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Developer Tools · head to head

Cortex vs Wasabi

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
Wasabi logo

Wasabi

Cloud

Hot cloud storage without egress fees

From
$7.99/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.; Wasabi 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cortex and Wasabi actually diverge.

Attributes where Cortex and Wasabi differ
AttributeCortexWasabi
Starting priceOn request$7.99/month
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCloud
FoundedUnknown2015

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, API), 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 Wasabi

  • Hot Cloud Storage
  • S3 Compatible API
  • Object Lock
  • Versioning
  • Multi-region
  • Data Migration Tools
  • Immutability
  • Ransomware Protection

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

Wasabi

  • Backup and recoverynot Cortex
  • Media storagenot Cortex
  • Archive replacementnot Cortex
  • Ransomware protectionnot 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.

Wasabi

  • 90-day minimum storage duration with no option to delete before full period without penalty
  • Significantly smaller global footprint than AWS with only 16 regions, resulting in higher latency for users in underserved regions
  • Performance can degrade with high-volume transactions requiring throughput management strategies
  • Hot storage only, no cold/archival storage tier for long-term data at lower cost
  • Support responsiveness gaps with teams experiencing multi-day waits for critical issue resolution

Pricing, plan by plan

Cortex

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

Wasabi

$7.99/month

No published plan breakdown. See the Wasabi review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cortex if

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

Choose Wasabi if

  • You need hot cloud storage.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want s3 compatible api.
Wasabi review

Questions people ask

Is Cortex or Wasabi better?
Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Wasabi at $7.99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cortex or Wasabi?
Cortex starts at On request and Wasabi at $7.99/month.
Does Cortex or Wasabi run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, API, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Wasabi is typically brought in for.
What can Cortex do that Wasabi cannot?
Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Wasabi covers Hot Cloud Storage, S3 Compatible API, Object Lock, Versioning.

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.

Wasabi: What is Wasabi's pricing structure?

Wasabi offers pay-as-you-go pricing at $7.99 per TB per month as of July 2026, with no egress or API request fees. Reserved capacity plans are available for multi-year terms with volume discounts.

Source
Cortex: Is pricing published?

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

Wasabi: Does Wasabi charge for data downloads or API calls?

No. Wasabi includes zero egress fees and zero API request fees, which is a major cost advantage over AWS S3. Customers can plan their budget to the penny without worrying about surprise data transfer charges.

Source
Cortex: Can it self-host?

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

Wasabi: Is there a minimum storage duration requirement?

Yes. Wasabi enforces a 90-day minimum storage term. Users who delete data before 90 days are still charged for the full 90-day period.

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.

Wasabi: Is Wasabi S3-compatible?

Yes. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage is fully S3-compatible, meaning organizations can integrate it into existing workflows without rewriting application code used with AWS S3.

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