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Security Onion vs syslog-ng by One Identity comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 20, 2026

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

Security Onion
Ranking in Log Management
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
syslog-ng by One Identity
Ranking in Log Management
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Security Onion is 1.5%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng by One Identity is 1.4%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Security Onion1.5%
syslog-ng by One Identity1.4%
Other97.1%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

CO
Security Operation Center Analyst at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Improved threat detection and incident response has revealed training and usability gaps
What I would like to add is that if the interface or if there is less to work on technical knowledge. For example, people with no technical knowledge cannot use this, so they need to have at least a deep or substantial level of technical knowledge to be able to use these tools. If there is a way there can be an optimization to accommodate those with no technical knowledge in the process using tools compared to tools such as Sentinel and Splunk, which also doesn't require much technical knowledge to be able to use. That would also help. I think Security Onion could be improved by making the user interface more intuitive for new users and simplifying the initial setup and configuration process. Security Onion needs to be simplified so that those with less technical knowledge can be able to come in and use it. Guidance on prioritizing alerts will also be helpful, especially in an environment where security analysts deal with a high volume of security events. I also would like to mention that it needs to be more straightforward integration with other security tools. There needs to be a handshake between Security Onion and other same tools to help in endpoint detection and protection against threats. Another improvement that could also enhance is the reporting and visualization of the key metrics such as detection time, the incident, the overall interface of the analysis, and the false rate, which will also give Security Onion a better view for security analysts to be able to use and understand it. I would like to see the interface to be more simplified. I also would like to see the visualization to be more improved. I also would like to see the support features to be something that junior analysts or those coming in to start up their careers can be able to use without needing deep technical knowledge.
OC
IT Infrastructure & Cloud Security Manager at Thux
Has ensured compliance by centralizing log data and supporting secure connections
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I think we can use other features of this tool in the future. In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Tools such as Suricata and Zeek help identify suspicious network activity and provide detailed information for investigating and analyzing the potential threat which is coming to any organization."
"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."
"Security Onion has positively impacted my organization by enabling students to analyze logs, understand network traffic, comprehend intrusion detection, and utilize threat hunting and incident response skills in a practical environment, which are best practices we have implemented with the students."
"What I appreciate most about Security Onion is that it combines multiple security monitoring tools into one platform."
"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 is the most mature solution in the market."
"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."
"Security Onion is reliable and is a good product, having no glitches or latency problems."
"We chose syslog-ng because it is easy to install, easy to maintain, easy to update, and due to the fact that all data arrive in raw format, we can manipulate it as we want."
"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."
"What I appreciate most about syslog-ng is its configuration; its C-style config is much easier to understand, read, and write than other popular solutions such as syslog or rsyslog."
"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."
"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."
"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."
"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."
"One of the improvements for Security Onion could be to address the issue of many logs and false positive alerts by reducing the number of false positives, as storage management is very hard sometimes due to a lack of storage space for logs, and they could implement methods to expand storage."
"Security Onion also has an enterprise version and support available; sometimes the community version is not capable enough to solve the purpose, so the enterprise edition can help."
"What I would like to add is that if the interface or if there is less to work on technical knowledge."
"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."
"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."
"The product is not easy to learn."
"The biggest challenges I have experienced with Security Onion are the learning curve and resource requirements, as it is not necessarily something you can install and immediately understand without networking and Linux knowledge."
"The filtering has room for improvement."
"In syslog-ng, I think a GUI would be beneficial. I am unsure if the premium module has a GUI to administer it."
"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."
"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."
"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
"Syslog-ng is open-source."
"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."
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Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?
I have not had a problem with pricing, setup cost, and licensing because my experience with Security Onion's pricing has been positive. Security Onion is open-source, so I was able to use its core ...
What needs improvement with Security Onion?
One way Security Onion could improve is by making the initial setup and configuration easier, especially for new users. When I first started working with it, I experienced challenges configuring ne...
What advice do you have for others considering Security Onion?
I would give Security Onion a rating of 10 out of 10. I have used other platforms, and I can tell that Security Onion provides powerful security monitoring and investigation tools in one platform, ...
What needs improvement with syslog-ng?
We currently do not use that feature. We currently have just an open-source release, not a premium release. My boss has indicated that he wants to buy a premium syslog-ng version next month. I thin...
What is your primary use case for syslog-ng?
In Italy, we have to be compliant with the Garante for privacy. We have to log every login, logout, or login failure made by a system administrator. We store all syslog data of the infrastructure. ...
What advice do you have for others considering syslog-ng?
When it comes to parsing, I can parse both structured and unstructured data, though our data are only structured. Currently, we collect all data we receive as raw data. Each file is stored for each...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath
Find out what your peers are saying about Security Onion vs. syslog-ng by One Identity and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,336 professionals have used our research since 2012.