Our use cases for Darktrace are intrusion detection in the complete network, including for all the devices connected, detection, emails, email spoofing, and supply chain attacks.
Chief Information Officer at Amadys
Strong intrusion detection in the complete network; low maintenance
Pros and Cons
- "One member of staff is enough for deployment and maintenance because Darkforce is AI-driven. It does a lot of things by itself."
- "Darkforce could be improved in the range of the interface; how to interact with the actions it's taking or not taking."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable Darktrace feature is the cloud protection for all the cloud services, OneDrive, and all the things related to that.
What needs improvement?
Darkforce could be improved in the range of the interface; how to interact with the actions it's taking or not taking.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Darktrace for about a year now.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Darktrace is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Darktrace is scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite straightforward. It took us between two and six months. We got shipped an appliance and installed it in the data center. It then started collecting data. We had a few reviews of what it was collecting and what it would do. There was a test phase after which we enabled it, part by part, following a series of reviews.
Right now, 350 users are affected by Darkforce in our organization. It exists in the background, so they are not actively using it.
One member of staff is enough for deployment and maintenance because Darkforce is AI-driven. It does a lot of things by itself. You need to review what it's doing every now and then. You may, for example, need to release an email that was blocked for some reason, but it's quite low maintenance overall.
You do not need an engineer to manage it. It can be managed by a manager as doing so is not super technical. You always have access to Darktrace support, which means their engineers are available help you with the more complex stuff.
What about the implementation team?
Our deployment was done by Darktrace themselves, but they have some partners that also do it. Once you are up and running, you can deploy any additional appliances by yourself.
What was our ROI?
This is a difficult question and one that was asked of us by the higher ups, but you have to compare the cost with what would happen if there was a breach. It is difficult to articulate a return on investment in hard numbers, but I can see that Darkforce deflects typical attacks and protects users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I cannot be completely sure what the license cost but it is on a per-user basis. I handle the technical side, so I do not have insight into how much we are paying for it exactly.
What other advice do I have?
I would surely recommend Darkforce. The price might be quite high, but it is really worth it.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Security Manager at Sara
Beneficial viability, simple installation, and responsive support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Darktrace are its full capabilities. You have visibility of everything."
- "Darktrace could improve by being more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
Darktrace is an appliance that has been installed in our network, and it is connected to the database SaaS applications and they're collecting the data from there.
We are using Darktrace for tracking our network and if any suspicious activity happens, we will be notified or we can check it on our tenant.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Darktrace are its full capabilities. You have visibility of everything.
What needs improvement?
Darktrace could improve by being more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Darktrace for approximately six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Darktrace is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Darktrace is good.
We have approximately 350 users using the solution in my company. Everyone is using it.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Darktrace is responsive and speedy.
I rate the support of Darktrace a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
Darktrace is simple to install and the full process took approximately three weeks.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment of Darktrace was done by the vendor.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Darktrace is high and could be reduced. We pay approximately $30,000 to $54,000 annually.
The cost of the solution is high making it an issue for smaller companies. We are a small organization and it is difficult to afford. We are not a large organization. For this reason, the solution's price must be reduced. Having 350 users is not a large organization. It's a small organization and paying approximately $30,000 to $54,000 annually, is a lot. However, sometimes we had too many services to have more visibility and be secure, this is the idea why we went with Darktrace without negotiating the prices.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Darktrace to others, it is a helpful service you will have full visibility of what's happening on your network, emails, and SaaS applications.
I rate Darktrace an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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November 2025
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Manager, Information Technology at Coulisse BV
Autonomous response enhances security but interface requires enhancements
Pros and Cons
- "The scalability of Darktrace is very high."
- "The management user interface needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use Darktrace for standard network security, mail security, and SaaS security.
What is most valuable?
NTG is now autonomous response.
What needs improvement?
The management user interface needs improvement. More insights are necessary, and deeper technical experience and knowledge are required to pinpoint actions, breaches, or behavior.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Darktrace for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of the solution as nine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Darktrace is very high. I would rate it eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is rated at nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used more standard antivirus solutions and firewalling. However, these cannot be compared to an EDR or HDR like Darktrace.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was straightforward and not a problem, even for someone not very technical.
What about the implementation team?
Our service provider did some support there.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is rated at eight, implying it's considered expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated other options, but they were more like standard antivirus and firewalling, not comparable to Darktrace.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend Darktrace to others if they can afford it.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Administrator at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees
Detailed interface and good granularity but too expensive
Pros and Cons
- "t was pretty as far as the granularity of what you were getting out of it."
- "The price point for the product was too high for what our possible use case could be."
What is our primary use case?
We're part of our regional hospital group in Northwestern Ontario. One of our group members was using the DarkTrace product suite. It was brought forward that other hospitals within the group may want to try it. A couple of us did a demo, which basically involved getting the appliance installed in our data center and routing all the traffic through it.
We basically had the product running for a company, however, it really didn't pop up or offered anything that we were not already aware of.
What is most valuable?
It has a very detailed interface - almost too detailed. It was pretty as far as the granularity of what you were getting out of it.
The solution is very detailed. It has lots of fancy graphics that don't necessarily lead to a good outcome regarding knowing what's going on.
What needs improvement?
The only problem with these kinds of demos is that unless something actually goes wrong or you have something in the data center already; you don't see any difference. However, no news is good news.
The price point for the product was too high for what our possible use case could be. The demo might have gone more favorably in their direction if something had actually occurred during the demo. However, nothing did, and management decided that it was not worth the very high price.
The interface didn't really give you a whole bunch of insight into actually what was going on.
They did have some AI that they claimed could tell if traffic was malicious or what the intent of the traffic was. We never got to see that actually do anything. They identified some traffic. They said it was malicious. However, it turns out it was a known traffic that we had occurring, and it wasn't malicious. So there were a few missteps that way.
The UI is too dark.
We ultimately didn't find any value in the product.
For how long have I used the solution?
We did a demo for two or three months. We did not use the solution for a very long time.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In terms of scalability, you would need a separate device for every location. For our particular hospital, we actually have three or four main facilities, or what we would consider main facilities. You'd actually need to have a physical box for every deployment in order for traffic to be efficiently detected. They did say that we could route the traffic from the site through the box. However, essentially, that would be doubling the traffic load, which didn't really seem like it was a wise decision. As far as scalability, the box that we had was very capable of handling the traffic load that we were producing. I would say we are probably using maybe ten percent of it at the most at peak levels.
How are customer service and support?
We had some interactions with them during setup and during the demo. They were fine.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup depends on the network. We had a mature infrastructure which made it a bit more challenging.
It took us a few hours to set everything up and make sure it was capturing everything it needed to.
If you had a straightforward Cisco environment where you could easily forward traffic and CDP needed, it would be pretty easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I'd rate the pricing two or three out of ten. It is pretty expensive. For us, it just wasn't worth it.
What other advice do I have?
We are customers and end-users.
I'd rate the solution five out of ten. It's an interesting maturing market. They do have potential, however, they do need to work a fair bit on their AI models and their interface.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Security Engineer at Social Security Commission
Can be deployed in half a day and is scalable
Pros and Cons
- "I have found the automation and AI features to be valuable. If someone were to come in to the office at midnight and log in, Darktrace would flag it."
- "It takes time to go through the interface and pick up things. If it were a more straightforward interface, then it would free up time."
What is our primary use case?
We have a layered approach to our cyber security. We have unified threat management and use several solutions such as Kaspersky, FortiGate, and Mimecast. However, we felt that we needed something on top of all of these and decided to go with Darktrace. We only have one in-house IT security person and were looking for a solution like Darktrace that was more automated.
What is most valuable?
I have found the automation and AI features to be valuable. If someone were to come in to the office at midnight and log in, Darktrace would flag it.
What needs improvement?
It takes time to go through the interface and pick up things. If it were a more straightforward interface, then it would free up time.
For how long have I used the solution?
We did a proof of concept with Darktrace for a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
Darktrace's technical support staff were responsive. We did not have to wait long for feedback on anything.
How was the initial setup?
We were able to deploy it in half a day. One person can handle the maintenance of the solution.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented the solution with the help of Darktrace representatives.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We had an issue with pricing initially and had to cancel some of the features of the projects to fit the budget. I would like to see pricing that is not broken up into parts so that we can buy the whole package once.
Darktrace is more expensive than an average solution, but it's functionality won't match that of an average solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Darktrace at nine out of ten. It is a growing product that helps with an ever changing threat landscape. Traditional endpoint antivirus solutions will not be able to keep up.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Security Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Reliable with excellent support and good pricing
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale."
- "I'd love them to see maybe covering the cloud a bit more."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for network detection and response.
What is most valuable?
Antigena is the most valuable due to the reduction in terms of the mean time to respond.
The solution can scale.
It's reliable and stable.
Technical support is great.
The pricing is good.
What needs improvement?
The initial setup is a bit complex.
It's quite a good product. However, I'd love them to see maybe covering the cloud a bit more. We'd like a cloud version. For example, FortiGate firewalls now have virtual firewalls that you can just install, as well as the cloud. They can drive it with Microsoft, and Microsoft can maybe provide technology that would allow Darktrace to work seamlessly in the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for almost two and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. You can also install it in a Citrix environment very easily.
The whole security team has access to it. That said, I have the most hands on in terms of the product. Five or six people use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is great. They come from the UK and they came out to Africa to meet us personally. The engineers are always available. Their resellers are supportive. Even to this day we still run through weekly meetings.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We consume quite a lot of products from Darktrace, so we have a few. We got that Darktrace Network, Antigena, Cloud Sales, and AIS integrations, et cetera.
This is my first time working with an NDR that has AI and machine learning.
How was the initial setup?
From a networking perspective, it is a bit complex since we sort of have to keep an end tab on the network for network log ingestion, flow ingestion, and all of that.
The implementation took about two months or so.
What about the implementation team?
We did the implementation with the help of a technician from Darktrace and a reseller. I'd rate their assistance a ten out of ten. They were great.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is reasonable. I'm not sure of the exact costs. However, they are not that expensive. We pay annually.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I did not compare the solution to other options, although I did look into Cisco Secure Network Analytics.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an end-user.
It's quite a good tool. They've worked hard to be the top security control in terms of AI and machine learning, and their product works well. Cisco would not match up. Maybe Palo Alto Cortex could do what they do. Cisco is not a security house, even though they have the networking knowledge and all of that. Most of their products are only now catching up to cybersecurity.
I'd rate Darktrace ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Information Security Program Manager at a non-profit with 11-50 employees
Useful traffic tracing, good support, and beneficial anomaly alerts
Pros and Cons
- "Darktrace's most valuable features are that it understands the network environment and is able to trace the traffic and alert on anomalies."
- "I did not use the AI features because they should make it more user-friendly which would be a benefit. Additionally, the solution could integrate with more SIEM or SOAR tools."
What is our primary use case?
Darktrace is used for lateral entry investigations, lateral movement investigations, behavioral anomalies from end users, and endpoint detection.
How has it helped my organization?
Darktrace has helped our organization by troubleshooting a few issues that were happening in the environment. It was able to see the traffic between the two network components.
What is most valuable?
Darktrace's most valuable features are that it understands the network environment and is able to trace the traffic and alert on anomalies.
What needs improvement?
I did not use the AI features because they should make it more user-friendly which would be a benefit. Additionally, the solution could integrate with more SIEM or SOAR tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Darktrace for approximately two and a have years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Darktrace is stable. We had it set up to where it was redundant. If one sensor went offline, we had another sensor that was constantly monitoring, and it worked well for us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Darktrace was very good.
We had a license for five users, but we had two that were working on it on a daily basis.
How are customer service and support?
We used Darktrace's technical support to help with the setup and with implementation.
I rate the support from Darktrace a four out of five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not use a similar solution prior to Darktrace.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Darktrace was straightforward, but we used professional services to do it.
What about the implementation team?
We used professional services for the implementation of Darktrace.
What was our ROI?
We received a return on investment using Darktrace.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated other solutions prior to using Darktrace.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to others is they have to understand that the solution is looking for behavioral anomalies, and it is going to take tuning to achieve this. It's not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. You have to monitor, update, and optimize it for your environment.
I rate Darktrace an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head of Infrastructure, Security and Communications at a construction company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Easy to set up with good integration capabilities and useful UI
Pros and Cons
- "We have found the product to be stable and issue-free."
- "We'd like threat hunting, and we'd like to see a global solution that can automate vulnerability scans. I know it is something they are working on."
What is our primary use case?
We're using it in a complete security solution yet still within a different product that Darktrace has that's related to the network or email.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspect of the product would be that it's a product that is quite easy to integrate. It's quite easy to start working with it, which is working well. The concept of artificial intelligence that is behind the solution is the most interesting feature for us.
The sense of detection and monitoring and topics within security is good.
It was easy to set up the product.
We have found the product to be stable and issue-free.
It is scalable.
What needs improvement?
We need them to ensure they will detect new attacks and pick up anomalies.
We, of course, would love more threat intelligence, and more integration with vulnerability scanners. We'd like threat hunting, and we'd like to see a global solution that can automate vulnerability scans. I know it is something they are working on.
They're working in different modules that could be related to threat intelligence and to the tech vulnerabilities or functionalities related to EDR.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been working with the solution for the last couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We've had no issues with stability. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable and easily expands.
The whole of the organization leverages the product, however, I do not have a clear picture of how many people we are working it. That said, we have a company of 2,000.
How are customer service and support?
I've dealt with technical support in the past. I found them to be helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did previously use a different solution. That said, I don't remember what it was called.
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to set up.
After deployment, we spent three months, which is the time that this solution needs to learn about what's happening in our network. In one day, once we had defined all the configurations and once they have been seen on the appliance, we were able to start running it.
It's an easy product to maintain.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the initial setup ourselves. We did not need any outside assistance from integrators or consultants.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is okay. I'd rate it seven out of ten in terms of affordability.
You have different modules which you have to pay for. If you want to expand functionality, it ends up costing more.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Looked at Microsoft, Proofpoint, and Minecraft when we were looking into Darktrace. We decided on this product based on the available features.
What other advice do I have?
We are using the last version of the solution, although I don't know the exact version number. We plan to upgrade in the next couple of weeks. We might be on version five, with the latest being six.
This is something that is really easy to implement in an organization. It gives us good visibility about what is happening in our networks, and on the system. We like the transparency available within our infrastructure now. We can also personalize it to fit our needs. You can either choose plug and play or you can go deeper. They have artificial intelligence you can start working with. You can define more by leveraging modules. Overall, it's very interesting.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: November 2025
Product Categories
Network Detection and Response (NDR) Email Security Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) Attack Surface Management (ASM) AI-Powered Cybersecurity PlatformsPopular Comparisons
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