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Best Security Monitoring in 2026
Security monitoring tools help track security activity, review logs, detect issues, and support responses. This list is for people choosing a monitoring tool for a budget, whether they prefer a hosted service or software they can run themselves.
- 23 apps
- Research read 7 Oct 2026
- How the order is worked out
- 1
Wazuh
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3Wazuh combines security monitoring with response capabilities and integrations for a range of environments.
- 2
Elastic Security
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1Elastic Security combines threat detection, endpoint and cloud capabilities, and workflow automation, with both free and paid options.
- 3
- 4
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secret Management
by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secret ManagementFree plan APIWebOCI Secret Management centralizes credential storage, access control, rotation, and replication.
- 5
Amazon GuardDuty
Free trial APILinuxWebGuardDuty brings detection across AWS accounts, workloads, and data sources, with findings that can feed into existing response systems.
- 6
ExtraHop RevealX
Free trial APILinuxSelf-hosted+1Choose RevealX if your enterprise needs unified network detection, performance visibility, and packet forensics across hybrid environments.
- 7
Google Cloud Secret Manager
Free plan Web - 8
ManageEngine Log360
Free trial APILinuxSelf-hosted+2Choose ManageEngine Log360 if your security team needs SIEM capabilities spanning log analysis, behavior analytics, cloud monitoring, and automated response.
- 9
- 10
Security Onion
Free plan LinuxWeb - 11
Vectra AI Identity Threat Detection and Response
Free trial APIWebChoose Vectra ITDR if your security team needs to monitor identity activity across network and cloud environments and wants investigation and response capabilities.
- 12
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security
Paid LinuxMacWeb+1 - 13
IBM QRadar SIEM
Paid LinuxSelf-hosted - 14
Splunk Enterprise
Free trial Self-hosted - 15
Devo Security Data Platform
Paid Web - 16
Wiz Defend
Paid WebWiz Defend combines threat detection, investigation, and response with cloud and AI runtime coverage.
- 17
Exabeam New-Scale SIEM
Paid Web - 18
Graylog Security
PaidGraylog Security brings triage, detection, alerting, and evidence collection into a paid hybrid product. Its annual cost and query language should be checked against the intended security environment.
- 19
FortiSIEM
Paid Web - 20
Rapid7 InsightIDR
Paid WebInsightIDR brings log monitoring, configurable detections, and real-time alerts into a cloud product.
- 21
LogRhythm SIEM
Paid LinuxWindows - 22
SentinelOne Singularity AI SIEM
Paid Web - 23
Trend Vision One Container Security
Paid Web
#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price
Compare free plans, paid starting prices, trial periods, deployment options, and licences if reading or changing code matters. Check data source coverage, retention, alerting channels, automated response, and log search before choosing.
Questions
Which tools list a free plan?
Elastic Security and Google Cloud Secret Manager list a free plan. Check their current terms and limits before relying on free access.
Which products list a free trial?
Listed trials include Amazon GuardDuty and ManageEngine Log360 at 30 days, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security at 15 days, Elastic Security at 14 days, and Google Cloud Secret Manager at 90 days.
What paid starting prices are listed?
Elastic Security lists paid plans from $0.09, Google Cloud Secret Manager from $0.03, ManageEngine Log360 from $795, and Graylog Security from $18,000 per year. Several products quote on request.
Can these tools run outside a web service?
Platform listings include Linux, Windows, macOS, API, and self-hosted options as well as web deployment. Check the platform listing for the tool you are considering.
Do any tools offer open-source code?
Open-source code is offered by items on this list. Check the licence for the specific tool to confirm whether its code can be read or changed and under what conditions.
What capabilities should I compare?
The list compares free plan, paid starting price, deployment, data source coverage, data retention, alerting channels, automated response, and log search.
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