Security Operations
SOAR Tools Compared: 6 Security Automation Platforms for 2026
Run isolate, revoke, and the case note without copy-paste from the wiki. A second SIEM will not do that.
Expertise: Security Operations · Level: Intermediate · 6 min read
The wiki said isolate. The alert fired, the dashboard updated, and isolate still lived in a PDF. Nobody ran the step from the console that night.
NIST SP 800-61 Rev. 3 (April 2025) says playbooks should be actionable steps people perform during a scenario, not a document the on-call retypes. A runner you host, playbooks locked inside the SIEM you already pay for, and non-security automation are different installs.
Triage that shows the query lives on AI SOC tools. The case record lives on incident management tools. This list is the hop that revokes, isolates, and writes the note without that copy-paste.
How we evaluated
We read first-party docs, source, licenses, and release notes, and we treat a marketing page as a claim, not as proof that two products do the same work.
We cared about whether the workflow is a file you can read, whether you operate the runner, whether the product is security-native or a general automator, and whether the docs name an integration you can call without a services week. Torq missed because public pricing is quote-only and Tines already covers that commercial story.
We read first-party docs, licenses, and release notes. Unless a write-up says otherwise, we did not run a paid tenant.
| Tool | Best for | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Shuffle | Open SOAR you can host | JSON workflows · AGPL-3.0 · you host it or their cloud |
| StackStorm | Event-driven packs you operate | Packs on events · Apache-2.0 · you operate the cluster |
| n8n | General workflows a security team already runs | Visual HTTP nodes · Sustainable Use License · you host it or their cloud |
| Splunk SOAR | Playbooks next to a Splunk SIEM | Playbooks next to Splunk · commercial |
| Cortex XSOAR | Enterprise playbook option | Marketplace plus cases · commercial · on-prem or cloud |
| Tines | Story-based commercial workflows | Stories you can read · commercial · no SIEM lock |
Shuffle
Best for open SOAR you can host
Shuffle is an open security automation platform. Workflows are JSON. Apps wrap APIs. You can host it, or you can buy their cloud if you do not want the box.
You can read the workflow. That is the product. It is not a SIEM, and it is not a case desk. The AI SOC list already uses Shuffle as an entry. SOAR is the automation option.
Key features
- Open workflows you can export as JSON
- App generator against OpenAPI
- Self-host or Shuffle Cloud
- Built for security queues, not marketing ops
Why we like it
A playbook you can export is a playbook you can review. You can run it on a host you own.
Limits
You own connectors that are not in the app store. AGPL-3.0 means network use has a share obligation. Cloud pricing is on their site and changes.
StackStorm
Best for event-driven packs you operate
StackStorm is event-driven automation. Sensors, rules, and actions live in packs. The project is Apache-2.0. Extreme Networks still publishes the product page.
When the trigger is a bus event and not a human clicking Run, this is the practical model. The pack format is what you grep. It is not a SOC case system.
Key features
- Packs for common infra APIs
- Rules on events, not only a button
- ChatOps hooks
- You operate the cluster
Why we like it
Rules on events match infra you already run. You are not pretending a button is a sensor.
Limits
Security-specific packs are thinner than the enterprise shelves. You staff the box. The UI is not a case desk.
n8n
Best for general workflows a security team already runs
n8n is a general automator. Security teams use it because the node list already talks to Slack, Jira, and HTTP. The source is visible. The license is not OSI Apache.
It is already in the building. That is why it is on a SOAR list. Treat it as a workflow runner, not as a case manager, because a marketing node catalog will not write your isolate step.
Key features
- Visual editor with HTTP nodes
- Self-host or n8n Cloud
- Credentials stored in the instance
- Huge node catalog
Why we like it
Using the automator you already staff beats inventing a parallel runner nobody opens.
Limits
The Sustainable Use License restricts offering n8n as a competing hosted product. It is not a SOC platform. You design the failure path.
Splunk SOAR
Best for playbooks next to a Splunk SIEM
Splunk SOAR is the Phantom product under the Splunk name. Playbooks sit next to the SIEM you already pay for.
If the SIEM is already Splunk, this is the option most procurement already wrote down. We list it so the open tools have a known neighbor. The query still lives in the SIEM.
Key features
- Playbook editor
- Apps for common security tools
- Case and event frames
- Splunk estate integration
Why we like it
Buying the runner next to the console you already staff is the practical commercial path.
Limits
Price rides the Splunk contract. Community playbooks still need your credentials and your review.
Cortex XSOAR
Best for enterprise playbook option
Cortex XSOAR is the known enterprise SOAR. Palo Alto publishes playbooks, a marketplace, and a case product.
The value is content and connectors, not a novel architecture. A steering committee already knows the name. You still tune the playbook, because a marketplace pack is not your revoke call.
Key features
- Playbook marketplace
- Case management
- Large integration list
- On-prem or cloud
Why we like it
Content and connectors are the job those estates already bought. Naming the option gives the open runners a commercial neighbor.
Limits
You buy the platform and the time to tune playbooks. Public pages do not replace a scoped demo.
Tines
Best for story-based commercial workflows
Tines sells stories: boxes and arrows a human can read. The homepage is security automation without a lock that says you must own a SIEM.
The story is the artifact. That is easier to review than a Python pack nobody owns. You do not get an AGPL dump, so you buy the workbench, not the source tree.
Key features
- Story editor
- No-code HTTP and mail
- Team workbench
- Audit of what a story did
Why we like it
A workflow a reviewer can follow is the commercial job when you will not host Shuffle.
Limits
Features sit behind a sales motion. It is not a case desk unless you build that story.
What we left out
- Torq. Teams want a no-code commercial SOAR that already talks to the queue. Public pages are quote-led and Tines already covers that commercial story builder.
- Swimlane. Large shops already wrote the name on an RFP. It is an enterprise platform this page cannot price, and Cortex XSOAR already covers the commercial SOAR many shops already named.
StackStorm still shows up on HN as the event-driven pack runner people already operate. Read the thread for the resume-driven warning, not as a score.
Questions before you buy
Ask these before the quote. A product that cannot answer them is selling a different control.
- Can this runner call an API I already own without a professional-services week?
- Do we operate the workflow store, or are we buying a hosted product we cannot export?
- Is this a security playbook, a general automator, or both, and which one is already paid for?
Pick a runner you can read. Start with the SIEM playbooks you already paid for before you add a fourth workflow.
FAQs
Does SOAR replace the SIEM?
No. SOAR acts. SIEM stores and detects. If the hole is ingest, open SIEM alternatives.
Is n8n a SOAR?
No. It is a general automator that security teams already run. It is on this list because that is the install that matches how the stack is already split, not because it is a case system.
Is this a scored bake-off?
No. Order is editorial.
Can I skip the open tools if I already pay for XSOAR?
You can. You still need a playbook that calls revoke and isolate. The license does not do that work.
