UTMStack

Articles, updated 13 min read

Best SIEM Tools in 2026: 12 Platforms Compared

By UTMStack Team

Most “best SIEM tools” lists are out of date. In the last few years Splunk became part of Cisco, IBM sold its QRadar cloud business to Palo Alto Networks, Exabeam and LogRhythm merged, Chronicle became Google Security Operations and McAfee’s enterprise products became Trellix. A list written in 2022 now sends buyers to products that have changed owners, names or both.

This guide covers 12 security information and event management (SIEM) platforms you are likely to shortlist in 2026: what each is known for, how it is priced and who it suits. We build UTMStack, which is on this list, so weigh our view accordingly. We describe every other product from its vendor’s own documentation, checked in October 2026, and point only to prices a vendor publishes itself.

The short answer: there is no single best SIEM. The best fit usually follows what you already run. Microsoft shops look first at Microsoft Sentinel, CrowdStrike customers at Falcon Next-Gen SIEM, Palo Alto Networks customers at Cortex XSIAM and Fortinet customers at FortiSIEM. Large enterprises with search experts often choose Splunk Enterprise Security or Google Security Operations. Teams that need logs on their own servers, or a cost that does not grow with log volume, should look at self-hosted options such as UTMStack, LogRhythm SIEM or FortiSIEM, and at per-device or per-asset pricing.

Who owns what now

Changes to SIEM products since 2022, from each company's own announcements

  1. Jan 2022Trellix launchesMcAfee Enterprise and FireEye combined under one owner
  2. Mar 2024Cisco buys SplunkSplunk Enterprise Security is now a Cisco product
  3. Apr 2024Chronicle renamedNow Google Security Operations
  4. Jul 2024Exabeam and LogRhythm mergeOne company, named Exabeam
  5. Sep 2024QRadar SaaS soldTo Palo Alto Networks; IBM keeps supporting QRadar on premises
  6. Mar 2027Sentinel leaves the Azure portalPlanned: Defender portal only after March 31, 2027
Sources are listed at the end of this article.

How we compared them

A SIEM collects logs from your servers, endpoints, network devices and cloud services, correlates them to find attacks, raises alerts and keeps the history for investigations and audits. All 12 products below do that. They differ in four ways:

  • Pricing model. By data volume (gigabytes per day), by events per second (EPS), by device or asset, or by computing power. Our SIEM cost guide explains each model.
  • Deployment. Cloud only, self-hosted, or both.
  • What is included. Automated response (SOAR, security orchestration, automation and response), user behavior analytics (UEBA, user and entity behavior analytics), threat intelligence and compliance reports come with some products and are sold separately with others.
  • Ecosystem fit. Several SIEMs work best with the same vendor’s endpoint, firewall or cloud products.

At a glance

SIEMCompanyDeploymentPricing modelPublic prices?Best for
Microsoft SentinelMicrosoftCloud (Azure)Per GB ingested, pay-as-you-go or daily commitmentYes, on Microsoft’s pricing pageMicrosoft 365 and Azure shops
Splunk Enterprise SecurityCiscoCloud or self-hostedIngest, workload or activity-basedNo, quoteLarge teams with Splunk skills
Google Security OperationsGoogle CloudCloudPackages based on ingestionNo, quoteLong retention, Google Cloud users
Cortex XSIAMPalo Alto NetworksCloudGB per day, endpoints and workloads by tierNo, quoteReplacing SIEM, XDR and SOAR with one platform
Falcon Next-Gen SIEMCrowdStrikeCloudSubscription; Falcon data includedNo, quoteCrowdStrike endpoint customers
Exabeam (New-Scale and LogRhythm SIEM)ExabeamCloud or self-hostedQuote; LogRhythm sold as subscription or perpetualNo, quoteBehavior analytics; on-premises needs
Elastic SecurityElasticCloud or self-hostedPer GB ingested and retained (serverless)Yes, on Elastic’s pricing pageTeams that want to build on search
FortiSIEMFortinetCloud, virtual or hardwarePer device with EPS, per endpoint, or GB per dayNo, quoteFortinet networks, IT and OT
Incident CommandRapid7CloudPer assetNo, quoteMidsize teams wanting a predictable bill
Sumo Logic Cloud SIEMSumo LogicCloudFlex credits, mostly for data scannedCredit rates yes, plans by quoteCloud-native companies
Unified Defense SIEMSecuronixCloudConsumption-basedNo, quoteLarge enterprises, insider threats
UTMStackUTMStackSelf-hosted or dedicated cloudFree open source; paid per deviceNo, quoteSmall and midsize teams, MSPs, regulated firms

1. Microsoft Sentinel

Known for: deep integration with Microsoft 365, Entra ID, Defender and Azure. Microsoft is moving Sentinel into the Microsoft Defender portal, next to Defender XDR, and says Sentinel will no longer be supported in the Azure portal after March 31, 2027.

Pricing: by data volume. The analytics tier is billed per gigabyte, either pay-as-you-go or with commitment tiers that start at 100 GB per day. A separate data lake tier has its own meters for ingestion, processing, storage and queries. Data in the analytics tier is kept 90 days at no extra charge. Some sources are free to ingest, including Azure Activity logs, Office 365 audit logs and alerts from Microsoft Defender products. Microsoft publishes its rates on the Sentinel pricing page, and they vary by region.

Suits: organizations that already run on Microsoft 365 and Azure. Budget carefully for high-volume sources such as firewalls, which are not free.

2. Splunk Enterprise Security (Cisco)

Known for: powerful search, a very large app ecosystem and risk-based alerting that groups weak signals into fewer, stronger alerts. Cisco completed its purchase of Splunk in March 2024. Enterprise Security 8 comes in Essentials and Premier editions and runs in Splunk Cloud or on your own servers with Splunk Enterprise.

Pricing: Splunk offers ingest-based, workload-based and activity-based pricing for Enterprise Security. The pricing page shows editions but no dollar figures; every option is “Get a quote”.

Suits: large organizations with people who know Splunk’s search language and the budget for it.

3. Google Security Operations

Known for: fast search over long histories and Google threat intelligence, including detections based on Mandiant’s research in the top package. Google rebranded Chronicle as Google Security Operations in April 2024.

Pricing: three packages (Standard, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus), all based on ingestion volume and all sold by quote. Every package includes 12 months of hot data retention, which is generous compared with most cloud SIEMs.

Suits: large organizations that want a year or more of searchable data, especially those already on Google Cloud.

4. Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSIAM

Known for: putting SIEM, extended detection and response (XDR), SOAR, attack surface management, UEBA and threat intelligence in one platform. Palo Alto Networks bought IBM’s QRadar software-as-a-service (SaaS) business in 2024 and offers XSIAM as its successor. IBM still supports QRadar SIEM on your own servers.

Pricing: three tiers. The entry tier, NG-SIEM, is measured in gigabytes per day with a 100 GB per day minimum. The Enterprise tier adds endpoint agents, licensed per endpoint, and Premium adds cloud security priced per workload. No public prices.

Suits: large teams that want to replace several tools with one, especially Palo Alto Networks customers. The minimums put it out of reach for most small organizations.

5. CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM

Known for: using the Falcon agent’s endpoint data without a separate integration, fast search built on CrowdStrike’s LogScale technology, and built-in automation. CrowdStrike says data from licensed Falcon modules comes in without extra ingestion charges.

Pricing: sold by quote. Falcon Insight XDR customers get 10 GB per day of third-party data ingestion free, and a Next-Gen SIEM subscription raises that.

Suits: organizations already using CrowdStrike on their endpoints that want to add firewall, identity and cloud logs to the same console.

6. Exabeam (New-Scale and LogRhythm SIEM)

Known for: user and entity behavior analytics, which Exabeam built its name on, and LogRhythm’s long history with on-premises SIEM and compliance reporting. The two companies completed their merger in July 2024 under the Exabeam name. The cloud products (New-Scale SIEM and New-Scale Fusion) run on Google Cloud. LogRhythm SIEM remains a self-hosted product.

Pricing: by quote. LogRhythm SIEM is sold as a subscription or a perpetual license, under what Exabeam calls a “True Unlimited Data” model.

Suits: teams focused on insider threats and compromised accounts, and organizations that must keep a SIEM on their own servers.

7. Elastic Security

Known for: the Elasticsearch search engine, a public repository of detection rules, and flexibility. You can run it in Elastic Cloud or on your own servers.

Pricing: the serverless cloud version is billed per gigabyte ingested and per gigabyte retained each month, in two tiers (Essentials and Complete), and Elastic publishes its rates on its serverless security pricing page. Self-managed deployments are licensed separately; our open source SIEM guide explains Elastic’s license.

Suits: teams with engineers who want to build and tune their own security analytics on a search platform.

8. Fortinet FortiSIEM

Known for: a built-in configuration management database (CMDB) that discovers and classifies IT and operational technology (OT) assets, performance monitoring alongside security events, and close ties to Fortinet firewalls. It runs as a cloud service, as a virtual machine or on Fortinet hardware.

Pricing: several models. Per device (each includes 10 EPS), per endpoint (2 EPS each), or, for on-premises virtual machines, by gigabytes of raw events per day. Subscription and perpetual licenses are both available. Prices come from Fortinet and its partners.

Suits: Fortinet customers, managed security service providers (MSSPs) and industrial organizations that need IT and OT in one view.

9. Rapid7 Incident Command

Known for: being Rapid7’s current SIEM, which many buyers know from its earlier product, InsightIDR. Incident Command, launched in July 2025 on the Rapid7 Command Platform, combines SIEM, SOAR, attack surface management and threat intelligence, and connects to Rapid7’s exposure management tools.

Pricing: per asset, not by data volume, in three packages (Essentials, Advanced and Ultimate). Rapid7 says it offers volume discounts at higher asset counts. No public SIEM prices.

Suits: midsize security teams that want a predictable bill and already use Rapid7 for vulnerability management.

10. Sumo Logic Cloud SIEM

Known for: a cloud-native log analytics platform used for both operations and security. Sumo Logic has been privately owned by Francisco Partners since 2023.

Pricing: Flex pricing in credits. Sumo Logic advertises zero-dollar log ingest on its platform and charges mainly for the data your searches scan. Cloud SIEM is part of the Enterprise Suite, and its ingest is metered separately in credits. Credit rates are published; plans are sold by quote.

Suits: cloud-first companies that already use Sumo Logic for application and infrastructure logs.

11. Securonix Unified Defense SIEM

Known for: UEBA roots and a cloud SIEM that bundles UEBA, SOAR and threat intelligence, with 365 days of searchable data.

Pricing: a consumption model, with no separate fees for SOAR, UEBA and analytics. No public prices.

Suits: large enterprises, especially those with insider threat programs.

12. UTMStack

Known for: a complete SIEM with automated response and compliance reporting that you can run free on your own servers. UTMStack is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. It checks every log against 600+ detection rules mapped to MITRE ATT&CK as the log arrives, before storage. Response flows can block an address, disable an account or isolate a host through the agent. The installer sets up a Ubuntu 24.04 or Red Hat compatible server in 15 to 30 minutes, including on networks without internet access. UTMStack is listed in the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) catalog of free cybersecurity tools.

Pricing: the Community edition is free. The Enterprise edition and UTMStack Cloud, a dedicated instance per customer, are priced per device, never by log volume. See pricing.

Limits to know: a smaller integration catalog and community than Splunk, Sentinel or Elastic. The macOS agent, multi-tenancy, single sign-on, the SOC-AI assistant and seven of the nine compliance frameworks are in the paid Enterprise edition. The free edition includes CMMC 2.0 and GDPR.

Suits: small and midsize security teams, managed service providers (MSPs) and regulated organizations that want a predictable bill or must keep logs on their own servers. See also SIEM for small business, or try the live demo with no sign-up.

Other names you will see

  • IBM QRadar SIEM. The SaaS version now belongs to Palo Alto Networks, which announced its end of life in April 2025. IBM continues to support the on-premises software.
  • Trellix Enterprise Security Manager. This is the SIEM formerly sold as McAfee Enterprise Security Manager. McAfee’s enterprise business and FireEye were combined as Trellix in 2022.
  • Open source SIEMs. Wazuh, Security Onion, OpenSearch and Graylog appear on many lists. We compare them, with their licenses, in open source SIEM tools.

How to choose

Which SIEM should you shortlist?

Start with what you already run, then with where your logs must live

Is most of your security already on one vendor's platform?
Yes
Microsoft 365 and AzureMicrosoft Sentinel
CrowdStrike endpointsFalcon Next-Gen SIEM
Palo Alto NetworksCortex XSIAM
Fortinet firewallsFortiSIEM
No, or not for long
Must logs stay on servers you control?
YesUTMStack, Splunk Enterprise, LogRhythm SIEM, FortiSIEM, Elastic, QRadar on premises
No, cloud is fineGoogle SecOps, Exabeam New-Scale, Rapid7, Sumo Logic, Securonix, UTMStack Cloud
Then compare pricing models against how your logs will grow, and test your top two with your own data.
  1. List your log sources and your retention requirement. Send every vendor the same list so the quotes are comparable.
  2. Match the pricing model to your growth. If your log volume grows faster than your number of devices, per-GB pricing will cost more each year. Per-device or per-asset pricing (FortiSIEM, Rapid7, UTMStack) ties the bill to your environment instead.
  3. Count your people. A SIEM needs someone to tune rules and investigate alerts. If you cannot staff that around the clock, budget for help. UTMStack’s SOC Extension, analysts from our security operations center (SOC), backs up an existing team or partner at night, on weekends and during incidents.
  4. Check what is included. Ask whether SOAR, UEBA, threat intelligence and compliance reports are in the price or sold separately.
  5. Run a proof of concept. Most vendors offer a trial. Use real logs, not samples, and measure how many alerts are worth an analyst’s time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best SIEM tool in 2026? It depends on what you run. Sentinel fits Microsoft environments, Splunk and Google Security Operations fit large enterprises with search expertise, and UTMStack fits teams that want a free open source option or per-device pricing.

Which SIEM vendors publish their prices? Few do. Microsoft publishes Sentinel’s per-GB rates, Elastic publishes its serverless security rates and Sumo Logic publishes its credit rates. Most others, including Splunk, Google, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Exabeam, Fortinet, Rapid7, Securonix and UTMStack, sell by quote.

What happened to McAfee, QRadar and LogRhythm? McAfee’s enterprise SIEM is now Trellix Enterprise Security Manager. IBM sold QRadar SaaS to Palo Alto Networks in 2024 and still supports QRadar on premises. LogRhythm merged with Exabeam in 2024, and LogRhythm SIEM is still sold as a self-hosted product.

Is there a free SIEM? Yes. UTMStack Community is free and open source, and other open source options are compared in our open source SIEM guide. Commercial vendors offer trials or free allowances, such as CrowdStrike’s 10 GB per day for Falcon Insight XDR customers and Microsoft’s 31-day Sentinel trial.

What is the difference between a SIEM and XDR? A SIEM collects and correlates logs from every source. XDR focuses on telemetry from a vendor’s own endpoint, network and cloud sensors. Several products on this list, such as XSIAM and Falcon Next-Gen SIEM, now combine both. See SIEM vs XDR.

Sources

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