Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

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
8.0
Cisco Secure Network Analytics boosts incident detection and recovery, offering cost savings and labor efficiency for enhanced security.
Sentiment score
7.3
Users of Darktrace experience high returns and savings, enhanced system visibility, threat detection, and improved cybersecurity cost-effectiveness.
Using this solution provides financial benefits by securing from server attacks, which offers indirect savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Network Analytics support is praised for technical expertise and responsiveness, despite occasional local support challenges and delays.
Sentiment score
7.7
Darktrace's customer support is highly rated for responsiveness and proficiency, with minor improvements suggested for complex deployments and specific regions.
There is a lack of adequate local support from the Indian side.
The challenge lies in waiting for a response after logging a ticket.
Darktrace provides excellent technical support with a monthly meeting to review platform incidents, ensuring the system functions as expected.
Any queries I have logged are responded to efficiently.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco Secure Network Analytics excels in scalability and adaptability, though it can be costly and challenging in data management.
Sentiment score
7.6
Darktrace is highly scalable, adaptable to enterprise environments, and supports both cloud-based and on-premise expansion with careful management.
Darktrace has high scalability, and I would rate it a nine out of ten.
Since it's cloud-based, it expands easily.
For scalability, I would rate it an eight out of ten because they integrate with many technologies.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is stable, reliable under complex conditions, but users seek less Java and better product integration.
Sentiment score
8.5
Darktrace is highly stable, reliable, with 99.9% uptime, efficient performance, and excellent monitoring, rated favorably by users.
Cisco products are incredibly stable, boasting a 200% stability.
The stability of Darktrace is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
The appliance itself has never let me down.
For stability, I would rate Darktrace an eight out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Network Analytics needs enhanced usability, integration, filtering, AI, reporting, training, cost-efficiency, and endpoint management for better security.
Darktrace needs better integration, interface, pricing, reporting, user-friendliness, automation, documentation, and collaboration to reduce false positives and improve protection.
The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers.
They say they can integrate with most firewalls, but when we did an integration with Meraki MX firewalls, that integration didn't work and still doesn't work to this day.
There is no dedicated salesperson in Egypt, and having one would help to improve focus on this market.
The intelligence section and the incident view should be seamlessly connected in one view to avoid jumping between pages.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Network Analytics pricing is high, influenced by network flow requirements, with mixed user experiences on cost and licensing.
Enterprise buyers have mixed pricing perceptions of Darktrace, with costs up to $350,000 annually and flexible payment options.
Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
The product is considered expensive compared to others.
The licensing cost is approximately eight dollars a year.
The pricing is costly in USD, and they charge based on device counts.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Network Analytics enhances security with visibility, real-time anomaly detection, automation, and intuitive management for improved threat response.
Darktrace provides AI-driven threat detection and autonomous response, offering real-time monitoring, high visibility, and minimal human intervention.
The most valuable features include encrypted traffic analytics and the ability to fulfill requirements at the network level.
I do not need to manually process incidents as Darktrace provides an incident summary, potential detection paths, and other details, all exportable with just a click.
If I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.
If more than 2.5 gigabytes of data have been pulled in a few minutes, it engages by blocking for one-hour intervals, alerts, and extends the block until it goes into full isolation if the violation continues.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
4th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (30th), Cisco Security Portfolio (7th)
Darktrace
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
1st
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (9th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), AI-Powered Chatbots (2nd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (3rd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 15.0%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 26.4%, up from 26.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
 

Q&A Highlights

CW
Feb 11, 2020
 

Featured Reviews

Sudhakar T - PeerSpot reviewer
Strong network security analytics with excellent encrypted traffic analysis features
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers. There's a need for a more comprehensive licensing model where all necessary licenses are included by default.
Malebo Lethoba Group - PeerSpot reviewer
Have found the AI analyst and detection functions highly valuable for network operations while managing complexity in initial setup
The functions I find most valuable in Darktrace ( /products/darktrace-reviews ) are the AI analyst as well as the detection.The autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace are not crucial for me because it doesn't work in a network where there are no core switches. In a modern network, the autonomous response doesn't work, especially when sitting in a shared data center.If I'm running a traditional network where I am not in a shared data center with a layer two dedicated for my resources, then it can work for me. However, if I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solutions are best for your needs.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

CW
Feb 11, 2020
Feb 11, 2020
I that feel there are two old problems still there in the market: 1-Vendors don't talk to each other. 2-Whoever is focusing on endpoint is missing the network and human side and the opposite is also true. I love, for example, what Darktrace is doing in the network side and the playback option to know what happened in my network during a long holiday, for example, things will never be caught by...
2 out of 9 answers
reviewer973458 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 26, 2019
Raffael Marty, Vice President, Forcepoint Research and Intelligence, said: "There is no artificial intelligence in the field of information security, and it is unlikely to be developed in 2019." Most of unsupervised machine learning-based network anomaly detection solution does not provide why the anomaly has been aroused and whether the anomaly is malicious or not. Most of such solution's pricing model is based on number of endpoints but I prefer to have flat fee subscription-based.
IT
Aug 26, 2019
I that feel there are two old problems still there in the market: 1-Vendors don't talk to each other. 2-Whoever is focusing on endpoint is missing the network and human side and the opposite is also true. I love, for example, what Darktrace is doing in the network side and the playback option to know what happened in my network during a long holiday, for example, things will never be caught by a second-generation AV but I need to have a solid 2nd gen. AV besides the total high cost of Darktrace which by the way is worth it for IT pros but not for business owners. We need to have something like virus total but for risks and threats beyond viruses where all vendors work on this and all endpoint customers with different vendors connect to it to be secured.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
27%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
The organization experienced challenges with licensing as Cisco has multiple licensing factors, and there are concerns about the price. Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the applic...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,491 professionals have used our research since 2012.