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Elastic Security vs Splunk Enterprise Security vs VMware Aria Operations for Logs comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.9
Elastic Security is cost-effective, offers significant financial benefits, and is community-friendly, though premium support receives some criticism.
Sentiment score
6.5
Splunk Enterprise Security boosts operational efficiency, enhances security, and saves costs with improved data visibility and streamlined processes.
Sentiment score
5.0
VMware Aria Operations for Logs boosts ROI with cost savings and efficiency, especially in virtualization-focused environments, within two years.
It does not require hefty security budgets and can be deployed for enterprise security effectively.
The documentation for Splunk Enterprise Security is outstanding. It is well-organized and easy to access.
I have noticed a return on investment with Splunk Enterprise Security, as it delivers substantial value for money.
Customers see the value in investing in this solution, particularly when it helps resolve issues quickly, turning a potential 20-hour response into one hour.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Feedback on Elastic Security support is mixed, with community resources praised but technical support often inconsistent and improved communication needed.
Sentiment score
6.4
Splunk Enterprise Security support is knowledgeable and beneficial, but users desire quicker response times and more availability.
Sentiment score
4.1
VMware Aria Operations for Logs users experience mixed support quality, with slow but effective escalation to skilled experts.
Support is prompt and helpful.
Most of the time when my team encounters issues, they receive responses within 24 hours.
We have paid for Splunk support, and we’re not on the free tier hoping for assistance; we are a significant customer and invest a lot in this service.
If you want to write your own correlation rules, it is very difficult to do, and you need Splunk's support to write new correlation rules for the SIEM tool.
They try to close issues as soon as possible, often just offering documentation links.
While support staff is knowledgeable, getting access to specialists can be challenging when dealing with the limits of a product.
Customer service and support have declined.
I did not need technical support because I am a professional with VMware.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Elastic Security scales effectively across business sizes, though infrastructure, licensing, and resource management adjustments may be necessary.
Sentiment score
7.5
Splunk Enterprise Security is praised for scalability, handling increased data loads and varied environments efficiently, with reliable large-scale deployment.
Sentiment score
8.5
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is highly scalable and integrates well, though licensing and space management affect scalability.
It allows us to think about specific use cases, such as gathering malicious IPs in a single view and analyzing threats based on geolocation.
They struggle a bit with pure virtual environments, but in terms of how much they can handle, it is pretty good.
It is easy to scale.
It's big in a Central European context, and small from a Splunk North American context.
Since payment is based on hardware, scalability impacts are managed more effectively than with other tools paid by data volume.
It's relatively easy to find individuals with the skills to work with VMware because it is a widely spread tool.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Elastic Security is stable and reliable, but big data challenges require proper configuration for optimal performance and care during upgrades.
Sentiment score
7.6
Splunk Enterprise Security is praised for stability and reliability, though occasionally challenged by large data volumes or complex dashboards.
Sentiment score
7.1
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is stable, integrates with Microsoft, and is reliable, with minor issues resolved swiftly.
In terms of stability, I would rate Elastic a solid eight out of ten.
They test it very thoroughly before release, and our customers have Splunk running for months without issues.
It provides a stable environment but needs to integrate with ITSM platforms to achieve better visibility.
I would rate it a ten out of ten for stability.
Managing a lot of data involves reliance on hardware and network performance, which are external factors that can affect stability.
It has been very stable, and every time I needed it, it was available and working.
VMware as a whole provides very stable tools.
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek better authentication, automation, machine learning, intuitive design, scalability, integration, training resources, and pricing transparency in Elastic Security.
Splunk Enterprise Security needs UI enhancements, better AI integration, improved documentation, and competitive pricing to aid non-tech users.
VMware Aria Operations for Logs needs better usability, integration, documentation, cost efficiency, stability, and enhanced filtering and dashboard features.
CrowdStrike and Defender have more established threat intelligence integration due to having a larger client base.
My security testing team continuously reports vulnerabilities, and we have to fix and update the versions frequently.
Elastic Security consumes a lot of resources, requiring a substantial deployment setup.
Improving the infrastructure behind Splunk Enterprise Security is vital—enhanced cores, CPUs, and memory should be prioritized to support better processing power.
Splunk Enterprise Security is not something that automatically picks things; you have to set up use cases, update data models, and link the right use cases to the right data models for those detections to happen.
For any future enhancements or features, such as MLTK and SOAR platform integration, we need more visibility, training, and certification for the skilled professionals who are working.
It would be beneficial to have a roadmap for these dashboards to ensure consistent functionality.
There is also dissatisfaction with Broadcom's broader attitude, which is prompting me to search for alternatives.
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is not a cost-effective tool.
 

Setup Cost

Elastic Security offers a competitive pricing model with a free core version, suitable for small to medium enterprises.
Splunk Enterprise Security's pricing is high but justified by features, becoming cost-effective for large enterprises with high data volumes.
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is cost-effective within bundles but pricey without, leading to mixed enterprise buyer opinions.
The pricing is reasonable, especially for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs), making it a viable option for businesses building their security infrastructure.
This is beneficial for SMEs as they do not need extensive budgets for security solutions.
Elastic Security is considered cost-effective, especially at lower EPS levels.
I saw clients spend two million dollars a year just feeding data into the Splunk solution.
The platform requires significant financial investment and resources, making it expensive despite its comprehensive features.
I find it to be affordable, which is why every industry uses it.
Splunk, often paid by the terabytes, becomes expensive quickly if not managed carefully.
The price has risen significantly, and for smaller customers, the cost can be up to ten times more than before.
VMware comes with a lot of packages, however, it remains too expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Elastic Security impresses with indexing, visualization, search, AI, scalability, open-source nature, and free, customizable dashboards.
Splunk Enterprise Security offers flexible log management, scalable data collection, and powerful search and threat detection capabilities with seamless integration.
VMware Aria Operations for Logs optimizes infrastructure with dashboards, real-time notifications, and scalability, enhancing troubleshooting and cost efficiency.
Elastic Security offers good insight regarding alerts, reports, and cases.
Elastic Security offers advanced features such as machine learning and integration with ChatGPT.
We require rapid processing speed for alerts and event data, and Elastic Security is very efficient at handling this level of data.
This capability is useful for performance monitoring and issue identification.
I assess Splunk Enterprise Security's insider threat detection capabilities for helping to find unknown threats and anomalous user behavior as great.
Splunk Enterprise Security provides the foundation for unified threat detection, investigation, and response, enabling fast identification of critical issues.
This tool also provides greater insight when integrated with VMware infrastructure, making it more precise than other tools.
The most valuable features are log centralization and long-term retention for logs.
A valuable feature of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is its ability to allow personalization of dashboards and requests.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Elastic Security is 2.9%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk Enterprise Security is 7.4%, down from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Aria Operations for Logs is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

SyedAli17 - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized monitoring improves security posture through rapid data processing
The processing part of Elastic Security ( /products/elastic-security-reviews ) is very interesting for us since we handle almost 7,000 to 8,000 alerts per minute. We require rapid processing speed for alerts and event data, and Elastic Security is very efficient at handling this level of data. Additionally, Elastic Security helps improve the security posture of Pakistan through centralized visibility and real-time processing.
ROBERT-CHRISTIAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Has many predefined correlation rules and is brilliant for investigation and log analysis
It is very complicated to write your own correlation rules without the help of Splunk support. What Splunk could do better is to create an API to the standard SIEM tools, such as Microsoft Sentinel. The idea would be to make it less painful. In ELK Stack, Kibana is the query language with which you can search log files. I believe Splunk has also a query language in which they search their log files, but once you have identified the log file that you want to use for further security correlation, you want to very quickly transport that into your SIEM tool, such as Microsoft Sentinel. That is something that Splunk could make a little bit less painful because it is a lot of effort to find that log file and forward it. An API with Microsoft Sentinel or a similar SIEM tool would be a good idea.
LarsChristensen - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient troubleshooting with precise log filtering and an easy setup
The tool could benefit from improved filter settings and dashboarding. While there are dashboards available, they are often created by community members and may not work after updates. It would be beneficial to have a roadmap for these dashboards to ensure consistent functionality. It would also be advantageous if the tool could process even large amounts of data faster, though this may be more related to data movement challenges rather than the software itself.
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Comparison Review

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We at Infosecnirvana.com have done several posts on SIEM. After the Dummies Guide on SIEM, we are following it up with a SIEM Product Comparison – 101 deck. So, here it is for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think by posting your comments below. The key products compared here are…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Datadog vs ELK: which one is good in terms of performance, cost and efficiency?
With Datadog, we have near-live visibility across our entire platform. We have seen APM metrics impacted several time...
What do you like most about Elastic Security?
Elastic provides the capability to index quickly due to the reverse indexes it offers. This data is crucial as it con...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Elastic Security?
I am satisfied with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing cost. It is a pure 10.
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is a...
What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?
It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingest...
How does Splunk compare with Azure Monitor?
Splunk handles a high amount of data very well. We use Splunk to capture information and as an aggregator for monitor...
What do you like most about vRealize Log Insight?
The events are notably more descriptive, aiding in security and event analysis. We've also integrated Sky Collector, ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Log Insight?
The cost of using VMware Aria Operations for Logs was very high, around two to three million dollars, although the ex...
What needs improvement with vRealize Log Insight?
VMware Aria Operations for Logs is not a cost-effective tool. Changing any telemetry requires creating a new template...
 

Also Known As

Elastic SIEM, ELK Logstash
No data available
vRealize Log Insight
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Texas A&M, U.S. Air Force, NuScale Power, Martin's Point Health Care
Splunk has more than 7,000 customers spread across over 90 countries. These customers include Telenor, UniCredit, ideeli, McKenney's, Tesco, and SurveyMonkey.
Wildlands Adventure Zoo, Medic Mobile, IBM, Seventy Seven Energy, Baystate Health, Osis, Oxford University, Columbia University, Siemens, Cardinal Health, Ashdod Port, Vasakronan, Sydney Adventist Hospital, University of Derby
Find out what your peers are saying about Wazuh, Splunk, Datadog and others in Log Management. Updated: July 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.