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Azure Network Watcher vs Splunk Observability Cloud comparison

Microsoft and Splunk are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #42 with an average rating of 8.5, while Splunk is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Splunk’s 1.3% 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
  • 1,082 Views
  • 1,039 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
Splunk Observability Cloud
Read 82 Splunk Observability Cloud reviews
  • 10,049 Views
  • 3,115 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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.

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To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud Report (Updated: March 2026).
Buyer's Guide
Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud
March 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
42nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk Observability Cloud
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (6th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (7th), Cloud Monitoring Software (6th), Container Management (5th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 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 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Splunk Observability Cloud1.3%
Azure Network Watcher0.5%
Other98.2%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Read full review
Taiwo Ige - PeerSpot reviewer
Taiwo Ige
IT Operations Engineer at ABC Supply Co. Inc.
Alerting improves incident response across teams and enables faster awareness before customer impact
Splunk Observability Cloud could be improved in terms of integrations with more technical add-ons, such as Zoom. Although they have one with Zoom, it's not available in the cloud, so having that feature would be beneficial. Essentially, Splunk should continue expanding to create easier ways to ingest logs from different products. The out-of-the-box customizable dashboards in Splunk Observability Cloud are very effective in showcasing IT performance to business leaders. However, there are aspects that could be improved, such as linking dashboards to one another. While IT leaders may not drill down, it's crucial to create levels of dashboards for technical users to find root causes, making it effective for stakeholders.
Read full review

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."
"The stability is very good. I rate it a ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall. It is helpful for securing databases."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is good for monitoring device behavior."
"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."
"I like the visibility."
More Azure Network Watcher pros
"Splunk's dashboards are great."
"Splunk APM helps us to find errors immediately and resolve them."
"I have seen a return on investment with Splunk Observability Cloud, with current metrics showing over 75% efficiency, and it has really helped our workflow, saved time, reduced costs, and also saved employees' time."
"Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring gives us complete visibility without the need for storage."
"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."
"The tool's stability is great."
"Dashboards help the application support teams to have a quick look at how their systems are running. It helps other teams as well."
"Splunk APM has helped us to standardize logging and monitoring procedures."
More Splunk Observability Cloud pros
 

Cons

"User experience could be improved."
"The solution could improve by limiting the need to clarify the logs. When the clarification is minimized, it is better for everyone involved."
"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."
"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."
"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."
"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."
"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."
"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."
More Azure Network Watcher cons
"The licensing model is expensive. We need to monitor the amount of data ingested because the cost is based on the data collected."
"There is not a lot of support for the tool's on-premises version, especially since everything is on the cloud."
"The feedback is that Splunk Observability Cloud is forcing me to modify my logs that I am ingesting in Splunk Observability Cloud in a specific format."
"The price of this solution is very high and can be improved."
"It is essential for the monitoring tool to deliver quick response times when generating analytical reports, instead of prolonged delays."
"The deployment can be quite complex."
"In terms of additional features I would want to see in future releases, since Cisco acquired Splunk, more Cisco integration could be beneficial."
"The implementation can be more user-friendly."
More Splunk Observability Cloud cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."
"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."
"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."
"It appears to be expensive compared to competitors."
"Splunk offers a 14-day free trial and after that, we have to pay but the cost is reasonable."
"The product is a bit expensive considering the competition but the company may negotiate the price."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It 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."
"I would rate the price of Splunk Infrastructure Monitoring as an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"Splunk's infrastructure monitoring costs can be high because our billing is based on data volume measured in terabytes, rather than the number of devices being monitored."
More Splunk Observability Cloud pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
University
8%
Government
8%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise53
 

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 do you like most about SignalFx?
The most valuable feature is dashboard creation.
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
 

Comparisons

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Compared 6% of the time
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Compared 4% of the time
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Compared 3% of the time
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Compared 2% of the time
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Compared 2% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Azure Network Watcher
March 2026
Azure Network Watcher reportDownload Azure Network Watcher product report
Buyer's Guide
Splunk Observability Cloud
March 2026
Splunk Observability Cloud reportDownload 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 is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

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
March 2026
Free Report: Azure Network Watcher vs. Splunk Observability Cloud
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