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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Corelight Open NDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 22, 2026

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 Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
5th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (33rd), Cisco Security Portfolio (8th)
Corelight Open NDR
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
4th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Network Detection and Response (NDR) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 5.5%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Corelight Open NDR is 4.4%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Detection and Response (NDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics5.5%
Corelight Open NDR4.4%
Other90.1%
Network Detection and Response (NDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Harun-Owr-Roshid - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
Have streamlined network visibility and troubleshooting while seeing benefits from AI integration
In terms of improvements for Cisco Secure Network Analytics, from the implementation point of view, now that AI is in use, some other features need to be upgraded considering AI solutions. Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database. When precise manual analysis is needed, it's sometimes difficult, so having a centralized database will allow network admins to find actual scenarios more effectively, especially since some information may not be visible on the GUI. Cisco should upgrade their hardware part to run the database, because sometimes it cannot handle the load while all features are running in the network. The database management should indeed be centralized because while AI runs behind the systems, central management is essential. For example, in a network with 100 Cisco switches, a few routers, firewalls, and access points, all data generated should be preserved in a central database. This approach simplifies management and analysis for troubleshooting, as GUI interfaces may not always provide visible information. Centralizing the database will allow for better understanding of which information is preserved for each specific device.
reviewer2834367 - PeerSpot reviewer
Growth And Strategy Lead at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Network visibility has transformed how we detect nation state threats and protect critical industry
Before Corelight recently started pushing some of the agentic features, querying at times could be a little difficult, depending on your mastery of log scale. However, I think with a lot of the artificial intelligence that they are building in, it is getting a lot easier to query in the platform. I would definitely encourage them to continue down that path where anybody can hop into the platform and start running queries, whether it is a simple instruction like I want this, and an artificial intelligence process can actually build the query and do it. I think that would be super powerful. Cyber skill sets are in high demand, and there is a huge backlog in cyber talent. We cannot fill all the positions we need. The easier we can make these cyber systems for people to pick up and be effective on, I think is really key. Explainability of data is hyper important. In the past few artificial intelligence related updates we have gotten from Corelight, that has been one of the first questions our team has asked every time or that I have asked: show me what the model is doing, show me how it came to this analysis. Within Investigator platform, they are able to walk through and see exactly what data the artificial intelligence pulled from where and why it did what it did as far as making its suggestions. They have definitely built their system with artificial intelligence in mind up front, and having that openness as one of the key features of any of their artificial intelligence and machine learning processes in the platform is important. The issue with black boxes is obviously hallucinations from artificial intelligence and just not being able to trace to ground truth. When we are talking about these cyber incidents and being able to do forensics, you need to be able to pinpoint and tie everything together, and black boxes really obscure that and prevent you from doing so. Corelight has done a really good job of making sure that everything is explainable and everything is mapped when it comes to leveraging any of their artificial intelligence features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has been beneficial because it's cut down the amount of time involved in doing complex scenarios and research."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the way the net flow is being merged together in a single pane. That's been extremely useful for us, because can see what's going on with traffic in one single place."
"The most valuable features are encrypted threat analysis and the ability to run jobs on entire flows."
"The solution allowed us to not only get gain insight but also start collaborating with other tools."
"Using this solution has helped us to detect and identify viruses or malicious activity in the network early on."
"This solution allows us to be more agile when it comes to troubleshooting our NetFlow and our network systems."
"It does change the way we troubleshoot and it is relatively easy to use once you learn it. I would recommend it to someone considering it."
"The analytics and threat detection capabilities of Cisco Stealthwatch are pretty good, it gives us good visibility of the information, and it is easy to use and to the point."
"It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment."
"Our company has seen massive improvements in cybersecurity position for our clients."
"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."
"Corelight makes much easier the remediation of cyber attacks; instead of facing a chaotic amount of logs, Corelight provides correlated metrics that allow pivoting to find, in seconds, all the data related to an alert, detection, or asset."
"Corelight is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature is the embedded IDS from Suricata."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."
"Technical support seems to be good."
 

Cons

"I would like the search page available with Cisco Stealthwatch to be more intuitive. The previous release was better than the current one for the UI."
"Complexity on integration is not so straightforward and you really need an expert to help build it out."
"I would like Cisco to make it easier for the administrators to use it."
"The initial setup of this solution is complex."
"Cisco Stealthwatch is scalable with money. It's expensive."
"I would like to see more expansion in artificial intelligence and machine learning features."
"The overall visibility into the actual device itself would be helpful. I don't just want support-specific data, but also to be able to see information such as CPU and other internal components or usage of the devices."
"Stealthwatch needs improvement when it comes to speed."
"Before Corelight recently started pushing some of the agentic features, querying at times could be a little difficult, depending on your mastery of log scale."
"Corelight hasn’t added features in a long time."
"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."
"In the next release, building a graphical user interface would be helpful."
"It's an expensive solution and the price could be reduced."
"They can enhance the interface of the product. They can make it more interactive and also easier to use for feature access."
"Machine learning could be a good improvement, but it's very costly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is not cheaply priced."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"​Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside (in traffic)."
"The yearly licensing cost is about $50,000."
"Today, we are part of the big Cisco ELA, and it is a la carte. We can get orders for whatever we want. At the end of the day, we have to pay for it in one big expense, but that is fine. We are okay with that."
"There are additional licenses needed for the number of so-called network flows. It's hard to plan the number of flows you need in the network, this is a problem. The price of the Cisco Stealthwatch is relatively inexpensive"
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"Our fees are approximately $3,000 USD."
"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
11%
Computer Software Company
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise52
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
Regarding cost, for the Bangladesh context, Cisco Secure Network Analytics is a little bit high-priced because we are a developing country, making it tough to manage affordable solutions. However, ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
Several features often look very promising during evaluation or implementation but end up being used only lightly in day-to-day operations. Advanced reporting and scheduled compliance reports look ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Stealthwatch?
My main use case for Cisco Secure Network Analytics has been network visibility and anomaly-based threat detection within the enterprise environment. In security operations and VAPT-related activit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Corelight?
I have a fortunate experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Corelight Open NDR, as being a principal architect, I get to sit outside of that conversation and just choose the best prod...
What needs improvement with Corelight?
Corelight Open NDR does not need any improvements or additional features in the next releases. The product is excellent at what it does, and I believe what they have done with it, taking an open-so...
What is your primary use case for Corelight?
I have been using Corelight Open NDR solution for approximately three years. I leverage the Suricata engine heavily for alerting on indicators of compromise as my main use case for this solution.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
Corelight Open NDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
CarrefourEdnonGrand Canyon EducationSektorCERTTietoevryVolkswagen Financial Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Corelight Open NDR and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.