Varna vs Vectra AI CDR for AWS: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Varna is a free cloud application detection and response tool. Vectra AI CDR for AWS is a commercial cloud application detection and response tool by Vectra AI. 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:
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.
Mid-market and enterprise teams managing AWS environments with sprawling identity and data access need Vectra AI CDR for AWS to stop spending cycles triaging false positives. Its machine learning triage cuts alert noise by 80 percent or more while tracking over 90 percent of MITRE ATT&CK techniques, and the integration with AWS VPC Traffic Mirroring gives you visibility into Nitro instances that most cloud detection tools miss entirely. Skip this if your threat hunting team is comfortable with high-volume alert feeds or if you're still standardizing on a single cloud provider; the real payoff comes when you're juggling AWS, Azure AD, and M365 simultaneously.
