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Cybersecurity · head to head

Cisco Duo vs Cortex

Cisco Duo logo

Cisco Duo

Cybersecurity

Trusted access for all users, all devices

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • Only Cisco Duo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cisco Duo free tier limited to 10 users maximum; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cisco Duo and Cortex actually diverge.

Attributes where Cisco Duo and Cortex differ
AttributeCisco DuoCortex
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, API
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: 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 Cisco Duo

Nothing recorded that Cortex does not also cover.

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.

Cisco Duo

  • Eliminating phishing with passwordless authnot Cortex
  • Implementing zero trust with device trustnot Cortex
  • Protecting sessions from hijacking and theftnot Cortex
  • Managing compliance for regulated industriesnot 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 Cisco Duo
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Cisco Duo
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Cisco Duo
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Cisco Duo

Where each one falls short

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

Cisco Duo

  • Free tier limited to 10 users maximum
  • Licenses must be purchased in 10-user increments (under 100 users) or 25-user increments (100+ users)
  • Pricing is per-user per-month with minimum purchase increments

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

Cisco Duo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
    • Seamless integrations
    • Authenticator app
  • Essentials$3/month
    • All Free features
    • Duo Directory
    • Phishing-resistant MFA
  • Advantage$6/month
    • All Essentials features
    • Identity intelligence
    • Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR)
  • Premier$9/month
    • All Advantage features
    • Complete device trust
    • VPN-less remote access

Cortex

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Cisco Duo if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cisco Duo review

Choose Cortex if

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

Questions people ask

Is Cisco Duo or Cortex better?
Neither clearly leads. Cisco Duo starts at Free and Cortex at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cisco Duo or Cortex?
Cisco Duo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cisco Duo and On request for Cortex.
Does Cisco Duo or Cortex run on more platforms?
Cisco Duo runs on Web. Cortex runs on Web, API.
Can I use Cisco Duo for free?
Yes. Cisco Duo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
What is Cisco Duo best used for?
Cisco Duo is most often used for eliminating phishing with passwordless auth, implementing zero trust with device trust, protecting sessions from hijacking and theft, managing compliance for regulated industries. Of those, eliminating phishing with passwordless auth and implementing zero trust with device trust are not what Cortex is typically brought in for.
What can Cisco Duo do that Cortex cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cisco Duo: How much does Cisco Duo cost?

Cisco Duo Free is $0/user/month (up to 10 users). Paid plans start at $3/user/month (Essentials), $6/user/month (Advantage), and $9/user/month (Premier). Billing is per-user per-month.

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.

Cisco Duo: Is Cisco Duo free to try?

Yes, Duo Free offers multi-factor authentication and seamless integrations at $0/user/month for up to 10 users.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Cisco Duo: What is the minimum purchase for Cisco Duo?

Organizations must buy licenses in 10-user increments for under 100 users, or 25-user increments for 100 or more users. Plans are modifiable at any time.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Cisco Duo: What does the Advantage plan add over Essentials?

Advantage ($6/user/month) adds identity intelligence, Cisco Identity Intelligence (ISPM, ITDR), Duo Passport, session theft protection, Active Directory Defense, and risk-based authentication.

Source
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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