Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Darktrace vs Semperis

Darktrace logo

Darktrace

Cybersecurity

Autonomous threat detection and response

From
$20000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

Semperis

Cybersecurity

Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Darktrace no pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • They diverge on capability: Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Darktrace and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where Darktrace and Semperis differ
AttributeDarktraceSemperis
Starting price$20000/yearOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsNetwork, Cloud, EmailWeb
Founded2013Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 Darktrace

  • Self-learning AI
  • Network anomaly detection
  • Autonomous response
  • Behavioral analysis
  • Threat model visualization
  • Email security
  • Application control
  • Incident response automation

Only in Semperis

  • Active Directory Forest Recovery
  • Malware-free restore
  • Replication-stream monitoring
  • Automated rollback
  • Attack indicator scoring
  • Entra ID and Okta coverage
  • Purple Knight
  • Forest Druid

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Darktrace

  • Threat Detectionnot Semperis
  • Ndrnot Semperis
  • Incident Responsenot Semperis

Semperis

  • An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot Darktrace
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot Darktrace
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot Darktrace
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot Darktrace

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Darktrace

  • No pricing information published on website; vendors must request pricing through demo request form or contact sales
  • No tiered pricing structure available to compare editions or select appropriate plan level before contacting sales

Semperis

  • Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
  • It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
  • Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
  • Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.

Pricing, plan by plan

Darktrace

$20000/year
  • Detect$20000/year
    • Network anomaly detection
    • AI-powered threat detection
    • Compliance reporting
  • Detect & Respond$35000/year
    • All Detect features
    • Autonomous response
    • Email security
  • Enterprise$50000/year
    • All features
    • Dedicated support
    • Custom training

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Darktrace if

  • You need self-learning ai.
  • You work on Network, Cloud, Email.
  • You also want network anomaly detection.
Darktrace review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is Darktrace or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. Darktrace starts at $20000/year and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Darktrace or Semperis?
Darktrace starts at $20000/year and Semperis at On request.
Does Darktrace or Semperis run on more platforms?
Darktrace runs on Network, Cloud, Email. Semperis runs on Web.
What is Darktrace best used for?
Darktrace is most often used for threat detection, ndr, incident response. Of those, threat detection and ndr are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can Darktrace do that Semperis cannot?
Darktrace covers Self-learning AI, Network anomaly detection, Autonomous response, Behavioral analysis. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Darktrace: How much does Darktrace cost?

Darktrace does not publish pricing information on its website. To obtain pricing details and learn about available packages, customers must contact Darktrace directly by requesting a demo or reaching out through the company's contact form.

Source
Semperis: Does this replace my backups?

No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.

Darktrace: Does Darktrace offer a free trial?

Darktrace mentions a free trial option, but specific trial length, features included, and how to access it are not published on the website. Users must contact the company directly to inquire about trial availability.

Source
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?

Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.

Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?

Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.

Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?

The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.

Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?

It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.

Share

Related pages

More on Darktrace

More on Semperis

Keep looking

Other head to heads