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
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (4th)
USM Anywhere
Ranking in Log Management
44th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
115
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (30th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (51st), Compliance Management (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Security Onion is 5.5%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of USM Anywhere is 0.4%, down from 1.0% 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."
"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."
"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."
"The USM is a work horse, no matter what devices or the number of logs we throw at it, the system processes them in real time, correlates the events, and alerts on only events that need human review."
"AlienVault has an advanced component within one package. With this, we can cover more area with one solution."
"The solution is stable."
"AlienVault provides a checklist answer when using SIEM."
"It has allowed us to see what is happening on our servers."
"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."
"It has streamlined log aggregation and analysis to meet organizational and regulatory needs."
"Reports are customized, so you can present them to executives or engineers.​"
 

Cons

"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."
"Search performance can be slow. The Raw Logs feature is painfully slow. And if we're talking about the newer, the Anywhere product, you can't even schedule reports on the thing. There are probably a dozen other features I'd really like to see there, but that would be one of the biggies."
"Source material on the forums to be more up-to-date with the changes happening within the product. Forums being out-of-date with information due to the changes makes troubleshooting a little more difficult - specific to the HIDS agents."
"I'd like to see a dashboard that's a little more descriptive."
"I want to see more compliance management capability. The quality of integrations seems to be a little bit low."
"It would be nice to see some machine learning and monitoring of the configuration in network devices."
"The vulnerability scanning feature is one of the areas where the product has certain shortcomings and needs to improve. The tool has vulnerability scanning, but it is not that efficient."
"It would be hard for any legitimate MSSP to use it."
"More complimentary training needs to be done for use with this tool. If you get into a bind, then it will cost you."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Security Onion is a free solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
"It allows you to do a lot with a small price tag... The pricing is the best on the market."
"​The vulnerability management solution is worse than buying a Nessus Professional license.​"
"I rate the price of AT&T AlienVault USM a four out of five."
"They charge a license based on the storage. ATT AlienVault USM is a less expensive solution than IBM QRadar."
"AlienVault is certainly not nearly as expensive as Splunk or QRadar. It's decently priced, but I don't have the exact figure."
"​The price point is good.​"
"Its price is in the medium to upper range."
"It has good pricing."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Log Management solutions are best for your needs.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
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.
 

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: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.