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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Security Onion 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

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 2.1%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Security Onion is 5.7%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Boaz Katabazi - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables flexible and comprehensive reporting across all syslog-enabled devices
I mainly use it for reporting. It also integrates other security solutions around. It can report onto anything that has a syslog on the network. It doesn't have to be a Fortinet product. It integrates within FortiGate and you can find the reports there. It's a very flexible and rich tool, providing custom reports along with default reports.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are customizable workflows that you can work with. You can automate certain tasks in FortiAnaylzer in the incidents and events sections."
"Technical reports clearly identify system checks, locations and areas, how many times things escape, which firewall is affected, and source IDs."
"The solution is easy to use and easy to integrate."
"The features that our customers have found most valuable are their different type of reports including the drill down report, as well as the flexibility to connect to any number of appliances which can be connected to it centrally."
"The interface is simple and easy to navigate."
"The solution provides good standardized reports and is easy to troubleshoot."
"It has a simplified and user-friendly interface."
"The product works well with other products."
"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."
"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."
 

Cons

"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer could improve by having better integration with other vendors."
"The pricing could be better. They could work to make it more competitive on the market."
"We would like to do the reporting, logging, and administration of all the public devices and all the IoT devices. We wish to add the switches, and routers from different vendors, so it's not a vendor-specific diagnostic solution."
"The pricing could be better."
"Sometimes, there is a problem with CPU consumption, where one process consumes 100%, and I need to restart FortiAnalyzer to fix this."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I feel that Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is a little bit heavy, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The FortiAnalyzer is not scalable."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other products, the price is a little bit high."
"The price is not expensive when compared to other solutions like Palo Alto."
"Its price is okay for us. Fortinet products are cheaper than other solutions."
"I rate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer's pricing as five out of ten."
"I believe that Fortinet is a cost-effective brand, making it a competitive option in terms of pricing."
"The cost of the license is high."
"There is a license needed to use this solution."
"FortiAnalyzer was in the product itself, but two years ago they split it from Fortinet. We paid the license two years ago."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
report
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839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The reporting features, which offer customization, real-time insights, and compliance support, are particularly noteworthy aspects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I am a technical engineer, so I am not privy to pricing details.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
Sometimes, there is a problem with CPU consumption, where one process consumes 100%, and I need to restart FortiAnalyzer to fix this. I am not familiar with the processes of scalability.
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. Security Onion and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.