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Cybersecurity · head to head

Recorded Future vs VMware Carbon Black

Recorded Future logo

Recorded Future

Cybersecurity

Intelligence-driven cybersecurity

From
$25000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
V

VMware Carbon Black

Cybersecurity

Cloud-delivered endpoint protection and EDR, now owned by Broadcom and positioned alongside Symantec.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Recorded Future no pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes; VMware Carbon Black broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.
  • They diverge on capability: Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence, VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Recorded Future and VMware Carbon Black actually diverge.

Attributes where Recorded Future and VMware Carbon Black differ
AttributeRecorded FutureVMware Carbon Black
Starting price$25000/yearOn request
PlatformsWeb, Api, CloudDesktop, Api
Founded20092002

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Recorded Future

  • Real-time threat intelligence
  • Vulnerability intelligence
  • Internet-wide data analysis
  • Insikt group intelligence
  • Brand intelligence
  • API-first platform
  • Alert and notification system
  • Custom reporting

Only in VMware Carbon Black

  • Endpoint Standard
  • Enterprise EDR
  • Audit and Remediation
  • Single sensor
  • Live Response
  • Workload protection
  • Container security
  • Watchlists and feeds

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Recorded Future

  • Threat intelligence and monitoringnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Dark web monitoring and brand protectionnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Third-party risk managementnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Security operations and incident responsenot VMware Carbon Black

VMware Carbon Black

  • A SOC that wants unfiltered endpoint telemetry to hunt over rather than only vendor-generated alertsnot Recorded Future
  • A vSphere estate that wants workload protection deployed through the hypervisor instead of installing an agent in every guestnot Recorded Future
  • Replacing signature antivirus after an incident where the incumbent product had no record of what the attacker didnot Recorded Future
  • An organisation already inside a Broadcom or Symantec enterprise agreement that can consolidate endpoint onto an existing contractnot Recorded Future

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Recorded Future

  • No pricing published; all three tiers (Core, Professional, Elite) require sales contact for quotes
  • Pricing depends on organization size, usage levels, and services in addition to tier selection
  • API usage limits vary by package but limits not specified on pricing page

VMware Carbon Black

  • Broadcom's enterprise model concentrates direct sales and support on its largest accounts and moves everyone else to resellers, so a mid-size customer can lose named support contacts and face a substantially repriced renewal with limited notice.
  • Continuous EDR recording is retained for a defined window and longer retention is a paid tier, so the investigation you most need is often the one whose telemetry has already aged out, and that is discovered during the incident rather than before it.
  • The product assumes an operator: watchlists, policy tuning and alert triage are ongoing work, and organisations without a dedicated analyst or an MDR contract typically leave policies in monitor mode and pay for telemetry that is never reviewed.
  • The sensor operates in the same kernel and file-filter territory as other endpoint agents, so running it alongside an incumbent antivirus, DLP or backup agent commonly produces performance complaints and requires maintained exclusion lists on both sides.
  • Linux sensor support is tied to specific distribution and kernel versions, so a routine operating system upgrade can leave hosts without a supported sensor until a matching build ships, and anything outside the supported list gets no coverage at all.

Pricing, plan by plan

Recorded Future

$25000/year
  • Threat Intelligence$25000/year
    • Threat feeds
    • IP reputation
    • Domain analysis
  • Vulnerability Intelligence$35000/year
    • CVE monitoring
    • Patch intelligence
    • Vulnerability trending
  • Complete Intelligence$50000/year
    • All features
    • Analyst access
    • Dedicated feed

VMware Carbon Black

On request
  • CB Endpoint StandardFree
    • NGAV
    • Behavioral EDR
    • Device control
  • CB Endpoint AdvancedFree
    • All Standard features
    • Threat hunting
    • Audit and remediation
  • CB Endpoint EnterpriseFree
    • All Advanced features
    • Advanced threat hunting
    • Live response

Which should you pick?

Choose Recorded Future if

  • You need real-time threat intelligence.
  • You work on Web, Api, Cloud.
  • You also want vulnerability intelligence.
Recorded Future review

Choose VMware Carbon Black if

  • You need endpoint standard.
  • You work on Desktop, Api.
  • You also want enterprise edr.
VMware Carbon Black review

Questions people ask

Is Recorded Future or VMware Carbon Black better?
Neither clearly leads. Recorded Future starts at $25000/year and VMware Carbon Black at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Recorded Future or VMware Carbon Black?
Recorded Future starts at $25000/year and VMware Carbon Black at On request.
Does Recorded Future or VMware Carbon Black run on more platforms?
Recorded Future runs on Web, Api, Cloud. VMware Carbon Black runs on Desktop, Api.
What is Recorded Future best used for?
Recorded Future is most often used for threat intelligence and monitoring, dark web monitoring and brand protection, third-party risk management, security operations and incident response. Of those, threat intelligence and monitoring and dark web monitoring and brand protection are not what VMware Carbon Black is typically brought in for.
What can Recorded Future do that VMware Carbon Black cannot?
Recorded Future covers Real-time threat intelligence, Vulnerability intelligence, Internet-wide data analysis, Insikt group intelligence. VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard, Enterprise EDR, Audit and Remediation, Single sensor.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Recorded Future: What are the main pricing tiers offered by Recorded Future?

Recorded Future offers three tiers: Core (foundational intelligence), Professional (marked most-popular with automation and autonomous threat hunts), and Elite (comprehensive coverage including third-party risk assessment). Specific pricing requires contacting sales.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Who owns Carbon Black now?

Broadcom. It acquired VMware in November 2023, and Carbon Black now sits in Broadcom's enterprise security business alongside Symantec. VMware branding is being phased out.

Recorded Future: What is included in Recorded Future's Core pricing tier?

Core tier includes cyber operations monitoring with threat and malware insights, digital risk protection covering dark web monitoring and credential detection, and the new digital risk hub. Exact cost depends on organization size and usage.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Why do the docs use names I do not recognise?

The product has been renamed repeatedly. CB Defense is now Endpoint Standard, CB ThreatHunter is Enterprise EDR and CB LiveOps is Audit and Remediation. Older community answers and runbooks still use the previous names.

Recorded Future: What features does Recorded Future Professional tier add?

Professional tier adds autonomous threat hunts, continuous threat monitoring, automated threat preventions, external intelligence ingestion, and external asset discovery. Pricing is custom-quoted based on organization size and services.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Does it replace my existing antivirus?

Yes on supported Windows, macOS and Linux versions, and running it alongside another antivirus is not recommended because the two agents contend for the same hooks. Check your compliance requirements, as some auditors still ask for a named antivirus product.

Recorded Future: How does Recorded Future handle user limits and API access?

Recorded Future does not limit the number of platform users or integrations across any tier. API usage limits vary by package tier but exact limits are not specified on the public pricing page.

Source
VMware Carbon Black: Do I need a full-time analyst to run it?

To get value from Enterprise EDR, effectively yes. The prevention tier can run with part-time attention, but the hunting and recording capability is only worth its cost if somebody is querying it, which is why many customers buy it through an MDR provider.

VMware Carbon Black: How is it licensed?

Per endpoint, per year, with the capability tier determining the rate and workload and container protection priced separately. Extended EDR data retention is an additional line item.

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