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Corelight vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 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)
6th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
19th
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 (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), AI-Powered Chatbots (3rd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category, the mindshare of Corelight is 10.6%, up from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 26.2%, up from 25.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
 

Featured Reviews

Dan Jeske - PeerSpot reviewer
An open-source solution that gave us insight into our clients' network traffic flow
We use the solution for packet capture sampling. We offer it as part of our managed service. It's so we can identify east-west traffic on a customer's network Corelight is low-cost and made on open-source, and the code is Zeek. It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment.…
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 ( /products/darktrace-reviews ) 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

"Corelight is easy to use."
"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace and the most valuable feature is the artificial intelligence module because that is the tool that determines automatically if there is any risk or not in the network."
"The scalability of Darktrace is very high."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace is its ability to detect and counter threats before they occur."
"The most valuable features of Darktrace are the tracing of unusual external emails and monitoring the local network."
"The initial setup is simple."
"Darktrace's most valuable features are that it understands the network environment and is able to trace the traffic and alert on anomalies."
"It is very easy to work with Darktrace once you know how it works and the type of permissions that you need to get related to the security over a network. The interface is awesome. I'm sure that you have seen Ironman, and you know Jarvis, the computer of Tony Stark. The interface of Darktrace is very similar, and you can see in 3D, like a hologram, the whole network, traffic, and all the traces inside the network. The interface is awesome, and it provides a lot of information. At least for us, it is very easy to handle this interface, get the reports, and do the interpretation of those reports. Darktrace also provides mobile monitoring. With an app on your mobile phone, you can view the information live, which is very useful for area directors and field engineers. Darktrace can be also correlated with any type of big data solution, such as Splunk."
"Technical support is helpful and responsive."
 

Cons

"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."
"Machine learning could be a good improvement, but it's very costly."
"In the next release, building a graphical user interface would be helpful."
"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."
"Although we haven't detected any network threats since implementing Darktrace, we are unsure of its efficacy. It would be beneficial if the solution could offer additional details to the user regarding any potential or prevented threats. Additionally, there could be better search tools and integration."
"One area for improvement is the alerting system, which generates too many alerts and becomes labor-intensive for organizations not equipped with enough personnel in their SOC."
"I was under impression that Darktrace's automatic blocking would be an out-of-the-box feature, but we had to integrate it with our firewall to get it to block automatically. The salesperson should be upfront and explain that you need to integrate it with your network. I would also like to see more reporting on risk. Banks in my region want to see at a glance the risk level of various assets."
"The pricing is a bit high for the region."
"Darktrace needs significant improvement in its notification capabilities."
"I would like to see a feature where the tool ingests information from an anti-malware product that is present at the endpoint."
"The management user interface needs improvement."
"In the next version, I'd like to see penetration testing."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"The tool's pricing is costly."
"The price of the solution is not cheap. It is not a one-time purchase, there is a subscription that needs to be paid every one to five years depending on your choice. It is expensive but you can reduce the price by only using the services that you want."
"Prior to negotiating, Darktrace offered their appliance and service for $80,000 per year."
"Darktrace is quite an expensive solution."
"The cost of the solution can be reduced to make it more appealing to customers."
"When it comes to large installations, it can be expensive, but for small accounts it's fine."
"Darktrace is pricey, but the price is reasonable for what the solution does, and it's comparable to other products."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
 

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: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.