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Corelight vs VMware NSX comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 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

Corelight
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
6th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
8th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (3rd), Network Automation (5th), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category, the mindshare of Corelight is 10.6%, up from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware NSX is 2.5%, up from 0.7% 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.…
MagdyRaafat - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced security and streamlined management drive efficient connectivity
Open source is a standard solution where you take a gray box or white box and put the software from your end. You can do programming with Ansible and make the network work in the software-defined mode, providing automation and management capabilities. I am currently working with VMware. It integrates easily with everything and can work with any system. When discussing micro-segmentation, it enhances security, providing more secure data in your data center while allowing for extra layers of security outside your data center. If you have an ACI, there is communication between locations, keeping your data secure in your data center and throughout the path it takes, such as to SD-WAN or the cloud. I work with cloud solutions including AWS, Azure, GCP, and private cloud. My overall rating for VMware NSX is 8.5 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment."
"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."
"The most valuable feature is the embedded IDS from Suricata."
"Corelight is easy to use."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."
"The microsegmentation is a good feature. You can segment details, products, or hardware information."
"It gives more security and micro-segmentation. It helps to set network configurations in an easy way."
"The most valuable features are the micro-segmentation and integrated security options."
"The solution's customer service is good."
"It does have capabilities of micro-segmenting a network, being able to create smaller segments of various types of applications separated by various tiers."
"I have found the solution to be stable."
"NSX is good in managing security or controlling the security and the access control for each single VM."
"The product has valuable features for security and network extension."
 

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."
"They can enhance the interface of the product. They can make it more interactive and also easier to use for feature access."
"Corelight hasn’t added features in a long time."
"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."
"The next release of NSX should try to make Kubernetes and container integration a little easier than it is now. It's quite a complicated process."
"I would like to have automating reporting built into common service management platforms, such as JIRA, Serviceaide, and ServiceNow."
"The technical support could use some improvement."
"One drawback is this solution requires a lot of other products in the VMware ecosystem to have a full end-to-end operation orchestration monitoring. You have to buy a lot of add-ons to fully utilize the functionality."
"We've have had good and bad experiences with them. We don't always find them to be so impactful. Sometimes the support guy isn't so on top of resolving the issue and it can take a while to sort out."
"The solution can improve by making it more straightforward, easier to install and maintain in the environment."
"A faster resolution time would be beneficial."
"There are always issues integrating with Cisco."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."
"The licensing fees are expensive and we pay on a yearly basis."
"The pricing is higher than other options from Palo Alto, Fortinet, and Cisco because it is sold in a bundle."
"The cost of the solution is a bit high."
"We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
"The price could be better. We pay for the license every three years. The last time I checked, it cost around three million pesos in the Philipines. Most of the expense will go towards implementation and renovation."
"The price of VMware NSX is reasonable."
"The price is based on the virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI) side and also is dependant on the size of the environment. The price is expensive and it could attract more purchasers in smaller organisations if it was reduced."
"The solution is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

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.
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
 

Also Known As

No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Education First
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Corelight vs. VMware NSX and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.