Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Security Onion vs USM Anywhere comparison

 

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

Security Onion
Ranking in Log Management
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (13th)
USM Anywhere
Ranking in Log Management
46th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (31st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (52nd), Compliance Management (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Security Onion is 5.0%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of USM Anywhere is 0.4%, down from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Jörg Kippe - PeerSpot reviewer
A mature and affordable solution that is easy to install and easy to update
The product takes time to learn, it's not that easy. In the beginning we had a lot of questions. If you want to use such a tool in an real (industrial) environment, you have to ask how to get the network data. Can we do a full packet capture? Can we provide agents to our end systems? There are no simple solutions to these questions. It's a general problem when running such systems in an industrial environment.
Kris Nawani - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software
USM Anywhere is used for threat detection and investigation. It provides a solution with built-in threat intelligence and various other investigation tools The solution offers complete coverage without the need to install additional software, as it is maintained by the vendor. It helps in saving…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."
"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."
"The solution also provides basic log storage options for periods of 15, 30, and 90 days."
"There are multiple tools for information security. The solution includes all the latest advances on the network and host intrusion detection systems."
"The vulnerability scanning is helpful to identify the areas that need patching or fixes installed."
"It brought our logs into one place for review and set up alarms based on changes we were missing due to lack of having one place for everything to go."
"The solution is stable."
"It is my "security person" looking at irregularities and letting me know when something has occurred."
"AlienVault provides a checklist answer when using SIEM."
"Easy to use, scalable, stable, and very intuitive platform that provides protection against security threats."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."
"The product is not easy to learn."
"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."
"Adding a parsing interface for the customers would make AT&T AlienVault USM better."
"they seem to have bugs from time to time that go unfixed for a while and that is frustrating. I'm not saying the product needs to be bug-free, but they need to be responsive to bugs."
"In the future, I would like to see all these features of the solution working properly."
"I've been using it just for my own personal upskilling in terms of how the product works. At the moment, it is pretty straightforward and simple, and it is working how it is supposed to. The feedback would come once it is deployed to customer sites. They'll be using it on a more frequent basis, and that's when the feedback would come in terms of the areas in which they're facing issues or are looking for simplicity."
"The reporting and dashboards have room for improvement."
"One area that has room for improvement is storage. AllienVault is a good place to put logs, but sometimes it's a tough place to go get logs... The logger can only hold so much data. If they improved that, that would help."
"The vulnerability reporting needs to have options to be able to sort or customize the output."
"We develop additional rules and scripts to make it more usable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
"QRadar, ArcSight and Splunk are some of the most expensive SIEM products out there in the market and not everyone has the budget to buy them. In such cases, AV USM is a very cost effective alternative."
"Use the AlienVault team. They are helpful and the documentation that they provide is second to none."
"They charge a license based on the storage. ATT AlienVault USM is a less expensive solution than IBM QRadar."
"I rate the price of AT&T AlienVault USM a four out of five."
"It allows you to do a lot with a small price tag... The pricing is the best on the market."
"I don't think the product's pricing is a good value because they try to raise the price 50 percent every year... AlienVault needs to understand that not all customers are huge enterprises... Their sales team is way too aggressive. The price they advertise is not always the price you get."
"The licensing fees are dependent on usage."
"We checked out several competitors. For what it can do and the cost, it was the best option!"
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Log Management solutions are best for your needs.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
University
11%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Security Onion?
The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?
Security Onion is an open-source solution. On a scale from one to ten, where ten is expensive and one is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with Security Onion?
The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult.
What do you like most about AT&T AlienVault USM?
The most valuable feature of the solution is the ease of deployment that it provides to users. The integrations that the product has with third-party applications are useful.
What needs improvement with AT&T AlienVault USM?
There are scalability issues due to a 60 TB limit, which restricts its use for large customers like banks. It is also limited when used with bigger products and has complex password requirements.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
AT&T AlienVault USM, AlienVault, AlienVault USM, Alienvault Cybersecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Abel & Cole, Bank of Ireland, Bluegrass Cellular, CareerBuilder, Claire's, Hays Medical Center, Hope International, McCurrach, McKinsey & Company, Party Delights, Pepco Holdings, Richland School District, Ricoh, SaveMart, Shake Shack, Steelcase, TaxAct, Taylor Morrison, Vonage and Zoom
Find out what your peers are saying about Security Onion vs. USM Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.