SOAR Pricing FAQ 2026
The 15 questions buyers ask most often, with sourced answers. All entries map to a deeper page on the site.
The questions
Each accordion expands to the answer.
How much does SOAR cost per year?+
From $0 (Shuffle open-source self-host or Tines / Splunk SOAR / Cortex XSOAR Community Editions) to $1.5M+ for enterprise deployments. The realistic mid-market envelope is $80K to $300K/yr including licence and hidden costs.
Which SOAR vendors publish pricing?+
Only Shuffle (open-source) publishes a true list rate. Tines, Splunk SOAR, and Cortex XSOAR publish a free Community tier but quote-only above that. The remaining 12 vendors we track are fully quote-only.
Is SOAR more expensive than SIEM?+
No, typically the reverse. Mid-market SIEM envelopes run $120K to $500K/yr versus $80K to $300K for SOAR. See /soar-vs-siem and sister site siemcostcalculator.com.
Is open-source SOAR viable?+
Yes for the right organisation. Shuffle has a genuine $0 licence floor; the real cost is engineering time. Year-one TCO at mid-market is still typically $150K to $200K. See /open-source-soar.
What is the difference between SOAR and XDR?+
XDR includes integrated response on a single vendor's stack. SOAR is vendor-neutral orchestration that talks to anything via API. Single-vendor stacks can sometimes skip SOAR; multi-vendor stacks usually cannot. See /soar-vs-xdr.
Is SOAR cheaper than MDR?+
Depends on SOC size and hiring conditions. Build (SOAR + analysts) costs predictably but needs 24x7 staffing. Buy (MDR) trades fixed monthly cost for hiring risk. See /soar-vs-mdr.
How long does SOAR implementation take?+
Four to eight months from kick-off to genuine SOC value. Integration is the most common overrun phase, typically because API auth tokens and access reviews take longer to obtain than the connector build itself. See /implementation-cost.
What is the most expensive hidden SOAR cost?+
Integration recertification at year two and beyond. Every connector needs ongoing test as upstream APIs evolve. Plan for ~$4,500/yr per integration as a planning anchor. See /hidden-costs.
What is a SOAR playbook?+
A scripted automation flow that takes an alert through enrichment, decision, and response. Average build effort is ~50 senior-engineer hours per playbook. See /soar-playbooks.
Which SOAR is best for SMBs?+
Shuffle (open-source) is the strongest fit for SMBs with an engineer who can operate it. Tines Community is the strongest no-code starter. See /best-soar-tools.
Which SOAR is best for enterprises?+
Cortex XSOAR for Palo Alto-aligned shops; Splunk SOAR for Splunk shops; Swimlane for vendor-neutral large enterprises. See /best-soar-tools.
Do I need both a SIEM and a SOAR?+
Most mature SOCs end up with both. SIEM is detection and storage, SOAR is response automation. They sit at different layers and the case for owning both grows with SOC size. See /soar-vs-siem.
What is the ROI argument for SOAR?+
Four anchor arguments: MTTR compression, analyst-hour reclaim, breach-cost avoidance (anchored to IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025), insider-risk containment (anchored to Ponemon 2026 Cost of Insider Risks). See /soar-roi.
Is Splunk SOAR still independent after the Cisco acquisition?+
Cisco completed the Splunk acquisition in March 2024. The product is still actively developed and sold, but bundling with Cisco security increasingly affects pricing posture. See /splunk-soar-pricing.
What about Chronicle SOAR and the Siemplify roots?+
Google acquired Siemplify in January 2022 and rebranded as Chronicle SOAR. The product now ships almost exclusively inside the Google Security Operations bundle. See /chronicle-soar-pricing.