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Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

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
6.7
Cisco Secure Network Analytics improves visibility and detection, aiding IT collaboration; value varies by environment and enhances security posture.
Sentiment score
4.0
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer offers ROI through bandwidth management, yet budget-conscious users consider cheaper alternatives with similar features.
There is a return on investment when purchasing SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer, as in the long run, there is a return on investments.
Technical Manager at APRAL
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Cisco Secure Network Analytics receives praise for its knowledgeable international support, despite occasional challenges with local expertise.
Sentiment score
6.5
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's customer service receives mixed feedback, with varying response times and expertise contributing to inconsistent experiences.
There is a lack of adequate local support from the Indian side.
Group Head at Stpi
For technical support of Cisco, the support they provide depends on how the client procures it, and so far, it's understandable.
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
They often say that only premium subscribers receive support within one or two hours.
Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I would rate support eight out of ten.
Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited
I received efficient responses to many questions.
Community Director at PeerSpot
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.3
Cisco Secure Network Analytics scales well for enterprises, though high costs and outdated hardware can limit effectiveness.
Sentiment score
6.6
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is scalable but costly, with performance challenges in large infrastructures due to licensing and capacity limits.
The scope of the load balancing work was a team effort where we used three tools for load balancing.
Senior Developer at Atlas Laboratory
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is a scalable solution, and by adding licenses, I can use the same deployment and instance to onboard more elements and nodes.
Technical Manager at APRAL
The license is based on the count of the ports.
Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Cisco Secure Network Analytics is praised for stability, minimal downtime, and reliability despite initial setup challenges and infrastructure complexity.
Sentiment score
6.4
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is stable and reliable, though occasional performance issues exist, especially in demanding environments.
Cisco products are incredibly stable, boasting a 200% stability.
Group Head at Stpi
Once resolved, the system works well, and overall I think it's good.
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Network Analytics needs better integration, user interface, AI features, and simplified setup with improved training and database management.
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer needs improved integration, AI, documentation, performance, security, UI, and reduced licensing costs for better user experience.
The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers.
Group Head at Stpi
Proper management of the database is also important; it should be centralized for easier data collection from a single database.
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
Advanced reporting and scheduled compliance reports look very attractive for audit and compliance teams at implementation time and can generate structured reports for visibility, risk posture, and traffic summaries.
Cyber Security Trainee at DataSpace Academy
Ideally, NetFlow should have a robust alerting mechanism.
Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It should be like a Meraki cloud, where if you are familiar with Meraki devices, you can locate any device directly on the world map.
Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited
Deployment needs improvement; the process is complicated, requiring attention to infrastructure settings and installation of components like the origin application server, platform, close storage, and policy agents.
Community Director at PeerSpot
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Network Analytics is costly with complex licensing, though valued for features; pricing strategy adjustments are suggested.
Enterprise users find SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer valuable, though its pricing can be high compared to alternatives, especially when scaling.
Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
Group Head at Stpi
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.
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
provide a rating of nine out of ten
Community Director at PeerSpot
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model is quite costly compared to other brands.
Technical Manager at APRAL
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Network Analytics offers comprehensive visibility and enhanced threat detection, improving security and reducing investigation times effectively.
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer provides traffic analysis, bandwidth monitoring, and customizable reporting for efficient network management and performance tracking.
The most valuable features include encrypted traffic analytics and the ability to fulfill requirements at the network level.
Group Head at Stpi
Every solution is gradually integrated with AI, and Cisco has already implemented AI building features in their solution.
CEO at BRIGHT-i SYSTEMS LIMITED
The best feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is its reliability, which I find to be the one that gets used the most.
Senior Developer at Atlas Laboratory
It provides proactive monitoring, rather than waiting for applications to go down due to heavy bandwidth or latency.
Manager Observability at ICE
This tool provides insights into top utilization applications or it identifies which circuit or application is consuming the most on the complete one-gig circuit traffic path.
Technical Lead at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The bandwidth indicates the utilization of the devices; if any issue occurs, it triggers an alert for me.
Global-Manager Network & communications at Secure Meters Limited
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (33rd), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (7th)
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic ...
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
4th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 9.0%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is 6.5%, up from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics9.0%
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer6.5%
Other84.5%
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
 

Featured Reviews

Akash Das Barman - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Trainee at DataSpace Academy
Network analytics has reduced investigation time and provides deeper visibility into lateral movement
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 very attractive for audit and compliance teams at implementation time and can generate structured reports for visibility, risk posture, and traffic summaries. In practice, many teams do not rely on it heavily because SIEM tools or GRC platforms already handle reporting better. Built-in threat intelligence feeds represent another area where expectations do not always match usage. The platform includes threat intelligence-based detection and classifications. Initially, teams expect to depend on this heavily, but later SOC teams often prefer their own threat intelligence feeds or correlate intelligence inside SIEM instead. The built-in feeds are used but not as a primary detection source. Automated incident summaries and guided investigation views are designed to simplify triage by automatically grouping related activity into incidents. However, teams often move away from them due to various factors affecting adoption.
RK
Manager Observability at ICE
Comprehensive monitoring is effective with attention to proactive alerting
The dashboards of the NTA module are very interactive and precise. It provides detailed information with drill-down facility. We can check issues from a subnet to a particular location, to a specific website. To that level, we can drill down in the dashboard. The dashboard output is good, and we can create modern dashboards. We can leverage the SolarWinds Query Language (SWQL), which is an out-of-the-box SolarWinds language to create modern dashboards. The dashboard features I personally appreciate the most in the SolarWinds module. Regarding alerting, it has many out-of-the-box alerts configured, such as device down, SNMP not responding, CPU or memory usage. These alerts can be customized as per requirements. It has excellent alerting features and reporting capabilities. We can create reports based upon alerts or events. Many out-of-the-box reports are present in SolarWinds which we can leverage. For alerts, the dashboards are excellent, allowing us to segregate alerts based upon groups, location, or specific device type. These options are available within SolarWinds, and we can customize them as per requirements. It provides proactive monitoring, rather than waiting for applications to go down due to heavy bandwidth or latency. We can identify issues ahead of time and resolve them before they become critical situations. This module is particularly helpful in identifying issues before they turn into significant problems.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Construction Company
7%
Healthcare Company
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 Business13
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

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 the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
I have worked from 1973 with all kind of systems in large enterprises across the world. And have experience with all kind of software in monitoring from infra to end to end, it depends on the funct...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?
The licensing model of SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer is always an issue for users because competitors offer unlimited and perpetual licenses, and SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer's model i...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer?
Regarding improvement, the application monitoring capabilities are not exceptional. If SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer could improve in that area, it would be helpful. It is less AIOps driven a...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
Netflow Traffic Analyzer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Oceaneering International, Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, 335th Signal Command, Immofori
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.