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Cybersecurity · head to head

Beyond Identity vs VMware Carbon Black

Beyond Identity logo

Beyond Identity

Cybersecurity

Phishing-resistant passwordless authentication with device trust enforced at every login

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
V

VMware Carbon Black

Cybersecurity

Cloud-delivered endpoint protection and EDR, now owned by Broadcom and positioned alongside Symantec.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Beyond Identity it is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.; VMware Carbon Black broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.
  • They diverge on capability: Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Beyond Identity and VMware Carbon Black actually diverge.

Attributes where Beyond Identity and VMware Carbon Black differ
AttributeBeyond IdentityVMware Carbon Black
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidDesktop, Api
FoundedUnknown2002

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

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 Beyond Identity

  • Device-bound credentials
  • Continuous device posture
  • No shared secrets
  • Identity provider integration
  • Secure developer signing
  • Administrator policy engine

Only in VMware Carbon Black

  • Endpoint Standard
  • Enterprise EDR
  • Audit and Remediation
  • Single sensor
  • Live Response
  • Workload protection
  • Container security
  • Watchlists and feeds

What people use each for

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

Beyond Identity

  • An organisation that suffered a breach through MFA push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineerednot VMware Carbon Black
  • A software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patchesnot VMware Carbon Black
  • A firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systemsnot VMware Carbon Black
  • A security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on topnot VMware Carbon Black

VMware Carbon Black

  • A SOC that wants unfiltered endpoint telemetry to hunt over rather than only vendor-generated alertsnot Beyond Identity
  • A vSphere estate that wants workload protection deployed through the hypervisor instead of installing an agent in every guestnot Beyond Identity
  • Replacing signature antivirus after an incident where the incumbent product had no record of what the attacker didnot Beyond Identity
  • An organisation already inside a Broadcom or Symantec enterprise agreement that can consolidate endpoint onto an existing contractnot Beyond Identity

Where each one falls short

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

Beyond Identity

  • It is an authentication layer, not an identity provider, so you keep and keep paying for Okta or Entra ID underneath and the combined per-user cost is roughly double a single-vendor approach.
  • Every device that authenticates needs the platform authenticator installed, which makes onboarding contractors, third parties and shared kiosks awkward and sometimes impossible.
  • Pricing is quoted per user with no published rates, so buyers cannot benchmark it against the increasingly capable passkey support now included in identity provider base licences.
  • Losing all enrolled devices requires an administrative recovery path, and organisations that design that path poorly reintroduce a social-engineering target at the helpdesk.
  • Legacy applications that only speak passwords or older protocols need a federation shim or stay outside the policy, so coverage is rarely complete in an estate with old systems.

VMware Carbon Black

  • Broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.
  • Continuous EDR recording is retained for a defined window and longer retention is a paid tier, so the investigation you most need is often the one whose telemetry has already aged out, and that is discovered during the incident rather than before it.
  • The product assumes an operator: watchlists, policy tuning and alert triage are ongoing work, and organisations without a dedicated analyst or an MDR contract typically leave policies in monitor mode and pay for telemetry that is never reviewed.
  • The sensor operates in the same kernel and file-filter territory as other endpoint agents, so running it alongside an incumbent antivirus, DLP or backup agent commonly produces performance complaints and requires maintained exclusion lists on both sides.
  • Linux sensor support is tied to specific distribution and kernel versions, so a routine operating system upgrade can leave hosts without a supported sensor until a matching build ships, and anything outside the supported list gets no coverage at all.

Pricing, plan by plan

Beyond Identity

On request
  • Secure Access Platform$undefined/year
    • Per-user annual subscription quoted by seat count
    • Deployed alongside an existing identity provider rather than replacing it
    • Device posture integrations with major EDR and MDM vendors included

VMware Carbon Black

On request
  • CB Endpoint StandardFree
    • NGAV
    • Behavioral EDR
    • Device control
  • CB Endpoint AdvancedFree
    • All Standard features
    • Threat hunting
    • Audit and remediation
  • CB Endpoint EnterpriseFree
    • All Advanced features
    • Advanced threat hunting
    • Live response

Which should you pick?

Choose Beyond Identity if

  • You need device-bound credentials.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want continuous device posture.
Beyond Identity review

Choose VMware Carbon Black if

  • You need endpoint standard.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want enterprise edr.
VMware Carbon Black review

Questions people ask

Is Beyond Identity or VMware Carbon Black better?
Neither clearly leads. Beyond Identity starts at On request and VMware Carbon Black at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Beyond Identity or VMware Carbon Black?
Beyond Identity starts at On request and VMware Carbon Black at On request.
Does Beyond Identity or VMware Carbon Black run on more platforms?
Beyond Identity runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. VMware Carbon Black runs on Desktop, Api.
What is Beyond Identity best used for?
Beyond Identity is most often used for an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered, a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches, a firm with contractors on unmanaged laptops that must meet posture requirements before reaching internal systems, a security team wanting to remove passwords from the helpdesk workload rather than adding another factor on top. Of those, an organisation that suffered a breach through mfa push fatigue and needs a factor that cannot be socially engineered and a software company enforcing that code is only signed from a managed device with current patches are not what VMware Carbon Black is typically brought in for.
What can Beyond Identity do that VMware Carbon Black cannot?
Beyond Identity covers Device-bound credentials, Continuous device posture, No shared secrets, Identity provider integration. VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard, Enterprise EDR, Audit and Remediation, Single sensor.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Beyond Identity: Does it replace Okta or Entra ID?

No. It sits in front of them as the authentication method. Budget for both.

VMware Carbon Black: Who owns Carbon Black now?

Broadcom. It acquired VMware in November 2023, and Carbon Black now sits in Broadcom's enterprise security business alongside Symantec. VMware branding is being phased out.

Beyond Identity: What happens when a user loses their laptop?

They authenticate from another enrolled device, or go through an administrative recovery flow. Designing that recovery well matters, because it is the weakest point.

VMware Carbon Black: Why do the docs use names I do not recognise?

The product has been renamed repeatedly. CB Defense is now Endpoint Standard, CB ThreatHunter is Enterprise EDR and CB LiveOps is Audit and Remediation. Older community answers and runbooks still use the previous names.

Beyond Identity: Is it different from passkeys?

The credential mechanism is similar in spirit. The difference is enforcing device security posture at every authentication, which standard passkeys do not do.

VMware Carbon Black: Does it replace my existing antivirus?

Yes on supported Windows, macOS and Linux versions, and running it alongside another antivirus is not recommended because the two agents contend for the same hooks. Check your compliance requirements, as some auditors still ask for a named antivirus product.

VMware Carbon Black: Do I need a full-time analyst to run it?

To get value from Enterprise EDR, effectively yes. The prevention tier can run with part-time attention, but the hunting and recording capability is only worth its cost if somebody is querying it, which is why many customers buy it through an MDR provider.

VMware Carbon Black: How is it licensed?

Per endpoint, per year, with the capability tier determining the rate and workload and container protection priced separately. Extended EDR data retention is an additional line item.

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