Head to head
Cortex Cloud vs Defender for Cloud: which reaches your whole cloud estate faster?
Short answer
On our coverage weights Defender for Cloud scores 7.86 against 7.75 for Cortex Cloud. Cortex Cloud scores higher on clouds and environments named, agentless workload depth, risk context from day one, runtime layer when you need it and integrations and reach; Defender for Cloud scores higher on path to first findings and cost visibility before purchase. Cortex Cloud names 5 of 8 environments and Defender for Cloud names 4.
Defender for Cloud's free tier covers posture only. Its agentless workload scanning is in the paid Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers Plan 2 tiers, which is what its agentless score reflects.
Cortex Cloud is the product formerly sold as Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks announced the merger with Cortex CDR on 13 February 2025.
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial assessment; we did not run the products.
How do the scores compare?
| Criterion | Cortex Cloud | Defender for Cloud | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and environments named 20% | 9.2 | 7.5 | Cortex Cloud |
| Agentless workload depth 25% | 7.6 | 7.4 | Cortex Cloud |
| Path to first findings 15% | 6.0 | 8.0 | Defender for Cloud |
| Risk context from day one 15% | 8.8 | 7.8 | Cortex Cloud |
| Runtime layer when you need it 10% | 9.2 | 8.0 | Cortex Cloud |
| Integrations and reach 7% | 9.0 | 8.6 | Cortex Cloud |
| Cost visibility before purchase 8% | 3.0 | 9.2 | Defender for Cloud |
| Total | 7.75 | 7.86 | Defender for Cloud |
Cortex Cloud
Defender for Cloud
Which environments does each name?
Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud (formerly Prisma Cloud)
The Cortex Cloud posture page offers "agentless, full-coverage visibility across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OCI, and Alibaba Cloud".
Source: Cortex Cloud posture management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft documents Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, and on-premises servers through Azure Arc.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Servers overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
- Named on the vendor's pages we reviewed
- Not named on the pages we reviewed (this does not mean unsupported)
Named by both: AWS, Azure and Google Cloud. Only Cortex Cloud: Oracle Cloud and Alibaba Cloud. Only Defender for Cloud: On-premises or private cloud.
How does each see workloads?
- Coverage model
- Posture, vulnerability and attack-surface modules work from cloud APIs; the pages reviewed lead with a runtime agent and do not name agentless workload scanning.
- Runtime layer
- Cortex Cloud Runtime Security, a performance-optimized agent, plus CDR from the Cortex CDR merger.
- Path to first findings
- API-based posture first; workload depth comes from the runtime agent.
Cortex Cloud
- Coverage model
- Free Foundational CSPM for posture; agentless VM, secrets and Kubernetes scanning only in the paid Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers Plan 2 tiers.
- Runtime layer
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint EDR through Defender for Servers Plan 1 and Plan 2.
- Path to first findings
- Foundational CSPM is free; AWS and Google Cloud are added as connectors. Microsoft states that from 27 October 2026 Foundational CSPM becomes opt-in for new Azure subscriptions. Paid plans have a 30-day free trial.
Defender for Cloud
What does each cost?
Cortex Cloud
Not published No public price; the Cortex Cloud page offers only Request a Demo. CNAPP is included at no additional cost for Cortex Cloud Runtime Security customers.
Source: Cortex Cloud posture management · Read 11 Oct 2026
Defender for Cloud
Published list prices (USD, monthly, East/Central US): Foundational CSPM free; Defender CSPM $5.11 per billable resource; Defender for Servers Plan 1 $4.906 and Plan 2 $14.60 per server; Defender for Containers $6.8693 per vCore; Defender for Storage $10 per storage account; Defender for AI Services $0.0008 per 1,000 tokens. Free for the first 30 days; 1-year pre-purchase commit units save up to 22%.
Source: Azure: Defender for Cloud pricing (per-plan list prices) · Read 11 Oct 2026
What does each claim?
Cortex Cloud
No speed, count or customer figure from Cortex Cloud is quoted on this site.
Defender for Cloud
No speed, count or customer figure from Defender for Cloud is quoted on this site.
Which should you choose?
Choose Cortex Cloud if
you value coverage of the most clouds and environments and a deep runtime sensor for detection and blocking.
Best fit: Palo Alto Networks estates and Prisma Cloud customers moving onto Cortex Cloud.
Choose Defender for Cloud if
you value a price you can model before talking to sales and integrations and platform reach.
Best fit: Azure-first teams that also run AWS or Google Cloud and want to start free and model cost before buying.
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher for multi-cloud coverage, Cortex Cloud or Defender for Cloud?
Defender for Cloud scores 7.86 against 7.75 on our default weights. With equal weights the order is Defender for Cloud first (8.07 against 7.54). The coverage calculator lets you set your own weights.
Which clouds do Cortex Cloud and Defender for Cloud name?
Cortex Cloud: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud and Alibaba Cloud. The Cortex Cloud posture page offers "agentless, full-coverage visibility across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OCI, and Alibaba Cloud". Defender for Cloud: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. Microsoft documents Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, and on-premises servers through Azure Arc.
Which is cheaper?
Cortex Cloud: Not published. Defender for Cloud: Published list prices (USD, monthly, East/Central US): Foundational CSPM free; Defender CSPM $5.11 per billable resource; Defender for Servers Plan 1 $4.906 and Plan 2 $14.60 per server; Defender for Containers $6.8693 per vCore; Defender for Storage $10 per storage account; Defender for AI Services $0.0008 per 1,000 tokens. Free for the first 30 days; 1-year pre-purchase commit units save up to 22%. Neither figure is a quote for your estate.