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Malcolm vs Packetbeat: catalog facts
Malcolm	Packetbeat
Free Free to use; the source is published on GitHub by CISA.	Free Free to download; paid Elastic offerings exist for the wider stack.
Linux, Self-hosted	Command line
Brings PCAP, Zeek and Suricata data together in one searchable interface Deployable with Docker, Kubernetes or an installable ISO	Decodes many application protocols Passive capture with no latency added
A large multi-container stack that needs substantial server resources Aimed at trained analysts rather than casual home users	Needs Elasticsearch or Logstash to be useful Agent with no interface of its own
Self-hosted	Downloadable app
Open source	Closed source
License not stated	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.