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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Drupal

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
D

Drupal

Web Development

Open-source CMS for complex, structured content sites

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Drupal has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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.; Drupal steep learning curve: concepts that are implicit in WordPress are explicit and must be configured
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Drupal covers Structured content modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Drupal actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Drupal differ
AttributeCortexDrupal
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Linux, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsWeb Development

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 Cortex

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

Only in Drupal

  • Structured content modelling
  • Granular permissions
  • Multilingual
  • Views

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 Drupal
  • An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Drupal
  • Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Drupal
  • Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Drupal

Drupal

  • Government and university sites with complex content models and strict permissionsnot Cortex
  • Multilingual sites where translation is structural rather than a pluginnot Cortex
  • Publishers needing custom content types and editorial workflownot 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.

Drupal

  • Steep learning curve: concepts that are implicit in WordPress are explicit and must be configured
  • Smaller developer pool than WordPress, and correspondingly higher build costs
  • Major version upgrades have historically been substantial projects, not routine updates
  • Considerably more machinery than a straightforward marketing site needs

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Drupal

Free
  • DrupalFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Drupal if

  • You need structured content modelling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
  • You also want granular permissions.
Drupal review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or Drupal better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Drupal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Drupal?
Drupal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for Drupal.
Does Cortex or Drupal run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. Drupal runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted.
Can I use Drupal for free?
Yes. Drupal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
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 Drupal is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Drupal cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Drupal covers Structured content modelling, Granular permissions, Multilingual, Views.

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.

Drupal: Is Drupal free?

Yes, open source under the GPL. Costs are hosting, development and any commercial modules.

Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Drupal: Drupal or WordPress?

WordPress is faster to launch, cheaper to staff and has a much larger plugin ecosystem. Drupal is stronger when the content model is genuinely complex and permissions are strict, which is why institutions favour it.

Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Drupal: Why is Drupal common in government and universities?

Structured content modelling, granular access control and multilingual support are core rather than bolted on, and those are exactly the requirements those sectors have.

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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