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Cortex vs Cybereason Defense Platform

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
Cybereason Defense Platform logo

Cybereason Defense Platform

Cybersecurity

AI-driven endpoint protection and detection

From
$50/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Cybereason Defense Platform no published pricing on any platform tier: three plan levels (Enterprise, Enterprise Advanced, Enterprise Complete) feature-differentiated but cost-free
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Cybereason Defense Platform covers Next-gen antivirus.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Cybereason Defense Platform actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Cybereason Defense Platform differ
AttributeCortexCybereason Defense Platform
Starting priceOn request$50/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWindows, Macos, Linux, Mobile
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity
FoundedUnknown2012

Identical on both: 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 Cortex

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

Only in Cybereason Defense Platform

  • Next-gen antivirus
  • Endpoint detection and response
  • Machine learning detection
  • Behavioral analysis
  • Threat hunting
  • Automated remediation
  • XDR integration
  • Ransomware protection

What people use each for

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

Cortex

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

Cybereason Defense Platform

  • Enterprise threat detection and response platformnot Cortex
  • Managed detection and response (MDR) servicesnot Cortex
  • Advanced cybersecurity for large organizationsnot Cortex

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Cybereason Defense Platform

  • No published pricing on any platform tier: three plan levels (Enterprise, Enterprise Advanced, Enterprise Complete) feature-differentiated but cost-free
  • MDR services cost hidden: tiered MDR inclusion (Essentials, Essentials+XR, Complete) does not disclose pricing per tier
  • Add-on pricing absent: incident response, DFIR, assessments, mobile defense, threat hunting marked as 'Add-On' with no pricing
  • Sales-gated all pricing: no budget range or starting price available; customers must book demo or contact sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Cybereason Defense Platform

$50/year
  • Cybereason NGAV$50/year
    • Next-gen antivirus
    • Machine learning detection
    • Ransomware protection
  • Cybereason EDR$85/year
    • All NGAV features
    • Endpoint detection
    • Automated response
  • Cybereason Complete$150/year
    • All EDR features
    • Managed detection
    • 24/7 SOC support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Cybereason Defense Platform if

  • You need next-gen antivirus.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Mobile.
  • You also want endpoint detection and response.
Cybereason Defense Platform review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or Cybereason Defense Platform better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Cybereason Defense Platform at $50/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Cybereason Defense Platform?
Cortex starts at On request and Cybereason Defense Platform at $50/year.
Does Cortex or Cybereason Defense Platform run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. Cybereason Defense Platform runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Mobile.
What is Cortex best used for?
Cortex is most often used for a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services, an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions, enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident review, replacing a self-hosted backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgraded. Of those, a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services and an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions are not what Cybereason Defense Platform is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Cybereason Defense Platform cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Cybereason Defense Platform covers Next-gen antivirus, Endpoint detection and response, Machine learning detection, Behavioral analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Cybereason Defense Platform: What are the Cybereason Enterprise pricing tiers?

Cybereason offers three tiers (Enterprise, Enterprise Advanced, Enterprise Complete) with different MDR service levels (MDR Essentials, MDR Essentials+XR, MDR Complete), but exact pricing is not published.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Cybereason Defense Platform: How much do add-on services cost (incident response, DFIR, threat hunting)?

Add-on services (incident response, DFIR, security assessments, mobile defense, threat hunting) are available across all plans but marked as 'Add-On' with no published pricing.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Cybereason Defense Platform: How do I get pricing from Cybereason?

Click 'Book a Demo' or 'Talk to a Cybereason Defender' on the website. Cybereason sales will discuss pricing, platform fit, and custom solutions based on your organization's needs.

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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