Varonis alternatives in 2025 address high costs, alert fatigue, and agent complexity. Explore seven enterprise-grade platforms delivering proactive, scalable, real-time data protection.
While Varonis has long been a go-to for data security and access governance, the demands of modern, complex IT environments are causing many enterprise buyers to seek more agile and efficient alternatives. As organizations grapple with sprawling hybrid networks, legacy mainframes, and cloud-native applications, the limitations of traditional, agent-based architectures are becoming clear. Challenges like high operational overhead, significant alert fatigue, prohibitive costs, and a reactive security posture are driving the need for a new approach – hence the search for Varonis alternatives.
This guide provides a direct comparison of some of the top Varonis alternatives in 2025. We’ll analyze seven industry-leading solutions and provide an actionable checklist to help you select a platform that delivers proactive, scalable, and truly frictionless data security.
Varonis is resource-intensive, requiring a dedicated team of skilled staff for initial setup, configuration, and ongoing policy tuning. Both detailed analysis and user feedback highlight that Varonis is not a "set it and forget it" solution, and its complex user interface adds to the management burden.
A primary user complaint is that the system generates a high volume of alerts, many of which are false positives. This creates significant "alert fatigue," forcing security teams to spend excessive time manually investigating and tuning the system, which diminishes its value and can cause genuine threats to be missed.
Varonis has a high and often opaque TCO. The cost is driven by a complex subscription model, expensive professional services required for deployment, and the significant recurring cost of the internal team needed to manage the platform's complexity and alert volume effectively.
While Varonis has recently introduced a new, agentless, cloud-native database security platform, its traditional agent-based architecture—which remains the core for most deployments—struggles to provide effective coverage for non-traditional systems. It has limited to no support for legacy mainframes and less mature capabilities for modern containerized and serverless workloads, creating critical security gaps in diverse, hybrid IT environments.
Varonis excels at auditing, visibility, and detecting anomalous access after it occurs (a reactive posture). Organizations seeking to proactively protect the data itself (i.e., rendering it useless to an attacker even if exfiltrated via tokenization or masking) will find Varonis's focus on access control and alerting insufficient for a data-centric security model.
Enterprise-grade security must integrate without disrupting business operations or degrading performance. A truly scalable solution should operate at the network layer, eliminating the need for brittle, high-maintenance agents and complex code alterations, which ensures zero performance impact on protected systems.
Relying on reactive alerts for events that have already happened is an outdated model. A modern security platform must neutralize data in real-time as it moves through the network. Look for active protection methods like tokenization and format-preserving encryption that de-identify sensitive data before it's stored, rendering it useless if a breach occurs.
Security cannot have blind spots. A scalable platform must provide consistent, centralized policy enforcement across the entire hybrid environment (i.e., from the newest cloud services to the oldest mission-critical legacy systems) without requiring system-specific integrations or modifications.
Enterprise security should not require a massive, multi-quarter implementation project. A friction-free, network-based architecture allows for rapid, non-disruptive deployment, enabling the organization to achieve a faster time-to-value and adapt quickly to new security requirements without complex planning.
Scalability is not just about handling more data; it's about doing so efficiently. An enterprise-grade solution should not require a dedicated team to manage alert fatigue or tune complex policies. Security should be automated and operate invisibly, strengthening your security posture without adding to the IT team's workload.
DataStealth is a real-time data security platform. Its unique strength is a patented, agentless architecture that discovers, classifies, and protects sensitive data as it moves across the network. It requires no code, collectors, or installations on databases or applications, eliminating deployment friction and performance overhead.
It uses dynamic protection methods like format-preserving encryption and tokenization to secure data without breaking business processes. This proactive, in-flight security posture is a fundamental departure from traditional, at-rest scanning and auditing tools, which are reactive by nature and focus on generating reports rather than applying protection.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): DataStealth provides a lower TCO compared to traditional agent-based solutions. This is achieved by eliminating software licensing complexity, the need for additional server infrastructure, costly professional services for deployment, and the ongoing administrative burden of managing agents and collectors.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is extremely easy. As a network-based appliance with a zero-footprint architecture, it does not require any agents, code changes, or complex configurations on existing systems. This allows for rapid, non-disruptive implementation across the enterprise.
BigID is a data intelligence platform known for its deep data discovery and classification. It excels at scanning and cataloging complex data estates, helping enterprises address critical privacy, security, and governance challenges. By inventorying sensitive data, BigID helps automate compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
The platform’s extensible app marketplace allows for tailored remediation and governance, but this power introduces complexity requiring dedicated staff. This operational overhead is a key difference from friction-free, agentless architectures like DataStealth's, which are designed for zero-touch management and a lower total cost of ownership.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): BigID's TCO is considered high. Pricing is typically based on the volume of data sources and the number of applications used. The total cost must factor in not only the software licensing but also the significant investment in infrastructure (for both on-premises and cloud scanning), as well as the specialized personnel required for deployment, configuration, and ongoing management.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is rated as moderately to highly complex. While it has connectors for many common data stores, the process involves setting up and configuring these connectors, and in many cases, deploying agents. This can be a time-consuming process requiring careful planning and coordination with IT and data source owners. This contrasts sharply with friction-free, agentless solutions that require no installations or code. That said, BigID deployment complexity can be lower in cloud-only or API-only environments.
Egnyte provides a unified platform for content security, governance, and collaboration, managing the full lifecycle of critical content. Its core strength blends robust security with user-friendly cloud collaboration. It offers granular access controls, automated classification, and threat detection, consolidating multiple tools into one centrally managed solution.
Favored by regulated industries, Egnyte offers a flexible hybrid deployment model (cloud, on-premises, or both) to meet compliance needs. However, its file-centric architecture requires agents for on-premises sources, adding friction. This differs from DataStealth's agentless, network-based model that protects data in-flight and at-rest without requiring migration. It should also be noted that Egnyte is specifically a file-centric solution, not a database security tool. If the latter is also needed, then a more scalable, overarching solution is required.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Egnyte's TCO is generally considered mid-to-high range. The pricing model is primarily per-user, per-month, with different tiers based on features and storage. The total cost includes the base user licenses plus any additional costs for advanced security and compliance features, as well as the administrative overhead of managing the platform and its on-premises agents.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is relatively straightforward for cloud-only scenarios. However, for hybrid deployments that connect to on-premises file servers, it requires the installation and configuration of Egnyte's Storage Sync software. While not as complex as some enterprise solutions, this agent-based approach adds a layer of friction and is less seamless than a purely agentless architecture.
Netwrix Auditor provides visibility into user behavior and system changes across hybrid IT environments. It is adopted by organizations to detect security threats, prove compliance, and increase IT team productivity. Its strength lies in comprehensive auditing of changes and access events in Active Directory, file servers, and more.
The platform focuses on answering who changed what, where, and when. This audit-centric model, which uses data collectors and agents for some sources, differs from DataStealth’s proactive, real-time protection. Netwrix reports on events after they occur, while a friction-free, agentless solution like DataStealth secures the data itself as it moves, preventing misuse.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Netwrix Auditor's TCO is in the mid-range. Licensing is typically based on the number of active user accounts in the audited environment. The total cost must include the server infrastructure to run the platform and the significant administrative time required for initial configuration, tuning, and ongoing report management. That said, Netwrix is more suitable as a compliance evidence and change tracking tool, not a data security solution.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is moderately complex. It requires installing the main application on a dedicated server and configuring data collection from each target system. While it can operate without agents in some scenarios (e.g., Microsoft 365), for on-premises environments, agents and collectors are typically required, adding deployment and management overhead.
SolarWinds Access Rights Manager (ARM) is designed to manage and audit user access rights within corporate networks. It’s primarily chosen for its ability to simplify permissions management for Microsoft environments (Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint). Its key strength is providing a centralized view of permissions to help prevent data leaks and generate compliance reports.
ARM focuses on controlling who can access what, automating user provisioning and identifying misconfigured permissions. Its agent-based collectors and focus on access control lists (ACLs) contrasts with DataStealth’s data-centric approach, which secures the data itself through methods like tokenization, protecting it even if permissions fail.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): The TCO for SolarWinds ARM is in the mid-range. It is often sold as part of the broader SolarWinds product ecosystem. Costs include the software license, annual maintenance, and the internal IT resources required for deployment and ongoing administration of the collectors and server.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is moderately complex. It requires a central server and the rollout of data collectors to the relevant domain controllers and file servers. The configuration of credentials and scan jobs for each data source adds a layer of friction not present in truly agentless, zero-installation architectures. Overall, SolarWinds ARM is primarily meant for excelling in Microsoft-centric environments.
IBM StoredIQ is an enterprise information governance platform for managing unstructured data at a massive scale. Organizations use it to analyze and classify data in-place for eDiscovery, regulatory compliance, and data lifecycle management. Its strength is its ability to handle petabyte-scale environments and perform deep analysis for legal and remediation purposes.
This is a heavyweight, legacy solution designed for complex data challenges in the largest enterprises. Its architecture requires significant hardware for indexing and processing, and for certain use cases, agents (like the Desktop Data Collector for remote endpoints). This high-friction model contrasts starkly with DataStealth’s zero-footprint architecture that provides security without massive infrastructure investment.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): The TCO for IBM StoredIQ is very high. It is one of the more expensive solutions in the market, with costs encompassing substantial software licenses, extensive hardware requirements for indexers, and the ongoing expense of highly skilled administrators or consultants needed to operate it effectively.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is extremely complex and time-consuming. It is a major enterprise project that can take many months and requires significant investment in planning, infrastructure setup, and professional services from IBM or a certified partner. It is not a solution that can be deployed quickly or easily. That said, it is offered as a niche solution for enterprises with very specific needs, such as legacy system protection.
Fortra Data Classification Suite (built from the acquisitions of Titus and Boldon James) is a user-driven data protection solution. It is adopted by enterprises to enforce information handling policies and increase security awareness. Its primary strength lies in involving the end-user to identify and classify data (e.g., Public, Internal, Confidential) at the point of creation within applications like Microsoft Office and Outlook, applying both visual labels and persistent metadata.
This "at-creation," user- and agent-centric approach relies on endpoint agents to prompt and enforce classification. This architecture is fundamentally different from a network-based, friction-free solution like DataStealth. Fortra aims to build a security-conscious culture and tag data for downstream tools (like DLP), whereas DataStealth operates invisibly to the user, applying real-time, automated protection to sensitive data in-flight without requiring any endpoint software or user interaction.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): The TCO for Fortra's solution is high. Costs include per-user software licensing, annual maintenance, and the significant IT resources required for the initial phased deployment, configuration of complex policies, and ongoing management of endpoint agents across the enterprise. The "soft cost" of user training and potential productivity impact must also be considered.
Ease of Deployment: Deployment is complex and lengthy. It is a major project that often takes 6-12 months for a large enterprise. The process involves designing a classification schema, configuring detailed policies, and rolling out agent software to thousands of desktops, which is a high-friction approach compared to agentless, zero-installation solutions.
The fundamental difference between DataStealth and Varonis lies in their security philosophy and architectural approach.
Choosing the right alternative to Varonis depends on how your enterprise defines security success. If your primary need is visibility and auditing, tools like Netwrix or SolarWinds may fit. If you want to strengthen compliance, BigID or Fortra’s Data Classification Suite can deliver. But if your organization is looking to shift away from reactive, agent-heavy platforms toward proactive, real-time data protection, then solutions like DataStealth represent a fundamentally different path forward.
To move ahead:
The right Varonis alternative will not only reduce operational costs and alert fatigue, but also strengthen your security posture by protecting sensitive data in real-time.
If you’d like a deeper dive into how DataStealth can deliver frictionless, enterprise-grade protection across your environment, schedule a demo today.
Bilal is the Content Strategist at DataStealth. He's a recognized defence and security analyst who's researching the growing importance of cybersecurity and data protection in enterprise-sized organizations.
