Developer Tools · head to head
Cortex vs Principle
Cortex
Developer Tools
Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
Principle
Design
Animate your ideas, design better apps
- From
- $129/one-time
- Free plan
- No
The short version
- Principle starts at $129 one-off; Cortex prices on request.
- Only Cortex lists service catalogue; only Principle lists timeline-based animation.
- Where Principle falls short: macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available.
- Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cortex and Principle actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No).
Not yet recorded: pricing model for Principle, founded for Cortex.
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 Principle
- Timeline-based animation
- Interactive prototypes
- Touch gestures
- Component reuse
- Video export
- Sketch import
- Figma import
- Driver animations
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 Principle
- An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Principle
- Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Principle
- Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Principle
Principle
- Mobile app prototypesnot Cortex
- Micro-interactionsnot Cortex
- Animation designnot Cortex
- User flow designnot Cortex
- Gesture-based interfacesnot 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
Principle
- macOS only with no Windows or Linux editor available
- No vector morphing capability for complex shape transformations
- Limited asset creation tools; cannot create vectors or shapes directly within Principle
- Sketch import flattens certain properties including paths, fills, borders, masks, blur effects, and text layers
- Limited variable support, logical loops, and data input capabilities compared to tools like ProtoPie or Origami
Pricing, plan by plan
Cortex
On request- CortexOn request
- Service catalogue and ownership mapping
- Scorecards and initiatives
- Self-service templates
Principle
$129/one-time- License$129 one-off
- One year of upgrades
- Full access to all features
- Upgrade License$99/yr
- Annual renewal for ongoing upgrades
Which should you pick?
Choose Cortex if
- You need service catalogue.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want scorecards.
Choose Principle if
- You need timeline-based animation.
- You work on macOS.
- You also want interactive prototypes.
Questions people ask
- Is Cortex or Principle better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Principle at $129/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cortex or Principle?
- Cortex starts at On request and Principle at $129/one-time.
- Does Cortex or Principle run on more platforms?
- Cortex runs on Web, API. Principle runs on macOS.
- 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 Principle is typically brought in for.
- What can Cortex do that Principle cannot?
- Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Principle covers Timeline-based animation, Interactive prototypes, Touch gestures, Component reuse.
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.
Principle: Does Principle run on Windows or Linux?
No. Principle is macOS only and runs on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. There is no Windows or Linux editor available; however, prototypes can be shared and viewed on any platform via web link.
SourceCortex: Is pricing published?
No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.
Principle: What is the cost of Principle?
Principle costs $129 for a one-time purchase with 1 year of upgrades included. After 1 year, upgrade licenses cost $99/year. A 14-day free trial is available with all features included.
SourceCortex: Can it self-host?
It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.
Principle: Can I import designs from Figma or Sketch into Principle?
Yes. Principle supports importing designs from Figma and Sketch with intelligent merging of re-imported files. Some Sketch properties such as paths, fills, borders, blur effects, masks, and text layers are flattened upon import.
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.
Principle: How do I share Principle prototypes with others?
Prototypes can be shared via web link with one click (File > Export > Share to Web). Recipients can view and interact with prototypes in any browser on any platform: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS. No installation required.
SourcePrinciple: Can I create vector shapes and morphing animations in Principle?
Principle does not support vector morphing, where vector objects transform into other vector shapes. It also has limited asset creation capabilities and editing is restricted to basic operations like scale and rotate.
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- Principle vs Depot
- Principle vs Envoy
- Principle vs Istio
- Principle vs Nix
- Principle vs SonarQube
- Principle vs Ona (formerly Gitpod)
- Principle vs Tilt
- Principle vs Vim
- Principle vs WarpBuild
- Principle vs Webpack
- Principle vs Avo
- Principle vs Azure DevOps
- Principle vs ProtoPie
- Principle vs Framer
- Principle vs Origami Studio
- Principle vs Figma
- Principle vs Rive
- Principle vs Sketch
- Principle vs Proto.io
- Principle vs Axure RP
- Principle vs Marvel
- Principle vs Adobe XD
- Principle vs Krita
- Principle vs Maze
- Principle vs Cadence Allegro
- Principle vs Excalidraw
- Principle vs Krea
- Principle vs LottieFiles
- Principle vs Lucidchart
- Principle vs Lunacy