Microsoft Sentinel vs Splunk Enterprise Security
Sentinel is a cloud SIEM that bills by data ingested, with daily commitment tiers and a cheaper data lake tier, and it assumes an Azure environment. Splunk Enterprise Security has two editions, can be hosted for you or run by you, and carries no list price, only a quote. The practical difference is where you start: Sentinel gives you a cost estimator and tier sizes to model, while Splunk asks you to size the deal with sales. Both are United States vendors, and Splunk sits inside Cisco.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Microsoft Sentinel ifyou already run workloads in Azure, you want to model ingestion cost yourself before talking to a vendor, and you can plan for the Defender portal move after 31 March 2027.
Choose Splunk Enterprise Security ifyou need a SIEM that you can self-manage or have hosted in the cloud, want SOAR and UEBA in the same product, and can live with a sales-quoted price from a Cisco-owned vendor.
Microsoft Sentinel and Splunk Enterprise Security side by side
| Microsoft Sentinel | Splunk Enterprise Security | |
|---|---|---|
| Our SIEM software rank | #9 of 12 | #11 of 12 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 2 November 2026 | Pay-as-you-go or daily commitment tiers from 100 GB to 50,000 GB per day (savings up to 52%); amounts via Microsoft's cost estimator | Sales quote for either edition (Essentials, Premier), based on activity, workload or ingest |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | Yes |
| Built for | Organisations that already run workloads in Azure and use Microsoft security tools | Large security teams that already run Splunk for logs and want one vendor |
| Not for | Teams wanting a self-run SIEM or a flat per-organisation fee | Small teams that need a published price and a short setup |
Both are reviewed in full in our SIEM software ranking: Microsoft Sentinel and Splunk Enterprise Security.
Where they differ
Microsoft Sentinel 2 · Splunk Enterprise Security 2 · open 1- 01
How the bill is built
Sentinel prices its analytics tier as pay-as-you-go or as daily commitment tiers from 100 GB to 50,000 GB, with savings of up to 52% against pay-as-you-go, and offers a cost estimator. Splunk lists three metrics (activity, workload or ingest) and shows no amounts, only a quote button for each edition. Sentinel gives a buyer more to work with before a sales call.
Edge: Microsoft Sentinel
- 02
Costs outside the SIEM meter
Microsoft states that Azure Log Analytics, Logic Apps and other Azure services used with Sentinel are charged separately, so the Sentinel figure is not the whole bill. Splunk's pricing page names no such add-ons, but with no amounts published we cannot say what a quote includes. Neither page lets you see the full cost in advance.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Detection and response scope
Splunk's comparison table puts SIEM, threat intelligence, Detection Studio and exposure analytics in both editions, and SOAR, UEBA and automated threat analysis only in Premier. The Sentinel pages we read describe a cloud-native SIEM and a data lake tier for long-term storage but do not list SOAR or UEBA as bundled items. On the facts we read, Splunk spells out its scope more fully.
Edge: Splunk Enterprise Security
- 04
Commitment and flexibility
A Sentinel commitment tier can be raised at any time but lowered only after 31 days, with a 31-day minimum period, so a wrong guess costs a month. Splunk offers no stated minimum on its pricing page, because every route ends in a quote. Sentinel's rule is at least written down.
Edge: Microsoft Sentinel
- 05
Deployment and vendor ties
Splunk runs on Splunk Cloud or in self-managed and on-prem environments, and Splunk LLC says it is part of Cisco. Sentinel is Azure-native and, after 31 March 2027, is supported only in the Microsoft Defender portal. Splunk gives more hosting choice, while Sentinel ties you to Microsoft's portal and cloud.
Edge: Splunk Enterprise Security
When neither fits
If you want software with no licence fee and the option to run it yourself, neither is the route. Wazuh is the open source option, and Graylog is another self-run choice.
Microsoft Sentinel or Splunk Enterprise Security: questions
3 answersDoes Microsoft Sentinel publish prices?
Microsoft's pricing page describes pay-as-you-go and commitment tiers from 100 GB to 50,000 GB per day, with savings of up to 52%, and points to a cost estimator for amounts. We did not take per-GB figures from it.
Can Splunk Enterprise Security run on my own servers?
Yes. Splunk's pricing page lists cloud, self-managed and on-prem options for Enterprise Security, and quotes follow activity, workload or ingest.
What happens to Sentinel in 2027?
Microsoft's documentation says that after 31 March 2027 Sentinel is supported only in the Microsoft Defender portal, so plan the move into any new project.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026- Microsoft Sentinel pricing page: tier sizes and discount, the 31-day rule, separately billed Azure services, cost estimator, data lake tier.
- Microsoft Sentinel documentation overview: cloud-native SIEM, supported only in the Microsoft Defender portal after 31 March 2027.
- Splunk pricing page: two editions without amounts, hosting choices, three metrics, Premier-only SOAR, UEBA and automated threat analysis.
- Splunk About page: part of Cisco.