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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Strikingly

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
Strikingly logo

Strikingly

Web Development

One-page website builder for small businesses and creators

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Strikingly 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.; Strikingly strikingly is optimized for single-page sites and is not well suited to building large, multi-section websites.
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Strikingly covers Drag-and-drop editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Strikingly actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Strikingly differ
AttributeCortexStrikingly
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, APIweb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsWeb Development
FoundedUnknown2012

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 Strikingly

  • Drag-and-drop editor
  • Simple Store
  • Blogging
  • Forms and live chat
  • Traffic analytics
  • Social feed integration
  • HTTPS/SSL

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

Strikingly

  • Personal portfolio or resume sitenot Cortex
  • Single-product or small online storenot Cortex
  • Event or landing pagenot Cortex
  • Small business brochure sitenot 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.

Strikingly

  • Strikingly is optimized for single-page sites and is not well suited to building large, multi-section websites.
  • Transaction fees of 2-5% apply to store sales on lower-tier plans in addition to payment processor fees.
  • Design customization is limited compared to code-based site builders, since sites are built from fixed templates.
  • The free plan does not support a custom domain, limiting its use for professional or commercial sites.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Strikingly

Free
  • Limited$8/month
    • 2 sites
    • 1 GB storage per site
    • Up to 5 pages
  • Pro$16/month
    • 3 sites
    • 20 GB storage per site
    • Up to 100 pages
  • VIP$49/month
    • 5 sites
    • 100 GB storage per site
    • Up to 500 products

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Strikingly if

  • You need drag-and-drop editor.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web.
  • You also want simple store.
Strikingly review

Questions people ask

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

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.

Strikingly: Does Strikingly have a free plan?

Strikingly offers a free tier for getting started, with paid plans beginning at $8/month (billed yearly) adding a custom domain, more storage, and lower transaction fees on store sales.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Strikingly: Does Strikingly charge transaction fees on store sales?

Yes. The Limited plan charges a 5% transaction fee, the Pro plan charges 2%, and the VIP plan removes the transaction fee entirely, in addition to any payment processor fees.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Strikingly: What payment methods can I use to sell products?

Strikingly's built-in Simple Store supports accepting payments through PayPal and Stripe.

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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