Cybersecurity · head to head
Splunk Enterprise Security vs Steampipe
Splunk Enterprise Security
Cybersecurity
The platform for operational intelligence
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
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: Splunk Enterprise Security splunk Enterprise Security is licensed separately from the Splunk platform, so a SIEM deployment needs both; 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: Splunk Enterprise Security covers Security monitoring, 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 Splunk Enterprise Security and Steampipe actually diverge.
| Attribute | Splunk Enterprise Security | Steampipe |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Open source, with paid hosting through Turbot Pipes |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, Api | macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker, Web |
| Category | Cybersecurity | Developer Tools |
| Founded | 2003 | Unknown |
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 Splunk Enterprise Security
- Security monitoring
- Incident review
- Risk-based alerting
- Threat intelligence
- Investigation workbench
- MITRE ATT&CK mapping
- Automated response
- Compliance reporting
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.
Splunk Enterprise Security
- Running a security operations centre on Splunk indexed log datanot Steampipe
- Correlation searches, risk based alerting and incident investigationnot Steampipe
- Compliance reporting from pooled security telemetrynot Steampipe
Steampipe
- Security teams answering posture questions against live cloud accounts rather than a nightly exportnot Splunk Enterprise Security
- Compliance evidence gathering where the answer must reflect the account at the moment it is askednot Splunk Enterprise Security
- Inventory and drift questions spanning several cloud providers in one querynot Splunk Enterprise Security
- Engineers who would rather write SQL than learn each provider command line toolnot Splunk Enterprise Security
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Splunk Enterprise Security
- Splunk Enterprise Security is licensed separately from the Splunk platform, so a SIEM deployment needs both
- Splunk publishes no rate for Enterprise Security and directs buyers to contact a pricing expert
- UEBA, SOAR and automated threat analysis require the Premier edition rather than Essentials
- The platform underneath can be billed by ingest volume, workload or activity, so the total cost depends on a pricing model chosen at contract time rather than a list price
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
Splunk Enterprise Security
On request- Workload PricingFree
- Pay per compute
- Flexible scaling
- All features
- Ingest PricingFree
- Pay per GB ingested
- Predictable costs
- All features
- Entity PricingFree
- Pay per monitored entity
- Security focused
- All features
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 Splunk Enterprise Security if
- You need security monitoring.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want incident review.
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 Splunk Enterprise Security or Steampipe better?
- Neither clearly leads. Splunk Enterprise Security 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, Splunk Enterprise Security or Steampipe?
- Steampipe has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Splunk Enterprise Security and Free for Steampipe.
- Does Splunk Enterprise Security or Steampipe run on more platforms?
- Splunk Enterprise Security 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. Splunk Enterprise Security starts at On request.
- What is Splunk Enterprise Security best used for?
- Splunk Enterprise Security is most often used for running a security operations centre on splunk indexed log data, correlation searches, risk based alerting and incident investigation, compliance reporting from pooled security telemetry. Of those, running a security operations centre on splunk indexed log data and correlation searches, risk based alerting and incident investigation are not what Steampipe is typically brought in for.
- What can Splunk Enterprise Security do that Steampipe cannot?
- Splunk Enterprise Security covers Security monitoring, Incident review, Risk-based alerting, Threat intelligence. Steampipe covers SQL over live APIs, Wide plugin set, Embedded Postgres, Compliance benchmarks.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Splunk Enterprise Security: How much does Splunk Enterprise Security cost?
Splunk Enterprise Security pricing is not published. The product is available in Essentials Edition with threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities, and Premier Edition with UEBA, SOAR, and Automated Threat Analysis. Customers must contact Splunk sales for pricing quotes on either edition.
SourceSteampipe: 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.
Splunk Enterprise Security: What editions of Splunk Enterprise Security are available?
Splunk Enterprise Security offers Essentials Edition with threat detection, investigation, and response capabilities, and Premier Edition which adds UEBA (User and Entity Behavior Analytics), SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response), and Automated Threat Analysis.
SourceSteampipe: 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.
Related pages
More on Splunk Enterprise Security
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