Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Microsoft Sentinel vs Teleport

Microsoft Sentinel logo

Microsoft Sentinel

Cybersecurity

Cloud-native SIEM and SOAR solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-
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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Microsoft Sentinel and Teleport differ
AttributeMicrosoft SentinelTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
Founded1975Unknown

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 Microsoft Sentinel

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

Only in Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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 Teleport
  • Extended detection and response (XDR) across enterprise infrastructurenot Teleport
  • Data ingestion and long-term security analyticsnot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot Microsoft Sentinel
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot Microsoft Sentinel
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot Microsoft Sentinel
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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 Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.
Teleport review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Sentinel or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Sentinel starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Sentinel or Teleport?
Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Sentinel and On request for Teleport.
Does Microsoft Sentinel or Teleport run on more platforms?
Microsoft Sentinel runs on Web, Api. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use Microsoft Sentinel for free?
Yes. Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Sentinel do that Teleport cannot?
Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, Fusion detection, UEBA, Automated response playbooks. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

Share

Related pages

More on Microsoft Sentinel

More on Teleport

Keep looking

Other head to heads