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Cybersecurity · head to head

Vanta vs VMware Carbon Black

Vanta logo

Vanta

Cybersecurity

Compliance automation platform for SOC 2, ISO 27001 and similar frameworks.

From
On request
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: Vanta no published pricing for any tier; all plans require requesting a demo and contacting sales; 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.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Vanta and VMware Carbon Black differ
AttributeVantaVMware Carbon Black
PlatformsWeb, APIDesktop, Api
FoundedUnknown2002

Identical on both: starting price (On request), 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 Vanta

Nothing recorded that VMware Carbon Black does not also cover.

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.

Vanta

  • SaaS and fintech companies needing rapid SOC 2 certification for enterprise salesnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Healthcare organisations automating HIPAA compliance managementnot VMware Carbon Black
  • European companies managing GDPR and privacy compliancenot VMware Carbon Black
  • Organisations implementing ISO 27001 and other security standardsnot VMware Carbon Black
  • Companies conducting vendor security assessments and managing third-party risknot VMware Carbon Black

VMware Carbon Black

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

Where each one falls short

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

Vanta

  • No published pricing for any tier; all plans require requesting a demo and contacting sales
  • Essentials tier limited to one compliance framework; organisations needing multiple frameworks must upgrade to higher tiers
  • Plus and Professional tiers feature unclear differentiation; specific pricing and included questionnaires not published
  • Enterprise pricing fully custom; no transparency on costs or what features are included
  • AI questionnaire automation capped at 25 annually in Plus tier, only 144 annually in Professional tier

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

Vanta

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/variable
    • One compliance framework
    • Vanta AI Agent features
    • Automated evidence collection
  • Plus$undefined/variable
    • All Essentials features
    • Enhanced AI Agent capabilities
    • AI-powered questionnaire automation (25 annually)
  • Professional$undefined/variable
    • All Plus features
    • 144 questionnaires annually (marked 'Most Popular')
    • Risk management tools
  • Enterprise$undefined/variable
    • Fully customisable package
    • Flexible, scalable, advanced compliance
    • Tailored to sophisticated GRC requirements

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 Vanta if

  • You work on Web, API.
Vanta 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 Vanta or VMware Carbon Black better?
Neither clearly leads. Vanta starts at On request 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, Vanta or VMware Carbon Black?
Vanta starts at On request and VMware Carbon Black at On request.
Does Vanta or VMware Carbon Black run on more platforms?
Vanta runs on Web, API. VMware Carbon Black runs on Desktop, Api.
What is Vanta best used for?
Vanta is most often used for saas and fintech companies needing rapid soc 2 certification for enterprise sales, healthcare organisations automating hipaa compliance management, european companies managing gdpr and privacy compliance, organisations implementing iso 27001 and other security standards. Of those, saas and fintech companies needing rapid soc 2 certification for enterprise sales and healthcare organisations automating hipaa compliance management are not what VMware Carbon Black is typically brought in for.
What can Vanta do that VMware Carbon Black cannot?
VMware Carbon Black covers Endpoint Standard, Enterprise EDR, Audit and Remediation, Single sensor.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Vanta: How many compliance frameworks does Vanta support?

Vanta supports 35+ compliance frameworks including SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR and custom frameworks.

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.

Vanta: Does Vanta automate questionnaires?

Yes. Vanta's AI Agent can automate questionnaire completion, with the number of annually supported questionnaires varying by plan (25 in Plus tier, 144 in Professional tier).

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.

Vanta: How many integrations does Vanta support?

Vanta integrates with 300+ pre-built system connections and supports over 90% automation of compliance tasks through these integrations.

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.

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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