Best Free Open Source SIEM Tools

Finding the right free SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tool for your business is not as easy as it sounds. You might encounter various tools in the market that promise similar features, such as log management, threat detection, compliance reporting, etc. But when you get deeper, you can find the difference in terms of scalability, flexibility, and usability.

Today, various security leaders are concerned about the rising cyber threats, but that doesn’t mean investing in the first option that you find relevant to your current needs. It is important to explore options apart from the top providers recommended by your friends or colleagues.

Some key pain points that result in an urgent need for a SIEM solution by most security teams in small IT departments and mid-size enterprises, system administrators, or compliance officers are:

  • Your team lacks a centralized way to manage large data across multiple tools
  • Your company is finding it difficult to identify, correlate, and respond to unknown security threats in real-time
  • You require automated compliance reporting, as traditional methods are time-consuming
  • Your company uses both cloud and on-prem tools, and visibility is a big challenge
  • Your systems are quite complex, and you need something that can be customized
  • Your team struggles to manually check logs and alert on issues in real-time

Investing in the right open-source SIEM tool can resolve these issues. But how to find one? Will it be better than your paid tools? Over 19000 companies are using SIEM tools to analyze their security data across different tools and networks. Further, the powerful tools can be a great replacement for your paid security management systems, offering a more secure environment. But it is important that you select the right tool, as not all tools are updated regularly or have good community support.

Our goal is to help you find a SIEM tool that is not just free but helps keep your systems safe, secure, and compliant.

Our List of the Best Open Source SIEM Tools

Based on extensive research, we have listed our best free SIEM tools for IT security teams, compliance officers, small, large, and mid-size IT businesses:

  1. ELK Stack EDITOR’S CHOICE A free suite of data collection, sorting, and visualization tools that let you create your own SIEM threat detection rules. Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  2. OSSEC This tool has good threat detection routines but weak log management functions so splice it with ELK Stack for the best of breed. Agents available for Windows, Linux, macOS, and Unix but the server only runs on Linux or Unix.
  3. Wazuh A fork of OSSEC that has better logfile management services than the original and relies on ELK. Runs on Linux.
  4. MozDef A basic SIEM for small businesses that integrates ELK Stack. Run it on Docker or CentOS Linux.
  5. SIEMonster A competent SIEM for small businesses with a paid version for larger organizations. Runs on Docker, Linux, and macOS, or as a virtual appliance.

If you need to know more, explore our vendor highlight section just below, or skip to our detailed vendor reviews.

Best Open Source SIEM Tools highlights

Top Feature

Collects and processes data from many sources, centralizes it at scalable storage, and provides tools to analyze

Price

Free core (Basic); paid Elastic Cloud subscriptions with resource-based pricing; 14-day free trial; SIEM price estimator available

Target Market

Organizations of all sizes; teams with complex systems or dedicated DevOps or security engineering

Free Trial Length

14-day free trial (Elastic Cloud)

Additional Benefits:

  • Open-source components are free to use
  • Machine learning and entity analytics support risk assessment
  • Automatic import and attack discovery surface real threats faster
  • Teams can assemble a custom SIEM from free components
What's this? This rating is based on several factors including staffing, revenue, and technical documentation.
/10

Features:

  • Elasticsearch supports search and analytics
  • Logstash collects and processes logs from many sources
  • Kibana provides visualization and analysis
  • Beats send data from edge hosts into the stack
  • Deploy on premises or in the cloud
What's this? This rating is based on several factors including staffing, revenue, and technical documentation.
/10

Top Feature

Host-based intrusion detection with a log analysis engine for SIEM correlation

Price

Free

Target Market

Small to medium-sized businesses needing file integrity monitoring and HIDS with SIEM functions

Free Trial Length

Free/open-source

Top Feature

Integrated SIEM and XDR with real-time file integrity monitoring

Price

Free; paid cloud version

Target Market

Small to large enterprises seeking a free, open-source SIEM and XDR platform with EDR

Free Trial Length

14-day free trial for Wazuh Cloud; self-hosted Wazuh is open-source

Top Feature

Collaborative, real-time incident detection, handling, and response

Price

Free, Open-source tool

Target Market

Security operations groups; small businesses; security teams needing real-time incident response and investigation

Free Trial Length

Free/open-source

Top Feature

Modular deployment installs only needed components

Price

Free; paid version for larger organizations

Target Market

Businesses and security teams that prioritize ease of use

Free Trial Length

Free/open-source

Security is achieved via a combination of prevention, detection, and response efforts. However, it appears most security failures these days are more of detection and response than prevention, and this is where SIEM  comes into play. A SIEM solution provides a great opportunity for organizations to manage their security issues, especially in the area of incident detection and response, insider threat mitigation, and regulatory compliance.

If you would like more options, check out our comprehensive list of SIEM tools.

Key points to consider before purchasing an Open Source SIEM Tools

IT Businesses or system administrators planning to invest in an open-source SIEM tool must carefully evaluate each tool based on the following factors:

  • Ease of Use and Deployment: First and foremost, check if the tool is easy to deploy and configure. Does it require technical expertise or comes with a user-friendly interface, making it easier for security teams to learn, use, and manage without additional support?
  • Features and Integration Capabilities: Several SIEM tools are available in the market, each with a different set of features and capabilities. For example, only a few open-source SIEM tools have features like security analytics. Hence, it is important to look if your selected tool offers the necessary features like threat intelligence, log management, compliance reporting, etc., that match your organization’s security needs. Also, is it capable enough to seamlessly integrate with other security tools or applications?
  • Scalability: Remember, your selected SIEM tool must not only be capable enough to handle the current state of your organization but also scale in case of growth or expansion in the future. An expanding infrastructure implies an increase in the number of data sources and volume of security data. Hence, choose a SIEM tool that can scale with your organization’s evolving needs.
  • Community Support: A SIEM solution with a strong and active community can provide relevant documentation or assist with troubleshooting issues faster. Further, many open-source tools have community-driven plugins that can help expand the tool’s functionality.
  • Customization and Flexibility: From a professional standpoint, it is best to invest in an open-source tool that allows security teams to customize different features, such as alert thresholds, reports, and data collection procedures. A flexible SIEM tool allows businesses to tailor settings as per specific security requirements.
  • Cost and Licensing Option: It is recommended to compare different SIEM tools based on their pricing structure, i.e., upfront cost, subscription fee, or any other cost. Most SIEM tool vendors provide a pricing structure on their official portals. Hence, compare each solution and understand the pricing and licensing option availability.

Open Source SIEM Tools

Cost no doubt plays a major factor in most IT decisions. For SMBs, investing in enterprise-grade SIEM tools can be capital intensive. The option of open-source SIEM software has become increasingly popular and adopted by businesses both in the public and private sector. Open source SIEMs have matured considerably over the years and provide basic capabilities that can suit the needs of SMBs that are starting to log and analyze their security event information. It helps to reduce licensing costs and provides an opportunity to evaluate certain capabilities before extending investments to premium products. While it can’t provide the comprehensiveness of enterprise-level solutions, open-source SIEM does offer solid functionality at an affordable rate. This makes it appealing to SMBs and other organizations looking to minimize cost.

Of course, open-source SIEM solutions also have their drawbacks, so it is important to look at some of the downsides associated with them. Listed below are some of the downsides associated with open-source SIEM tools:

  1. Open-source software may not always be available: When the community behind maintaining and updating the source code goes out of business, you may be left to bear the burden of maintaining it yourself. You may save money on licensing costs but may end up spending more on continual maintenance.
  2. Support isn’t always available or reliable: With open-source software, support isn’t always guaranteed, and if there is, it would be bereft of the benefits associated with SLA kind of support.
  3. Most open-source SIEMs don’t provide or manage storage: Due to huge amounts of aggregated data, they may have to combine open-source SIEM with other tools to realize expected benefits.
  4. Many open-source SIEM solutions lack key SIEM capabilities: Such as next-generation capabilities, reporting, event correlation, and remote management of log collectors.

Premium Enterprise SIEM Tools

While the main driver for the adoption of open-source SIEM is reduced license costs, it is important to highlight the fact that license costs are only a fraction of the total cost of ownership of a SIEM solution. This is especially important when other factors like hardware, storage, and human capital are considered. If you are planning on adopting an open-source SIEM software, it’s advised that you carefully consider the pros and cons, and be prepared to accept the risks associated with them.

However, premium enterprise SIEM solutions offer better configuration and installation processes,  correlation and reporting capabilities, machine learning and SaaS options, reliable vendor support, and many other useful functionalities. They enable organizations to monitor large-scale data center activities and centrally manage the security of key applications and network infrastructure. Perhaps most importantly, only enterprise SIEM platforms provide options for on-premise or cloud deployments, and the capabilities of next-generation SIEM. Next-generation enterprise SIEMs come with powerful technologies such as User and Event Behavior Analytics (UEBA) and Security Orchestration, and Automation and Response (SOAR)—which significantly improve the effectiveness of incident detection and response efforts.

We have reviewed and documented some of the best enterprise-grade premium SIEM tools on the market. Some of them, such as ManageEngine Log360 and Graylog, offer free trials, which provide an opportunity to evaluate certain capabilities before deciding to invest in the product.

Notwithstanding, premium enterprise SIEM tools are not cheap and most businesses may not be able to afford them. This is where open-source SIEM tools stand out. With a variety of open-source SIEM out there, choosing the right one for your business can be challenging. What fits perfectly from a feature and functionality standpoint for one organization may not fit for another. To help you decide between the countless free and open-source SIEM tools on the market, we’ve put together a list of the best open-source SIEM software. Hopefully, this will guide you in the process of selecting the right one for your business.

Detailed Open Source SIEM Tools reviews

Get more detailed insights about our recommended SIEM vendors. This additional information will give more clarity into their pricing structure, features, and support services.

1. ELK Stack

Best for: Organizations of all sizes that require scalable SIEM solutions. Further, businesses with complex systems or dedicated DevOps or security engineering teams can find it useful.

Price: The core components of the ELK Stack are open-source and free to use. But, certain advanced features demand businesses to opt for subscription tiers.

A screen that shows resource usage across the cloud provider and a cost breakdown
An image of ELK Stack Dashboard

The ELK Stack (Elastic Stack) is the world’s most popular log management platform and open-source building block for SIEM. The ELK Stack is popular because it fulfills a key need in the SIEM space. It provides organizations with a powerful platform that collects and processes data from multiple sources, stores that data in one centralized data store that can scale as data grows, and a set of tools to analyze the data. The ELK Stack is developed, managed, and maintained by Elastic.

ELK Stack’s key features:

ELK Stack is just a part of the Elastic platform that allows businesses to analyze and handle massive volumes of data. Some of the best features are:

  • Elasticsearch: Data analysis
  • Logstash: Log server
  • Log Management: Log consolidator
  • Deployment Options: On-premises or cloud

Unique buying proposition

When it comes to your team’s IT budget, choosing Elastic Security can be a great deal. Real-time threat detection, attack discovery, automatic import, and security analytics are some prominent and unique features that make this tool stand out from the rest. It even leverages machine learning and advanced entity analytics techniques to assess risk.

Feature-in-focus: ML-driven entity risk scoring & automated attack discovery 

ELK Stack leverages ML and advanced entity analytics to assess risk for users and entities. Further, it has recently released automatic import and attack discovery features to find real threats faster. Thus, saving time that teams used to spend earlier on sorting hundreds of alerts every day. It even includes information on user risk score, alert severity, asset criticality score, etc.

Why do we recommend it?

The basic ELK stack is a flexible data-gathering and analysis tool. The elements of the suite can be downloaded individually for free and then you need to assemble your own SIEM from it. This can be a difficult task because you need to process log messages through Logstash, create search rules in Elasticsearch, and then work out how to represent the identified data through Kibana and how to generate alerts with the system. This process takes a lot of time to learn the capabilities of ELK and how to program with it, how to plan a SIEM tool, and then to implement your own custom SIEM with the package.

Elastic Stack download hub showing Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, Logstash, APM, and Elastic Enterprise Search with Download or Launch on Elastic Cloud options
Elastic Stack download hub showing Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, Logstash, APM, and Elastic Enterprise Search with Download or Launch on Elastic Cloud options

The ELK Stack utility is comprised of the open-source tools—Logstash, Elasticsearch, Kibana and Beats:

  • Logstash is a log aggregator and parsing tool that collects and processes data from a variety of sources. Logstash plays a critical role in the stack—it allows you to filter, massage, and shape your data in a way that makes it easier to work with.
  • Elasticsearch is the storage, full-text search, and analytics engine for storing and indexing time-series data. Its role is so central that it has become synonymous with the name of the stack itself.
  • Kibana is the visualization layer that works on top of Elasticsearch, providing users with the ability to analyze and visualize data.
  • Beats are lightweight agents that are installed on edge hosts and are responsible for collecting and shipping the data into the stack via Logstash.

Who is it recommended for?

The free ELK Stack is an interesting package and it is in high demand, so individuals who can master the system can use the tool to create a range of applications, not just a SIEM system. It takes a lot of time to manually create a SIEM with the free tools of the Elastic Stack, so for many businesses, it is worth the price of subscribing to the paid packages offered by Elastic. These provide pre-written templates that implement a SIEM and also provide IT asset performance monitoring. A business of any size needs to assess the cost of training up a specialist in ELK and financing the development phase using the free tools against the cost of subscribing to the paid package of ELK.

Pros:

  • Free Version: Download ELK components for free
  • Paid SaaS Platform: A paid cloud-hosted option
  • Data Analyzer: Build your own SIEM
  • Log Management: Log parsing, standardization, forwarding, and filing

Cons:

  • Not an Off-the-Peg SIEM: Requires work to create a SIEM

ELK can be installed locally on-premises, or on the cloud, using Docker and configuration management systems like Ansible, Puppet, and Chef. For organizations that want to completely avoid investments in onsite infrastructure and human capital, there’s a ready SaaS-based cloud platform called Elastic Cloud (with a 14-day free trial) which includes features such as machine learning, security, and reporting managed by the creators of the stack.

EDITOR'S CHOICE

The ELK Stack is our top pick for free, open-source SIEM tools for businesses because it uses AI-driven security analytics to investigate threats and respond to them in real time. One of the biggest advantages of using this powerful tool is that it helps assess risks for users and entities. Security teams and system administrators can easily centralize security operations, accelerate workflows, and improve security posture using this unified Elastic Security solution. Several new features have been recently released by the platform that allow organizations to detect and respond to security incidents faster.

Official Site: https://www.elastic.co/security/siem

OS: Linux servers

2. OSSEC

Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses looking for file integrity monitoring and a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) with SIEM capabilities.

Price: Free, Open-source tool

The home screen of OSSEC
An image of OSSEC Dashboard

Open Source Security (OSSEC) is an open-source security project for cybersecurity founded in 2004. This open-source tool is technically known as a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS). However, OSSEC has a log analysis engine that is able to correlate and analyze logs from multiple devices and formats, thereby enabling it to function as a SIEM. You can tailor OSSEC to meet your SIEM needs through its extensive configuration options.

OSSEC’s key features:

  • Log Management: Collects, consolidates, and files log messages
  • Threat Hunting: Applies detection rules
  • Data Protection: File integrity monitoring

Unique buying proposition

OSSEC is a lightweight and efficient HIDS with integrated SIEM capabilities, providing essential security monitoring features like log analysis and FIM.

Feature-in-focus: FIM alerts on unauthorized changes to critical files and configurations

File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) is the key feature that provides a crucial layer of security. System administrators receive alerts on tracking any unauthorized changes to important system files and configurations.

Why do we recommend it?

In the world of open-source security, OSSEC is the major brand rival to AlienVault OSSIM. This project has been running since 2004. The project is currently managed by Atomicorp, which offers paid additions to the free OSSEC, but the base package is still free to use. OSSEC is a host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS). This is part of a SIEM – the SIM part – because a full SIEM also includes live network activity data as a source for its security searches, which is the SEM of SIEM. The free tool provides a system inventory, log processing, file integrity monitoring, and intrusion detection. It can also be set up to implement automated responses.

OSSEC is supported by various operating systems, such as Linux, Windows, macOS, Solaris, as well as OpenBSD and FreeBSD. It is broken into two main components:

  • The server—responsible for collecting log data from different data sources.
  • The agents—applications that are responsible for collecting and processing the logs and making them easier to analyze.

In addition to its log analysis capabilities, OSSEC provides intrusion detection for most operating systems and performs integrity checking, Windows registry monitoring, rootkit detection, and alerting.

Who is it recommended for?

Even without the paid extras, OSSEC is a useful tool to have. It is easier to set up than OSSIM and it provides a few more file management features than its major rival. With a little work, you can feed SNMP or NetFlow data into the system and make it a full SIEM. If you don’t have time to do that, you can opt to pay for the Atomic OSSEC system to get that functionality added automatically. When considering the paid OSSEC, you are into the field of commercial SIEM products and you should consider the rivals in that market, particularly next-gen SIEMs, which we outline in 8 Best Next-Gen SIEM – Updated 2024.

Pros:

  • SIEM Techniques: Provides a mechanism for threat hunting through log messages
  • Protection System: Possible to set up automated responses
  • Security Event Management: Can take a feed of network activity data

Cons:

  • Poor Interface: The front end isn’t very good

The OSSEC project is currently maintained by Atomicorp who stewards the free and open-source version and also offers an enhanced commercial version. However, the main pain point of this tool is that it lacks some of the core log management and analysis components of a typical SIEM. This limitation motivated other HIDS solutions like Wazuh to fork OSSEC in order to extend and enhance its functionality and make it a more complete SIEM tool. However, in recent times, Atomicorp has made a lot of changes, upgrades, and enhancements to OSSEC, which has repositioned it to be more competitive.

3. Wazuh

Best for: Small to large enterprises looking for a free and open-source SIEM and XDR platform with a comprehensive set of security capabilities, including endpoint detection and response.

Price: Wazuh is a completely open-source and free-to-use SIEM solution with no licensing cost. However, there may be other costs involved for infrastructure and other internal resource management and maintenance. For cloud protection, you might need to switch to the paid version.

Wazuh SIEM Endpoints Dashboard Showing Agent List and Status (Active, Disconnected, Pending)
An image of Wazuh Dashboard displaying agents

Wazuh is a free, open-source project for cybersecurity founded in 2015 as a fork of OSSEC. Just like OSSEC, this open-source tool is technically known as a Host-based Intrusion Detection System (HIDS). Today, Wazuh stands as a unique solution with over 10,000 open-source community users, including top Fortune 100 companies. Wazuh describes itself as a “free, enterprise-ready security monitoring solution for threat detection, integrity monitoring, incident response, and compliance”.

Wazuh‘s key features:

  • A Blended Solution: Based on OSSEC and ELK stack
  • Host on Linux: On premises or on AWS
  • Data Protection: File integrity monitoring

Unique buying proposition

Wazuh offers a unique buying proposition with its integrated SIEM and XDR capabilities, threat hunting, file integrity monitoring, and log data analysis. It provides protection to your endpoints by identifying anomalies or indicators of compromise in real-time. Thus, enabling organizations to reduce risk and improve overall security posture.

Feature-in-focus: FIM alerts on real-time changes to critical files and configurations

File Integrity Monitoring (FIM) in Wazuh provides real-time detection of changes to critical files, alerting administrators to potential threats or unauthorized changes, which is crucial for maintaining system integrity and compliance.

Why do we recommend it?

Wazuh is a nice blend of both OSSEC and the ELK stack – both of which are outlined above. The Wazuh team forked OSSEC and then implemented it with the free on-premises version of the Elastic Stack. The tool is free to use but, like the other open source projects on this list, there is a paid version available, too. The main difference between the free and paid Wazuh is that the paid version is a hosted cloud platform. Wazuh’s big advantages over OSSEC are that it is a full SIEM and it includes an open-source threat intelligence feed, which is similar to the AlienVault OTX service.

The main components of Wazuh are the agent, the server, and the Elastic Stack:

  • The Wazuh agent is a lightweight app designed to perform a number of tasks to detect and respond to threats.
  • The Wazuh server is in charge of processing and analyzing the data received from the agents, and using threat intelligence to search for known indicators of compromise.
  • The Elasticsearch component of the Elastic Stack receives, indexes and stores alerts generated by Wazuh. The Kibana component of the Elastic Stack provides a user interface for data visualization and analysis.

Wazuh is used to collect, aggregate, analyze, and correlate data; helping organizations detect and respond to threats and security incidents, as well as meet compliance requirements without spending so much on license cost. It can be deployed on-premises, hybrid, or cloud environments. It has a centralized, cross-platform architecture that allows multiple systems to be easily monitored and managed.

Wazuh SIEM
Wazuh Docker Listener dashboard showing top event types, events by source over time (container, image, network), and detailed container event logs

Who is it recommended for?

Wazuh is a newer, slicker product than OSSEC. However, it is not as well-known as its older rival. The free Wazuh system is easier to set up and use than either OSSEC or OSSIM and its dashboard is a lot more attractive. This is a well-planned and efficient system that provides performance monitoring and file integrity monitoring as well as threat hunting. Although this tool can collect data from all the major on-premises operating systems and also cloud platforms. The problem that some businesses will face when opting for the free on-premises version of the Wazuh system is that the three central elements of the package are only available for Linux. So, if you only have Windows computers on your site, you would be forced to opt for the paid cloud version or look elsewhere for an open source SIEM.

Pros:

  • A Presentable Interface: Provides a better frontend than OSSEC
  • Searches Supplied: Can easily implement threat hunting for free thanks to community-written rules
  • A Higher Plan is Available: The paid, hosted version includes compliance management

Cons:

  • Not Off-the-Peg: The free tool requires work to create a SIEM

A cloud-based premium version known as Wazuh Cloud is also available. Wazuh Cloud centralizes threat detection, incident response, and compliance management across your cloud and on-premises environments.  Wazuh Cloud uses lightweight agents that run on monitored systems to collect and forward events to the Wazuh cloud infrastructure, where data is stored, indexed, and analyzed.

4. MozDef

Best for: Security operations groups, small businesses, or security teams that demand real-time incident response and investigation, you must try this robust tool.

Price: Free, Open-source tool

The dashboard displays real-time alerts received by the platform.
The dashboard displays real-time alerts received by the platform

The Mozilla Defense Platform (MozDef) is a set of micro-services that can be used as an open-source SIEM. It was created by the Mozilla Foundation in 2014 with the goal of automating the security incident handling process and facilitating the real-time activities of incident handlers, according to the MozDef docs.

MozDef’s key features:

  • Based on a Winning System: An enhancement for ELK
  • No Charge: A collection of free tools
  • System Protection: Security searches

Unique Buying Proposition

MozDef sets itself apart by providing security teams with collaborative and real-time incident response capabilities. Without having to pay for proprietary SIEM systems, this proactive tool helps businesses improve their security posture by providing quick threat discovery and response features.

Feature in Focus: Real-time incident detection, handling & response

Real-time Incident Response and Incident Handling is the key feature that enables security teams to address issues efficiently and effectively. The dynamic platform is designed to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time.

Why do we recommend it?

MozDef is a product of Mozilla, which is a recommendation in itself. The Mozilla Foundation uses this SIEM system itself, which is another good reason to recommend this tool. The MozDef package solves the problem of how to set up a SIEM system using the ELK stack. Essentially, this tool provides the data search rules for you – these are executed in Elasticsearch. The package also provides you with the connectors to get the search results shown in Kibana. So, this cuts out all of that learning time that you would need to invest if you want to create a SIEM with the Elastic Stack.

MozDef describes itself as a SIEM add-on that uses Elasticsearch for logging and storing data, and Kibana for dashboarding capabilities. This means that if you use MozDef for your log management, you can easily leverage the features of Elasticsearch to store, archive, index, and search event data using Kibana.

The MozDef architecture is designed in a way that does not allow log shippers (rsyslog, syslog-ng, beaver, nxlog, heka, logstash) direct access to Elasticsearch. Rather, MozDef places itself between Elasticsearch and the log shippers, thereby making it possible for log shippers to interact directly with MozDef as shown in the diagram below. This makes MozDef different from other log management tools that use Elasticsearch and enables it to provide basic and advanced SIEM functionalities such as event correlation, aggregation, and machine learning.

MozDef incident editor with fields for summary, description, date opened/closed, phase, tags, and timeline steps; tag filter sidebar visible
MozDef Incidents module showing an editable incident record (“Attacked by bruteforcer”) with summary, description, dates, phase selection, tags, timeline actions (Reported, Verified, Mitigated, Contained), and tag filter panel

Who is it recommended for?

Organizations that want to avoid commercial software systems will struggle to create top-level security systems out of the packages that are available for free, so the combination of the Elastic Stack with MozDef is a Godsend. The ELK system is very useful but you need to train up in how to use the tool. The MozDef service gives you all of the pre-written searches and display widgets that you would otherwise have to pay out for by going for the paid version of ELK. Small businesses, associations, and not-for-profit organizations will appreciate the freedom from corporate products that MozDef gives them.

Pros:

  • Enhances ELK: Provides a set of searches for use with Elasticsearch
  • A No-Cost Solution: Connects together a series of free tools to create a SIEM
  • Cloud Hosting Possible: Can be hosted on an AWS account

Cons:

  • Not Off-the-Peg: Still needs work to assemble all of the components into a working SIEM

If you’re looking for a tool that provides basic SIEM functionalities, MozDef is surely a good fit. However, don’t expect it to meet your every need as it doesn’t have a lot of functionality. It is best suited for SMBs but not for corporate environments. The main pain points of this tool are that getting it up and running can be time-consuming and technically demanding. It also lacks high availability options, and key reporting and compliance capabilities.

5. SIEMonster

Best for: If ease of use is a priority for businesses or security teams, investing in this open-source SIEM solution is a great option.

Price: An open-source project that is free to use

SIEMonster SIEM Unified Dashboard Incident Response
SIEMonster dashboard showing report status trends, services status, events and alert rules, module status, and incident response counters.

SIEMonster is a customizable and scalable SIEM software drawn from a collection of the best open-source and internally developed security tools, to provide a SIEM solution for everyone. SIEMonster is a relatively young but surprisingly popular player in the industry. SIEMonster was inspired by the need to build a SIEM solution that will minimize frustrations caused by the exorbitant licensing costs of commercial SIEM products.

SIEMonster’s key features:

  • Host on your Cloud Account: Written for AWS
  • Suitable for Busy Systems: High data throughput
  • Instant Threat Remediation: Automated responses

Unique buying proposition

The open-source and modular design of SIEMonster is its unique buying proposition. It offers a high degree of customization and flexibility that enables business owners to create a SIEM system that fits their needs without having to pay licensing fees.

Feature-in-focus: Supports modular deployment, installs only needed components

SIEMonster’s open architecture allows users to choose and deploy only the components they need, reducing resource overhead and providing a more tailored SIEM implementation.

Why do we recommend it?

The Community Edition of SIEMonster is a free system but it isn’t open source. However, it is a collection of open-source and free proprietary tools. A number of the tools listed in this review are included in the SIEMonster package – namely, Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Wazuh. This system gets a threat intelligence feed from the open-source MISP Framework, which provides malware signatures as well as attack vectors for intrusion. This is an exciting concept and it also provides a free vulnerability scanner and penetration testing tools for preventative security checks.

SIEMonster SIEM Health Check Dashboard with Cluster, Index, Shard, and Disk Status
SIEMonster Health Check dashboard showing cluster health, metadata, shards by node, index health, disk space by node, and disk usage forecast

It can be deployed on the cloud using Docker containers, and on physical and virtual machines (macOS, Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian).

Who is it recommended for?

SIEMonster is a great concept, providing a package of security tools by gathering the best of breed offered by other security software projects. The free system runs on Docker, which, itself, will install on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The big problem with this free system is that it is limited to monitoring security for 100 endpoints. So, the Community Edition of SIEMonster is a good option for small and mid-sized businesses. Larger organizations will have to switch to the paid version, which is outside of the remit of this review.

Pros:

  • Easy to Set Up: Includes pre-written threat hunting searches
  • Orchestration for Responses: Links to third-party tools to shut down attacks
  • Customizable Alerts: Decide for yourself to suit your security priorities

Cons:

  • Won’t Run on Your Own Server: Requires an AWS account

However, the major downside to the free version is that it is not easily upgradable, and does not offer user behavioral analytics, machine learning, and most importantly—support. Furthermore, its reporting capability is limited to only two reports. For organizations that want to completely avoid the limitations of the community edition and investments in onsite infrastructure and human capital.

Our methodology for choosing Open Source SIEM Tools

There are multiple SIEM tools available in the market that security teams and businesses can select from. But, if you are looking for a free, open-source SIEM tool for your organization, we recommend comparing them on various factors. Our main objective is to feature some of the best SIEM tools for businesses that are free to use and offer commendable functionalities. To figure out which one stands out from the others, we use the following methodologies:

1. Feature Analysis

Most features are common in each tool, but what really stands out to users is what one specific feature that is advanced and fulfills business requirements. We evaluate all essential and advanced features for each tool and track if they can contribute to resolving real business issues. We compare them based on various factors, i.e., their integration compatibility, ease of use, and other options.

2. Compatibility

The tools we pick for you are properly tested based on compatibility and then recommended. It is important that the tools work well on all operating systems.

3. Security features

What use would a SIEM tool be to a business if it lacks essential security features? Hence, it is essential to check if the tools come with threat intelligence, real-time anomaly detection, and other critical security features. Our professionals know how significant much loss a business can face due to poor security features. Hence, it is significant to check the essential security features you demand for your business.

4. Integration with existing tools

A competent SIEM that integrates well with your existing infrastructure can resolve many business problems. Every business would want smooth operations, and so it is important to check if your selected tool supports integration or not.

5. Support and documentation

Some vendors that offer free tools or products often do not provide direct customer support services. Instead, they use community channels and documentation to troubleshoot business and user issues. Hence, another key criterion to cross-check when finalizing a free software for your business needs.

Broader B2B software selection methodology

When it comes to choosing B2B software, we believe the company behind the product matters just as much – if not more – than the software itself. That’s why our reviews go beyond features and pricing. We take a close look at the vendor or development team, too.

We consider the following things when reviewing or evaluating a tool or product:

  1. Compare the cost of the software to the value it provides in solving business problems
  2. How well the software works and whether it can grow with your business.
  3. What users say about their experience with the product
  4. Whether the vendor actively supports its customers and improves its product
  5. How open the vendor is about how the software works and what it offers

We don’t call out every one of these factors in each review. Instead, we highlight them only when they stand out, either in a very positive way or when we spot something potential buyers should be aware of.

Here is the detailed B2B software methodology page for you.

Why Trust Us?

Comparitech has a team of experts in IT systems, cybersecurity, and software solutions with a strong technical base. Our professionals, skilled in data protection and other security practices, have tested and reviewed multiple IT solutions and products in the past. Thanks to their experience and expertise, Comparitech delivers reliable, clear, and helpful reviews for businesses and users.

Free open-source SIEM FAQs

Is Suricata a SIEM?

Suricata is classified as an intrusion detection system (IDS). The system works by scanning through passing network traffic. This makes it a network-based intrusion detection system (NIDS). The other type of IDS is host-based (HIDS) and scans through log files. SIEM combines both of these strategies, so Suricata is a partial SIEM.

Does AWS have a SIEM?

There isn’t a native AWS SIEM. However, there are a number of third-party SIEWM systems that will install on the Amazon platform and can be accessed through the AWS Marketplace.