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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Security Onion comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Security Onion
Ranking in Log Management
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.9%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Security Onion is 5.0%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Manikandan Kannan - PeerSpot reviewer
Simplifying log management by displaying detailed access information
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its ability to simplify and display logs clearly, providing details like which IPs are accessing the system, the destination, and the policies applied. This visualization and detail make managing logs more straightforward. In conjunction with our VMware setup, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer enhances organizational efficiency, meeting the standard log retention period for up to a year.
Jörg Kippe - PeerSpot reviewer
A mature and affordable solution that is easy to install and easy to update
The product takes time to learn, it's not that easy. In the beginning we had a lot of questions. If you want to use such a tool in an real (industrial) environment, you have to ask how to get the network data. Can we do a full packet capture? Can we provide agents to our end systems? There are no simple solutions to these questions. It's a general problem when running such systems in an industrial environment.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The event handling solution in the platform is very good and useful."
"What I like the most is the monitoring system."
"The user interface is good and it is quite easy to use."
"It supports SQL for logging and reporting. Log data is inserted into the SQL database for log view and report generation."
"The interface is simple and easy to navigate."
"It gives you live logs, which can be really helpful during troubleshooting."
"The feature that I have found the most valuable is to be able to see everything in our network in a single task. A single menu and the graphical bar charts that it provides to give insights are very useful. It also gives very good metrics on bandwidth utilization, CPU, and device performance. It is very simple and easy to use as well."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten since, in our company, we have never experienced the solution crashing or having any other issues."
"The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports."
"We use Security Onion for internal vulnerability assessment."
"Security Onion is the most mature solution in the market."
 

Cons

"It is very important that FAZ can support FortiController as the architecture designed for the network. FortiController should be registered in FAZ at least for event logs."
"The reports are good, but they are over-summarized."
"Fortinet FortiAnalyzer could improve the user interface, and the experience of users receiving the reports and tracking could be better."
"The solution can improve the incident response function to provide more detailed information on where the incident is originating."
"In future releases, we'd like to see more granular reporting. The reports on offer right now are pretty short."
"Currently, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer provides a very basic level of correlation facilities. I would like to see improvements in the integration of better correlation capabilities."
"The pricing could be better. They could work to make it more competitive on the market."
"For smaller SMB-level firewalls, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer might not be the best idea for cost-effective implementation."
"The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult."
"Security Onion's user interface could be improved."
"The product is not easy to learn."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is expensive."
"The program is expensive."
"The company's choice to utilize Fortinet FortiAnalyzer was based on the overall security strategy and compatibility with existing solutions. It was deemed the best fit as it provided a centralized point of visibility for all of their security solution, including Fortinet FortiGate firewall, FortiClient, Forti EMS, and FortiAP. The company conducted a thorough evaluation of various solutions in the market but found that none of them could fully integrate and manage all their solutions as effectively as Fortinet FortiAnalyzer."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"In the local market sometimes people are being charged more than other solutions. Although the market is competitive, legitimate suppliers do not receive a large enough discount to pass onto the customers."
"We pay for an annual license."
"We have around 12 devices and yearly we spend approximately $14,000."
"The pricing of this solution is fair, and it is based on what you can manage."
"Security Onion is an open-source solution."
"It is an open-source solution."
"Security Onion is a free solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
University
11%
Government
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The reporting features, which offer customization, real-time insights, and compliance support, are particularly noteworthy aspects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
There are no extra expenses included aside from the licensing fee for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, which I am paying annually.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The UI needs to be improved in future updates.
What do you like most about Security Onion?
The most valuable feature of Security Onion for security monitoring is its ability to find infected ports.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Security Onion?
Security Onion is an open-source solution. On a scale from one to ten, where ten is expensive and one is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten.
What needs improvement with Security Onion?
The initial setup of the solution is a little bit difficult.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. Security Onion and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.