Arkime vs Corelight Open NDR Platform: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Arkime is a free network detection and response tool. Corelight Open NDR Platform is a commercial network detection and response tool by Corelight. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best network detection and response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Security teams operating on-premises or hybrid networks with packet capture requirements should adopt Arkime for PCAP indexing and retrospective threat hunting; the open-source model means zero licensing friction at scale, and the tool's ability to ingest and search months of network traffic at line rate beats commercial alternatives on cost-per-terabyte. Arkime excels in the Detect function of NIST CSF 2.0, particularly for forensic investigation after an incident surfaces. This is not suitable for organizations needing real-time alerting, automated response, or managed service support; you're running it yourself.
Security teams running hybrid infrastructure who need to see east-west traffic patterns that perimeter tools miss will get the most from Corelight Open NDR Platform. Its foundation on Zeek and Suricata gives you transparent packet analysis at scale, and the platform scores strongly on NIST DE.CM and DE.AE, meaning detection and forensic depth are real strengths. Skip this if your org lacks network engineering resources to tune and maintain sensor placement; Corelight demands more operational overhead than managed detection services, and weak alert tuning will bury your team in noise.
