Splunk vs IBM QRadar -- SIEM & Security Analytics Compared
IBM QRadar offers strong AI-powered threat detection and network flow analysis that rivals Splunk's capabilities, often at a lower total cost of ownership. Splunk offers superior search flexibility, a larger app ecosystem, and a more modern user experience, but QRadar's automatic offense creation can significantly reduce SOC analyst workload.
Choose IBM QRadar if you want AI-powered threat detection with strong network analytics and lower operational overhead for detection tuning. Choose Splunk if you need the most flexible analytics platform with the largest ecosystem and a modern user experience.
| Feature | IBM QRadar | Splunk |
|---|---|---|
| Threat Detection | AI-powered offense creation | Correlation rules + ML toolkit |
| Network Analytics | Built-in flow analysis (NetFlow) | Requires Splunk Stream add-on |
| Pricing Model | Events per second (EPS) | Workload or ingest-based |
| Query Language | AQL (Ariel Query Language) | SPL (more flexible and powerful) |
| User Interface | Functional but dated | Modern and customizable |
| SOAR | QRadar SOAR (IBM Resilient) | Splunk SOAR |
| Cloud-Native | QRadar on Cloud (limited) | Splunk Cloud (mature) |
| App Ecosystem | IBM Security App Exchange | 2,500+ Splunkbase apps |
Common questions about choosing between Splunk and IBM QRadar.
IBM QRadar offers strong AI-powered threat detection and network flow analysis that rivals Splunk's capabilities, often at a lower total cost of ownership. Splunk offers superior search flexibility, a larger app ecosystem, and a more modern user experience, but QRadar's automatic offense creation can significantly reduce SOC analyst workload.
Choose IBM QRadar if you want AI-powered threat detection with strong network analytics and lower operational overhead for detection tuning. Choose Splunk if you need the most flexible analytics platform with the largest ecosystem and a modern user experience.
IBM QRadar pricing: From $800/month (100 EPS) / Enterprise custom. Splunk pricing: From $1,800/year (workload pricing) / Enterprise custom. IBM QRadar's pricing model is events per second (eps) or flows per minute, while Splunk uses workload-based or ingest-based pricing.
Yes, you can migrate from Splunk to IBM QRadar. The migration process depends on your specific setup and the features you use. Both platforms offer APIs that can facilitate automated migration. Consider running both tools in parallel during the transition to ensure zero downtime.
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