# Zeek: how AI models rank it, November 2026

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

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [OT and IoT security](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/ot-and-iot-security/index.md) | 2% | 11 | 20% | 5 |
| [Network detection and response](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/network-detection-and-response/index.md) | 0% | 42 | 29% | 7 |
| [Network monitoring and management](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/network-monitoring-and-management/index.md) | 0% | 29 | 0% | 2 |

## What the models said for it

- "Start free with Malcolm + Zeek + Suricata (CISA ICSNPP) for passive monitoring" (Kimi K2, OT/IoT security)
- "an open-source stack (Zeek + Security Onion) can provide a respectable baseline at near-zero cost" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, OT/IoT security)
- "Stick to well-established, actively maintained tools like SolarWinds NPM, PRTG, Nagios, or Zeek" (MiniMax M2.5, Network monitoring)
- "Tools like Zeek (formerly Bro) can add protocol analysis for ICS/OT traffic at low cost." (Grok 4.20, OT/IoT security)

## And against it

- "Tools like Zeek (Bro), Suricata are excellent, but rolling your own OT detection without dedicated ICS signatures and asset modeling typically fails." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, OT/IoT security)
- "lowest-license-cost option because it is open source, but it requires substantial in-house expertise" (Perplexity Sonar, NDR)
- "Very labor-intensive to set up and maintain compared to Security Onion or Malcolm." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, NDR)

## By model

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

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Zeek, from 26 of the 33 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- g2.com: 12
- reddit.com: 11
- ciopages.com: 9
- cotocus.com: 8
- comparitech.com: 7
- guideflow.com: 7
- microsoft.com: 7
- startupstash.com: 7
- stellarcyber.ai: 7
- peerspot.com: 6

### Pages cited

- https://g2.com/categories/network-detection-and-response-ndr/small-business: 7
- https://stellarcyber.ai/learn/top-ndr-solutions: 7
- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/network-detection-response: 6
- https://cotocus.com/blog/top-10-network-detection-and-response-ndr-tools-in-2025-features-pros-cons-comparison: 6
- https://startupstash.com/best-ot-ics-security-platforms: 6
- https://capterra.com/p/237630/Network-Detection-and-Response: 5
- https://guideflow.com/blog/ot-security-tools: 5
- https://reddit.com/r/cybersecurity/comments/16u4tnd/top_ndr_vendors: 5

## 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.