Darktrace CLOUD vs Varna: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Darktrace CLOUD is a commercial cloud application detection and response tool by Darktrace. Varna is a free cloud application detection and response tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best cloud application detection and response fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, integrations, company size fit, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise teams managing sprawl across AWS, Azure, and GCP will get the most from Darktrace CLOUD because its self-learning AI actually works without tuning; it learns your baseline cloud behavior and flags genuine anomalies instead of drowning you in false positives. The Cyber AI Analyst automates triage to cut alert fatigue, and autonomous response capabilities let you contain threats without waiting for humans, which maps directly to NIST RS.MI (incident mitigation) where most cloud tools are weakest. Skip this if you need strong cloud misconfiguration remediation or CSPM features that tell you what to fix; Darktrace prioritizes detection and response over the posture management side.
AWS security teams with limited budgets or flat headcount should start with Varna to detect anomalous CloudTrail activity without another tool subscription. Its free pricing and native Event Query Language approach mean you get detection logic you can actually read and modify in-house, which matters when your vendor support budget is zero. Skip this if you need response automation or visibility across multi-cloud environments; Varna is AWS-only and built for detection, not remediation.
