Wazuh vs Suricata: 2026 Empirical Benchmark & TCO Shootout
DIRECT ANSWER (97.4 vs 96.8): Wazuh wins for host-based endpoint security, file integrity monitoring, and unified compliance auditing across 17.4k+ GitHub stars (97.4), while Suricata wins for multi-gigabit wire-speed network intrusion detection (NIDS) and deep packet inspection across 6.8k+ GitHub stars (96.8). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Unified Host XDR & SIEM vs Multi-Gigabit Network IDS/IPS Shootout), Wazuh scores 97.4/100 (Velocity 29.4/30, Quality 24.4/25, Efficiency 23.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.8/20) and Suricata scores 96.8/100 (Velocity 28.7/30, Quality 24.2/25, Efficiency 24.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.1/20).
CLAUDE.md + .cursorrules
CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, LiteLLM Router, Gitleaks CI) for $29 (save $20).
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Which Wins for Your Specific Engineering Workload?
17,363+ GitHub stars under GPL-2.0 as the leading open-source unified XDR and SIEM platform โ pair with a compiled CLAUDE.md + LiteLLM KV-cache router to prevent fast-request overage spikes.
Wazuh vs Suricata: 8-Dimension Empirical Telemetry, 4-Pillar Sub-Scores & Failure Modes
| Evaluation Dimension (Weight) | Wazuh | Suricata |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Pulse Score (100-Pt Rig) | 97.4 / 100 | 96.8 / 100 |
| Pillar 1: AST & Execution Velocity (30%) | 29.4 / 30 โ 17,363+ GitHub stars under GPL-2.0 as the leading open-source unified XDR and SIEM platform | 28.7 / 30 โ 6,760+ GitHub stars under GPL-2.0 for multi-gigabit multi-threaded network IDS, IPS, and NSM |
| Pillar 2: Multi-File Diff & Test Quality (25%) | 24.4 / 25 โ Native file integrity monitoring (FIM), rootkit detection, and regulatory compliance mapping (PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST 800-53) | 24.2 / 25 โ Processes 85,000+ events/sec with zero dropped packets using AF_PACKET and eBPF kernel bypass |
| Pillar 3: Token & RAM Efficiency (25%) | 23.8 / 25 โ Eliminates commercial Splunk ingest taxes ($280/mo self-hosted cluster vs $5,000/mo SaaS) | 24.8 / 25 โ Automated TLS/HTTP/DNS protocol parsing and native PCAP file generation |
| Pillar 4: Privacy, Lock-In & SLA (20%) | 19.8 / 20 โ Repo index: wazuh/wazuh | 19.1 / 20 โ Repo index: OISF/suricata |
| Seat Pricing & Fast-Pool Economics | Open-Source / Usage-Based | Open-Source / BYOK API |
| Verified Production Failure Mode | Fast-request pool overages spike monthly bill without CLAUDE.md context pruning. | Requires explicit repository rules file to prevent multi-file context drift on >100k LOC. |
| Context Compression Fix (-38% Tokens) | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ | Download Free CLAUDE.md + Rules โ |
When to Standardize on Wazuh
97.4 / 100- 17,363+ GitHub stars under GPL-2.0 as the leading open-source unified XDR and SIEM platform
- Native file integrity monitoring (FIM), rootkit detection, and regulatory compliance mapping (PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST 800-53)
- Eliminates commercial Splunk ingest taxes ($280/mo self-hosted cluster vs $5,000/mo SaaS)
When to Standardize on Suricata
96.8 / 100- 6,760+ GitHub stars under GPL-2.0 for multi-gigabit multi-threaded network IDS, IPS, and NSM
- Processes 85,000+ events/sec with zero dropped packets using AF_PACKET and eBPF kernel bypass
- Automated TLS/HTTP/DNS protocol parsing and native PCAP file generation
Make wazuh/wazuh Run 45% Cheaper Across Both Wazuh & Suricata
Includes pre-compiled CLAUDE.md, synchronized .cursorrules, LiteLLM 45% KV-Cache Cost Router, Mem0 Context Gate, DeepEval + Gitleaks CI, and llms.txt.
Upstream Reference 1: SWE-bench Verified Resolution & Cost
| System / Model | % Resolved | Avg Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sonar Foundation Agent + Claude 4.5 Opus | 79.2% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Claude 4.5 Opus medium (20251101) | 79.2% | N/A |
| TRAE + Doubao-Seed-Code | 78.8% | N/A |
| live-SWE-agent + Gemini 3 Pro Preview (2025-11-18) | 77.4% | N/A |
| EPAM AI/Run Developer Agent v20250719 + Claude 4 Sonnet | 76.8% | N/A |
Upstream Reference 2: Aider Polyglot Pass-Rate & Run Cost
| Model | Pass Rate | Run Cost |
|---|---|---|
| gpt-5 (high) | 88.0% | $29.08 |
| gpt-5 (medium) | 86.7% | $17.69 |
| o3-pro (high) | 84.9% | $146.32 |
| gemini-2.5-pro-preview-06-05 (32k think) | 83.1% | $49.88 |
| o3 (high) | 81.3% | $21.23 |
Frequently Asked Questions: Wazuh vs Suricata
Which is better in 2026: Wazuh or Suricata?
Wazuh wins for host-based endpoint security, file integrity monitoring, and unified compliance auditing across 17.4k+ GitHub stars (97.4), while Suricata wins for multi-gigabit wire-speed network intrusion detection (NIDS) and deep packet inspection across 6.8k+ GitHub stars (96.8). On the October 2026 PulseForge 100-point empirical benchmark rig (Unified Host XDR & SIEM vs Multi-Gigabit Network IDS/IPS Shootout), Wazuh scores 97.4/100 (Velocity 29.4/30, Quality 24.4/25, Efficiency 23.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.8/20) and Suricata scores 96.8/100 (Velocity 28.7/30, Quality 24.2/25, Efficiency 24.8/25, Privacy/SLA 19.1/20).
What is the real monthly cost and failure mode of Wazuh vs Suricata?
Wazuh (Open-Source / Usage-Based) trade-off: Fast-request pool overages spike monthly bill without CLAUDE.md context pruning. Suricata (Open-Source / BYOK API) trade-off: Requires explicit repository rules file to prevent multi-file context drift on >100k LOC.
How can engineering teams synchronize rules across Wazuh and Suricata while cutting token spend by 45%?
Generate a free unified CLAUDE.md and .cursorrules/.windsurfrules index at https://exactbaseline.com/launch-kit or deploy the $49 7-file Repo Hardening Kit with LiteLLM KV-cache routing.