Developer Tools · head to head
Cortex vs Legit Security
Cortex
Developer Tools
Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
Legit Security
Cybersecurity
AI-native ASPM platform securing AI-generated code before deployment
- 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.; Legit Security pricing requires contacting sales, making cost comparison difficult
- They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Legit Security covers VibeGuard AI code scanning.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cortex and Legit Security actually diverge.
| Attribute | Cortex | Legit Security |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | quote | Contact sales for custom pricing |
| Platforms | Web, API | Web, IDE, CI/CD |
| Category | Developer Tools | Cybersecurity |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 Legit Security
- VibeGuard AI code scanning
- Unified vulnerability remediation
- Code Security (SAST/SCA)
- Secrets detection and prevention
- Software Supply Chain Security
- Code change detection
- AI-powered remediation
- Risk scoring
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 Legit Security
- An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Legit Security
- Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Legit Security
- Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Legit Security
Legit Security
- Securing AI-generated code from GitHub Copilot and IDE assistantsnot Cortex
- Consolidating vulnerability findings from multiple AppSec toolsnot Cortex
- Preventing credential leaks across development workspacesnot Cortex
- Automating remediation workflows with AI-powered suggestionsnot Cortex
- Compliance automation with SBOM generation and enforcementnot 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.
Legit Security
- Pricing requires contacting sales, making cost comparison difficult
- No published pricing tiers or free tier available
- Requires integration with existing SAST and SCA tools for full capability
- Focused primarily on code security within development lifecycle
- Newer entrant with less market presence than established competitors
Pricing, plan by plan
Cortex
On request- Cortex$undefined/year
- Service catalogue and ownership mapping
- Scorecards and initiatives
- Self-service templates
Legit Security
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Legit Security review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Cortex if
- You need service catalogue.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want scorecards.
Choose Legit Security if
- You need vibeguard ai code scanning.
- You work on Web, IDE, CI/CD.
- You also want unified vulnerability remediation.
Questions people ask
- Is Cortex or Legit Security better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Legit Security at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cortex or Legit Security?
- Cortex starts at On request and Legit Security at On request.
- Does Cortex or Legit Security run on more platforms?
- Cortex runs on Web, API. Legit Security runs on Web, IDE, CI/CD.
- 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 Legit Security is typically brought in for.
- What can Cortex do that Legit Security cannot?
- Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Legit Security covers VibeGuard AI code scanning, Unified vulnerability remediation, Code Security (SAST/SCA), Secrets detection and prevention.
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.
Legit Security: What is VibeGuard and how does it work?
VibeGuard is Legit Security's core feature that scans AI-generated code directly within IDEs like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, identifying vulnerabilities before code leaves the developer's editor.
SourceCortex: Is pricing published?
No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.
Legit Security: What AI code assistants does Legit Security support?
Legit Security integrates with GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and Claude to scan AI-generated code for vulnerabilities.
SourceCortex: Can it self-host?
It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.
Legit Security: How does Legit Security's AI remediation feature work?
The platform uses AI to suggest specific code fixes for identified vulnerabilities and can automatically create tickets in Jira with full context for developers to review and apply.
SourceCortex: 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.
Legit Security: Does Legit Security support compliance reporting?
Yes, Legit Security automates compliance automation with SBOM generation and can generate compliance reports for security and regulatory requirements.
SourceRelated pages
More on Legit Security
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