Cybersecurity · head to head
IBM QRadar vs Proton Mail
IBM QRadar
Cybersecurity
Enterprise SIEM licensed by events per second, whose cloud business IBM sold to Palo Alto Networks in 2024.
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Proton Mail has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: IBM QRadar iBM sold the QRadar SaaS business to Palo Alto Networks in 2024 and those customers are being moved to Cortex XSIAM, so anyone buying today is choosing an on-premises product whose vendor has publicly moved the cloud future to a competitor, and the support horizon becomes a contract negotiation rather than an assumption.; Proton Mail paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which IBM QRadar and Proton Mail actually diverge.
| Attribute | IBM QRadar | Proton Mail |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Web |
| Founded | 1911 | Unknown |
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 IBM QRadar
- Offence model
- Network flow analysis
- Device Support Modules
- Ariel query language
- Rules and building blocks
- Deployment topology
- App Exchange
- Use Case Manager
Only in Proton Mail
Nothing recorded that IBM QRadar does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
IBM QRadar
- A regulated enterprise that must keep log data on premises or in a specific jurisdiction and cannot use a shared SaaS SIEMnot Proton Mail
- A SOC that wants log correlation and network flow analysis in one platform rather than buying an NDR product separatelynot Proton Mail
- An existing QRadar estate deciding whether to stay on premises or accept the migration path to a different vendor's platformnot Proton Mail
- Compliance-driven log retention and reporting where the audit requirement is specific about collection, retention and reportingnot Proton Mail
Proton Mail
- Encrypted email communicationnot IBM QRadar
- Privacy-focused email servicenot IBM QRadar
- Family email protectionnot IBM QRadar
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
IBM QRadar
- IBM sold the QRadar SaaS business to Palo Alto Networks in 2024 and those customers are being moved to Cortex XSIAM, so anyone buying today is choosing an on-premises product whose vendor has publicly moved the cloud future to a competitor, and the support horizon becomes a contract negotiation rather than an assumption.
- Licensing is by events per second and flows per minute, so every additional log source raises the cost directly and teams routinely exclude verbose sources such as DNS, proxy, endpoint and cloud audit logs to stay under the licence, which strips out exactly the data an investigation later needs.
- It needs a dedicated operator: rule tuning, parser work and offence triage are continuous jobs, and an organisation that deploys QRadar without at least one named engineer accumulates thousands of unreviewed offences and a false sense of coverage.
- A log source without a matching Device Support Module arrives unparsed, and writing a custom parser with regular expressions against an unfamiliar payload format is specialist work that can take days per source, which quietly determines which systems ever get monitored.
- On-premises capacity is planned across consoles, processors, collectors and data nodes, so outgrowing the sizing means procuring and racking more appliances rather than changing a subscription tier, and growth becomes a purchasing cycle measured in months.
Proton Mail
- Paid plan pricing not displayed on vendor site
- Free tier limited to 1 GB storage
- Free tier limited to single email address
Pricing, plan by plan
IBM QRadar
On request- QRadar SIEMFree
- Event and flow processing
- Offense management
- Threat intelligence
- QRadar CloudFree
- Cloud-native deployment
- Elastic scaling
- Managed infrastructure
- QRadar SuiteFree
- SIEM + SOAR + XDR
- Unified analyst experience
- Federated search
Proton Mail
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Proton Mail review.
Which should you pick?
Choose IBM QRadar if
- You need offence model.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want network flow analysis.
Questions people ask
- Is IBM QRadar or Proton Mail better?
- Neither clearly leads. IBM QRadar starts at On request and Proton Mail at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, IBM QRadar or Proton Mail?
- Proton Mail has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for IBM QRadar and Free for Proton Mail.
- Does IBM QRadar or Proton Mail run on more platforms?
- IBM QRadar runs on Web, Api. Proton Mail runs on Web.
- Can I use Proton Mail for free?
- Yes. Proton Mail has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM QRadar starts at On request.
- What is IBM QRadar best used for?
- IBM QRadar is most often used for a regulated enterprise that must keep log data on premises or in a specific jurisdiction and cannot use a shared saas siem, a soc that wants log correlation and network flow analysis in one platform rather than buying an ndr product separately, an existing qradar estate deciding whether to stay on premises or accept the migration path to a different vendor's platform, compliance-driven log retention and reporting where the audit requirement is specific about collection, retention and reporting. Of those, a regulated enterprise that must keep log data on premises or in a specific jurisdiction and cannot use a shared saas siem and a soc that wants log correlation and network flow analysis in one platform rather than buying an ndr product separately are not what Proton Mail is typically brought in for.
- What can IBM QRadar do that Proton Mail cannot?
- IBM QRadar covers Offence model, Network flow analysis, Device Support Modules, Ariel query language.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
IBM QRadar: Who owns QRadar now?
It is split. IBM sold the QRadar SaaS assets to Palo Alto Networks in a deal announced in May 2024 and closed that September, and those customers are being migrated to Cortex XSIAM. IBM retains and supports the on-premises product.
Proton Mail: Is there a free version of Proton Mail?
Yes, Proton Mail offers a free plan with 1 GB storage, 1 encrypted email address, and basic features like folders, labels, and filters.
SourceIBM QRadar: Is QRadar being discontinued?
IBM has committed to continuing support for on-premises customers, including security updates, while offering migration assistance. The cloud product's future belongs to Palo Alto. If you are signing a multi-year term, get the support horizon written into the contract.
Proton Mail: What does the Mail Plus plan include?
Mail Plus includes 15 GB storage, 10 encrypted email addresses, support for 1 custom domain, 10 hide-my-email aliases, priority support, and access to Proton Calendar.
SourceIBM QRadar: How is it licensed?
By events per second for logs and flows per minute for network data, with the software or appliance sized to that rate. Add-on modules in the suite are licensed separately.
Proton Mail: What is included in Proton Unlimited?
Proton Unlimited provides 500 GB storage, 15 email addresses, 3 custom domains, unlimited hide-my-email aliases, access to Mail, Calendar, VPN, Drive, and Pass, plus dedicated support.
SourceIBM QRadar: What is an offence?
QRadar's term for a correlated case. Rules group related events and flows against a common indicator such as a host or user, so an analyst reviews one offence rather than the hundreds of events behind it.
Proton Mail: Does Proton Mail offer a money-back guarantee?
Yes, Proton Mail provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for paid plans.
SourceIBM QRadar: Do I need a full-time engineer?
In practice yes for anything beyond a small deployment. Parser development, rule tuning and offence triage do not stop, and the most common failure mode is a well-installed QRadar that nobody has tuned since go-live.
Related pages
More on Proton Mail
Other head to heads
- IBM QRadar vs Bitdefender Total Security
- IBM QRadar vs 1Password
- IBM QRadar vs Norton 360
- IBM QRadar vs LastPass
- IBM QRadar vs Microsoft Sentinel
- IBM QRadar vs Splunk Enterprise Security
- IBM QRadar vs CrowdStrike Falcon
- IBM QRadar vs LogRhythm SIEM
- IBM QRadar vs Recorded Future
- IBM QRadar vs SentinelOne Singularity
- IBM QRadar vs Proofpoint
- IBM QRadar vs Trend Micro Vision One
- IBM QRadar vs Arnica
- IBM QRadar vs Authelia
- IBM QRadar vs Authy
- IBM QRadar vs Baffle
- IBM QRadar vs Beyond Identity
- IBM QRadar vs BeyondTrust
- IBM QRadar vs Tuta
- IBM QRadar vs OneTrust
- IBM QRadar vs Brave Browser
- IBM QRadar vs Mullvad VPN
- IBM QRadar vs Avast One
- IBM QRadar vs IVPN
- IBM QRadar vs Surfshark
- IBM QRadar vs Acunetix
- IBM QRadar vs Aikido
- Proton Mail vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Proton Mail vs 1Password
- Proton Mail vs Norton 360
- Proton Mail vs LastPass
- Proton Mail vs Microsoft Sentinel
- Proton Mail vs Splunk Enterprise Security
- Proton Mail vs CrowdStrike Falcon
- Proton Mail vs LogRhythm SIEM
- Proton Mail vs Recorded Future
- Proton Mail vs SentinelOne Singularity
- Proton Mail vs Proofpoint
- Proton Mail vs Trend Micro Vision One
- Proton Mail vs Arnica
- Proton Mail vs Authelia
- Proton Mail vs Authy
- Proton Mail vs Baffle
- Proton Mail vs Beyond Identity
- Proton Mail vs BeyondTrust
- Proton Mail vs Tuta
- Proton Mail vs OneTrust
- Proton Mail vs Brave Browser
- Proton Mail vs Mullvad VPN
- Proton Mail vs Avast One
- Proton Mail vs IVPN
- Proton Mail vs Surfshark
- Proton Mail vs Acunetix
- Proton Mail vs Aikido