8 Varonis alternatives worth evaluating in 2026

Protecting data now means protecting the identities that access it. According to the Netwrix 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report, cloud account compromise nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025 (from 16% to 46%), making identity the most frequent attack vector. Most data-security-only platforms still don't detect or respond to those identity-based attacks.

Varonis has been a capable data security platform for over a decade, with strong data visibility, classification, and threat detection across file servers, Microsoft 365, and hybrid environments. But teams evaluating their options in 2026 are weighing deployment complexity, detection-only threat response, pricing predictability, and changing vendor roadmaps alongside those core capabilities.

This guide compares eight Varonis alternatives across deployment flexibility, identity security depth, threat response, compliance, and total cost of ownership.

Why teams are evaluating Varonis alternatives

Varonis is a capable platform, but several factors are driving teams to evaluate alternatives in 2026.

• Deployment timelines and complexity: Organizations report typical Varonis deployment timelines of three to six months, with more complex environments occasionally extending toward eight to nine months. For lean security teams, that's a significant resource commitment before value is realized.
• On-premises roadmap: Varonis has announced December 31, 2026, as the end-of-life date for self-hosted and on-premises deployments. While Varonis launched a dedicated data center in Toronto in October 2023 for regulated-sector customers, data analysis still occurs in Varonis's cloud infrastructure.
• Identity security gaps: Varonis focuses on data security with limited native identity threat detection, privileged access management (PAM), or real-time blocking. It identifies threats but doesn't prevent them from wreaking havoc. For organizations that need Identity threat detection and response (ITDR) or PAM, alongside data security, that gap means additional vendors and additional complexity.

These factors don't all carry the same weight for every organization. The right alternative depends on where your data lives, how your team operates, and which capabilities matter most for your environment. Here's how to structure that evaluation.

Features to look for in Varonis alternatives

As you compare options, these are the criteria that tend to separate the field:

• Deployment model: Does the platform work where your data actually lives, whether that's on-premises, cloud, hybrid, or all three? Will it still support that model in three years?
• Identity security depth: Can it detect and respond to identity-based attacks, or does it only see data access after the fact?
• Threat response: Does it block threats in real time, or just detect and alert? For teams without 24/7 SOC coverage, that distinction matters.
• Coverage breadth: Does it span your full data estate, including file servers, Microsoft 365, cloud storage, databases, and endpoints?
• Compliance and auditability: Are reports audit-ready out of the box, or do they require manual formatting? Does the platform support your retention requirements?
• Total cost of ownership: How does pricing scale as data volumes grow? Per-user models tend to be more predictable than per-TB models.

With those criteria in mind, here are eight Varonis alternatives to consider if your current platform doesn't cover identity, data, and deployment flexibility together.

8 Varonis alternatives for hybrid security teams

1. Netwrix

Netwrix delivers data security that starts with identity, unifying DSPM, ITDR, PAM, and DLP across a flexible deployment model. The platform achieved Overall Leader designation in KuppingerCole's 2025 Data Security Platforms Leadership Compass, with recognition for deployment flexibility and interoperability.

Where Varonis focuses on data visibility and classification, Netwrix closes three gaps that drive most replacement evaluations. It adds native identity security to detect credential-based attacks, blocks threats in real time rather than just alerting on them, and maintains a long-term commitment to on-premises and hybrid deployment.

Key capabilities:

• Auto-discovery and classification of sensitive data across file servers, Microsoft 365, databases, and cloud storage via Netwrix 1Secure and Netwrix Access Analyzer
• Unified visibility into changes, access, and configurations across Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, file systems, and databases
• ITDR with real-time Active Directory attack prevention via Netwrix Threat Prevention, plus privileged access monitoring and attack path detection
• Active blocking that prevents policy-violating changes before they take effect, without requiring manual response or 24/7 SOC coverage
• Endpoint DLP across Windows, macOS, and Linux via Netwrix Endpoint Protector, a capability Varonis doesn't offer
• Flexible deployment supporting on-premises, hybrid, and cloud with an explicit commitment beyond 2026

Strengths:

• Netwrix 1Secure as the SaaS foundation: The 1Secure platform is Netwrix's SaaS offering, combining DSPM, ITDR, and compliance in a single cloud-delivered experience. It includes AI-based remediation, predefined reports across activity, compliance, and risk categories, and native multi-tenant support for MSPs.
• Deployment flexibility: On-premises, hybrid, and cloud options with long-term commitment to all three. Organizations choose their architecture based on their requirements, not the vendor's roadmap.
• Identity + data in one platform: Combines data security with identity security, PAM (via Netwrix Privilege Secure with zero standing privilege), and IGA. No need for multiple vendors.
• Real-time blocking: Netwrix Threat Prevention blocks AD attacks before they succeed. Detection-only platforms alert after damage has already occurred.
• Faster time to value: Netwrix Auditor deploys in as little as 30 minutes for on-premises environments. 1Secure eliminates infrastructure setup entirely as a SaaS platform.

That faster time to value isn't theoretical. First National Bank Minnesota, a community bank with offices across southern Minnesota, needed to rebuild its entire Active Directory infrastructure while securing sensitive customer data.

Using Netwrix Auditor and Netwrix Data Classification, the bank completed the AD rebuild in 3 weeks. Their previous estimate was 6 months. The same deployment discovered and classified sensitive data that was then moved to secure locations, and daily activity summaries now provide early warning for ransomware or insider misuse.

"It would have taken us at least six months to upgrade Active Directory," said Holly McCoy, Senior Information Systems Officer. "With Netwrix Auditor, it was a three-week project."

Best for: Organizations with 100 to 5,000 employees in regulated industries operating Microsoft-heavy environments, particularly those needing long-term on-premises or hybrid support.

2. Lepide

Lepide positions itself as a simplified auditing and compliance solution offering real-time change auditing, sensitive data discovery, and pre-configured compliance reporting for hybrid Microsoft environments.

Key capabilities:

• Real-time change auditing across Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, file servers, Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Exchange
• Compliance frameworks, including GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, and CCPA with audit-ready reporting
• AI-driven permissions management for identifying excessive access
• Microsoft 365 Copilot security monitoring

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Integration gaps with some third-party systems
• Limited graphical reporting
• Auditing-focused, with a narrower scope than platforms that include ITDR, PAM, or DLP capabilities

Best for: Organizations wanting simpler auditing and compliance solutions without heavy customization.

3. ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus provides focused Active Directory, Windows Server, and file server auditing with preconfigured compliance reports and real-time alerting, positioned as budget-friendly for small to midsize organizations.

Key capabilities:

• Detailed Active Directory change auditing
• Event-specific alerts with customizable thresholds
• Attack Surface Analyzer detects various Active Directory attack types
• Preconfigured compliance reports for SOX, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Detects and reports on events, but doesn't provide remediation or blocking capabilities
• Complexity increases with full feature utilization across larger environments
• Implementation can be challenging for hybrid environments
• No data classification, DLP, or PAM capabilities

Best for: Small to midsize organizations (100 to 1,000 employees) with budget constraints, focused on Active Directory and file server auditing for compliance.

4. Microsoft Purview

Microsoft Purview offers native data security, DLP, and compliance capabilities for organizations invested in the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystem, with AI workflow protection through Microsoft 365 Copilot integration.

Key capabilities:

• Unified DLP across Microsoft 365 services
• Advanced content inspection using machine learning and pattern matching
• AI workflow protection extending DLP controls to Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Compliance frameworks with continuous scanning

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Coverage weakens significantly outside the Microsoft ecosystem, leaving visibility gaps in on-premises file servers, non-Microsoft databases, and third-party cloud storage
• Limited Active Directory threat detection
• No on-premises deployment option

Best for: Microsoft-first organizations with 80%+ infrastructure in Microsoft 365 and Azure, comfortable with cloud-first deployment and willing to accept limited on-premises visibility.

5. BigID

BigID is an AI-driven DSPM platform built around data discovery, privacy compliance, and risk remediation. It's designed for large enterprises managing sensitive data at a petabyte scale across complex multi-cloud environments.

Key capabilities:

• AI-driven data discovery with built-in classifiers
• Identity-aware data mapping linking risk to real identities
• AI-guided risk remediation prioritizing and automating corrective actions
• Petabyte-scale capability across thousands of data sources

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Platform complexity can lead to lengthy deployment timelines, particularly in larger environments with diverse data sources
• Steeper learning curves for operations teams
• BigID doesn't offer ITDR, PAM, or real-time threat blocking

Best for: Large enterprises with privacy-first priorities, complex multi-cloud environments, and petabyte-scale data management requirements with dedicated security teams.

6. Cyera

Cyera is a cloud-native DSPM platform that uses AI-powered classification to discover and contextualize sensitive data across cloud environments. Backed by over $300M in Series C funding, Cyera has grown rapidly as organizations prioritize cloud data security posture.

Key capabilities:

• AI-driven data classification that maps sensitive data across cloud data stores without predefined rules
• Risk-contextualized data mapping that connects data exposure to business impact
• Data access governance with remediation workflows for reducing overexposure
• Coverage across major cloud platforms, including AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, plus SaaS applications

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Cloud-only: no on-premises deployment option, which limits fit for organizations with hybrid or on-prem data estates
• No identity security capabilities: Cyera doesn't offer ITDR, PAM, IGA, or Active Directory security
• Narrowly focused on data security posture: Organizations needing DLP, threat blocking, or compliance auditing will need additional tools

Best for: Cloud-first organizations seeking purpose-built DSPM with AI classification, comfortable managing data security and identity security through separate vendors.

7. Rubrik

Rubrik has expanded from backup and recovery into a broader cyber resilience platform, combining data protection with DSPM, data threat analytics, and data access governance. The platform serves over 6,000 organizations and has gained traction as ransomware recovery has moved from a backup concern to a board-level priority.

Key capabilities:

• Air-gapped, immutable backups with access controls designed to withstand ransomware and insider threats
• Data threat analytics with anomaly detection, threat monitoring, and threat hunting across backup data
• DSPM with data discovery, classification, and data access governance
• Cyber recovery simulation and threat containment to reduce recovery time and reinfection risk
• Coverage across enterprise VMs, databases, cloud workloads (AWS, Azure, GCP), SaaS, and unstructured NAS data

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Rubrik's core strength is recovery and resilience, not real-time threat prevention. It detects threats in backup data rather than blocking them before they succeed
• No Active Directory security, ITDR, PAM, or identity governance capabilities
• No endpoint DLP or real-time data loss prevention
• DSPM capabilities are newer additions to the platform. Organizations seeking mature data security posture management may find the functionality less developed than dedicated DSPM vendors

Best for: Organizations prioritizing cyber resilience and ransomware recovery alongside data security posture, particularly those already invested in Rubrik for backup and willing to consolidate around a recovery-first approach.

8. Wiz

Wiz is a cloud-native CNAPP combining DSPM and CSPM capabilities, employing agentless architecture optimized for multi-cloud deployments across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Key capabilities:

• Agentless architecture with API-based scanning for continuous discovery
• Tiered classification methodology balancing thoroughness with performance
• Wiz Security Graph correlating data discovery with identity permissions and vulnerabilities
• Multi-cloud coverage across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform

Tradeoffs to consider:

• Traditional file servers, on-premises databases, and AD environments are not supported
• No on-premises Active Directory security monitoring or ITDR capability
• Hybrid visibility is limited

Best for: Organizations with 80%+ workloads in public cloud, companies fully committed to cloud migration, and DevOps-driven organizations that have minimal on-premises infrastructure.

Choose the right Varonis alternative

The right Varonis alternative depends on where your data lives, how your team operates, and which security gaps matter most. There's no single answer, but the evaluation criteria in this guide should help narrow the field.

For teams that need data security and identity security to work together, Netwrix combines DSPM, ITDR, PAM, and DLP in a single platform. It blocks AD attacks in real time, supports on-premises, hybrid, and cloud deployment, and deploys faster than legacy alternatives.

The best way to evaluate that claim is to see it against your own environment. Request a Netwrix demo and see how one platform covers what others need three or four tools to do.

Disclaimer: Information in this article was verified as of February 2026. Verify current capabilities directly with each vendor.