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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Preact

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
Preact logo

Preact

Web Development

3kB alternative to React with the same modern API

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Preact 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.; Preact compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Preact covers 3kB runtime.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Preact actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Preact differ
AttributeCortexPreact
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsWeb Development

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 Preact

  • 3kB runtime
  • preact/compat
  • Same modern API
  • Fast rendering

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

Preact

  • Embedded widgets that load inside someone else’s page and must stay smallnot Cortex
  • Marketing and content sites where JavaScript payload affects Core Web Vitalsnot Cortex
  • Applications targeting low-bandwidth or low-powered devicesnot 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.

Preact

  • Compatibility through preact/compat is good but not total, and some React libraries break in ways that are hard to diagnose
  • Behavioural differences from React exist in edge cases, particularly around event handling
  • A much smaller community, so unusual problems have fewer existing answers than React

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Preact

Free
  • PreactFree
    • Full library
    • Commercial use permitted
    • No usage limits

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Preact if

  • You need 3kb runtime.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want preact/compat.
Preact review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or Preact better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Preact at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Preact?
Preact has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for Preact.
Does Cortex or Preact run on more platforms?
Cortex runs on Web, API. Preact runs on Web.
Can I use Preact for free?
Yes. Preact 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 Preact is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Preact cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Preact covers 3kB runtime, preact/compat, Same modern API, Fast rendering.

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.

Preact: Is Preact free?

Yes, open source under the MIT licence.

Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Preact: Can I use React libraries with Preact?

Most, through the preact/compat layer. Compatibility is good but not complete, so libraries relying on React internals can break.

Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Preact: Why choose Preact over React?

Bundle size, almost always. If payload is not a binding constraint, React’s ecosystem is usually the better trade.

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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