IBM Security QRadar vs LogRhythm SIEM comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Microsoft Logo
32,763 views|18,195 comparisons
IBM Logo
15,293 views|9,299 comparisons
LogRhythm Logo
10,202 views|5,819 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 12, 2023

We performed a comparison between IBM Security QRadar and LogRhythm SIEM based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Features: IBM Security QRadar users say the solution provides extensive information and helpful leads for locating pertinent data. Users praised LogRhythm SIEM for its user-friendly centralized dashboard, strong integration capabilities, and event-filtering capabilities. QRadar stands out with its comprehensive network visibility and strong SIEM capabilities. IBM Security QRadar could improve its rule deployment and lower its false positive rate. Users would also like expanded storage capacity, streamlined user management, and a more mature architecture. LogRhythm users requested expanded log storage, better load balancing, and streamlined search capabilities.

  • Service and Support: Some customers of IBM Security QRadar have had trouble connecting with knowledgeable support staff and experienced delayed responses. LogRhythm SIEM was generally praised for its helpful and knowledgeable support, although there have been occasional delays and knowledge problems.

  • Ease of Deployment: IBM Security QRadar's initial setup can be complex for users without expertise, and the difficulty may vary depending on the size of the data set. Small or medium-sized companies generally find LogRhythm SIEM's setup to be straightforward. However, it is more time-consuming and complex for enterprise deployments involving multiple components or vendors, and users often require assistance from professional services or LogRhythm-certified engineers.

  • Pricing: IBM Security QRadar can be costly because users need to buy new hardware to upgrade. LogRhythm SIEM’s license typically includes all elements. However, enterprise customers may encounter complexities related to additional features and add-ons.

  • ROI: IBM Security QRadar delivers a high return on investment, improving security through its advanced user behavior analytics. LogRhythm SIEM has proven to be highly valuable, delivering a significant ROI by reducing the mean time to detect and respond.

Comparison Results: Our users prefer LogRhythm SIEM over IBM QRadar. Users value LogRhythm SIEM for its seamless integration, effective log correlation, and efficient event filtering. LogRhythm SIEM yields a solid return on investment and offers stellar customer service. Customers find LogRhythm SIEM's pricing and licensing competitive, making it a more affordable option for those with budget constraints.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Security QRadar vs. LogRhythm SIEM Report (Updated: March 2024).
767,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Log aggregation and data connectors are the most valuable features.""The UI of Sentinel is very good and easy to use, even for beginners.""I like the KQL query. It simplifies getting data from the table and seeing the logs. All you need to know are the table names. It's quite easy to build use cases by using KQL.""Microsoft Sentinel comes preloaded with templates for teaching and analytics rules.""Its inbuilt Kusto Query Language is a valuable feature. It provides the flexibility needed to leverage advanced data analytics rules and policies and enables us to easily navigate all our security events in a single view. It helps any user easily understand the data or any security lags in their data and applications.""The most valuable features are its threat handling and detection. It's a powerful tool because it's based on machine learning and on the behavior of malware.""Sentinel enables us to ingest data from our entire ecosystem. In addition to integrating our Cisco ASA Firewall logs, we get our Palo Alto proxy logs and some on-premises data coming from our hardware devices... That is very important and is one way Sentinel is playing a wider role in our environment.""I like the unified security console. You can close incidents using Sentinel in all other Microsoft Security portals, when it comes to incident response."

More Microsoft Sentinel Pros →

"The scalability is very good. It's not a problem.""IBM QRadar User Behavior Analytics's most important feature is its ease of use.""The timeline and machine learning features are great.""The scalability is awesome, because QRadar includes other solutions in the same console.""I have found visibility very helpful for analytics.""One of the most valuable features is its ability to integrate with other solutions. IBM has a lot of solutions and we have managed to make it work with IBM BigFix and MaaS360, and even Microsoft.""The scalability is good.""IBM Security QRadar has significantly improved our incident response procedures."

More IBM Security QRadar Pros →

"It gives us insight into our entire installation, where we are multiple sites, going as far as the East Coast to the Central West Coast.""NextGen SIEM's most valuable feature is its user-friendliness.""The most valuable feature is that we can alternate incident automations.""It's reliable and the performance is good.""LogRhythm does a very good job of helping SOCs manage their workflows.""LogRhythm's GUI is easy to explore. We also like other features, such as its integration with other security solutions, log correlation, and the deployment of use cases.""Currently, we are in the implementation phase. LogRhythm is better than QRadar from the point of view of collecting Windows events. It has a much higher view. You can enable monitoring by default.""Automations are very valuable. It provides the ability to automate some of our small use cases. The ability to integrate with other products that use an API is also very useful. LogRhythm has a plugin for it that we can connect and start to move down towards the path of a single pane of glass instead of having multiple or different tools."

More LogRhythm SIEM Pros →

Cons
"The solution could be more user-friendly; some query languages are required to operate it.""One key area that can be improved is by building a strong integration with our XDR platform.""Microsoft Defender has a built-in threat expert option that enables you to contact an expert. That feature isn't available in Sentinel because it's a huge product that integrates all the technologies. I would like Microsoft to add the threat expert option so we can contact them. There are a few other features, like threat assessment that the PG team is working on. I expect them to release this feature in the next quarter.""For certain vendors, some of the data that Microsoft Sentinel captures is redacted due to privacy reasons.""We are invoiced according to the amount of data generated within each log.""Only one thing is missing: NDR is not available out-of-the-box. The competitive cloud-native SIEM providers have the NDR component. Currently, Sentinel needs NDR to be powered from either Corelight or some other NDR provider.""Sometimes, it is hard for us to estimate the costs of Microsoft Sentinel.""Sentinel's alerts and notifications are not fully optimized for mobile devices. The overall reporting and the analytics processes for the end user should also be improved. Also, the compatibility and availability of data sources and reports are not always perfect."

More Microsoft Sentinel Cons →

"In a future release, the solution could provide malware analysis.""The interface is very old. IBM should remake it into a more modern interface.""IBM Security QRadar lacks automated response. With this feature, there's no need to visit VirusTotal or other sites for IP reputation. There should be a small plug-in where users can click to retrieve details about the reputation and organization of public IP.""Each module requires a separate license and a separate cost.""What needs to be improved in IBM QRadar User Behavior Analytics is the user experience. It's not optimal. Some screens are a bit clunky. The solution needs to be more user-friendly.""There should be an extension where we can get the reports. This could be an extension to the dashboard with the Guardian or another product with limited technology, for example IPS. Now, we only have IBM. Basically, it needs more and more integration models.""I'd like them to improve the offense. When QRadar detects something, it creates what it calls offenses. So, it has a rudimentary ticketing system inside of it. This is the same interface that was there when I started using it 12 years ago. It just has not been improved. They do allow integration with IBM Resilient, but IBM Resilient is grotesquely expensive. The most effective integration that IBM offers today is with IBM Resilient, which is an instant response platform. It is a very good platform, but it is very expensive. They really should do something with the offense handling because it is very difficult to scale, and it has limitations. The maximum number of offenses that it can carry is 16K. After 16K, you have to flush your offenses out. So, it is all or nothing. You lose all your offenses up until that point in time, and you don't have any history within the offense list of older events. If you're dealing with multiple customers, this becomes problematic. That's why you need to use another product to do the actual ticketing. If you wanted the ticket existence, you would normally interface with ServiceNow, SolarWinds, or some other product like that.""Its architecture is very complicated."

More IBM Security QRadar Cons →

"One thing we have mentioned to them before is that we'd like to be able to do searches, or drill-downs, directly from an alarm. When you click it and the Inspector tab slides out, that might be a good place to be able to click the host to search for the last 24 hours. I know the search is right there but it would be even nicer to just click that and then have an option to search something there.""I think they probably need to, because a lot of companies are having this cloud-first strategy, where anything that's new has to go into the cloud for some reason.""I have Windows administrators who will remove the agent when they think that that's what's fouling up their upgrade or their install or their reconfiguration, etc. The first thing they do is to turn off the antivirus, turn down the firewall, and take off anything else. They don't realize that the LogRhythm agent is just sitting there monitoring. Most antivirus products have application protection features built-in where, if I'm an admin on a box, I can't uninstall antivirus. I need to have to the antivirus admin password to do that.""I would probably look for more things to go into the web console that is currently on the fat client.""Scalability misses the mark sometimes, especially when you have an integrated disaster recovery built into the solution.""I would like to see support added for Exchange 2016, and CheckPoint OPSec Lea.""I don't think the cloud model in LogRhythm is developed enough.""There are other security technologies outside of this SIEM that should be inside of this SIEM. I can see in their roadmap that they're trying to address a lot of these things, and have these technologies built into the solution, because there is no point in going to another vendor or opening up a second window to obtain the data that you need."

More LogRhythm SIEM Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It comes with a Microsoft subscription which the customer has, so they don't have to invest somewhere else."
  • "It is a consumption-based license model. bands at 100, 200, 400 GB per day etc. Azure Sentinel Pricing | Microsoft Azure"
  • "Good monthly operational cost model for the detection and response outcomes delivered, M365 logs don't count toward the limits which is a good benefit."
  • "I have had mixed feedback. At one point, I heard a client say that it sometimes seems more expensive. Most of the clients are on Office 365 or M365, and they are forced to take Azure SIEM because of the integration."
  • "It is kind of like a sliding scale. There are different tiers of pricing that go from $100 per day up to $3,500 per day. So, it just kind of depends on how much data is being stored. There can be additional costs to the standard license other than the additional data. It just kind of depends on what other services you're spinning up in Azure, or if you're using something like Azure log analytics."
  • "I am just paying for the log space with Azure Sentinel. It costs us about $2,000 a month. Most of the logs are free. We are only paying money for Azure Firewall logs because email logs or Azure AD logs are free to use for us."
  • "Sentinel is a bit expensive. If you can figure a way of configuring it to meet your needs, then you can find a way around the cost."
  • "Azure Sentinel is very costly, or at least it appears to be very costly. The costs vary based on your ingestion and your retention charges."
  • More Microsoft Sentinel Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "found other solutions, with more features at the same cost or less. You don’t have to leave the Gartner Magic Quadrant to beat their price."
  • "Most of the time, it is easier and cheaper to buy a new product or the QRadar box."
  • "IBM's Qradar is not for small companie. Unfortunately, it would be 'overkill' to place it plainly. The pricing would be too much."
  • "IBM's Qradar is not for small companie. Unfortunately, it would be 'overkill' to place it plainly. The pricing would be too much."
  • "Go through a vulnerability assessment review for price breaks. A virtualized solution will also cut down on cost."
  • "It is expensive. It is not a product that I can provide for SMBs. It is a program that I can only provide for really large enterprises."
  • "The maintenance costs are high."
  • "Pricing (based on EPS) will be more accurate."
  • More IBM Security QRadar Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Look closely at the cost of licensing of other products. This should include setups and the need for support services. I did a RFQ to 2 other vendors before choosing this product."
  • "If you don't have your staff, absolutely look into the co-pilot and factor that into your cost evaluation."
  • "I would recommend that whatever sales quotes to them upfront, they will probably go up. Because they are probably going to outgrow that very quickly or once they start getting everything into it, they are going to have to move up anyway."
  • "Look for whatever will give you the most value. That's the main point. It is not one size fits all."
  • "I would recommend talking to the rep. That's the biggest thing because they will know what questions to ask."
  • "In comparison to the competition, they are more affordable. This allows us to do more with less."
  • "The solution has provided us with consistency and increased staff productivity through orchestrated automated work flows by at least 20 percent."
  • "I have seen a measurable decrease in the mean time to detect and respond to threats. We went from not detecting them to detecting them. We can actually pick up what is anomalous in our network now."
  • More LogRhythm SIEM Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Log Management solutions are best for your needs.
    767,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Comparison Review
    Vinod Shankar
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Yes, Azure Sentinel is a SIEM on the Cloud. Multiple data sources can be uploaded and analyzed with Azure Sentinel and… more »
    Top Answer:It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for… more »
    Top Answer:We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel is… more »
    Top Answer:It mostly depends on your use-cases and environment. Exabeam and Securonix have a stronger UEBA feature set, friendlier… more »
    Top Answer:For tools I’d recommend:  -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is… more »
    Top Answer:The event collector, flow collector, PCAP and SOAR are valuable.
    Top Answer:Rony, Daniel's answer is right on the money.  There are many solutions for each in the market, a lot depends upon your… more »
    Top Answer:LogRhythm does a very good job of helping SOCs manage their workflows.
    Top Answer:LogRhythm's pricing and licensing are extremely competitive and it's one of the top three reasons we continue to invest… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Azure Sentinel
    IBM QRadar, QRadar SIEM, QRadar UBA, QRadar on Cloud, QRadar, IBM QRadar User Behavior Analytics, IBM QRadar Advisor with Watson
    LogRhythm NextGen SIEM, LogRhythm, LogRhythm Threat Lifecycle Management, LogRhythm TLM
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Sentinel is a scalable, cloud-native, security information event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automated response (SOAR) solution that lets you see and stop threats before they cause harm. Microsoft Sentinel delivers intelligent security analytics and threat intelligence across the enterprise, providing a single solution for alert detection, threat visibility, proactive hunting, and threat response. Eliminate security infrastructure setup and maintenance, and elastically scale to meet your security needs—while reducing IT costs. With Microsoft Sentinel, you can:

    - Collect data at cloud scale—across all users, devices, applications, and infrastructure, both on-premises and in multiple clouds

    - Detect previously uncovered threats and minimize false positives using analytics and unparalleled threat intelligence from Microsoft

    - Investigate threats with AI and hunt suspicious activities at scale, tapping into decades of cybersecurity work at Microsoft

    - Respond to incidents rapidly with built-in orchestration and automation of common tasks

    To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

    IBM Security QRadar is a security and analytics platform designed to defend against threats and scale security operations. This is done through integrated visibility, investigation, detection, and response. QRadar empowers security groups with actionable insights into high-priority threats by providing visibility into enterprise security data. Through centralized visibility, security teams and analysts can determine their security stance, which areas pose a potential threat, and which areas are critical. This will help streamline workflows by eliminating the need to pivot between tools.

    IBM Security QRadar is built to address a wide range of security issues and can be easily scaled with minimal customization effort required. As data is ingested, QRadar administers automated, real-time security intelligence to swiftly and precisely discover and prioritize threats. The platform will issue alerts with actionable, rich context into developing threats. Security teams and analysts can then rapidly respond to minimize the attackers' strike. The solution will provide a complete view of activity in both cloud-based and on-premise environments as a large amount of data is ingested throughout the enterprise. Additionally, QRadar’s anomaly detection intelligence enables security teams to identify any user behavior changes that could be indicators of potential threats. 

    IBM QRadar Log Manager

    To better help organizations protect themselves against potential security threats, attacks, and breaches, IBM QRadar Log Manager gathers, analyzes, preserves, and reports on security log events using QRadar Sense Analytics. All operating systems and applications, servers, devices, and applications are converted into searchable and actionable intelligent data. QRadar Log Manager then helps organizations meet compliance reporting and monitoring requirements, which can be further upgraded to QRadar SIEM for a more superior level of threat protection.

    Some of QRadar Log Manager’s key features include:

    • Data processing and capture on any security event
    • Disaster recovery options and high availability 
    • Scalability for large enterprises
    • SoftLayer cloud installation capability
    • Advanced threat protection

    Reviews from Real Users

    IBM Security QRadar is a solution of choice among users because it provides a complete solution for security teams by integrating network analysis, log management, user behavior analytics, threat intelligence, and AI-powered investigations into a single solution. Users particularly like having a single window into their network and its ability to be used for larger enterprises.

    Simon T., a cyber security services operations manager at an aerospace/defense firm, notes, "The most valuable thing about QRadar is that you have a single window into your network, SIEM, network flows, and risk management of your assets. If you use Splunk, for instance, then you still need a full packet capture solution, whereas the full packet capture solution is integrated within QRadar. Its application ecosystem makes it very powerful in terms of doing analysis."

    A management executive at a security firm says, "What we like about QRadar and the models that IBM has, is it can go from a small-to-medium enterprise to a larger organization, and it gives you the same value."

    LogRhythm SIEM Platform is an award-winning platform in security analytics. With more than 4,000 customers globally, LogRhythm SIEM is an integrated platform that helps security operations teams protect critical infrastructure and information from emerging cyberthreats. Ultimately, LogRhythm SIEM is an integrated set of modules that contribute to the security team’s fundamental mission: rapid threat monitoring, threat detection, threat investigation, and threat neutralization. LogRhythm SIEM is for organizations that require an on-premises solution and offers:

    ● Streamlined workflow

    ● Secure data access

    ● Real-time visibility

    ● A unified user experience

    ● Management customization

    Security information and event management (SIEM) solutions have been evolving for over a decade; their core functionality still acts as the most effective foundation for any organization’s technology stack. A SIEM solution enables an organization to centrally collect data across its entire network environment to gain real-time visibility into activity that may pose a risk to the organization. SIEM technology addresses threats before they become significant financial risks while simultaneously helping better manage an organization’s assets.

    LogRhythm SIEM has many key features and capabilities, including:

    High-Performance Log Management: LogRhythm SIEM offers structured and unstructured search capabilities which allows users to swiftly search across an organization’s vast data to easily find answers, identify IT and security issues, and troubleshoot issues. Users can efficiently process and index terabytes of log data daily.

    Network and Endpoint Monitoring: Forensic sensors allow users to gain deep visibility into endpoint and network activity. Users can see behavioral anomalies and better respond to incidents.

    SmartResponse™ Automation: LogRhythm SIEM allows users to centrally execute pre-staged actions that automate incident investigatory tasks and responses.

    Automated Machine Analytics: LogRhythm SIEM's AI Engine continuously analyzes all collected security incidents and forensic data. Security teams are delivered precise, real-time intelligence about risk-prioritized threats.

    Case and Security Incident Management: LogRhythm SIEM offers an integrated workflow so that threats don’t slip through the cracks. Collaboration tools help centrally manage and track investigations.

    User and entity behavior analytics (UEBA): Embedded deterministic UEBA monitoring helps protect against insider threats.

    Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR): LogRhythm SIEM includes our embedded SOAR solution to increase efficiency and higher-quality incident response with low mean time to response (MTTR).

    Benefits to Using LogRhythm SIEM

    The platform offers great value to security and IT operations. Users have the ability to map their security and IT operations to existing frameworks such as NIST and MITRE ATT&CK.

    ● The platform offers broad integration across security and IT vendors: Users benefit from support for integration with hundreds of security and IT solutions. In turn, this further extends SIEM capabilities and data collection.

    ● The platform provides compliance adherence, enforcement, and reporting: The prebuilt compliance modules automatically detect violations as they occur and remove the burden of manually reviewing audit logs.

    Reviews from Real Users

    LogRhythm SIEM stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its ability to be customized and its quick performance of queries.

    Jason G., a senior cybersecurity engineer, writes, "I have found the Advanced Intelligence Engine has provided the most value to us because we can customize alarms based on our requirements and have created hundreds of alarms that notify different people for different scenarios."

    Andy W., principal consultant at ITSEC Asia, notes, “LogRhythm SIEM covers all our primary security analysis needs. It makes it easier for us to analyze threats and improves our response times. It's a versatile platform that performs queries fast compared to other SIEM solutions.”

    Sample Customers
    Microsoft Sentinel is trusted by companies of all sizes including ABM, ASOS, Uniper, First West Credit Union, Avanade, and more.
    Clients across multiple industries, such as energy, financial, retail, healthcare, government, communications, and education use QRadar.
    Macy's, NASA, Fujitsu, US Air Force, EY, Abbott, HD Supply, SAB Miller, UCLA, Raytheon, Amtrak, Cargill
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm22%
    Computer Software Company11%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm23%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Security Firm6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization18%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm26%
    Healthcare Company11%
    Energy/Utilities Company9%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization37%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Government6%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise47%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise59%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise45%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise29%
    Large Enterprise50%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise54%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise46%
    Large Enterprise36%
    Buyer's Guide
    IBM Security QRadar vs. LogRhythm SIEM
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Security QRadar vs. LogRhythm SIEM and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    767,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    IBM Security QRadar is ranked 6th in Log Management with 198 reviews while LogRhythm SIEM is ranked 7th in Log Management with 166 reviews. IBM Security QRadar is rated 8.0, while LogRhythm SIEM is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of IBM Security QRadar writes "A highly stable and scalable solution that provides good technical support". On the other hand, the top reviewer of LogRhythm SIEM writes "The solution reduced our investigation time from days to hours and assists in managing our workflows". IBM Security QRadar is most compared with Splunk Enterprise Security, Wazuh, Elastic Security, Fortinet FortiSIEM and Sentinel, whereas LogRhythm SIEM is most compared with Splunk Enterprise Security, Wazuh, Fortinet FortiSIEM, LogRhythm Axon and Elastic Security. See our IBM Security QRadar vs. LogRhythm SIEM report.

    See our list of best Log Management vendors and best Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) vendors.

    We monitor all Log Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.