plast vs Stairwell: 2026 Comparison
plast is a free threat hunting tool. Stairwell is a commercial threat hunting tool by Stairwell. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best threat hunting 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:
Security teams building custom threat hunting workflows on a budget will find value in plast's modular framework, which lets you assemble detection logic without vendor lock-in or licensing friction. The free, open-source model and active GitHub presence mean you're not betting on a startup's survival timeline. Skip this if your team lacks Python fluency or needs a polished UI; plast rewards hands-on operators who want to script detection rules, not click-through dashboards.
Mid-market and enterprise SOC teams who need to move fast on file-based indicators will find Stairwell's hash and IOC lookup engine faster than bouncing between five different threat intelligence feeds. The tool's integration with Cortex, Chronicle, and CrowdStrike means your analysts can pivot from detection to malware variant discovery without leaving their existing workflows, and the private YARA vault lets you test and store detection logic without exposing your methodology to external platforms. Skip this if your primary pain is endpoint visibility or compliance reporting; Stairwell is built for teams that hunt actively and need to confirm whether a file hash actually matters before escalating.
