AlienVault OSSIM vs Sentinel comparison

AT&T and OpenText are both solutions in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category. AT&T is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.4, while OpenText is ranked #17 with an average rating of 7.5. AT&T holds a 1.6% mindshare in SIEM, compared to OpenText’s 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of AT&T users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of OpenText users who would recommend it.

AlienVault OSSIM

Read 31 AlienVault OSSIM reviews

4,307 Views
4,221 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Sentinel

Read 17 Sentinel reviews

4,622 Views
4,530 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

AlienVault OSSIM

Sentinel

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 18, 2024

Sentinel and AlienVault OSSIM compete in the cybersecurity sector. Sentinel has the upper hand in pricing and customer service, while AlienVault OSSIM is preferred for its robust features.

Features: Sentinel users like its real-time threat detection, comprehensive reporting tools, and user-friendly interface. AlienVault OSSIM users value its integration capabilities with various security tools, extensive threat intelligence, and advanced monitoring features.

Room for Improvement: Users suggest Sentinel improve scalability, alert management, and user interface intuitiveness. AlienVault OSSIM users highlight the need for a more intuitive interface, faster processing speeds, and better user documentation.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sentinel is praised for its straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service. AlienVault OSSIM users find the setup more complex but recognize the comprehensive support provided post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Sentinel is generally seen as cost-effective with a quicker ROI. Users find AlienVault OSSIM pricier with a longer ROI period, but its advanced capabilities justify the investment.

To learn more, read our detailed AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel

March 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 885,376 peers since 2012

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

AlienVault OSSIM

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

12th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sentinel

Ranking in Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) category, the mindshare of AlienVault OSSIM is 1.6%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sentinel is 3.1%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
AlienVault OSSIM	1.6%
Sentinel	3.1%
Other	95.3%

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Featured Reviews

Brandon Pearce

Independent Contractor at a comms service provider with 5,001-10,000 employees

Enables cost-effective security management for small businesses

Scaling for USM is always challenging for any product unless it is purpose-built or overbuilt at the front end. They will use Palo Alto and its competitors, and LevelBlue will manage that implementation. The main area where the AlienVault product was lacking around the 2018 timeframe was in its ability to scale. By pushing it to a cloud-based system, they've largely alleviated scale issues. It's native in Amazon but will also run in Azure. They have worked with cloud service providers to offer enough throughput at a cost reasonable for a corporation. Scaling was their biggest problem, and they've largely conquered those issues.

Read full review

Simon Johnston

Manager, Customer Success at Coltek Business Soltuions

Simple antivirus solution integrates well but could improve pricing and currency options

I don't really have experience working with these solutions. I promote them for our clients, but I don't work with them. I can't share my experience with these tools as I make assumptions about that. For both Adlumin and CrowdStrike, both confirm that they're scalable and enterprise-ready and all those kinds of things. We haven't had any specific problem with either of those. We just have a preference for which one we would prefer. If somebody says they want to use a different one from the one that we prefer, then we have to find reasons why they aren't. But scalability is not one of the reasons that one is better over the other. I don't really have advice for people that are looking into using Sentinel; just do your research across what is available. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Sentinel a seven.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is majorly used for threat detection of the agents on servers and endpoints."

"I have worked with LogRhythm in the past, since 2015, and I find that AlienVault is a better product."

"This solution is very stable; it runs on a Linux box, you only interface with it through the GUI, it works behind the scenes, and it has never crashed in the time that I have used it."

"The open vault component and the checking of vulnerabilities are the most valuable features, and the page management helps with this, because if you know how your device is vulnerable at least you can do something about it."

"What I like about this product, is that it is a fully-fledged solution."

"I have deployed it widely because I find that it gives value for money."

"Asset discovery is good."

"A very good feature of AlienVault OSSIM is that it has many domains that can be integrated from different solutions."

More AlienVault OSSIM pros

"Sentinel gave us logs to tell us what's going right and wrong in your environment so we could secure the network."

"If Sentinel is integrated with Identity Manager and User Application Portal, the solution runs simply perfect!"

"The solution's Kusto Query Language (KQL) execution time is pretty good."

"The correlation engine allows our clients to generate rules more efficiently."

"The most valuable feature is the flexible log for identifying security threats inside an application."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it provides a central locking system for many event sources."

"The most valuable feature is the flexible log for identifying security threats inside an application. Sentinel is very good at this."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it provides a central locking system for many event sources."

More Sentinel pros

Cons

"The user interface needs to be friendlier across the board."

"The correlation engine needs to be improved."

"I suggest more in-built rules based on modern threats and environments to make it a more competitive solution."

"AlienVault OSSIM on-premise version is more difficult to implement than the cloud version. Additionally, they should add integration between several different environments at once and improve their online knowledge base."

"The initial setup was a bit complex. You've got to do a lot of reading. It's not an intuitive implementation."

"We need more dashboards and we need more customization for dashboards."

"I would like the solution to be able to integrate with my firewall, my IDS and my Honeypot solutions so that it can provide real-time reporting as things occur and then have alert sent to me on my phone when suspicious activity is happening."

"The price of this solution is very high and it could be cheaper."

More AlienVault OSSIM cons

"Some functions look great but, in practice, some key limitations turn the process into something opaque."

"I would prefer to extend dashboards part and their functions in Web GUI version, so the charts could be for configurable."

"This product's connection to certain types of cloud systems could be improved."

"On version 5, builder was somewhat unstable during deployment -> workaround strong procedure with too many middle steps of saves."

"Creating a drag-and-drop dashboard or workbook in Sentinel is a little more complex compared to other tools like LogRhythm and IBM QRadar."

"Frankly speaking, we did not find this product to be valuable, at all."

"There is a need for more flexibility in customization, especially when working with different vendors and platforms."

"Price is always a consideration, so the price would be nice if it were lower."

More Sentinel cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"OSSIM is free."

"The solution is open source, so it's free to use."

"I used the paid version of the tool and found it to be expensive. It has been a while since I changed to Securonix. I will have to check whether AlienVault charges per device, user, or log."

"AlienVault OSSIM is an open-source solution."

"The price of AlienVault OSSIM is too high sometimes for us to present to our customers. The price should be lower. We are on a three-year license to use the solution. We had to pay extra for the support."

"The licensing fees for the non-community edition are paid on an annual basis, and there are no costs in addition to this."

"AlienVault pricing is the best. Whatever cost you are paying, you are getting a return on every penny... It's not like your IBM, your QRadar, or Splunk, where the cost is too high."

"OSSIM is open source, and USM is the paid license. So, if you want, you can switch to USM. There you will have to buy a license, and they have a support team that helps you out on issues you face."

More AlienVault OSSIM pricing and cost advice

"We receive a pricing discount because of our ongoing partnership with Micro Focus."

"Sentinel is a subscription-based solution."

"We inquired about getting support from the vendor, Micro Focus, but the cost was very high."

"The solution’s pricing is aligned with its competitors."

"Sentinel's slightly on the expensive side."

"Sentinel is moderately priced."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	8

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AlienVault OSSIM?

Asset discovery is good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AlienVault OSSIM?

It depends. I would need to review their cost models, but generally, they are on a scaled basis based on throughput usage. Because it's a software as a service solution for their core product for U...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AlienVault OSSIM?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetIQ Sentinel?

I don't have too many comments overall about pricing as we're in South Africa, so it makes more sense if it's billed in rand. They nearly always bill it in dollars, so if it can be billed in our cu...

See all answers

What needs improvement with NetIQ Sentinel?

I'm not sure what the room for improvement is for Sentinel. It needs to stay current, and it does, so I suppose that's fine. I don't have a high demand for what it should do. Price is always a cons...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NetIQ Sentinel?

It's our go-to choice for antivirus. I use Sentinel a lot.

See all answers

Comparisons

Wazuh vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 30% of the time

Venusense USM vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 10% of the time

USM Anywhere vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 8% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 7% of the time

AWS Security Hub vs AlienVault OSSIM

Compared 3% of the time

More AlienVault OSSIM Competitors

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Sentinel

Compared 19% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs Sentinel

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Sentinel

Compared 7% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Sentinel

Compared 4% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Sentinel

Compared 4% of the time

More Sentinel Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM

March 2026

Download AlienVault OSSIM product report

Buyer's Guide

Sentinel

March 2026

Download Sentinel product report

Also Known As

OSSIM

NetIQ Sentinel, Novell SIEM

Overview

AlienVault OSSIM, Open Source Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), provides you with a feature-rich open source SIEM complete with event collection, normalization and correlation. Launched by security engineers because of the lack of available open source products, AlienVault OSSIM was created specifically to address the reality many security professionals face: A SIEM, whether it is open source or commercial, is virtually useless without the basic security controls necessary for security visibility.

AT&T

Sentinel is a full-featured Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution that simplifies the deployment, management and day-to-day use of SIEM, readily adapts to dynamic enterprise environments and delivers the true "actionable intelligence" security professionals need to quickly understand their threat posture and prioritize response.

OpenText

Sample Customers

Council Rock School District

Faysal Bank, GaVI, Handelsbanken, ISC Mªnster, Lambeth Council, Swisscard, The Municipality of Siena, Tukes, University of Dayton, University of the Sunshine Coast

Buyer's Guide

AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel

March 2026

Free Report: AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel

Find out what your peers are saying about AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our AlienVault OSSIM vs. Sentinel report.

See our list of best Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) vendors.

We monitor all Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.