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Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs Splunk SOAR vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
Cortex XSOAR enhances ROI by automating tasks, requiring mature SOC processes for effective use and reduced false positives.
Sentiment score
6.3
Splunk SOAR's benefits vary, often improving efficiency, yet setup complexities and costs can challenge perceived returns and integration success.
Sentiment score
7.3
VMware Carbon Black Cloud offers cost savings, improved security, centralized protection, better efficiency, and quick ROI with automation features.
We are positioning Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR, which can be used in the SOC and do a lot of automation for the customer.
We've seen a decrease in false positives and a significant increase in our containment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR support is responsive and skilled, though experiences vary with occasional delays and access issues.
Sentiment score
6.9
Splunk SOAR's support is responsive and efficient, with strong documentation but needs improvement in niche telecom use cases.
Sentiment score
6.6
Users typically find VMware Carbon Black Cloud support efficient, with no negative feedback reported and alternative contacts available for assistance.
The technical support provided by Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is good.
Their support has been better than Anomali's and they are more responsive.
Discovering different troubleshooting methods is harder to do with Splunk SOAR than with Enterprise Security or other Splunk services.
Splunk's technical support is very good and generally not needed often due to the stable environment.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is praised for scalability and integration, handling enterprise demands with careful large deployment planning.
Sentiment score
7.1
Splunk SOAR is highly scalable, adaptable for various environments, with users praising its flexibility despite occasional issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
VMware Carbon Black Cloud is highly rated for scalability, performing well in diverse environments from small to enterprise businesses.
The scalability of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR supports our growth and security needs because we can integrate various tools and continuously add more capability.
It can be extended and adapted as necessary.
Splunk SOAR has the ability to scale quite significantly.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is stable and reliable, with occasional bugs and performance issues, especially in cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.5
Splunk SOAR is stable with minimal outages, effective high-availability features, minor latency issues, and an eight out of ten stability rating.
Sentiment score
7.0
VMware Carbon Black Cloud became reliable after initial instability, with high user satisfaction despite minor performance issues on large deployments.
We have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues.
Splunk SOAR provides a stable environment and technology.
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XSOAR requires improved documentation, expanded IoT support, enhanced features, and better pricing for streamlined integration and user experience.
Splunk SOAR users seek better integration, advanced automation, improved usability, enhanced features, comprehensive documentation, and more responsive support.
VMware Carbon Black Cloud needs better false positive handling, agent efficiency, support improvement, and enhanced features, training, and global support.
The deployment requires integration and the development of integration modules.
One of the significant issues we encounter is system slowdown when we receive an influx of alerts, which inhibits how quickly we can access the information needed for investigation.
To improve the solution, it needs to have complete features that are low-code, no-code, and should be plug-and-play.
Although it enhances alert handling, it still has a journey to compete with Palo Alto SOAR and FortiSOAR.
Splunk's Unified Platform does help consolidate networking security and IT observability tools.
To make Splunk SOAR a better solution, there could be better built-in debugging tools, smarter playbook suggestions, and enhanced lifecycle management.
 

Setup Cost

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is costly but offers valuable integration and features, appealing to medium and large enterprises.
Splunk SOAR's subscription model is costly but justified for its efficiency and automation benefits, especially for larger organizations.
For customers, it is zero versus $20 million, which is why they have to make a decision.
Splunk SOAR is moderately priced, neither cheap nor overly expensive.
Splunk SOAR is affordable cost-wise only.
The solution is free for us, which is a beneficial aspect.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XSOAR excels in integration, automation, and customization, enhancing security operations with efficient orchestration and high user satisfaction.
Splunk SOAR excels in customizable automation, seamless integration, enhancing incident response, and reducing manual tasks with user-friendly features.
VMware Carbon Black Cloud offers cost-effective, real-time security with intrusion alerts, quarantine, host isolation, data search, and threat hunting.
Execution of automatic tasks for collecting, enriching, and correlating security events from hundreds of different technologies.
If I already have an established process, I do not have to change my process to fit into the tool. I can modify the tool to fit into my process, which makes things considerably easier.
We have implemented automation features, such as automated responses to email threats and automatic configuration of target devices for blocking specific IPs.
Creating playbooks using the Playbook Editor in Splunk SOAR is easy. The editor is designed to be user-friendly with visual drag and drop features, allowing for easy workflows without writing any code.
The stable environment and the community provide strong support, reducing the need for technical support.
My impressions of Splunk's ability to predict, identify, and solve problems in real-time are very impressive.
 

Mindshare comparison

Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR9.7%
Microsoft Sentinel16.3%
AWS Security Hub8.3%
Other65.7%
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Splunk SOAR7.7%
Microsoft Sentinel16.3%
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR9.7%
Other66.3%
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
Security Incident Response Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware Carbon Black Cloud6.9%
Proofpoint Threat Response15.4%
ServiceNow Security Operations14.4%
Other63.3%
Security Incident Response
 

Featured Reviews

DayaramGoyal - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers automation but requires enhancements for intuitive configuration
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is a good product with enhanced and efficient playbooks, as demonstrated during our use case simulations. We have implemented automation features, such as automated responses to email threats and automatic configuration of target devices for blocking specific IPs. The analytics feature in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is impressive. The solution is quite exhaustive regarding integrations, with many pre-integrations available, especially for market-leading products. There might be challenges with make-in-India products, as they tend not to build the necessary connectors. This depends on whether you are selling to enterprises or other customers. For government customers, you might encounter many Indian products, such as firewalls, which could pose integration challenges unless you have open APIs. However, for market-leading products, there are ready-made integrations available.
Mack Scott - PeerSpot reviewer
Improves response time by consolidating tools and automating threat detection
I haven't gone too far into it to see anything that needs improvement yet. We can likely include some features related to the integration with on-premises resources, rather than focusing solely on the existing automation. These are the additional features that could be included in the future. Splunk's Unified Platform does help consolidate networking security and IT observability tools. They should integrate Splunk Enterprise Security better into Splunk Cloud.
Tom Kar - PeerSpot reviewer
Shows promise for endpoint detection and response, with room for improvement in complexity and pricing
VMware Carbon Black Cloud is a user-friendly solution that can isolate machines from the rest of the network. When a machine is quarantined, it cannot communicate with any other machines on the network except for the Carbon Black Cloud server. This allows you to investigate the machine without the risk of malware escaping to the network. Carbon Black Cloud's server can communicate with the quarantined machine through DNS and VSCP. This allows you to collect data from the machine, such as system logs, process activity, and registry changes. This data can be used to investigate the infection and determine the next steps. CrowdStrike and Cybereason are also popular EDR solutions. They offer similar features to VMware Carbon Black Cloud but may have different strengths and weaknesses. It is important to evaluate all of your options before choosing an EDR solution. Additionally, it is complex to use, and the pricing should be improved.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
University
7%
Healthcare Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
Comparing pricing to Micro Focus, they were offering bundles, making it free with their SIEM. For customers, it is ze...
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
To improve the solution, it needs to have complete features that are low-code, no-code, and should be plug-and-play. ...
What do you like most about Splunk Phantom?
Splunk SOAR's quick response to incidents is the most valuable part.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Splunk Phantom?
The solution is free for us, which is a beneficial aspect.
What needs improvement with Splunk Phantom?
It would be nice if we could put it on other search heads, not just Enterprise Security. We have an ad hoc search hea...
What to choose: an endpoint antivirus, an EDR solution or both?
I can recommend Carbon Black, an award-winning next-gen anti-virus (NGAV) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) s...
What's the difference between Carbon Black CB Response and Carbon Black CB Defense?
Carbon Black offers two different levels of Endpoint Detection and Response. One is the VM Carbon Black Cloud Endpoin...
What do you like most about Carbon Black CB Response?
Threat hunting is the most valuable feature of VMware Carbon Black Cloud.
 

Also Known As

Demisto Enterprise, Cortex XSOAR, Demisto
Phantom
Carbon Black CB Response
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cellcom Israel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, esri, Cylance, Flatiron Health, Veeva, ADT Cybersecurity
Recorded Future, Blackstone
ALLETE belk
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, Splunk and others in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR). Updated: August 2025.
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