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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Security Onion comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 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

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Security Onion
Ranking in Log Management
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.4%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Security Onion is 1.7%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer1.4%
Security Onion1.7%
Other96.9%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Amarnath Jaiswal - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Comprehensive log analysis has improved traffic monitoring and streamlined risk mitigation
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is a very comprehensive analyzer providing detailed analyzing features and customizable reports. I can get customization and custom reports, and there are many functions available. It is very good for any organization.Log management in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is excellent, as it stores approximately two years of logs. Using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, I analyze vulnerability risks and threats and sort out problems accordingly. I then create policies and mitigate the risk based on my findings. I have created many customizable reports in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. I have customized the reports to schedule them and generate reports every day that are sent to my email. I am not using any SIEMs, but Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is the best and looks like a SIEM. I did not integrate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer with any security information and event management solutions. With Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, I have streamlined the process to mitigate risks and save time to get event information on any type of threats, risks, and unwanted traffic. Risk and time are saved, and it is valuable for any organization.
Hiten Nandasana - PeerSpot reviewer
Angular developer at Flourish software
Centralized monitoring has strengthened threat detection and supports faster incident investigations
Security Onion is a completely open-source and free platform, making it a cost-effective solution that works smoothly and effectively for our organization. Security Onion integrates well with our existing tools, primarily using Linux systems in our organization, allowing us to monitor logs and manage threat detection and operations in the public cloud effectively. Security Onion is very helpful in meeting compliance requirements and supports regular standards for our environment. I advise organizations that use Linux or have network security knowledge to consider Security Onion, as it satisfies requirements such as threat detection and log management systems. I would rate this review eight out of ten.

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 of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its capability for analyzing and providing visually comprehensive reports, making it easier to understand the network environment."
"It is a reliable product."
"The solution provides good standardized reports and is easy to troubleshoot."
"The stability of the product is good and it has been reliable."
"The reporting and organizing part of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is very interactive, smooth, and easy to use."
"What I like the most is the monitoring system."
"For us in Latin America, the best features of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer are the solutions that combine SD-WAN and security in the same box."
"Report generation is very easy"
"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."
"Security Onion is a completely open-source and free platform, making it a cost-effective solution that works smoothly and effectively for our organization."
"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."
"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."
 

Cons

"A possible improvement for FortiAnalyzer could be in threat intelligence. This feature might be enhanced to provide better insights and more efficient operations."
"The log view for syslog in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer could be improved. A more comprehensive dashboard for syslog would enhance its value."
"Though FortiAnalyzer has improved over the last few versions, the user interface still has room for improvement. It's a bit dated-looking."
"FortiAnalyzer is a good product; but, I keep thinking that FortiAnalyzer isn't really what I'm looking for which is why I am looking to acquire a SIEM solution."
"The UI can be more user-friendly for new users."
"I'm looking for something more efficient to analyze different foreign things. That's why FortiSIEM could compete with FortiAnalyzer."
"We would like to see some improvement on the upgrade process around this solution. There are sometimes communication issues when a new version of the firewall is implemented, and it fails to report back to this product."
"The technical support takes at least two days to reply on any ticket post raised on their website."
"The product is not easy to learn."
"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."
"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."
"Security Onion can be made easier to set up initially, as it is somewhat difficult at the start, but once configured, it becomes a great tool to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is acceptable for on-premises, but it is expensive for the cloud."
"The number of licenses required directly corresponds with the number of devices connected."
"We found the price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer to be reasonable."
"In the local market sometimes people are being charged more than other solutions. Although the market is competitive, legitimate suppliers do not receive a large enough discount to pass onto the customers."
"The price is not expensive when compared to other solutions like Palo Alto."
"I rate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer's pricing as five out of ten."
"When you compare with other firewall vendors, FortiAnalyzer is quite competitive in pricing."
"The cost and pricing should be in accordance with the calculation of log storage capacity for a time period required for historical analysis."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
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913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
13%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
12%
University
12%
Government
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise31
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I think technical support should be better. Sometimes support from Fortinet does not help with creating policies or configuration issues and directly routes to the service integrator. A little more...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I am using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer along with the analyzer for traffic monitoring and event checking. It is effective for analyzing traffic purposes.I use Fortinet FortiAnalyzer for event monitoring...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?
Security Onion does not require any cost, as it is open-source and free.
What needs improvement with Security Onion?
Security Onion can be made easier to set up initially, as it is somewhat difficult at the start, but once configured, it becomes a great tool to use. I assigned a rating of eight out of ten because...
What advice do you have for others considering Security Onion?
Security Onion is a completely open-source and free platform, making it a cost-effective solution that works smoothly and effectively for our organization. Security Onion integrates well with our e...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. Security Onion and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.