Developer Tools · head to head
Cortex vs DTiQ
Cortex
Developer Tools
Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
DTiQ
Cybersecurity
Managed video loss prevention with human auditors for restaurants, convenience stores and retail
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
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.; DTiQ you are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.
- They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, DTiQ covers SmartAudit.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cortex and DTiQ actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 DTiQ
- SmartAudit
- POS transaction linking
- 360iQ platform
- Exception alerting
- Drive-through timing
- Food safety and compliance checks
- Managed installation
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 DTiQ
- An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot DTiQ
- Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot DTiQ
- Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot DTiQ
DTiQ
- A multi-unit quick service franchisee who has no one available to review video across fifteen storesnot Cortex
- A convenience store chain investigating till fraud by matching voids to what actually happened at the counternot Cortex
- An operator enforcing drive-through service time standards across locations from evidence rather than anecdotenot Cortex
- A brand auditing food safety and cleanliness compliance at franchise sites without sending a field managernot 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.
DTiQ
- You are buying labour, so the cost per site is far higher than a self-service video licence and it does not fall as camera prices do.
- Audits are sampled, not continuous, so a problem outside the reviewed window is invisible and the score is a statistical impression rather than a complete record.
- Nothing is published on price and the commercial shape is a multi-year managed service agreement, which is harder to exit than a software subscription and typically involves bundled hardware you do not own.
- Ownership changed in a $200 million Digital Alpha led investment tied to a Cisco Meraki partnership, so the hardware and network roadmap may shift under an existing estate.
- It is built around restaurant, convenience and retail operating models, so an organisation outside those verticals gets a generic video product and pays for an audit methodology that does not fit its work.
Pricing, plan by plan
Cortex
On request- Cortex$undefined/year
- Service catalogue and ownership mapping
- Scorecards and initiatives
- Self-service templates
DTiQ
On request- DTiQ managed service$undefined/month
- Priced per location as a managed service, not per camera
- Audit frequency and scope determine the rate
- Hardware and installation bundled into the service agreement
Which should you pick?
Choose Cortex if
- You need service catalogue.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want scorecards.
Choose DTiQ if
- You need smartaudit.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want pos transaction linking.
Questions people ask
- Is Cortex or DTiQ better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and DTiQ at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cortex or DTiQ?
- Cortex starts at On request and DTiQ at On request.
- Does Cortex or DTiQ run on more platforms?
- Cortex runs on Web, API. DTiQ runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- 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 DTiQ is typically brought in for.
- What can Cortex do that DTiQ cannot?
- Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. DTiQ covers SmartAudit, POS transaction linking, 360iQ platform, Exception alerting.
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.
DTiQ: Is DTiQ a video management system?
Not primarily. It is a managed service where human auditors review your footage and deliver scored reports. The platform exists to support that service.
Cortex: Is pricing published?
No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.
DTiQ: How is it priced?
Per location as a managed service, based on audit scope and frequency, with hardware and installation bundled. Nothing is published.
Cortex: Can it self-host?
It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.
DTiQ: Who owns DTiQ?
Digital Alpha holds a majority stake following a $200 million investment that bought out Bain Capital, BV Investment Partners and others, alongside a Cisco Meraki partnership.
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.
DTiQ: Does it integrate with my POS?
Yes, with major restaurant and convenience store point of sale systems, which is what allows transaction exceptions to be replayed on video.
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