Graylog vs Security Onion
A side-by-side comparison on deployment model, data residency, licensing basis and security coverage. Structural facts are verifiable against vendor documentation; the scored dimensions are our assessment.
Graylog
Graylog Inc.
7.8
Average across eight dimensions
- Deployment
- Self-hosted
- Licensing
- Free / ingest volume (Enterprise)
- Time to value
- Medium
- Segment
- SMB / mid-market
- G2
- —
Security Onion
Security Onion Solutions
7.8
Average across eight dimensions
- Deployment
- Self-hosted
- Licensing
- Free; paid support available
- Time to value
- Complex
- Segment
- SMB / education / research
- G2
- —
Score by dimension
| Dimension | GL | SO |
|---|---|---|
| Data residency control | 9 | 10 |
| Pricing value | 8 | 9.5 |
| Detection accuracy | 7.5 | 8 |
| Response speed | 7 | 6.5 |
| Ease of setup | 7.5 | 6 |
| Management UX | 8 | 6.5 |
| Integration depth | 8 | 7.5 |
| Security coverage | 7.5 | 8 |
Graylog
- +Noticeably easier to stand up and operate than Elastic for log management
- +Open-source edition is genuinely usable rather than a crippled trial
- +Strong search and alerting for the operational logging use case
- −Security-specific content is thinner than dedicated SIEM platforms
- −Enterprise edition returns to volume-based pricing
Best for Teams wanting solid self-hosted log management with a path toward SIEM
Watch out Check which security features require Enterprise before assuming the free tier suffices
Security Onion
- +Free and open source with excellent network security monitoring depth
- +Bundles Suricata, Zeek and full packet capture in one distribution
- +Widely used for training, research and incident response work
- −Network-focused — endpoint and identity coverage is comparatively thin
- −No commercial support unless purchased separately from the project
Best for Teams prioritising network visibility and detection engineering practice
Watch out Not a full enterprise SIEM replacement on its own — plan the endpoint layer separately
Evaluate nPro yourself
Free for up to 99 agents, no time limit, no credit card. Deploys on your own infrastructure in minutes.
Other comparisons
Data last verified 2026-09-16. nPro publishes this comparison. Where nPro appears as one of the platforms listed, its card is marked and its scores are our own assessment. Third-party review scores are sourced from public vendor profiles. Structural facts — deployment model, licensing basis, residency — are verifiable against each vendor's documentation.