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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Flowmon comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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

Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
33rd
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (4th), Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)
Flowmon
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
43rd
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 1.2%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Flowmon is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Harun-Owr-Roshid - PeerSpot reviewer
Have streamlined network visibility and troubleshooting while seeing benefits from AI integration
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database. When precise manual analysis is needed, it's sometimes difficult, so having a centralized database will allow network admins to find actual scenarios more effectively, especially since some information may not be visible on the GUI. Cisco should upgrade their hardware part to run the database, because sometimes it cannot handle the load while all features are running in the network. The database management should indeed be centralized because while AI runs behind the systems, central management is essential. For example, in a network with 100 Cisco switches, a few routers, firewalls, and access points, all data generated should be preserved in a central database. This approach simplifies management and analysis for troubleshooting, as GUI interfaces may not always provide visible information. Centralizing the database will allow for better understanding of which information is preserved for each specific device.
Pifu Lin - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick identification of network issues enhances performance monitoring
We will try to Proof of Concept (POC) to a client in Taiwan. We just use the features for the Network Performance Monitor (NPM) Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly. We need this solution to monitor the network performance. We started using it three…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The search options on Cisco Stealthwatch are the most valuable. You can get very granular with it, down to the kilobits or the seconds if you want. The product supports any time frame that you need, so that is nice."
"Using the Cognitive Analytics feature, we have complete visibility that we didn’t have before."
"The most valuable feature is NetFlow. The beginning of any security investigation starts with NetFlow data."
"The most valuable feature is anomaly detection, where it finds things that are not allowed internally."
"The most valuable feature is having visibility into the data segments throughout our network."
"It's a dependable product that is able to pinpoint where we have vulnerabilities if they occur."
"I believe this solution has reduced our incident response time."
"Most of the engineers I've worked with have been really good. Very knowledgeable and easy to work with."
"Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly."
"The artificial intelligence and automatic detection system in Flowmon Solution are perfect for every, type of customer, such as government and commerce."
"It is an open platform, so in terms of integration, we are quite happy. We can integrate it with other SNMP solutions. We can also integrate it with security solutions, such as a SIEM solution."
"Flowmon is more easy to understand and helps find network issues more quickly."
"The solution is stable."
 

Cons

"One thing I would like to see improved is if it could automatically be tied through ISE, instead of you having to manually get notifications and disable it yourself."
"I would like to see interoperability with other Cisco products because we have ThousandEyes, Cisco Prime, and others. The interaction among these is important to us."
"The initial setup was straightforward but required a lot of data entry, to begin with building out the server types and network types."
"Reliance on Java. Get away from that."
"It's not great as a standalone solution."
"There's a lot of traffic on our network that we don't see sometimes."
"We determined that Stealthwatch wouldn't provide the machine learning model that we required."
"If they can make this product more web-based, that would be amazing."
"It would be helpful to have more details about the monitoring of the infrastructure. It should have support for SNMP. This is something that is currently not there in the product."
"If there was better visualization in Flowmon Solution it would be good."
"I do not know the detailed pricing."
"The licensing price could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is worth the cost."
"On a yearly basis, licensing is somewhere around $30,000."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"Our fees are approximately $3,000 USD."
"The tool is not cheaply priced."
"One of the things which bugs me about Lancope is the licensing. We understand how licensing works. Our problem is when we bought and purchased most of these Lancope devices, we did so with our sister company. Somewhere within the purchase and distribution, licensing got mixed up. That is all on Cisco, and it is their responsibility. They allotted some of our sister company's equipment to us, and some of our equipment to them. To date, they have never been able to fix it."
"​Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside (in traffic)."
"NetFlow is very expensive."
"The price of the solution could be better."
"The licensing fee accrues only once, but that of support is annual."
"It works with a permanent license, and then you can pay for the support. For the gold support, you need to pay yearly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Performing Arts
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
Regarding cost, for the Bangladesh context, Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a little bit high-priced because we are a developing country, making it tough to manage affordable solutions. However, ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper m...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Flowmon Anomaly Detection System?
I don't understand the price. I am in deployment, so I do not know the detailed pricing.
What is your primary use case for Flowmon Anomaly Detection System?
We will try to Proof of Concept (POC) to a client in Taiwan. We just use the features for the Network Performance Monitor (NPM).
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
Flowmon Anomaly Detection System
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
SEGA
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Flowmon and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.