Assistance: Facilitates audits with extensive logs and activity histories.
Change Notifications: Sends notifications for changes in your AWS environment.
Automatic Alerts: Alerts automatically on specific metrics and potential security issues.
Seamless Integration: Integrates with AWS services to enhance monitoring capabilities.
Comprehensive Security: Tracks unauthorized access to enhance security.
Scalable Monitoring: Scales to monitor AWS services comprehensively.
Troubleshooting Support: Detailed logs aid in identifying and solving issues.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Security: Provides visibility into unauthorized access attempts.
Improved Compliance: Aids in meeting compliance requirements through log retention.
Efficient Integration: Boosts workflow efficiency when integrated with tools like Dynatrace.
Cost-Effective Storage: Facilitates long-term storage by integrating with Amazon S3.
Proactive Monitoring: Enables proactive monitoring and incident investigation.

Organizations across industries leverage AWS CloudTrail for auditing AWS environments, analyzing access and activities for compliance, and accelerating incident investigations. It is employed to monitor API calls, track AWS account operations, and enhance security visibility. Industries use it for proactive monitoring, historical tracking, and streamlining troubleshooting processes. CloudTrail aids in governance and risk management, ensuring transparency in cloud service operations and supporting long-term storage strategies.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager safeguards privileged accounts through password management, credential rotation, and session recording. With seamless integration and real-time monitoring, it ensures robust security across platforms.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager is recognized for its extensive capabilities in managing and securing privileged accounts. It offers vital functionalities such as automatic password rotation, real-time session monitoring, and cross-platform integration through APIs and custom connectors. Users find the flexibility in workflows and granular access controls beneficial, particularly in protecting access across cloud and on-prem infrastructures. However, improvements in its interface, installation process, plugin support, and integration with third-party tools are often suggested. Pricing is a concern for many, along with the need for better dashboard reporting, user provisioning, and enhanced documentation. Organizations leverage this tool for encrypting and monitoring critical account activities and automating password management to bolster security.

What are the key features of CyberArk Privileged Access Manager?

Enterprise Password Vault: Provides secure storage and management of enterprise credentials.
Privilege Session Manager: Offers comprehensive session recording and monitoring.
Privileged Threat Analytics: Detects and alerts on potential credential threats.
Integration Capabilities: Easily integrates with multiple systems using APIs and custom connectors.

What benefits or ROI should users expect?

Enhanced Security: Automates and centralizes password management, reducing risk of account misuse.
Compliance Support: Ensures alignment with compliance policies through automated processes.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines security operations with real-time monitoring and integration.
Adaptability: Protects privileged access across diverse infrastructure setups including cloud and on-prem.

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager finds substantial use in industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology, where the protection of privileged accounts is critical. These sectors rely on its capabilities to manage application credentials securely and provide safe access for developers, administrators, and vendors across various infrastructures.

Idira by Palo Alto Networks

Sample Customers

HTC, British Gas, Solinor, 2C2P

Rockwell Automation

Buyer's Guide

AWS CloudTrail vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager

September 2026

Free Report: AWS CloudTrail vs. Idira Privileged Access Manager

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