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Cybersecurity · head to head

LogRhythm SIEM vs Steampipe

LogRhythm SIEM logo

LogRhythm SIEM

Cybersecurity

AI-powered SIEM platform for modern security operations

From
On request
Free plan
No
Steampipe logo

Steampipe

Developer Tools

Query cloud APIs, SaaS tools and code with SQL, with no extract or load step

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Only Steampipe has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: LogRhythm SIEM no pricing published; sales contact required; Steampipe aGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • They diverge on capability: LogRhythm SIEM covers AI-driven analytics, Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LogRhythm SIEM and Steampipe actually diverge.

Attributes where LogRhythm SIEM and Steampipe differ
AttributeLogRhythm SIEMSteampipe
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionOpen source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApimacOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 LogRhythm SIEM

  • AI-driven analytics
  • UEBA
  • NDR integration
  • SOAR automation
  • Threat lifecycle management
  • Case management
  • Compliance reporting
  • Embedded playbooks

Only in Steampipe

  • SQL over live APIs
  • Wide plugin set
  • Embedded Postgres
  • Compliance benchmarks
  • Joins across providers
  • Hosted option

What people use each for

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

LogRhythm SIEM

  • Security information and event managementnot Steampipe
  • Threat detection and incident responsenot Steampipe
  • Compliance monitoring and reportingnot Steampipe
  • User and entity behavior analyticsnot Steampipe

Steampipe

  • Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot LogRhythm SIEM
  • Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot LogRhythm SIEM
  • Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot LogRhythm SIEM
  • Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot LogRhythm SIEM

Where each one falls short

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

LogRhythm SIEM

  • No pricing published; sales contact required
  • No public information on licensing model or per-unit costs

Steampipe

  • AGPL-3.0 across all four engines is a procurement blocker at organisations that ban the licence outright, and the network clause reaches any internal portal or service that puts a web interface in front of it.
  • Dashboards, benchmarks and mods were removed from Steampipe entirely at version 1.0 in October 2024 and now live in a separate product, so pre-2024 documentation and tutorials describe commands that no longer exist.
  • Live querying is bound by cloud provider API rate limits and keeps no persistent store by default, which is why a separate DuckDB-backed product exists for log volumes and why large accounts return slowly.
  • The company is fifteen people and bootstrapped, maintaining four command line tools plus a hosted service plus two further products, and the newer tools have thin community traction relative to that surface area.
  • Hosted tiers include only three users regardless of tier, with additional Enterprise users charged separately, so a team of thirty costs an order of magnitude more than the headline figure before compute and storage are counted.

Pricing, plan by plan

LogRhythm SIEM

On request
  • LogRhythm SIEMFree
    • Threat detection
    • Log management
    • Compliance
  • LogRhythm AxonFree
    • Cloud-native SIEM
    • Self-service deployment
    • Elastic scaling
  • Managed Detection & ResponseFree
    • 24/7 monitoring
    • Expert analysts
    • Threat hunting

Steampipe

Free
  • Steampipe CLIFree
    • AGPL-3.0
    • All plugins
    • No user or query limits
  • Pipes DeveloperFree
    • One user
    • 400 compute minutes
    • 3GB storage
  • Pipes Team$49/month
    • Three users
    • 2,000 compute minutes
    • 20GB storage
  • Pipes Enterprise$249/month
    • Three users
    • 10,000 compute minutes
    • 100GB storage

Which should you pick?

Choose LogRhythm SIEM if

  • You need ai-driven analytics.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want ueba.

Choose Steampipe if

  • You need sql over live apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
  • You also want wide plugin set.

Questions people ask

Is LogRhythm SIEM or Steampipe better?
Neither clearly leads. LogRhythm SIEM starts at On request and Steampipe at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LogRhythm SIEM or Steampipe?
Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for LogRhythm SIEM and Free for Steampipe.
Does LogRhythm SIEM or Steampipe run on more platforms?
LogRhythm SIEM runs on Web, Api. Steampipe runs on macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web.
Can I use Steampipe for free?
Yes. Steampipe has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. LogRhythm SIEM starts at On request.
What is LogRhythm SIEM best used for?
LogRhythm SIEM is most often used for security information and event management, threat detection and incident response, compliance monitoring and reporting, user and entity behavior analytics. Of those, security information and event management and threat detection and incident response are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
What can LogRhythm SIEM do that Steampipe cannot?
LogRhythm SIEM covers AI-driven analytics, UEBA, NDR integration, SOAR automation. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LogRhythm SIEM: How does Exabeam (formerly LogRhythm SIEM) handle pricing?

Exabeam does not publish pricing on its website. To obtain pricing information, request a demo through the website or contact Exabeam's sales team directly for a personalized quote based on your deployment size and requirements.

Source
Steampipe: When did Steampipe become AGPL?

May 2021, about four months after the project went public. It is a settled licence rather than a recent change, and predates the Business Source Licence wave it is often confused with.

LogRhythm SIEM: Is there a free trial or freemium version of Exabeam?

Exabeam does not advertise a free trial or freemium tier on its homepage. Interested buyers must contact the sales team to discuss trial availability and pricing options.

Source
Steampipe: Where did the dashboards and benchmarks go?

Into Powerpipe. They were deprecated in March 2024 and removed from Steampipe at version 1.0 in October 2024, so the check, dashboard, mod and variable commands are gone.

Steampipe: Is it fast on a large cloud estate?

Not always. Queries call provider APIs at request time, so rate limits rather than query planning set the pace, and there is no persistent store by default.

Steampipe: Does the AGPL affect internal use?

Running it internally for your own analysis is fine. Putting a web interface in front of it that other people use is where the network clause becomes a question for your legal team.

Steampipe: Is a bootstrapped vendor a risk?

It cuts both ways. There is no investor pressure toward a licence change or an exit, and there are also fifteen people supporting a large product surface.

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