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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)
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Splunk User Behavior Analytics
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 2.8%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Splunk User Behavior Analytics is 1.9%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Splunk User Behavior Analytics1.9%
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT2.8%
Other95.3%
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.
Ahmed Naguib - PeerSpot reviewer
Dashboard design excels while prediction algorithms need improvement
Splunk User Behavior Analytics is still an immature product, so it still needs some R&D to be able to be mature in the market. The prediction, algorithms, and ML codes behind Splunk User Behavior Analytics need to be more tuned. The logic needs to be reviewed because it has many false positives. For Splunk User Behavior Analytics, it is not yet a mature product and we are not recommending this to mature customers for now. The machine learning algorithm in Splunk User Behavior Analytics is actually the core thing that needs to be updated because this feeds all the other functions inside it. If the ML functions are not good enough, that means the risk scoring and all other related information will not be correct.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The whole solution is very good, and stable."
"It is quite an intelligent product."
"The most valuable feature is the visibility that we have across the virtual environment."
"It simplifies the configuration process by offering pre-defined base configurations, including security and connectivity settings."
"Solid intrusion detection and prevention that scales easily in very large environments."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is definitely scalable."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to search through a large amount of data."
"We are really pleased with Splunk and its features. It would be practically impossible to function without it. To provide a general overview of the system, it's important to note that the standard log files are currently around 250 gigabytes per day. It would be impossible to manually walk through these logs by hand, which is why automation is essential."
"The dashboards are one of the very core functions of Splunk User Behavior Analytics; they are very good in dashboarding, and the dashboards themselves are nice, very good, and very helpful."
"Splunk's technical support is amazing."
"Splunk User Behavior Analytics is a one hundred percent stable solution."
"The product is at the forefront of auto-remediation networking. It's great."
"The solution's most valuable feature is Splunk queries, which allow us to query the logs and analyze the attack vectors."
 

Cons

"Integration with other components — even Cisco's own products — can be enhanced to improve administrative experience."
"I want to see a better dashboard for the product. The dashboard can be a bit modified or enhanced."
"Performance needs improvement."
"I did not experience any pain points that required improvement. Maybe a couple of false-positives, but that's about it."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
"There are problems setting up VPNs for some regions."
"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."
"I would like to have analytics included in the suite."
"If the price was lowered and the setup process was less complex, I would consider rating it higher."
"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."
"They should work to add more built-in correlation searches and more use cases based on worldwide customer experiences. They need more ready-made use cases."
"The correlation engine should have persistent and definable rules."
"In terms of improvements, advanced reporting could see enhancements as there are some issues with latency. Additionally, there are challenges with configuration findings during lexical analysis."
"The dashboard part could be improved."
"The solution is much more expensive than relative competitors like ArcSight or LogRhythm. It makes it hard to sell to customers sometimes."
"The machine learning algorithm in Splunk User Behavior Analytics is actually the core thing that needs to be updated because this feeds all the other functions inside it."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"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."
"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
"Pricing varies based on the packages you choose and the volume of your usage."
"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."
"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."
"I am not aware of the price, but it is expensive."
"There are additional costs associated with the integrator."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
 

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 User Behavior Analytics is a premium product. Compared to all other products in the market, it is the most expensive one in all aspects including professional service and licenses, even the ...
What needs improvement with Splunk User Behavior Analytics?
Splunk User Behavior Analytics is still an immature product, so it still needs some R&D to be able to be mature in the market. The prediction, algorithms, and ML codes behind Splunk User Behavi...
 

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: November 2025.
872,846 professionals have used our research since 2012.