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Cybersecurity · head to head

Microsoft Sentinel vs OpsLevel

Microsoft Sentinel logo

Microsoft Sentinel

Cybersecurity

Cloud-native SIEM and SOAR solution

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; OpsLevel opsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, OpsLevel covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Sentinel and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Sentinel and OpsLevel differ
AttributeMicrosoft SentinelOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded1975Unknown

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 Microsoft Sentinel

  • AI-powered analytics
  • Fusion detection
  • UEBA
  • Automated response playbooks
  • Threat intelligence
  • Hunting queries
  • Workbooks
  • Incident management

Only in OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Sentinel

  • Cloud-based security information and event management (SIEM)not OpsLevel
  • Extended detection and response (XDR) across enterprise infrastructurenot OpsLevel
  • Data ingestion and long-term security analyticsnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Microsoft Sentinel
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Microsoft Sentinel
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Microsoft Sentinel
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot Microsoft Sentinel

Where each one falls short

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

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

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle.
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing.
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them.
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings.
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

OpsLevel

On request
  • Standard$undefined/year
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

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.
Microsoft Sentinel review

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Sentinel or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Sentinel starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Sentinel or OpsLevel?
Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Sentinel and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Microsoft Sentinel or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Microsoft Sentinel runs on Web, Api. OpsLevel runs on Web.
Can I use Microsoft Sentinel for free?
Yes. Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
What is Microsoft Sentinel best used for?
Microsoft Sentinel is most often used for cloud-based security information and event management (siem), extended detection and response (xdr) across enterprise infrastructure, data ingestion and long-term security analytics. Of those, cloud-based security information and event management (siem) and extended detection and response (xdr) across enterprise infrastructure are not what OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Sentinel do that OpsLevel cannot?
Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, Fusion detection, UEBA, Automated response playbooks. OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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/

Source
OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

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/

Source
OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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