Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics comparison

Cisco and Splunk are both solutions in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category. Cisco is ranked #16 with an average rating of 7.7, while Splunk is ranked #15 with an average rating of 7.8. Cisco holds a 2.7% mindshare in ID, compared to Splunk’s 1.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Splunk users who would recommend it.

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Read 19 Cisco Sourcefire SNORT reviews

1,096 Views
921 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Read 25 Splunk User Behavior Analytics reviews

3,130 Views
720 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT and Splunk User Behavior Analytics compete in the cybersecurity domain. Splunk holds the upper hand due to its advanced analytics capabilities offering superior insights.

Features: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT provides real-time network traffic monitoring, a comprehensive intrusion detection system, and an adaptable open-source rule-based alert system. Splunk User Behavior Analytics offers advanced threat detection, comprehensive log analysis, and detailed insights into user actions. It is desirable for situations requiring extended feature sets and sophisticated analytics.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve in areas such as providing more intuitive reporting tools, enhancing user-interface design, and integrating more automated threat intelligence updates. Splunk User Behavior Analytics might focus on reducing deployment complexity, offering more out-of-the-box integrations, and optimizing cost-effectiveness for small to medium-sized enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is known for its easy deployment model and strong community support, allowing quick implementation. Splunk User Behavior Analytics, while requiring more detailed setup due to its complexity, benefits from thorough documentation and professional support, appealing to organizations seeking extensive guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT has a low initial setup cost, offering ROI through proactive threat mitigation. Splunk User Behavior Analytics requires a higher initial investment but justifies this with significant ROI via enhanced security insights and improved operational efficiency, attracting businesses prioritizing long-term returns and deep analytics.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics

September 2025

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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

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

16th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

15th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 2.7%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk User Behavior Analytics is 1.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Splunk User Behavior Analytics	1.9%
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT	2.7%
Other	95.4%

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)

Featured Reviews

Jack Poon

Treasury Specialist at Dah Sing Bank

Offers ease of setup and good documentation

When it comes to the product's deployment phase, we have a lot of vendor support. We have a lot of skills here in Hong Kong. Our company doesn't find any problem deploying Cisco solutions. The solution is deployed on an on-premises version. Speaking about the time required to deploy the solution, I would say that we have quite a lot of previous experience with deploying Cisco products. We have our company's standard design document, which we need to follow. We have a standard testing procedure for all those features. We just take out some appropriate parts and then compile them into one document for an individual project. It is actually quite easy for us to do the documentation, so it just takes one or two hours, and we can do the implementation because all the materials and testing procedures are already in our company standard documents, so it is not that difficult for us.

Read full review

Ahmed Naguib

Director at Techpace

Dashboard design excels while prediction algorithms need improvement

Splunk User Behavior Analytics is still an immature product, so it still needs some R&D to be able to be mature in the market. The prediction, algorithms, and ML codes behind Splunk User Behavior Analytics need to be more tuned. The logic needs to be reviewed because it has many false positives. For Splunk User Behavior Analytics, it is not yet a mature product and we are not recommending this to mature customers for now. The machine learning algorithm in Splunk User Behavior Analytics is actually the core thing that needs to be updated because this feeds all the other functions inside it. If the ML functions are not good enough, that means the risk scoring and all other related information will not be correct.

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

"It has a huge rate of protection. It's has a low level of positives and a huge rate of threat protection. It's easy to deploy and easy to implement. It has an incredible price rate compared to similar solutions."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."

"It is quite an intelligent product."

"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."

"The solution is rather easy to use."

"The solution can be integrated with some network electors like Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco ISE, and Active Directory to provide the client with authentication certificates."

"In general, the features are all great. However, if I need to take hardware for ASA, because they need to upgrade to Firepower, we want to create rules. For that, most of the time we go to the command line. Right now Firepower is working really hard on the grid. You can apply all those rules to the grid. Even if you want to monitor the logs, for example, the activity will tell you which particular user has been blocked because of that rule. Firepower's monitoring interface is very good, because you can see each and every piece. ASA also had it, but there you needed to type the command and be under the server to see all that stuff. In Firepower you have the possibility to go directly to the firewall. The way the monitoring is displayed is also very nice. The feature I appreciate most in Firepower is actually the grid. The grid has worked very well."

More Cisco Sourcefire SNORT pros

"It is a solution that helps test and measure customer satisfaction."

"The most valuable feature is the ability to search through a large amount of data."

"Splunk's technical support is amazing."

"The solution is fast, flexible, and easy to use."

"Splunk User Behavior Analytics is known for its advanced analytics and data correlation capabilities, which help in detecting patterns, anomalies, and security threats."

"It's straightforward in terms of configuration and troubleshooting and log management and monitoring as well. These are the edge points in addition to it being a modular solution where you can capitalize on your current licenses with extra licensing models, which can match the customer's business requirement and it can help the customer to design or to actually plan for their own roadmap."

"The product is at the forefront of auto-remediation networking. It's great."

"The most valuable features are its data aggregation and the ability to automatically identify a number of threats, then suggest recommended actions upon them."

More Splunk User Behavior Analytics pros

Cons

"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."

"I don't think this solution is a time-based control system, because one cannot filter traffic based on time."

"The cloud can be improved."

"Integration with other components — even Cisco's own products — can be enhanced to improve administrative experience."

"I want to see a better dashboard for the product. The dashboard can be a bit modified or enhanced."

"The initial setup is a little difficult compared to other products in the market. It depends on the environment. If we are doing any migration, it might take months in a brown-field environment."

"The customization of the rules can be simplified."

"I did not experience any pain points that required improvement. Maybe a couple of false-positives, but that's about it."

More Cisco Sourcefire SNORT cons

"High data ingestion costs can be an issue, especially for large enterprises, as Splunk charges based on the amount of data processed."

"The dashboard part could be improved. While using it, I noticed two options: Classic, which is adequate yet only in black and white, and another one that is more advanced or smart."

"We'd like the ability to do custom searches."

"In terms of improvements, advanced reporting could see enhancements as there are some issues with latency. Additionally, there are challenges with configuration findings during lexical analysis."

"The machine learning algorithm in Splunk User Behavior Analytics is actually the core thing that needs to be updated because this feeds all the other functions inside it."

"The solution is much more expensive than relative competitors like ArcSight or LogRhythm. It makes it hard to sell to customers sometimes."

"They should work to add more built-in correlation searches and more use cases based on worldwide customer experiences. They need more ready-made use cases."

"The machine learning algorithm in Splunk User Behavior Analytics is actually the core thing that needs to be updated because this feeds all the other functions inside it."

More Splunk User Behavior Analytics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."

"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."

"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."

"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."

"We have a three-year license for this solution."

"My biggest complaint is the way they do pricing... You can never know the pricing for next year. Every single time you adjust to something new, the price goes up. It's impossible to truly budget for it. It goes up constantly."

"Pricing varies based on the packages you choose and the volume of your usage."

"There are additional costs associated with the integrator."

"I am not aware of the price, but it is expensive."

"The licensing costs is around 10,000 dollars."

"I hope we can increase the free license to be more than 5 gig a day. This would help people who want to introduce a POC or a demo license for the solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?

The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?

If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other tools in the market that are more expensive than Cisco. There are no additional c...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?

Cisco offers the Cisco DNA Center, which is a source that provides crucial information for us to monitor performance, and see whether there is any trouble. We are using Cisco DNA center, but again,...

See all answers

What do you like most about Splunk User Behavior Analytics?

The solution's most valuable feature is Splunk queries, which allow us to query the logs and analyze the attack vectors.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Splunk User Behavior Analytics?

Splunk User Behavior Analytics is a premium product. Compared to all other products in the market, it is the most expensive one in all aspects including professional service and licenses, even the ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Splunk User Behavior Analytics?

Splunk User Behavior Analytics is still an immature product, so it still needs some R&D to be able to be mature in the market. The prediction, algorithms, and ML codes behind Splunk User Behavi...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Compared 18% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Compared 17% of the time

ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

Compared 10% of the time

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Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Compared 49% of the time

Exabeam vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Compared 8% of the time

Darktrace vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Compared 6% of the time

Rapid7 InsightIDR vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Compared 4% of the time

Varonis Platform vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT

October 2025

Download Cisco Sourcefire SNORT product report

Buyer's Guide

Splunk User Behavior Analytics

September 2025

Download Splunk User Behavior Analytics product report

Also Known As

Sourcefire SNORT

Caspida, Splunk UBA

Overview

Snort is an open-source, rule-based, intrusion detection and prevention system. It combines the benefits of signature-, protocol-, and anomaly-based inspection methods to deliver flexible protection from malware attacks. Snort gained notoriety for being able to accurately detect threats at high speeds.

Cisco

Splunk User Behavior Analytics is a behavior-based threat detection is based on machine learning methodologies that require no signatures or human analysis, enabling multi-entity behavior profiling and peer group analytics for users, devices, service accounts and applications. It detects insider threats and external attacks using out-of-the-box purpose-built that helps organizations find known, unknown and hidden threats, but extensible unsupervised machine learning (ML) algorithms, provides context around the threat via ML driven anomaly correlation and visual mapping of stitched anomalies over various phases of the attack lifecycle (Kill-Chain View). It uses a data science driven approach that produces actionable results with risk ratings and supporting evidence that increases SOC efficiency and supports bi-directional integration with Splunk Enterprise for data ingestion and correlation and with Splunk Enterprise Security for incident scoping, workflow management and automated response. The result is automated, accurate threat and anomaly detection.

Splunk

Sample Customers

CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia

8 Securities, AAA Western, AdvancedMD, Amaya, Cerner Corporation, CJ O Shopping, CloudShare, Crossroads Foundation, 7-Eleven Indonesia

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics

September 2025

Free Report: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics

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