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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs HashiCorp Boundary

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
HashiCorp Boundary logo

HashiCorp Boundary

Cybersecurity

Identity-aware session broker for infrastructure access without distributing credentials

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only HashiCorp Boundary 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.; HashiCorp Boundary hashiCorp was acquired by IBM in February 2025 and Enterprise licensing now runs through IBM Passport Advantage; IBM has already retired HCP Vault Secrets, so Boundary's roadmap depends on IBM portfolio decisions rather than HashiCorp's own product strategy.
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, HashiCorp Boundary covers Identity-based access.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and HashiCorp Boundary actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and HashiCorp Boundary differ
AttributeCortexHashiCorp Boundary
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APILinux, macOS, Windows, Web
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

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 HashiCorp Boundary

  • Identity-based access
  • Just-in-time credentials
  • Dynamic host catalogues
  • Session recording
  • Transparent sessions
  • Multi-hop workers
  • Audit logging
  • Terraform provider

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

HashiCorp Boundary

  • A platform team replacing shared SSH keys and a bastion host so that leavers lose access the moment they are removed from the identity providernot Cortex
  • Granting contractors time-boxed database access without ever issuing them a credential they could keepnot Cortex
  • An estate where autoscaling replaces hosts continuously and a static access list is always out of datenot Cortex
  • Producing session recordings as evidence for an audit that requires proof of who touched production and what they rannot 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.

HashiCorp Boundary

  • HashiCorp was acquired by IBM in February 2025 and Enterprise licensing now runs through IBM Passport Advantage; IBM has already retired HCP Vault Secrets, so Boundary's roadmap depends on IBM portfolio decisions rather than HashiCorp's own product strategy.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published anywhere, and the features most organisations actually need for compliance, notably session recording, are Enterprise only, so the free community edition is rarely the version you end up buying.
  • It solves access to infrastructure, not to applications; browser-based internal tools, SaaS admin consoles and APIs need a separate control, so Boundary is one component of a zero-trust programme rather than the whole thing.
  • Running it yourself means operating controllers, worker nodes and a Postgres database in a highly available configuration, and if that control plane is down nobody can reach production, which makes it a new critical dependency.
  • It is materially easier to adopt if you already run Vault and Terraform; teams without that ecosystem face a steeper learning curve than a device-based mesh product like Tailscale, for a similar access outcome.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

HashiCorp Boundary

Free
  • Boundary Community EditionFree
    • MPL 2.0 open source
    • Self-hosted controllers and workers
    • Identity-based target access
  • Boundary Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Session recording and playback
    • Multi-hop and transparent sessions
    • Multi-tenancy via scopes

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose HashiCorp Boundary if

  • You need identity-based access.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web.
  • You also want just-in-time credentials.
HashiCorp Boundary review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or HashiCorp Boundary better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and HashiCorp Boundary at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or HashiCorp Boundary?
HashiCorp Boundary has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for HashiCorp Boundary.
Does Cortex or HashiCorp Boundary run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. HashiCorp Boundary runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web.
Can I use HashiCorp Boundary for free?
Yes. HashiCorp Boundary 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 HashiCorp Boundary is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that HashiCorp Boundary cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. HashiCorp Boundary covers Identity-based access, Just-in-time credentials, Dynamic host catalogues, Session recording.

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.

HashiCorp Boundary: Is Boundary open source?

The community edition is, under MPL 2.0. Boundary Enterprise is commercial and is now sold through IBM Passport Advantage.

Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

HashiCorp Boundary: Does it replace a VPN?

For infrastructure access, largely yes. It grants a session to a specific target rather than putting the user on a network, but it does not cover browser-based internal applications.

Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

HashiCorp Boundary: What does Boundary Enterprise cost?

HashiCorp does not publish Boundary pricing. It is quoted, and since the IBM acquisition it is transacted on IBM licensing paper.

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.

HashiCorp Boundary: Do I need Vault to use it?

No, but the just-in-time credential brokering that makes Boundary worthwhile depends on Vault or an equivalent secrets store.

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