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Corelight vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 21, 2025

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

Corelight
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
7th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
13th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Darktrace
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
1st
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (8th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (14th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (10th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Network Detection and Response (NDR) category, the mindshare of Corelight is 4.3%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 21.5%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Detection and Response (NDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Darktrace21.5%
Corelight4.3%
Other74.2%
Network Detection and Response (NDR)
 

Featured Reviews

HamadaElewa - PeerSpot reviewer
An expensive solution to monitor internet traffic with multiple dashboards
The huge library especially the open source link, makes it the main engine for Corelight with some enhancements in the commercial version. It has a very powerful level, such as signature-based attacks or behavioral attacks, with enhancements in the design. It is very flexible for intelligent implementations like IPs, especially between big companies and banks. Corelight is easy to understand and monitor what is going on behind the team. The solution is already integrated with other systems like Suricata, Elastic, and Microsoft tools. It's very easy to integrate signature-based or behavior-based engines. You can use Elastic for the dashboards to get it from Corelight, along with all the benefits and expandability.
Malebo Lethoba Group - PeerSpot reviewer
Have found the AI analyst and detection functions highly valuable for network operations while managing complexity in initial setup
The functions I find most valuable in Darktrace are the AI analyst as well as the detection.The autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace are not crucial for me because it doesn't work in a network where there are no core switches. In a modern network, the autonomous response doesn't work, especially when sitting in a shared data center.If I'm running a traditional network where I am not in a shared data center with a layer two dedicated for my resources, then it can work for me. However, if I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the embedded IDS from Suricata."
"It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment."
"Corelight is easy to use."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."
"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."
"It is autonomous. So, it learns. It uses algorithms and AI to learn the common behavioral patterns on the network, and it is able to identify threats based on abnormal patterns."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace is its ability to detect and counter threats before they occur."
"Artificial intelligence and machine learning functionalities are valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that it gives us visibility of rogue traffic that is on the network."
"The initial setup is simple."
"The active threat dashboard is the most valuable feature of this solution."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace is the AI that detects abnormal network activity."
"The most valuable features of Darktrace are its full capabilities. You have visibility of everything."
 

Cons

"In the next release, building a graphical user interface would be helpful."
"Machine learning could be a good improvement, but it's very costly."
"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."
"Corelight hasn’t added features in a long time."
"They can enhance the interface of the product. They can make it more interactive and also easier to use for feature access."
"Darktrace does not have any capabilities to configure."
"The solution's user interface and stability could be improved."
"Upper management wasn't sold on the value proposition."
"They just need to make it a little bit more accurate as far as their alerts are concerned. It does generate some false positives that you have to tune. You have to do a lot of tuning when you first get it because of the false positives, but once it is all tuned up and ready to go, it will do its thing from there."
"I'd love them to see maybe covering the cloud a bit more."
"It's a very complex platform."
"The pricing model is a little too high and could be more flexible."
"The management dashboards and the meter dashboards should be more user-friendly and simple to use for easy management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."
"In the ballpark, we're talking about $30K, $50K, and up. It can even be as much as $50K or $100K."
"The pricing is very flexible for Darktrace. Sometimes, a customer does not have the appropriate budget, but Darktrace can handle that. They offer monthly payments, so the customer can acquire the solution very easily."
"It is expensive."
"The pricing is quite high, estimated at around $350,000 per year."
"It is inexpensive considering what it can do and the competition."
"The price of Darktrace is high and could be reduced. We pay approximately $30,000 to $54,000 annually."
"Darktrace is pricey, but the price is reasonable for what the solution does, and it's comparable to other products."
"There is an annual license to use Darktrace."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

What is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Corelight?
It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Corelight?
The solution is too expensive compared to others. If you have the technical knowledge, it's good. Corelight is a very big gap between you and others if you’re new.
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Education First
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Corelight vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
873,209 professionals have used our research since 2012.