# Security Onion: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 12 judge labels across 3 categories by 8 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/security-onion

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Network detection and response](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/network-detection-and-response/index.md) | 4% | 10 | 20% | 5 |
| [SIEM platforms](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/siem-platforms/index.md) | 2% | 9 | 0% | 5 |
| [OT and IoT security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/ot-and-iot-security/index.md) | 0% | 28 | 0% | 2 |

## What the models said for it

- "For most companies with a limited budget, Security Onion offers the best capability-to-cost ratio" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, NDR)
- "If you have IT staff → Start with Wazuh or Security Onion (free, powerful)." (MiniMax M2.5, SIEM)
- "If you have the internal skill to manage Linux servers: Deploy Security Onion." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, NDR)
- "Security Onion (Best for Network Telemetry) ... Free, open-source Linux distribution focused on Network Security Monitoring" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, SIEM)

## And against it

- "cost-effective for teams with strong internal security engineering... However, this requires more technical expertise to manage." (Claude Haiku 4.5, NDR)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Security Onion, from 41 of the 44 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- reddit.com: 21
- g2.com: 17
- gane.ai/index: 15
- ciopages.com: 14
- peerspot.com: 13
- comparitech.com: 10
- cotocus.com: 10
- securityboulevard.com: 9
- capterra.com: 8
- rajeshkumar.xyz: 8

### Pages cited

- https://g2.com/categories/network-detection-and-response-ndr/small-business: 13
- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/network-detection-response: 11
- https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/network-detection-and-response/smb: 10
- https://rajeshkumar.xyz/blog/network-detection-and-response-ndr: 8
- https://reddit.com/r/cybersecurity/comments/1b80zza/best_siem_solution_for_small_company: 8
- https://stellarcyber.ai/learn/top-ndr-solutions: 8
- https://comparitech.com/net-admin/network-detection-response-software: 7
- https://cotocus.com/blog/top-10-network-detection-and-response-ndr-tools-in-2025-features-pros-cons-comparison: 6

## In its own words

What Security Onion's own pages state, read 2026-10-05. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Positioning: a free and open platform for threat hunting, network security monitoring, and log management (https://securityonion.net/)
- Price stated: free (https://securityonion.net/)

## What it publishes

Every page securityonion.net exposes, read 2026-10-05: 1633 addresses. By kind, pages and the last 90 days:

- blog: 1585 pages, 7 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-09-11
- case study: 2 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2012-01-01
- webinar or virtual event: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2020-05-01
- conference or event: 41 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest 2026-05-18
- report or ebook: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- Recent: 2026-09-11 blog: Security onion 330 hotfix 20260911 now https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/09/security-onion-330-hotfix-20260911-now.html
- Recent: 2026-09-08 blog: Security onion 330 now available https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/09/security-onion-330-now-available.html
- Recent: 2026-09-01 blog: 09 https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/09/
- Recent: 2026-08-06 blog: Registration now open for augusta cyber https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/08/registration-now-open-for-augusta-cyber.html
- Recent: 2026-08-06 blog: Security onion documentation printed https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/08/security-onion-documentation-printed.html
- Recent: 2026-08-01 blog: 08 https://blog.securityonion.net/2026/08/

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.