Splunk and ELK Stack are two of the most widely used platforms in SOC environments, but they differ in approach, cost, and scalability. Splunk offers a powerful, enterprise-ready SIEM with advanced analytics, automation, and out-of-the-box integrations—making it ideal for organizations that want speed, reliability, and minimal maintenance. ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana), on the other hand, is open-source and highly customizable, giving SOC teams more flexibility and control at a lower cost. While Splunk excels in ease of use and large-scale performance, ELK is preferred by teams that want full customization and budget-friendly deployments.