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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 #14 with an average rating of 7.7, while Splunk is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.8. Cisco holds a 3.5% mindshare in ID, compared to Splunk’s 2.0% 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
  • 1,188 Views
  • 855 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Read 23 Splunk User Behavior Analytics reviews
  • 1,075 Views
  • 606 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

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.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics
April 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)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.5%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk User Behavior Analytics is 2.0%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Jack Poon - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
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Subhayu Chakraborty - PeerSpot reviewer
Automatic reports streamline tasks and offers easy report gathering
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, though I forgot the exact term. I encountered several issues while trying to create solutions for this advanced version, which seem unrelated to query or data issues.
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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

"The solution is rather easy to use."
"It is quite an intelligent product."
"I like most of Cisco's features, like malware detection and URL filtering."
"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 tool's most valuable feature is threat detection, which is important because we have multiple layers not only in Cisco."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."
"The URL filtering is very good and you can create a group for customized URLs."
More Cisco Sourcefire SNORT pros
"Features like alerts and auto report generation are valuable."
"Splunk User Behavior Analytics is known for its advanced analytics and data correlation capabilities, which help in detecting patterns, anomalies, and security threats."
"The most valuable feature is being able to take data and put it into other systems so that we could see the output, and to see where we need to apply our focus."
"Splunk is more user-friendly than some competing solutions we tried."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to search through a large amount of data."
"We are really pleased with Splunk and its features. It would be practically impossible to function without it. To provide a general overview of the system, it's important to note that the standard log files are currently around 250 gigabytes per day. It would be impossible to manually walk through these logs by hand, which is why automation is essential."
"It's easily scalable."
"The solution is extremely scalable. Our customers are regularly scaling up after installing Splunk."
More Splunk User Behavior Analytics pros
 

Cons

"Performance needs improvement."
"There are problems setting up VPNs for some regions."
"The cloud can be improved."
"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."
"I want to see a better dashboard for the product. The dashboard can be a bit modified or enhanced."
"The customization of the rules can be simplified."
"The implementation could be a bit easier."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
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."
"In terms of improvements, advanced reporting could see enhancements as there are some issues with latency."
"The correlation engine should have persistent and definable rules."
"I'm not aware of any lacking features."
"I would like improved downward integration with other tools such as McAfee and other GCP solutions."
"Currently, a lot of network operations need improvement. We still need people to handle incidents. Our vision is to leverage status and convert it directly from the network devices. It would be ideal if we could take action using APIs and API code and remove manual processes."
"The dashboard part could be improved."
"It could be easier to scale the solution if you are using it on-premise, not in the cloud."
More Splunk User Behavior Analytics cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"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."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"Pricing varies based on the packages you choose and the volume of your usage."
"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."
"I am not aware of the price, but it is expensive."
"There are additional costs associated with the integrator."
"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."
"The licensing costs is around 10,000 dollars."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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?
The pricing is based on the amount of data processed, and it is considered a high-level investment for enterprises. Costs can be cut through efficient use and implementation.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Splunk User Behavior Analytics?
High data ingestion costs can be an issue, especially for large enterprises, as Splunk charges based on the amount of data processed. Complex dashboards may require additional scripting. Some integ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT Logo
Palo Alto Networks Advanced Threat Prevention vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Compared 21% of the time
Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT Logo
Fortinet FortiGate IPS vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Compared 18% of the time
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT Logo
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Compared 15% of the time
Vectra AI vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT Logo
Vectra AI vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Compared 11% of the time
Darktrace vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT Logo
Darktrace vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Compared 8% of the time
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Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics Logo
Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Compared 48% of the time
Darktrace vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics Logo
Darktrace vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Compared 8% of the time
Exabeam vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics Logo
Exabeam vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Compared 7% of the time
Gurucul UEBA vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics Logo
Gurucul UEBA vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Compared 5% of the time
Varonis Platform vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics Logo
Varonis Platform vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Compared 5% of the time
More Splunk User Behavior Analytics Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
April 2025
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT reportDownload Cisco Sourcefire SNORT product report
Buyer's Guide
Splunk User Behavior Analytics
April 2025
Splunk User Behavior Analytics reportDownload 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
April 2025
Free Report: Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics
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