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QRadar uses custom pricing as of May 2026. Contact QRadar directly for a personalized quote. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.

Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.

  • Free tier: No free tier available

QRadar offers 1 pricing tiers: Enterprise.

Compared to other siem software, QRadar is positioned at the budget-friendly price point.

  • 2 documented hidden costs beyond list price
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How much does QRadar cost?

QRadar uses custom pricing across 1 plan. Contact QRadar directly for a personalized quote. Plans include Enterprise (custom pricing).

QRadar Pricing Overview

QRadar uses custom pricing — contact their sales team for a quote. The Enterprise plan requires contacting sales for a custom quote.

There are at least 2 documented hidden costs beyond QRadar's list price, including implementation, training, and add-on fees.

This pricing was last verified in May 18, 2026.

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QRadar uses custom enterprise pricing based on Events Per Second (EPS) and Flows Per Minute (FPM) for the traditional SIEM platform. IBM also offers QRadar Log Insights, a cloud-native log management solution starting at $2.14/GB/day with volume-based discounts. Mid-size deployments typically exceed $1 million annually.

How QRadar Pricing Compares

Compare QRadar pricing against top alternatives in SIEM.

Elastic Security $95-$175/month per resource View pricing → Microsoft Sentinel $2.46-$5.2/GB ingested View pricing → Splunk Enterprise Security $150-$2000/GB/day View pricing →

All QRadar Plans & Pricing

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Enterprise

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Compare QRadar with alternativesAdjust seats, lock a tier, add up to 2 more products side-by-side. Shareable URL.

Compare QRadar vs Alternatives

Before committing to QRadar, compare pricing with these 3 alternatives in the same category.

VSElastic Security
From $95/month per resource

Small teams getting started with security operations and log analytics

Compare pricing
VSMicrosoft Sentinel
From $2.46/GB ingested

Organizations with variable or unpredictable security data volumes

Compare pricing
VSSplunk Enterprise Security
From $150/GB/day

Small to medium security teams with 1-10 GB/day data volume

Compare pricing

All QRadar alternatives & migration guides

What Companies Actually Pay for QRadar

Review scores
Top pricing complaints
Outdated technology not optimized for cloud environmentsFrequent patch/update failures requiring vendor supportComplex EPS/FPM licensing modelProduct investment declined after IBM acquisition

QRadar Year 1 Total Cost by Company Size

Real deployment costs including licenses, implementation, training, and admin — not just the sticker price.

Mid-Size Enterprise Deployment $1,000,000 Year 1 total

Traditional QRadar SIEM deployment for mid-sized organization with standard log sources and EPS requirements.

QRadar Log Insights - Cloud Native $2 Year 1 total

Cloud-based log management starting tier with 90-day retention included.

Reddit comment: 'Check out Qradar and arcsite million plus easy on a mid size environment'

How QRadar Pricing Compares

Software Starting Price Top Price
QRadar Custom Custom
ArcSight Custom Custom
Elastic Security $95/month per resource $175/month per resource
IBM QRadar $5000/annual enterprise $250000/annual enterprise
LogRhythm Custom Custom
Microsoft Sentinel $2.46/GB ingested $5.2/GB ingested

Browse all SIEM pricing →

2 QRadar Hidden Costs Beyond the List Price

Beyond the listed price, QRadar has at least 2 documented hidden costs that can significantly increase total cost of ownership.

Watch for 2 hidden costs
  • Patch and Update Support Costs 10-20% of license costs
    high 1 source
    Reddit "Every time we patched/updated the Q something broke and required support. EVERY TIME. And it took TAC awhile to figure out what went wrong."
  • EPS and FPM Licensing Complexity 5-15% of license costs
    medium 2 sources
    Reddit "Especially how EPS is measured and some of the licensing BS."
    Reddit "Bandwidth and EPS pricing models can be a bit tricky, as your customer could accidentally trigger an edge case that floods your system and potentially costs you a good chunk of change."
Tip

Ask your QRadar sales rep about these costs upfront. Getting them in writing before signing can save you from surprise charges later.

Full hidden costs breakdown →

Intelligence sourced from 1 independent sources
Reddit User discussions
Key claims include inline source attribution. Data verified against multiple independent sources. 4 source citations total.

How to Negotiate QRadar Pricing

QRadar contracts are negotiable. These 1 tactics are sourced from real buyer experiences and procurement specialists.

Negotiation Playbook 1 tactics
Compare Against Competitive SIEM Pricing medium success

QRadar pricing is frequently compared to Splunk and FortiSIEM. Use competitive quotes to negotiate better EPS/FPM rates or volume discounts.

Reddit discussions noting pricing parity with other enterprise SIEMs
High success Medium Low / difficult

Full negotiation guide →

QRadar Pricing FAQ

01 What is QRadar's pricing model?

QRadar uses an Events Per Second (EPS) and Flows Per Minute (FPM) licensing model for the traditional SIEM. The cloud-native QRadar Log Insights product uses per-GB-per-day pricing starting at $2.14/GB/day. Both models include volume-based discounts.

02 How does QRadar pricing compare to Splunk?

QRadar and Splunk are generally priced similarly for comparable EPS capacity, though actual costs depend on negotiated discounts. Both are considered expensive compared to newer SIEM alternatives. Mid-size deployments can easily exceed $1 million annually.

03 Does QRadar require ongoing support costs?

Yes, QRadar deployments frequently require vendor support, especially after patches and updates. Users report that patches often cause issues requiring Technical Assistance Center (TAC) involvement, which can extend resolution times.

04 Is QRadar still being actively developed by IBM?

IBM has reduced investment in traditional QRadar SIEM, with cloud customers being migrated to Palo Alto XSIAM following a partnership deal. However, IBM continues to develop QRadar Log Insights as a cloud-native alternative.

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