Azure Network Watcher vs Splunk Observability Cloud comparison

Microsoft and Splunk are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #46 with an average rating of 8.0, while Splunk is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.2. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Splunk’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

2,224 Views
2,157 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Splunk Observability Cloud

Read 89 Splunk Observability Cloud reviews

21,908 Views
7,887 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Splunk Observability Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Splunk Observability Cloud and Azure Network Watcher compete in the monitoring and observability space. Splunk Observability Cloud holds an edge for its comprehensive capabilities suitable for complex environments, while Azure Network Watcher specializes in Azure-specific network monitoring.

Features: Splunk Observability Cloud is tailored for complex environments with real-time insights and integration with tools like ServiceNow. It includes custom dashboards and APM monitoring for large data volumes. Azure Network Watcher is efficient for Azure environments, offering connection troubleshooting, network flow logs, and coverage of network use cases.

Room for Improvement: Splunk Observability Cloud could improve with more transparent pricing, enhanced log management, and a smoother learning curve. Users suggest a need for better alerting systems and increased integration capabilities. Azure Network Watcher would benefit from AI-based features, an improved GUI, and more comprehensive network tool integrations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Splunk Observability Cloud supports on-premises, hybrid, and cloud deployments. Customer service feedback is mixed, with noted responsiveness inconsistencies. Azure Network Watcher offers simpler, cloud-native deployment, praised for its affordability and network-specific technical support, though limited feedback is available on overall service.

Pricing and ROI: Splunk Observability Cloud is viewed as expensive, with cost based on data volume, but users report significant ROI from enhanced efficiencies. There’s a call for flexible pricing models. Azure Network Watcher is affordable for enterprise clients with reasonable pricing for large-scale deployments, potentially costly for smaller businesses, yet both solutions yield valuable returns through improved operational insights.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

August 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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

46th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Splunk Observability Cloud

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (5th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (4th), Cloud Monitoring Software (4th), Container Management (5th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Observability Cloud is 1.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Splunk Observability Cloud	1.5%
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
Other	98.0%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

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Purnambica Kolavennu

Project Manager at AGRICULTURE SKILL COUNCIL OF INDIA (ASCI)

Unified observability has improved real-time governance and now drives data-led decisions

Log Observer Connect is embedded here, but we are facing some delays in centralized log collection and analysis, which can be further fastened. We are collecting all the data metrics and decision-making insights, but all these data-driven decisions coming from different applications are not connected somewhere. A consolidated form or correlation of these insights is not happening between each other due to which we feel we are missing something significant. Some generalized feedback includes that predictive alerts or alarms which can be integrated with AI-driven alarms and alerting features should be established so that there is AI-driven intelligence and anomaly detection happening with a complete systematic process in service delivery. Application dependencies are huge, and business and operational dashboards should be improved. Right now there are very interactive custom dashboards, and every now and then, the personalization of enhancements keeps happening. KPI monitoring, executive reporting, and analytics have definitely been introduced to a great extent. There are few things in cloud-native monitoring, such as integration with AWS and Azure, where we sometimes do face lags. Those things can definitely be improved upon. I have used Datadog and Dynatrace before using Splunk Observability Cloud. Datadog was definitely recommended by most of our peers because of its very strong comprehensive observability and very strong and unique dashboard systems. Dynatrace was also very good because they have offered a lot of AI-driven analysis methods and processes, which was helping our organization a lot. Since our organization has a very strong IT ecosystem for agriculture, very different kinds of customized things are required.

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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

"This will help the company or the administrator, by helping them see how the traffic moves, to make sure that no entities are having any communication issues or different endpoints with task issues."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

"This is a stable system providing stable performance."

"Azure Network Watcher provides valuable features based on your specific requirements and use cases, helping you monitor network bandwidth, throughput, data flow consumption, and control costs by giving insight into egress and ingress traffic, total input and output operations, bandwidth, and threats through IP identification."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is using the gateways with the connections. The monitoring is useful for the logs and application insights into the data. The traffic filtering issues when it comes to deploying those applications are helpful."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."

"My advice to others looking into using Azure Network Watcher is to go for it, as you'll have the tool by default when you're subscribed to Azure VNet."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"Previously with other applications, analyzing and controlling our API latency required almost five to six hours a day of resources, but with Splunk Observability Cloud, I only need to allocate one to two hours maximum per day to accomplish the same tasks."

"We are happy with what we have, how it is deployed and how it serves the need we have deployed it to fill."

"The solution monitors attacks or unauthorized access to the information we want to protect."

"The features I have found most valuable are log searching and log analytics, both of which are quick features."

"Comparing to Cloud, Splunk Cloud, or any other solution, the most valuable feature of Splunk Observability Cloud is that it is entirely based on metrics."

"Splunk APM helps us to find errors immediately and resolve them."

"After moving to Splunk Observability Cloud, it is almost zero downtime."

"The maintenance of Splunk Observability Cloud is very easy; it's manageable."

More Splunk Observability Cloud pros

Cons

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

"There are some occasional downtimes, but these were based on Azure-specific issues."

"I would like to see in the future if we can troubleshoot as a firewall because it is equipment as a network player and some diagnostics."

"Lacks sufficient security features."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"It's not the most friendly or straightforward to set up. I don't see the value versus the way you have to set it up at first."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"I would like to see an improvement and some innovation in the customer interface, which puts something in your design."

"What I don't like is that you are not sure all the data is recorded."

"If a customer utilizes third-party tools and wants to forward data from Splunk Observability Cloud, seamless integration would be beneficial."

"It does not have a user-friendly interface and it is difficult to use."

"I would rate Splunk technical support at six out of ten. When we have a problem and need to create a case, the response isn't quick."

"It is essential for the monitoring tool to deliver quick response times when generating analytical reports, instead of prolonged delays."

"The clustering part of indexes can be more refined."

"If it is a new deployment and you have a medium client with about 2,000 users or computers or servers, it will take about six months just to install and configure."

More Splunk Observability Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"I am not in that circle, but we are currently licensing based on our queries. That is working out for us. Previously, it was by volume of data, and now, we can store as much data as we want."

"The price of Splunk APM is less than some of its competitors."

"The product is a bit expensive considering the competition but the company may negotiate the price."

"Splunk offers a 14-day free trial and after that, we have to pay but the cost is reasonable."

"The pricing is based on several factors, including the scale of deployment."

"Splunk APM is expensive."

"Licensing cost is the biggest argument I get from those divesting from Splunk. There are those within our organization who say we are going to go to other tools since Splunk is too expensive."

"The pricing is reasonable."

More Splunk Observability Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

22%

Construction Company

13%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	33
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	56

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...

See all answers

What needs improvement with SignalFx?

Regarding dashboard customization, while Splunk has many dashboard building options, customers sometimes need to create specific dashboards, particularly for applicative metrics such as Java and pr...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SignalFx?

The solution involves observability in general, such as Application Performance Monitoring, and generally addresses digital applications, web applications, sites, and mobile applications. I worked ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering SignalFx?

We're a customer and end-user. Currently, in France, we cannot use the artificial intelligence option. While this option is enabled for the United States and many countries, it's not yet available ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 15% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

Ixia Network Taps vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 7% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 7% of the time

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Datadog vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

Grafana vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 3% of the time

Dynatrace vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

Avantra vs Splunk Observability Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

More Splunk Observability Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

August 2026

Download Azure Network Watcher product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk Observability Cloud

July 2026

Download Splunk Observability Cloud product report

Also Known As

No data available

Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring, Splunk Real User Monitoring (RUM), Splunk Synthetic Monitoring

Overview

Azure Network Watcher provides advanced network monitoring capabilities including packet capture, cloud-native firewall, and traffic diagnosis, aiding in VPN troubleshooting and security enforcement with enhanced visibility and alerting features.

Azure Network Watcher is essential for monitoring, diagnosing, and analyzing network traffic. It efficiently handles VPN connection issues and enhances network security by capturing and analyzing traffic to assess performance or latency problems. The tool facilitates traffic flow control, security rule verification, and bandwidth monitoring. Users benefit from its capabilities in diagnosing service connections, offering insights into network activity, and identifying potential threats, crucial for maintaining compliance and efficient network management.

What are the key features of Azure Network Watcher?

Packet Capture: Enables detailed network traffic inspection to troubleshoot issues.
Cloud-Native Application Firewall: Provides enhanced protection for applications running in the cloud.
Traffic Monitoring: Allows for real-time analysis and troubleshooting of network traffic.
NSG Flow Logs & AI-Based Monitoring: Enhances flow control and threat detection.
Alerting & Threshold Configuration: Offers customizable alerts via Azure Monitor for proactive management.

What benefits can users look for in reviews?

Improved Network Security: Helps in identifying and mitigating threats efficiently.
Enhanced Visibility: Provides clear insights into network operations and potential issues.
Compliance Support: Assists in maintaining regulatory compliance with thorough monitoring capabilities.
Effective Bandwidth Management: Facilitates control and optimization of network bandwidth.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Azure Network Watcher is implemented to ensure robust security and compliance, crucial for safeguarding sensitive data. It aids retail and manufacturing sectors in optimizing network performance and maintaining seamless connectivity, supporting their digital infrastructure needs.

Microsoft

Splunk Observability Cloud offers sophisticated log searching, data integration, and customizable dashboards. With rapid deployment and ease of use, this cloud service enhances monitoring capabilities across IT infrastructures for comprehensive end-to-end visibility.

Focused on enhancing performance management and security, Splunk Observability Cloud supports environments through its data visualization and analysis tools. Users appreciate its robust application performance monitoring and troubleshooting insights. However, improvements in integrations, interface customization, scalability, and automation are needed. Users find value in its capabilities for infrastructure and network monitoring, as well as log analytics, albeit cost considerations and better documentation are desired. Enhancements in real-time monitoring and network protection are also noted as areas for development.

What are the key features?

Log Searching: Efficiently search and analyze logs from various sources.
Data Integration: Seamlessly integrate with multiple environments.
Dashboard Customization: Tailor dashboards to specific monitoring needs.
Monitoring Capabilities: Provides comprehensive insights into application performance.
Security Features: Analyze and address security threats across systems.
Visualization Tools: Enhance data analysis and system performance optimization.

Why consider this for ROI?

Comprehensive Visibility: Gain complete insights into IT infrastructure.
Performance Optimization: Improve overall system performance and efficiency.
Rapid Deployment: Quick setup to meet organization demands swiftly.
Enhanced Security: Strengthen security measures through detailed analytics.

In industries, Splunk Observability Cloud is implemented for security management by analyzing logs from detection systems, offering real-time alerts and troubleshooting for cloud-native applications. It is leveraged for machine data analysis, improving infrastructure visibility and supporting network and application performance management efforts.

Splunk

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Sunrun, Yelp, Onshape, Tapjoy, Symphony Commerce, Chairish, Clever, Grovo, Bazaar Voice, Zenefits, Avalara

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud

August 2026

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