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IBM Security QRadar vs Microsoft Sentinel comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Torq users reported reduced alert management time with automation, enhancing productivity and showing potential for $600,000 annual ROI.
Sentiment score
6.3
IBM Security QRadar delivers cost-effective, rapid deployment, reducing incident response times and employee needs, enhancing organizational resilience.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Sentinel enhances ROI with faster incident response, automation, and cost efficiency, providing significant operational and security improvements.
Since we started working with Torq, I am handling much fewer alerts. It is becoming really easy for me to handle an alert.
SOC Analyst at AppsFlyer
We have seen a return on investment, targeting a $600,000 ROI for the year.
Cyber Security Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
By the time we officially bought Torq, we already had two workflows that were very helpful to us.
CyberSecurity Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
With SOAR, the workflow takes one minute or less to complete the analysis.
Cyber Security Architects at VaporVM
AWS gives the chance to implement a solution out of the box with use cases that are already in IBM Security QRadar.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Investing this amount was very much worth it for my organization.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
If a customer is already using Microsoft’s ecosystem, the ROI can be positive due to seamless integration.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Our MTTR, mean time to response, improved by forty to fifty percent. Earlier, medium-severity incidents took two to three hours to resolve. Now, after Microsoft Sentinel, it is forty to fifty-five minutes.
Cyber Security Consultant at HR Software Solution
For example, time saving on incidents is 40 to 50%, and previously, incident analysis took two to three hours, whereas now it takes 30 to 60 minutes.
Network Security Engineer at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Torq offers highly rated customer service, known for quick, effective responses and knowledgeable support, though feature requests may delay.
Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Security QRadar support quality varies, with inconsistent service; knowledgeable agents appreciated but response times and expertise are concerns.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Sentinel customer service is praised for staff expertise, but premium support is quicker; communication consistency could improve.
My impression of their technical support during the initial setup was that they were helpful, responded within a reasonable timeframe, and provided exactly what we needed.
Security Consultant at Integrity360
The speed and quality of their answers have been pretty good, as I usually get a response within 24 hours, and they follow up well.
CyberSecurity Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
We can always get an answer, and the support team are experts in their own system.
Director Of Cyber Security at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
They assist with advanced issues, such as hardware or other problems, that are not part of standard operations.
Network and Security Architect at Deutsche Telekom
Support needs to understand the issue first, then escalate it to the engineering team.
Cyber Security Architects at VaporVM
The support is really good; for instance, if a critical ticket is submitted, you will get paged right away as it gets logged, and their analyst will look into it, letting you know as soon as possible so you can work on it.
Cyber Security Intern at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft invests significantly in support, which is crucial for companies.
Director de Microsoft y Transformación Digital at Compucad
I believe Microsoft could improve by keeping customer service within the US for Microsoft Sentinel customers who are within state and federal government sectors.
Infosec at a government with 10,001+ employees
Working with a Sentinel engineer helped us tune settings effectively.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.4
Torq is praised for impressive scalability, adaptability, and effective workflow management, though requires careful management with large workflows.
Sentiment score
7.3
IBM Security QRadar is highly scalable, easily integrates hardware, and efficiently manages extensive networks for cloud or on-premises deployments.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Sentinel is highly scalable, cloud-native, and integrates easily, but users should consider data ingestion costs.
Our case management is super scalable.
CyberSecurity Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
In terms of scalability, you can do as long as you can build it, and they can support it.
Director Of Cyber Security at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Regarding the ability of the solution to grow in your work environment, if it is scalable, if it fits your business requirements, and if there is room to scale up, the answer is yes, for sure.
Global IT Director at OpenWeb
For EPS license, if you increase or exceed the EPS license, you cannot receive events.
Cyber Security Architects at VaporVM
There is no need to add hardware or redesign infrastructure because it is cloud-native.
Cyber Security Consultant at HR Software Solution
As our organization uses Microsoft Azure and Defender, everything grows together, and we can integrate various features seamlessly.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Being a SaaS solution, the scalability of Microsoft Sentinel is robust.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.7
Torq offers high stability and reliability with minimal downtime, quickly resolved issues, and significant improvements over other solutions.
Sentiment score
7.5
IBM QRadar is seen as reliable, with stability dependent on proper configuration, version updates, and sufficient hardware resources.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Sentinel is reliable with high uptime, minor outages, and strong security, despite some customization challenges.
We have been using Torq for one and a half years, but we have experienced no downtime.
Angular Developer at Flourish Software
Most of the time, the system is stable as long as the components that they integrate with are stable.
Director Of Cyber Security at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
I have never faced any downtime or issues.
Senior Information Technology Security Consultant at Mideast Data Systems
On cloud, you don't see any disconnections or instability.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
I think QRadar is stable and currently satisfies my needs.
Architect of Cybersecurity at ASSIST - Software Services
The product has been stable so far.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
I have never experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues with Microsoft Sentinel because it is SOC as a Service, so it maintains 100% uptime and scaling.
Infosec at a government with 10,001+ employees
In the past two years, our team hasn't encountered any issues with the stability of Microsoft Sentinel from an operations perspective.
Project Executive at synergyc
I need to be aware of deprecated connectors as they may disconnect, but the data continues to be sent with a need for quick adaptation.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Torq users request improved AI integration, search functionalities, dashboards, transparency, templates, data manipulation, bulk editing, and playbooks.
IBM Security QRadar needs UI improvements, better integration, faster support, enhanced features, and competitive pricing to address user concerns.
Microsoft Sentinel needs enhancements in integration, usability, performance, automation, and cost management to better serve users and organizations.
Torq should offer default templates that can directly scan firewall data and automate actions.
Senior Information Technology Security Consultant at Mideast Data Systems
The AI value depends on maturity. Real value depends heavily on telemetry, integration depth, and workflow design, all of which rely on how mature customers are in their SOC department.
Security Consultant at Integrity360
It was able to capture data but was unable to differentiate between the agent hostname we are using and the hostname that resides on the back end of the Internet.
Senior Consultant at a university with 10,001+ employees
We receive logs from different types of devices and need a way to correlate them effectively.
Network and Security Architect at Deutsche Telekom
If AI-related support can suggest rules and integrate with existing security devices like MD, IPS, this SIM can create more relevant rules.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
IBM Security QRadar does not support Canvas, so we had to create custom scripts and workarounds to pull logs from Canvas.
Cyber Security Architects at VaporVM
Log ingestion and retention costs can grow quickly, and understanding which data source is driving cost is not always straightforward.
Cyber Security Consultant at HR Software Solution
We have some tools, such as our off-site Meraki firewalls, that have not fully integrated with Sentinel.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
There are complexities in calculating the right pricing tier for different customers, which makes it difficult for me as a consultant during upfront pricing.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Torq's pricing is seen as affordable by some, costly by others, but enterprises value its modern features.
IBM QRadar is costly but efficient, flexible in licensing, negotiable, and ideal for large enterprises over smaller ones.
Microsoft Sentinel's flexible pricing can be costly, but cost-effective within the Microsoft ecosystem with optimization strategies in place.
When they bring more and more value into the platform, it makes more sense to pay that price, but still, it is expensive.
Senior Cyber Architect at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Before deciding to implement Torq, I considered that compared to our old case management platform, Torq was a much better price and had a lot better value for what you get out of the platform, which was a key consideration for the company.
CyberSecurity Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
It is an expensive solution, not an inexpensive solution, but we get through the flexibility.
Director Of Cyber Security at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Splunk is more expensive than IBM Security QRadar.
Cyber Security Architects at VaporVM
It was costly mainly because of the value you can get right now compared to other solutions.
CTO at Sabyk
It depends on how much you want to spend.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It has been beneficial that Microsoft Sentinel is included as part of the Microsoft package, making it more cost-effective.
Senior System Administrator at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
Microsoft Sentinel is not a low-cost SIEM.
Cyber Security Consultant at HR Software Solution
Microsoft Sentinel is provided at no cost, so we didn't have any issues with the cost.
Vice President, Sales, Cybersecurity at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
 

Valuable Features

Torq enhances efficiency by streamlining workflows with AI, automation, and seamless integrations, offering user-friendly customization and scalability.
IBM Security QRadar is scalable and user-friendly, excelling in threat detection, event analysis, and third-party integration for large operations.
Microsoft Sentinel enhances security with AI-driven threat detection, automated responses, seamless integration, and efficient threat management through playbooks and analytics.
Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management has significantly benefited us by integrating the case management platform with the automation, which saves time compared to managing multiple point solutions across our security stack.
CyberSecurity Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 10,001+ employees
The fact that I can build whatever I want within my own imagination and skills without relying on code is the best thing about Torq.
Director Of Cyber Security at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
You can copy and paste a cURL command. If you have documentation or APIs, you usually have an example on the side. You basically have all the information on how the API call should be. You can just copy that and paste it into a step, and it will just build the step for you.
Global IT Director at OpenWeb
Recently, I faced an incident, a cyber incident, and it was detected in real time.
Information Security Analyst at Banglalink
IBM Security QRadar gives the opportunity to improve the time to market of the releases with a great evaluation of cybersecurity breaches.
Strategic Account Executive at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Compared to ArcSight, Splunk, or any other SIEM tools where you need their processing language such as structured query language, SPL, and in Sentinel there is KQL query languages, IBM Security QRadar doesn't require reliance on query languages.
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources and its detection capabilities are essential.
Cost Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Sentinel has improved cost efficiency, which is one of the key areas we're able to win business against the ability to have threat intelligence.
Chief Commercial Officer at defend
Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources enhances our threat detection capabilities beyond what is a simple data lake solution by filtering out the noise and consolidating the signal down to a meaningful level that is easier to investigate and see.
Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Torq
Sponsored
Ranking in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
AI-SOC (1st), AI-Powered Security Automation (1st)
IBM Security QRadar
Ranking in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
217
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (6th), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (2nd), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (3rd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (10th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (10th)
Microsoft Sentinel
Ranking in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (6th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

AD
Solutions Architect at Swimlane
Automation has streamlined multi-tenant SOC workflows and improves alert handling efficiency
Although the reporting within Torq is not that great, we did ask for many features regarding reporting in Torq, but due to some platform constraints, they could not make the whole dataset available for us to be used in reporting. Except for that, we used some basic reporting. When I used Torq, it was indeed in the early stages of AI capabilities. Only a few customers were allowed to use it, and we were among them. It functioned well as long as we summarized the data properly. If you input garbage, you would get garbage out. Thus, we had to do significant fine-tuning regarding what data context we provided to the AI orchestrator to get meaningful results. In terms of Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management compared to managing multiple point solutions across my security stack, I find it case-centric. The unified view in case management is good since it provides clarity, although there are limitations regarding how many items in case management can be modified at once. Bulk operations are very limited, potentially due to their back-end database or data retrieval processes that can be improved. Regarding improvements for Torq, when we were onboarded, there were aspects we were uncertain about, such as the number of cases that could be generated, what data we could bring in, how many clients we could onboard, and similar concerns. Initially, we also lacked clarity about the number of playbooks or workflows we could build. Different triggers like system triggers, case-based triggers, and others can be employed without restrictions, but when it comes to on-demand and scheduled jobs, there is a limitation based on the subscription and pricing tier that notably caps the number of workflows we can create. No bulk editing across cases was one issue, along with limited filtering related to single grouping constraints. Additionally, the out-of-the-box case templates provided require substantial modifications before they become usable. There is also a feature in the cases for notes that cannot be searched. They are only visible through the UI, which is another area for improvement. The workflow and execution-based charges seem misleading as this was not discussed initially. I am not sure if new customers are made aware of this. It seems that workflows revolving around cases hinder functionality outside of case management, as we have many use cases needing on-demand triggers and schedules for functions like reporting or polling devices. Creating additional workflows to achieve basic functionalities raises costs significantly, which disadvantages customers. While they facilitate optimization and scaling, the support received tends to be very basic. Improvements can be made in that area as well.
HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Have managed daily asset and alert monitoring effectively but have encountered limitations with manual processes and interface usability
It's still very manual and doesn't work on its own. It's still in an early stage and not on par where we can consider it a really successful detection system. The accuracy is not there. The UI could be better when compared to Sentinels where we can use flags and tagging. It could be much more user-friendly. IBM Security QRadar has all features and is fully competitive with other SIEM tools, but when it comes to user-friendliness, a new user takes time to get used to it. More intuitive, user-friendly interfaces and more helpful documentation would be beneficial. The query searching and data fetching could be faster. In large to very large organizations with around 5,000 or 6,000 assets or beyond, even with proper configurations and RAM and hardware backing up, the query is fairly slow.
Kallamuddin Ansari - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Consultant at HR Software Solution
Centralized monitoring has improved threat response but cost control still needs refinement
Based on real operations used in our corporate IT environment, the key features include log correlation and incident view. Microsoft Sentinel's biggest strength is how it correlates multiple related alerts into a single incident. This significantly reduces alert noise and helps the SOC focus on real threats instead of isolated events. Another valuable feature is KQL-based threat hunting with Kusto Query Language. The flexibility of this language allows us to build custom hunting queries based on our environment's behavior. This is extremely useful for detecting low and slow threats or hidden threats that default rules may miss. Cloud-native scalability and stability is another important feature. Being cloud-native, Microsoft Sentinel scales well for medium to large corporate environments without infrastructure management. Stability has been solid in day-to-day production. SOAR automation using playbooks is a feature we highly recommend. Microsoft Sentinel's SOAR functionality helps automate repetitive SOC tasks like alert enrichment and notification. This saves analyst time and improves response consistency.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions are best for your needs.
896,692 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

VS
Manager, Enterprise Risk Consulting at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jun 28, 2015
Qradar vs. ArcSight
Continuing with the SIEM posts we have done at Infosecnirvana, this post is a Head to head comparison of the two Industry leading SIEM products in the market – HP ArcSight and IBM QRadar Both the products have consistently been in the Gartner Leaders Quadrant. Both HP and IBM took over niche SIEM…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business92
Midsize Enterprise39
Large Enterprise106
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise46
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Torq?
To improve alert handling capability, there are ready-to-use playbooks available, but there are very few. Torq should...
What is your primary use case for Torq?
Torq is primarily used for security operations, mainly for the SOC team. I develop use cases based on requirements fr...
What advice do you have for others considering Torq?
The maintenance side is very good because we are using the product to reduce activities. For instance, sometimes ther...
What are the biggest differences between Securonix UEBA, Exabeam, and IBM QRadar?
It mostly depends on your use-cases and environment. Exabeam and Securonix have a stronger UEBA feature set, friendli...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Security QRadar?
Pricing and the license of EPS were managed by the governance team. I was not responsible for managing those. I was s...
Is there a common threat intelligence tool that aggregates multiple threat intelligence sources?
Yes, Azure Sentinel is a SIEM on the Cloud. Multiple data sources can be uploaded and analyzed with Azure Sentinel an...
What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?
It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingest...
Which is better - Azure Sentinel or AWS Security Hub?
We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel...
 

Also Known As

No data available
IBM QRadar, QRadar SIEM, QRadar UBA, QRadar on Cloud, IBM QRadar Advisor with Watson
Azure Sentinel
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Clients across multiple industries, such as energy, financial, retail, healthcare, government, communications, and education use QRadar.
Microsoft Sentinel is trusted by companies of all sizes including ABM, ASOS, Uniper, First West Credit Union, Avanade, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security QRadar vs. Microsoft Sentinel and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
896,692 professionals have used our research since 2012.