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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Microsoft Intune

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
Microsoft Intune logo

Microsoft Intune

Cybersecurity

Manage and protect cloud-connected endpoints across device platforms, apps and operating systems

From
$8/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

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.; Microsoft Intune individual add-ons at $2-5/user/month can become expensive when deploying multiple modules
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Microsoft Intune actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Microsoft Intune differ
AttributeCortexMicrosoft Intune
Starting priceOn request$8/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: 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 Microsoft Intune

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

Microsoft Intune

  • Mobile device and endpoint managementnot Cortex
  • Enterprise device compliancenot Cortex
  • Privilege access managementnot Cortex
  • Remote device supportnot 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.

Microsoft Intune

  • Individual add-ons at $2-5/user/month can become expensive when deploying multiple modules
  • Full Intune Suite at $10/user/month becomes better value when deploying two or more modules

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Microsoft Intune

$8/month
  • Microsoft Intune Plan 1$8/month
    • Device management
    • Mobile device management
    • Basic compliance policies
  • Intune Suite (Full)$10/month
    • Endpoint Privilege Management
    • Enterprise Application Management
    • Advanced Analytics
  • Intune Suite Add-on: Remote Help$2/month
    • Remote device support
  • Intune Suite Add-on: Endpoint Privilege Management$2/month
    • Privilege access control

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Microsoft Intune if

Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Intune from Cortex on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Microsoft Intune review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or Microsoft Intune better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Microsoft Intune at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Microsoft Intune?
Cortex starts at On request and Microsoft Intune at $8/month.
Does Cortex or Microsoft Intune run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. Microsoft Intune runs on Web.
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 Microsoft Intune is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Microsoft Intune 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.

Microsoft Intune: How much does Microsoft Intune cost?

Microsoft Intune Plan 1 costs $8/user/month for basic device management. The full Intune Suite costs $10/user/month including endpoint privilege management, enterprise application management, advanced analytics, remote help, Intune Plan 2, and Microsoft Cloud PKI.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Microsoft Intune: What add-ons are available for Microsoft Intune?

Individual Intune Suite add-ons range from $2-5/user/month and include Endpoint Privilege Management, Enterprise Application Management, Advanced Analytics, Remote Help, Intune Plan 2, and Microsoft Cloud PKI. Microsoft recommends the full Intune Suite at $10/user/month when deploying two or more modules for better value.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Microsoft Intune: Is Intune included in Microsoft 365 E5?

Starting in CY26 Q3, Intune Suite capabilities are included with Microsoft 365 E5 and E7 subscriptions, with select capabilities also in Microsoft 365 E3. These bundled versions do not have separate additional pricing.

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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