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Cybersecurity · head to head

Acunetix vs Cortex

Acunetix logo

Acunetix

Cybersecurity

Web application security testing made easy

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Cortex logo

Cortex

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Acunetix pricing available by quote only; no transparent pricing published online; Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • They diverge on capability: Acunetix covers DAST scanning, Cortex covers Service catalogue.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Acunetix and Cortex actually diverge.

Attributes where Acunetix and Cortex differ
AttributeAcunetixCortex
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsDesktop, Web, ApiWeb, API
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2005Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Acunetix

  • DAST scanning
  • IAST technology
  • AcuSensor
  • JavaScript security
  • SQL injection testing
  • XSS detection
  • OWASP Top 10
  • API security testing

Only in Cortex

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards
  • Initiatives
  • Self-service templates
  • Query language
  • Eng intelligence
  • Integrations layer
  • On-call and ownership mapping

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Acunetix

  • Scanning web applications for security vulnerabilitiesnot Cortex
  • Testing APIs for exploitable weaknesses and threatsnot Cortex
  • Automating dynamic application security testing (DAST)not Cortex
  • Finding and validating security issues in production environmentsnot Cortex

Cortex

  • A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Acunetix
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Acunetix
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Acunetix
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Acunetix

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Acunetix

  • Pricing available by quote only; no transparent pricing published online
  • Requires per-application licenses for comprehensive coverage
  • Scanning speed and feature depth depend on subscription tier
  • Advanced features like API security testing may require higher-tier plans

Cortex

  • Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
  • The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
  • Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
  • It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
  • Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.

Pricing, plan by plan

Acunetix

On request
  • StandardFree
    • Single user
    • 5 targets
    • Scheduled scans
  • PremiumFree
    • Multiple users
    • Unlimited targets
    • CI/CD integration
  • Acunetix 360Free
    • Enterprise features
    • SDLC integration
    • Custom workflows

Cortex

On request
  • Cortex$undefined/year
    • Service catalogue and ownership mapping
    • Scorecards and initiatives
    • Self-service templates

Which should you pick?

Choose Acunetix if

  • You need dast scanning.
  • You work on Desktop, Web, Api.
  • You also want iast technology.
Acunetix review

Choose Cortex if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want scorecards.
Cortex review

Questions people ask

Is Acunetix or Cortex better?
Neither clearly leads. Acunetix starts at On request and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Acunetix or Cortex?
Acunetix starts at On request and Cortex at On request.
Does Acunetix or Cortex run on more platforms?
Acunetix runs on Desktop, Web, Api. Cortex runs on Web, API.
What is Acunetix best used for?
Acunetix is most often used for scanning web applications for security vulnerabilities, testing apis for exploitable weaknesses and threats, automating dynamic application security testing (dast), finding and validating security issues in production environments. Of those, scanning web applications for security vulnerabilities and testing apis for exploitable weaknesses and threats are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
What can Acunetix do that Cortex cannot?
Acunetix covers DAST scanning, IAST technology, AcuSensor, JavaScript security. Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Acunetix: How much does Invicti (formerly Acunetix) cost?

Invicti pricing is available by quote based on your organization's needs, application count, and required features. The platform offers 8x faster scanning compared to competitors and detects 99.98% of exploitable vulnerabilities. Contact Invicti sales for a custom pricing proposal.

Source
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?

Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.

Cortex: Is pricing published?

No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.

Cortex: Can it self-host?

It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.

Cortex: What is the main adoption risk?

Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.

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