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

Corelight 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Corelight
Ranking in Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
7th
Ranking in Network Detection and Response (NDR)
14th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 Corelight is 10.5%, up from 10.0% 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)
 

Featured Reviews

Dan Jeske - PeerSpot reviewer
An open-source solution that gave us insight into our clients' network traffic flow
We use the solution for packet capture sampling. We offer it as part of our managed service. It's so we can identify east-west traffic on a customer's network Corelight is low-cost and made on open-source, and the code is Zeek. It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment.…
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Corelight is easy to use."
"It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks."
"It is easy to deploy and easy to handle."
"The most valuable feature is the embedded IDS from Suricata."
"It's an easy way for us to get visibility in a client's environment."
"AI analytics are built directly into the product."
"Darktrace provides better visibility into network risks, allowing you to take preemptive action against risky user behavior."
"The ability to detect activity on the network is very useful to us. Even if it's not necessarily an illegal activity, if it is abnormal activity, it is able to detect it and notify us."
"The most valuable features are the AI and advanced learning tools that distinguish it from other products."
"We are able to detect a lot of things, actually, and see what is happening in our network."
"The most valuable feature has been the behavioral analytics that allows us to monitor all the traffic."
"In terms of features, the data or information they collect and unsupervised machine learning are very valuable. Its unsupervised machine learning has reduced our team's effort. Both Darktrace and Vectra work on unsupervised machine learning that learns the behavior or develops a profile on its own, which allows our security team to do some other tasks rather than spending time on Darktrace or Vectra. Because of unsupervised machine learning, its detection capability is quite good. Along with that, if we utilize the integration feature properly, the automated incident response capability of Darktrace is quite useful."
"Its AI technology supports cybersecurity by learning my environment and accurately responding to threats."
 

Cons

"In the next release, building a graphical user interface would be helpful."
"Corelight hasn’t added features in a long time."
"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."
"The solution’s architecture is complex and difficult to understand. There are multiple machines and VMs."
"The product is considered expensive compared to others."
"It should be easier to access the Darktrace portal and its documentation. Only the customer can access their portal and support. It could be cheaper."
"This product needs more in terms of prevention. The detection capabilities work well but once a threat has been detected, Darktrace should work to prevent it from doing anything malicious."
"Darktrace should have more automation and integrations with other security monitoring tools."
"It is expensive, but everything else has been great so far."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"I would like to see a feature where the tool ingests information from an anti-malware product that is present at the endpoint."
"Darktrace needs to automate the reports of false positives, botnets and everything."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a yearly fee and depends on what you are looking for."
"The solution is about $6,000 per quarter."
"It was $3,600 a month or $2,000 plus or so. I am not sure. Its licensing is pretty simple."
"Darktrace is quite an expensive solution."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"It is a very expensive product."
"Our customers feel that the price of Darktrace is quite high compared to other solutions."
"I'm unfamiliar with the exact cost, but we have a yearly license and had to pay for Darktrace's services before the deployment. The product is very expensive, so some organizations can't afford to pay the total amount directly, meaning they often seek a partner or pay in installments, which increases the price more."
"The cost of the solution is expensive for smaller businesses. They will not be able to afford it or might not need this type of security solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) solutions are best for your needs.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
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
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Corelight?
It's easy to create additional dashboards specific to supporting specific tasks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Corelight?
The solution is too expensive compared to others. If you have the technical knowledge, it's good. Corelight is a very big gap between you and others if you’re new.
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.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Education First
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 Corelight vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.