What users are saying about
712 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.6 out of 100
Based on 712 reviews and ratings
27 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9 out of 100
Based on 27 reviews and ratings
Feature Set Ratings
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

6.6
AlienVault USM
66%

Snort
Feature Set Not Supported
N/A
AlienVault USM ranks higher in 7/7 features
AlienVault USM ranks higher in 7/7 features
Centralized event and log data collection

6.8
68%
5 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Correlation

7.1
71%
5 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Event and log normalization/management

6.7
67%
7 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Deployment flexibility

6.0
60%
5 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Integration with Identity and Access Management Tools

6.6
66%
3 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Custom dashboards and workspaces

6.1
61%
7 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Host and network-based intrusion detection

6.7
67%
4 Ratings

N/A
0 Ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Snort is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend

8.0
AlienVault USM
80%
389 Ratings

8.4
Snort
84%
5 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew

7.1
AlienVault USM
71%
19 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Usability

6.7
AlienVault USM
67%
35 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Availability

6.4
AlienVault USM
64%
6 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Performance

7.3
AlienVault USM
73%
6 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating

7.3
AlienVault USM
73%
51 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
In-Person Training

4.5
AlienVault USM
45%
1 Rating

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Online Training

8.3
AlienVault USM
83%
6 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Implementation Rating

6.4
AlienVault USM
64%
76 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Product Scalability

6.3
AlienVault USM
63%
3 Ratings

Snort
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
AlienVault USM
At this point I'm saying a 4. While the marketing material make it appear to be easy to use and it was relatively easy to set up, as previously mentioned, each event description is based upon the individual asset making it nearly impossible for the administrator to be a SME for each asset. For example, if one of the assets reporting is a router, the administrator monitoring alerts would need to know what the various events are that can be triggered as an event for the particular router; however, if the asset is a workstation, the administrator would need to know the various events that are triggered for workstations.

Verified User
Manager in Other
Legal Services Company, 501-1000 employeesSnort
If a colleague was looking to tighten down their network I can easily recommend Snort to them. It gives you some more peace of mind knowing that its always scanning traffic for malicious looking code. Even things your major firewalls and security hardware might miss, Snort has picked up. Its an easy recommendation for me.

Verified User
Consultant in Marketing
Government Administration Company, 501-1000 employeesPros
AlienVault USM
- AlienVault USM is simple and easy to deploy. Sensors can be deployed in as little as 15 minutes through the setup wizard.
- The USM UI is easy to understand. I've trained multiple analysts who are able to perform their duties on their first day, in part because of USM Anywhere's ease of use.
- Top-notch built-in compliance templates and reporting features.
Tier II SOC Analyst
Rendition Infosec LLCInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees
Snort
- IPS detection.
- DoS detection.
- Packet logging.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCons
AlienVault USM
- Personally, I've wished I could purchase a service that would configure AV for my environment. I get a lot of traffic on a daily basis and I almost need to hire an analyst that just works on AV.
- Some of the filters when looking for a specific alert aren't that easy to use.
System Administrator
Enthought, Inc.Computer Software, 51-200 employees
Snort
- At times can be unstable with Cisco bugs, require frequent upgrading.
- FTD images that are being pushed for ASAs are less efficient from an administration standpoint, no CLI.
Senior Network Security Engineer
InsightInformation Technology and Services, 5001-10,000 employees
Pricing Details
AlienVault USM
General
Free Trial
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Yes
Entry-level set up fee?
Optional
Starting Price
$1,075 per month
AlienVault USM Editions & Modules
Edition
Essentials | $1,0751 |
---|---|
Standard | $1,6951 |
Premium | $2,5951 |
- per month
Additional Pricing Details
—Snort
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Snort Editions & Modules
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Likelihood to Renew
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 7.1
Based on 19 answers
The centralized logging and retention for PCI compliance was our main driver, and it is meeting that need. Otherwise there has been enough frustration with the lack of documentation and the need to customize through the CLI that I would be open to alternatives.
IT Systems Architect
ROTHSTEIN.ioRestaurants, 5001-10,000 employees
Snort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Usability
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 6.7
Based on 35 answers
Once you are able to navigate the different panels, finding what you need is quite easily. Before getting used it it can be a bit of challenge .Each panel is quite well laid out and the filtering search capabilities are quite strong.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 6.4
Based on 6 answers
We do have issues with maintenance on the AlienVault USM as the disk fills up from time to time with other data sources. Sources for scanning logs and net flow data isn't calculated in regular disk maintenance and can easily fill up our disk if we do not keep an eye on it with some custom Nagios plugins. The system does properly trim logging data from logging sources properly.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Performance
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 7.3
Based on 6 answers
With the latest release of AlienVault USM overall performance has not been an issue. We have noticed single source events per second does not scale well with the overall system. 2,000eps on a vmware system with a single source produces delays of up to an hour for us. Pages, reporting and even raw log searches are rather quick though.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 7.3
Based on 51 answers
The support we received from alienvault was excellent. They went above and beyond in making sure everything was working as it needed to be. They REALLY want their product implementation to be a success and our security goals be achieved. They are like a member of our security team.

Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 4.5
Based on 1 answer
I did not have any experience with "in person" training directly. The free online classes offered for a half a day are based on the actual training offered. These little teasers are very good and well worth your time to learn a few quick and dirty ways of getting more information from your SIEM

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Online Training
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 8.3
Based on 6 answers
It was very well organized and helpful in using the product to the fullest extent. The instructor allowed time for folks who were involved with managed services to receive tuning tips in order to better support their customers. In addition, the course materials were automatically updated when the new version came out.

Verified User
Director in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 501-1000 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 6.4
Based on 76 answers
AlienVault USM was a very simple to implement and get up and running. We started with a trial version and had that up and going within an hour of receiving email instructions from the sales engineer. We never had to contact support to get the system up and going. It was extremely easy to convert over to a full license once we started with a paid version.

Verified User
Supervisor in Information Technology
Utilities Company, 51-200 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
AlienVault USM
Splunk's ES is a paid add-on on top of an already pricey product. Finding a MSSP that supports Splunk and isn't a 6 figure annual commitment seems unlikely. LogRhythm did not have a cloud-based solution when we were considering SIEMs. Fantastic product though and have a good MSSP base.Devo did not have a MSSP partner base when we looked. Their product is fantastic too.AlienVault USM has good partners to choose from as well as an affordable cloud model, that's why we chose it.

Verified User
Director in Information Technology
Staffing and Recruiting Company, 51-200 employeesSnort
For our organization, the Cisco defense in depth concept works the best. While Cisco can be made to work with other vendors, we have found the best in depth protection by integrating Cisco products for maximum visibility. We had a Barracuda Web Filter, but it was difficult to maintain when you had limited scope on what you could block, so we created a whitelist only setup which required a lot of additional manpower. This wouldn't have covered new threats with DNS spoofing and the like.Sourcefire also integrated with our anti-malware platform (Cisco AMP) for even better visibility on what may be happening on the end users workstation. We are planning on adding in Cisco ISE to complete the approach and possibly stealthwatch to cover our bases in the future. The Palo Alto gear was interesting, but it was priced far out of our range.
Network Administrator
West Wichita Family Physicians, P.A.Hospital & Health Care, 201-500 employees
Scalability
AlienVault USM
AlienVault USM 6.3
Based on 3 answers
The AlienVault USM is not very scalable. Some scalability can be achieved by installing additional sensors, but this only offers 500eps per sensor and is still overall limited by the installation type of VM or physical. We have also noticed the EPS (events per second) is rated overall and not towards a single source. A single source on a very healthy VMware partition tops out at 2,000eps for us, no matter how we configure it. Maybe this is a problem of the 5.2 release?

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employeesSnort
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
AlienVault USM
- Compliance
- Threat detection
- Easy asset management
- Save on vulnerability scanning

Verified User
Employee in Engineering
Security & Investigations Company, 11-50 employeesSnort
- Being open source, ROI on free is hard to beat for something that works.
- I believe it greatly enhances the security of my network.
Owner
Grandpa's GarageAutomotive, 1-10 employees