go-audit vs Microsoft Sentinel: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

go-audit

Linux infrastructure teams managing high-volume audit logs will get the most from go-audit because it replaces auditd's brittle single-threaded daemon with a netlink-based architecture that doesn't drop events under load. The JSON output and pluggable pipeline design mean you can stream directly to your SIEM without parsing or custom connectors, saving weeks of integration work. Skip this if you need Windows or macOS audit collection or expect vendor support; go-audit is community-maintained and requires teams comfortable reading Go source code when things break.

Microsoft Sentinel

Mid-market and enterprise teams already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem should pick Microsoft Sentinel for its native integration with Defender products and 350+ connectors that eliminate connector licensing friction. The platform prioritizes detection and analysis over incident response, with strong continuous monitoring and anomaly characterization but limited automation for recovery workflows without separate SOAR investment. Skip this if your team relies heavily on non-Microsoft tooling or needs post-incident automation to be native; you'll spend cycles building connectors and orchestration logic that competitors bundle in.