Cybersecurity · head to head
BigID vs Microsoft Sentinel
BigID
Cybersecurity
Data discovery and classification across cloud, on-premise and unstructured stores
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: BigID pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.; Microsoft Sentinel billing is driven by the volume of log data ingested per day, so cost scales with log noise rather than with users or protected assets
- They diverge on capability: BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which BigID and Microsoft Sentinel actually diverge.
| Attribute | BigID | Microsoft Sentinel |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | quote | usage-based |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, API, Self-hosted | Web, Api |
| Founded | Unknown | 1975 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in BigID
- Structured and unstructured scanning
- Identity correlation
- Data security posture management
- Access intelligence
- Privacy request support
- Retention and minimisation
- AI data controls
- Policy and remediation workflow
Only in Microsoft Sentinel
- AI-powered analytics
- Fusion detection
- UEBA
- Automated response playbooks
- Threat intelligence
- Hunting queries
- Workbooks
- Incident management
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
BigID
- A bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migrationnot Microsoft Sentinel
- A privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s recordsnot Microsoft Sentinel
- A security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker doesnot Microsoft Sentinel
- A company building retrieval augmented AI that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a modelnot Microsoft Sentinel
Microsoft Sentinel
- Cloud-based security information and event management (SIEM)not BigID
- Extended detection and response (XDR) across enterprise infrastructurenot BigID
- Data ingestion and long-term security analyticsnot BigID
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
BigID
- Pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
- Scanning large unstructured estates is slow and computationally expensive, so most organisations sample rather than scan everything, which reintroduces uncertainty into the very question they bought the tool to settle.
- Classification accuracy on messy unstructured content requires tuning, and out of the box false positives on things like reference numbers create a large triage backlog that a small governance team cannot clear.
- It discovers and reports but does not remediate, so realising value requires a separate process and often separate tooling to actually delete, restrict or move the data it flags.
- It is built for large enterprises and both the price and the administrative overhead are disproportionate below a few thousand employees, where a lighter DSPM tool covers the security use case for far less.
Microsoft Sentinel
- Billing is driven by the volume of log data ingested per day, so cost scales with log noise rather than with users or protected assets
- Commitment tier discounts require reserving daily ingestion capacity in advance, and a tier cannot be downgraded until 31 days have passed
- Commitment tiers start at 100 GB per day, above what smaller estates ingest
- Charges for Log Analytics, Logic Apps and Machine Learning are billed separately on top of Sentinel itself
- The free allowance is only up to 5 MB per user per day for selected Microsoft 365 security logs
- Promotional commitment pricing is time limited and locks in only until a stated end date
Pricing, plan by plan
BigID
On request- BigID Platform$undefined/year
- Priced by number of data sources and data volume
- Discovery and classification core
- Optional DSPM, access intelligence and AI security modules licensed separately
Microsoft Sentinel
Free- Pay-As-You-Go$2.46/day
- Per GB ingested
- 90-day retention
- First 31 days free for new workspaces
- Commitment TiersFree
- 100GB to 50TB tiers
- Up to 65% discount
- Predictable billing
- Microsoft 365 E5Free
- Free data ingestion for M365 logs
- Bundled with E5 license
Which should you pick?
Choose BigID if
- You need structured and unstructured scanning.
- You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
- You also want identity correlation.
Choose Microsoft Sentinel if
- You need ai-powered analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want fusion detection.
Questions people ask
- Is BigID or Microsoft Sentinel better?
- Neither clearly leads. BigID starts at On request and Microsoft Sentinel at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, BigID or Microsoft Sentinel?
- Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for BigID and Free for Microsoft Sentinel.
- Does BigID or Microsoft Sentinel run on more platforms?
- BigID runs on Web, API, Self-hosted. Microsoft Sentinel runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use Microsoft Sentinel for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigID starts at On request.
- What is BigID best used for?
- BigID is most often used for a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration, a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records, a security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker does, a company building retrieval augmented ai that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a model. Of those, a bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migration and a privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s records are not what Microsoft Sentinel is typically brought in for.
- What can BigID do that Microsoft Sentinel cannot?
- BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Identity correlation, Data security posture management, Access intelligence. Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, Fusion detection, UEBA, Automated response playbooks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
BigID: What does BigID cost?
It is quoted by data source count and volume. Reported contracts run from roughly 15,000 to 175,000 US dollars a year, and add-on modules such as AI security posture are licensed on top.
Microsoft Sentinel: How is Microsoft Sentinel pricing calculated?
Microsoft Sentinel uses a pay-as-you-go usage-based model where you pay only for data ingested, stored, and consumed. Flexible commitment tiers are available to reduce total cost of ownership, with specific rates not published on the public pricing page. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-sentinel/
SourceBigID: Does it handle unstructured data?
Yes, and that is its main advantage. It classifies data in files and shares and correlates findings back to individuals, not just to data types.
Microsoft Sentinel: Does Microsoft Sentinel require an Azure subscription?
Yes, Microsoft Sentinel requires a Microsoft Azure subscription to operate. Pricing is handled through Azure and varies based on data consumption and the commitment tier you select. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-sentinel/
SourceBigID: Will it delete the data it finds?
Not by itself in most deployments. It identifies and routes findings; deletion and remediation happen through your own processes or connected systems.
BigID: Is it a privacy tool or a security tool?
Both are sold from the same discovery core. Buyers increasingly come from security wanting data security posture management rather than from legal wanting privacy.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Sentinel
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