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Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs Splunk User Behavior Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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

Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.1%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk User Behavior Analytics is 2.1%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Shahnawaz Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
An IPS solution for security and protection but lacks stability
We assess the client's environment, including the size of the workforce responsible for firewall management. Sourcefire can be effective despite its complexity if you have a capable team. Sourcefire might not be more appropriate if you lack a strong IT team. When it comes to real-time traffic analysis, the requirements can vary significantly. Discussing an organization's or individual user's security posture adds another layer of complexity. It's important to note that there isn't a single device that can fully meet the demands of real-time traffic analysis for security purposes. Multiple appliances and solutions are often necessary to achieve comprehensive real-time visibility. We've successfully integrated Sourcefire into various environments, making the process relatively straightforward. We've incorporated it with certain NMS, so I foresee no significant challenges in integrating the Sourcefire. Cisco Sourcefire SNORT offers visibility and robust support. Its resource management documentation is notably extensive, enhancing usability. However, its complexity may pose challenges, especially as the market trends toward simpler solutions for intricate issues. While concerns regarding maturity and stability exist, the development team has actively addressed these issues, requiring ongoing scrutiny to ensure complete resolution. Overall, I rate the solution a 7 out of 10.
Subhayu Chakraborty - PeerSpot reviewer
Automatic reports streamline tasks and offers easy report gathering
The dashboard part could be improved. While using it, I noticed two options: Classic, which is adequate yet only in black and white, and another one that is more advanced or smart, though I forgot the exact term. I encountered several issues while trying to create solutions for this advanced version, which seem unrelated to query or data issues.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Solid intrusion detection and prevention that scales easily in very large environments."
"The URL filtering is very good and you can create a group for customized URLs."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to automatically learn the traffic in our environment, and change the merit recommendations based on that."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"The most valuable feature is the visibility that we have across the virtual environment."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the filtering."
"It simplifies the configuration process by offering pre-defined base configurations, including security and connectivity settings."
"The solution is rather easy to use."
"Features like alerts and auto report generation are valuable."
"The most valuable feature is being able to take data and put it into other systems so that we could see the output, and to see where we need to apply our focus."
"The most effective one is the integration with other vendors."
"Features like alerts and auto report generation are valuable."
"This is a good security product."
"The solution is definitely scalable."
"The most valuable features are the indexing and powerful search features."
"Splunk User Behavior Analytics is a one hundred percent stable solution."
 

Cons

"The customization of the rules can be simplified."
"The implementation could be a bit easier."
"The pricing needs to be improved. We have lots of low-budget clients around us. Budget constraints are always a deterrent in our market."
"If the price is brought down then everybody will be happy."
"Integration with other components — even Cisco's own products — can be enhanced to improve administrative experience."
"Performance needs improvement."
"The cloud can be improved."
"The initial setup is a little difficult compared to other products in the market. It depends on the environment. If we are doing any migration, it might take months in a brown-field environment."
"We want to have an automated system for bot hunting that enables us to detect anomalies predictively based on historical data. It would be helpful if Splunk included process mining as an alternative option. We have a threat workflow, but it would be useful if we could supplement that with some process mining capabilities over time."
"If the price was lowered and the setup process was less complex, I would consider rating it higher."
"Enhancing the storage model that they are using is necessary."
"The initial setup was complex because some of the configurations that we required needed customization."
"The dashboard part could be improved. While using it, I noticed two options: Classic, which is adequate yet only in black and white, and another one that is more advanced or smart."
"The ability to do more complicated data investigation would be a welcome addition for pros, though the functionality now gives most people what they need."
"There are occasional bugs."
"The dashboard part could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."
"I am not aware of the price, but it is expensive."
"My biggest complaint is the way they do pricing... You can never know the pricing for next year. Every single time you adjust to something new, the price goes up. It's impossible to truly budget for it. It goes up constantly."
"There are additional costs associated with the integrator."
"I hope we can increase the free license to be more than 5 gig a day. This would help people who want to introduce a POC or a demo license for the solution."
"The licensing costs is around 10,000 dollars."
"Pricing varies based on the packages you choose and the volume of your usage."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other tools in the market that are more expensive than Cisco. There are no additional c...
What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
Cisco offers the Cisco DNA Center, which is a source that provides crucial information for us to monitor performance, and see whether there is any trouble. We are using Cisco DNA center, but again,...
What do you like most about Splunk User Behavior Analytics?
The solution's most valuable feature is Splunk queries, which allow us to query the logs and analyze the attack vectors.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Splunk User Behavior Analytics?
Splunk is up to the mark in terms of pricing. However, I cannot provide specific comments on the pricing at the moment.
What needs improvement with Splunk User Behavior Analytics?
The dashboard part could be improved. While using it, I noticed two options: Classic, which is adequate yet only in black and white, and another one that is more advanced or smart, though I forgot ...
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire SNORT
Caspida, Splunk UBA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia
8 Securities, AAA Western, AdvancedMD, Amaya, Cerner Corporation, CJ O Shopping, CloudShare, Crossroads Foundation, 7-Eleven Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT vs. Splunk User Behavior Analytics and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,466 professionals have used our research since 2012.