Elastic Security vs syslog-ng comparison

Elastic and One Identity are both solutions in the Log Management category. Elastic is ranked #7 with an average rating of 7.7, while One Identity is ranked #19 with an average rating of 9.3. Elastic holds a 3.5% mindshare in Log Management, compared to One Identity’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Elastic users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of One Identity users who would recommend it.

Elastic Security

Read 64 Elastic Security reviews

8,249 Views
7,021 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

syslog-ng

Read 5 syslog-ng reviews

4,498 Views
3,635 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Elastic Security

syslog-ng

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Elastic Security and syslog-ng compete in the operational security category. Elastic Security seems to have the upper hand due to its robust security framework and advanced analytical features.

Features: Elastic Security provides advanced threat detection, a wide range of integration capabilities, and a comprehensive security framework. Syslog-ng focuses on effective log collection, high-performance data filtering, and efficient data processing.

Room for Improvement: Elastic Security could enhance scalability, reduce its resource-heavy nature, and improve performance optimization. Syslog-ng could benefit from more user-friendly settings, enhanced support documentation, and improved user accessibility.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Elastic Security requires significant deployment effort, often involving technical expertise and time, whereas syslog-ng offers a quicker setup but lacks robust customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Elastic Security is considered expensive, with mixed views on ROI due to its comprehensive features. Syslog-ng is generally viewed as cost-effective, providing a good balance between cost and functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed Elastic Security vs. syslog-ng Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Elastic Security vs. syslog-ng

March 2025

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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

Elastic Security

Ranking in Log Management

7th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (5th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (16th), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (6th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (8th)

syslog-ng

Ranking in Log Management

19th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Elastic Security is 3.5%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of syslog-ng is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Log Management

Featured Reviews

Gajewski Marek

Chief Technology Officer & Co-founder at CS2

Provides good anomaly detection and connectivity reporting

We previously used Splunk but switched to Elastic Security because Splunk was more expensive. Feature-wise, both tools are pretty much the same. They have almost the same functions. Elastic Security has a much better AI assistant that allows you to ask questions like a normal person. With Elastic Security, I can also predict the price and how much it will cost. Splunks's pricing depends on how much data we use and the different add-ons I have to add. The pricing is much better with Elastic Security.

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RyanVargas

Senior Director and Senior Systems Engineer (Dual Role), IT Infrastructure and Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

It's a user-friendly open-source solution that can replace or augment a commercial product in some cases

I rate syslog-ng 10 out of 10. It's free and easy to use. It has built-in tools that help us index the various logs sent to it. It's a solid log product. If you're looking for a SIEM solution, syslog-ng will work as a stopgap measure at beginning of the project. It can also work as an injector for a true SIEM solution. You can send all the logs to syslog-ng and forward all the data to the SIEM solution after you've cleaned up the data and got the pertinent information. It's a good front end for a commercial SIEM solution, which becomes more expensive as you load more data into it. I would highly recommend syslog-ng for that use case. However, if you lack the expertise, you might need to go with a cloud-based SIEM instead. You need some in-house expertise or an outside consultant to manage it and set it up.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is the best open-source product for people working in SO, managing and analyzing logs."

"The most valuable feature of Elastic Security is that you can install agents, and they are not separately licensed."

"Just the ability to do a lot more than just up-down is nice, which a lot of people take for granted."

"We like Elastic Security because it's a REST API-based solution. That's the primary reason we use it."

"It can handle millions of loads at a time, and you can always use the filters to find exactly what you are looking for and detect errors in every log message you are searching for, basically."

"Elastic Security makes data communication easier."

"It is an extremely stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"One of the most valuable features of this solution is that it is more flexible than AlienVault."

More Elastic Security pros

"Syslog-ng provides easy access to all my logs. It helps me show managers and other clients precisely where an incident occurred. I also like it because you can integrate syslog-ng with multiple solutions to allow real-time monitoring."

"Syslog-ng has a separate config file in addition to the core configuration."

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

"For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior."

"The ability to extract and store the logs is the most valuable feature of syslog-ng."

Cons

"Elastic Security can be a bit difficult to use if a person only has experience in SMBs with tools like Zoho. The product can also be difficult for those who have never dealt with query language."

"Elastic Security could improve the documentation. It would help if they were more simple and clean."

"The interface could be more user friendly because it is sometimes hard to deal with."

"There isn't really a very good user experience. You need a lot of training."

"One limitation of Elastic Security is that it does not have built-in workflows for all tasks. For example, if you need a workflow for compliance, you will need to create a custom workflow."

"Elastic sometimes does not correctly identify threats or anomalies. It might not classify an issue as malicious or critical accurately."

"The solution's query building is not that intuitive compared to other solutions."

"Anything that supports high availability or ease of deployment in a highly available environment would help to improve this solution."

More Elastic Security cons

"There is always the potential for additional integration and protocol extensions."

"There is room for improvement in terms of observability."

"The filtering has room for improvement."

"It's hard to find people who know how to use syslog-ng. I often find problems with configurations, and solutions aren't integrated correctly with syslog-ng. For example, there might be data with extra decimals, or the collector agents are incorrectly named. It isn't a problem with the solution; it's a lack of professionals."

"Syslog-ng has built-in features that we can use to create alerts for a SIEM solution. It isn't a true SIEM solution, but it's sufficient for the time being."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When compared to other products, the price is average or on the low side."

"This is an open-source product, so there are no costs."

"We are using the free, open-source version of this solution."

"Elastic Security is free to use."

"It's a monthly cost with Elastic SIEM, but I am not sure of the exact cost."

"The solution is free."

"The pricing is in the middle. I think it is not an expensive experience if we compare it with big names, for example, QRadar, and also Oxide. I think Elastic Security is quite cheap. I would rate the pricing of this solution a five out of ten."

"The solution is not expensive and costs around ten dollars a month."

More Elastic Security pricing and cost advice

"Syslog-ng is a free open-source solution."

"Syslog-ng is open-source."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

Datadog vs ELK: which one is good in terms of performance, cost and efficiency?

With Datadog, we have near-live visibility across our entire platform. We have seen APM metrics impacted several times lately using the dashboards we have created with Datadog; they are very good c...

See all answers

What do you like most about Elastic Security?

Elastic provides the capability to index quickly due to the reverse indexes it offers. This data is crucial as it contains critical information. The reverse index allows fast data indexing because ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Elastic Security?

Elastic Security is considered cost-effective, especially at lower EPS levels. However, a direct comparison was not made due to different pricing structures.

See all answers

What do you like most about syslog-ng?

For us, the most valuable feature is the use of compound search for searching logs at a specific time, by a specific user, or specific behavior.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for syslog-ng?

The pricing is in the middle. I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with one being expensive and ten being cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with syslog-ng?

There is room for improvement in terms of observability. Additionally, a possible new feature could be Kafka integration.

See all answers

Comparisons

Wazuh vs Elastic Security

Compared 23% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Elastic Security

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs Elastic Security

Compared 7% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Elastic Security

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Sentinel vs Elastic Security

Compared 5% of the time

More Elastic Security Competitors

Graylog vs syslog-ng

Compared 29% of the time

SolarWinds Kiwi Syslog Server vs syslog-ng

Compared 26% of the time

Grafana Loki vs syslog-ng

Compared 14% of the time

Elastic Stack vs syslog-ng

Compared 5% of the time

More syslog-ng Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Elastic Security

March 2025

Download Elastic Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Log Management

March 2025

Download syslog-ng product report

Also Known As

Elastic SIEM, ELK Logstash

No data available

Overview

Elastic Security is a robust, open-source security solution designed to offer integrated threat prevention, detection, and response capabilities across an organization's entire digital estate. Part of the Elastic Stack (which includes Elasticsearch, Logstash, and Kibana), Elastic Security leverages the power of search, analytics, and data aggregation to provide real-time insight into threats and vulnerabilities. It is a comprehensive platform that supports a wide range of security needs, from endpoint protection to cloud and network security, making it a versatile choice for organizations looking to enhance their cybersecurity posture.

Elastic Security combines the features of a security information and event management (SIEM) system with endpoint protection, allowing organizations to detect, investigate, and respond to threats in real time. This unified approach helps reduce complexity and improve the efficiency of security operations.

Additional offerings and benefits:

The platform utilizes advanced analytics, machine learning algorithms, and anomaly detection to identify threats and suspicious activities.
It offers extensive integration options with other tools and platforms, facilitating a more cohesive and comprehensive security ecosystem.
With Kibana, users gain access to powerful visualization tools and dashboards that provide real-time insight into security data.

Finally, Elastic Security benefits from a global community of users who contribute to its threat intelligence, helping to enhance its detection capabilities. This collaborative approach ensures that the solution remains on the cutting edge of cybersecurity, with up-to-date information on the latest threats and vulnerabilities.

Elastic

Optimizing SIEM
syslog-ng is the log management solution that improves the performance of your SIEM solution by reducing the amount and improving the quality of data feeding your SIEM.

Rapid search and troubleshooting
With syslog-ng Store Box, you can find the answer. Search billions of logs in seconds using full text queries with Boolean operators to pinpoint critical logs.

Meeting compliance requirements
syslog-ng Store Box provides secure, tamper-proof storage and custom reporting to demonstrate compliance.

Big data ingestion
syslog-ng can deliver data from a wide variety of sources to Hadoop, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, and Kafka as well as many others.

Universal log collection and routing
syslog-ng flexibly routes log data from X sources to Y destinations. Instead of deploying multiple agents on hosts, organizations can unify their log data collection and management.

Secure data archive
syslog-ng Store Box provides automated archiving, tamper-proof encrypted storage, granular access controls to protect log data. The largest appliance can store up to 10TB of raw logs.

One Identity

Sample Customers

Texas A&M, U.S. Air Force, NuScale Power, Martin's Point Health Care

Tecnocom, University of Victoria, University of Exeter, Datapath

Buyer's Guide

Elastic Security vs. syslog-ng

March 2025

Free Report: Elastic Security vs. syslog-ng

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