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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Keygen

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
Keygen logo

Keygen

Cybersecurity

Open, source-available software licensing API

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Keygen 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.; Keygen specific Active Licensed User (ALU) pricing not listed; requires interactive pricing calculator
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Keygen actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Keygen differ
AttributeCortexKeygen
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
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 Keygen

Nothing recorded that Cortex does not also cover.

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

Keygen

  • Software licensing and distributionnot Cortex
  • Product release managementnot Cortex
  • API-based license verificationnot 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.

Keygen

  • Specific Active Licensed User (ALU) pricing not listed; requires interactive pricing calculator
  • Whitelabel API add-on costs $995/year per domain

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Keygen

Free
  • DevFree
    • Up to 100 Active Licensed Users
    • 10 product releases
    • Core licensing API only
  • Std$null/month
    • Scaling with licensing volume
    • Distribution API (OCI/Docker, npm, Rubygems, PyPI, Tauri)
    • Flat monthly/yearly fees
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Audit logs
    • SAML/SSO
    • IP filtering

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Keygen if

  • You want to start without paying.
Keygen review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Keygen: Does Keygen have a free tier?

Yes, the Dev tier is free and supports up to 100 Active Licensed Users with 10 product releases and core licensing API access.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Keygen: How is Keygen pricing calculated?

Keygen uses scalable, flat monthly or yearly fees based on your licensing volume (Active Licensed Users). No revenue share or transaction fees are charged.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Keygen: Does Keygen charge for additional features like SSO?

SAML/SSO is included in Enterprise tiers. Whitelabel API support costs $995/year per domain. Premium Support SLA is $995/month for Enterprise.

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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