Head to head
Orca vs Upwind: which reaches your whole cloud estate faster?
Short answer
On our coverage weights Orca scores 9.09 against 7.63 for Upwind. Orca scores higher on clouds and environments named, agentless workload depth, path to first findings, risk context from day one, integrations and reach and cost visibility before purchase; Upwind scores higher on runtime layer when you need it. Orca names 7 of 8 environments and Upwind names 4.
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 | Orca | Upwind | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and environments named 20% | 10.0 | 7.0 | Orca |
| Agentless workload depth 25% | 9.8 | 8.0 | Orca |
| Path to first findings 15% | 9.0 | 7.0 | Orca |
| Risk context from day one 15% | 9.6 | 9.0 | Orca |
| Runtime layer when you need it 10% | 7.6 | 9.4 | Upwind |
| Integrations and reach 7% | 8.2 | 7.0 | Orca |
| Cost visibility before purchase 8% | 6.5 | 5.0 | Orca |
| Total | 9.09 | 7.63 | Orca |
Orca
Upwind
Which environments does each name?
Orca Security
The platform page names AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud. The Orca Sensor page names public cloud, private cloud and on-premises.
Source: Orca Security platform overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
Upwind
Upwind's homepage names AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and OCI as partnerships.
Source: Upwind homepage · 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, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud. Only Orca: Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. Only Upwind: none.
How does each see workloads?
- Coverage model
- Agentless SideScanning reads each workload's runtime block storage and rebuilds its file system in a read-only view, covering Linux and Windows VMs, containers and images, and serverless.
- Runtime layer
- Orca Sensor, eBPF-based, for Linux, Kubernetes and Windows; can be configured to terminate processes and shows which vulnerable packages actually execute. Optional.
- Path to first findings
- Agentless connection to each cloud account; Orca states SideScanning "deploys in minutes". No agent rollout is needed for the first inventory.
Orca
- Coverage model
- Agentless scanning combined with eBPF runtime sensors; the design centers on the sensor.
- Runtime layer
- eBPF sensor with baselines of cloud activity and network flows, and forensic event timelines (CDR).
- Path to first findings
- Agentless scanning gives a first view; Upwind's runtime context, which it leads with, needs its sensor.
Upwind
What does each cost?
Orca
AWS Marketplace lists four contract tiers by concurrent EC2 workloads: Small (up to 100) $7,000.00, Small-Medium (300) $12,000.00, Medium (500) $17,000.00, Large (1,000) $30,000.00. The listing has 1-month and 12-month tabs; we did not capture which term these figures belong to, so confirm the term on the listing. No price on Orca's own site.
Source: AWS Marketplace: Orca Security CNAPP Cloud Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026
Upwind
AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Upwind Cloud Security Platform $30,000.00; Upwind Managed Detection and Response 24/7 Service $6,000.00. The quantity each price covers was not captured in our read. 24-month and 36-month contracts are listed with savings. No price on Upwind's own site.
Source: AWS Marketplace: Upwind Cloud Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026
What does each claim?
Orca
Upwind
Which should you choose?
Choose Orca if
you value coverage of the most clouds and environments and deep agentless reads of every workload.
Best fit: Teams with workloads across several clouds, including Oracle, Alibaba or Tencent, who need a full agentless inventory before any agent rollout.
Choose Upwind if
you value a deep runtime sensor for detection and blocking and a ranked fix list from attack paths.
Best fit: Teams that want runtime context early and are ready to deploy a sensor soon after the first scan.
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher for multi-cloud coverage, Orca or Upwind?
Orca scores 9.09 against 7.63 on our default weights. With equal weights the order is Orca first (8.67 against 7.49). The coverage calculator lets you set your own weights.
Which clouds do Orca and Upwind name?
Orca: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. The platform page names AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud. The Orca Sensor page names public cloud, private cloud and on-premises. Upwind: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and Oracle Cloud. Upwind's homepage names AWS, Google Cloud, Azure and OCI as partnerships.
Which is cheaper?
Orca: AWS Marketplace lists four contract tiers by concurrent EC2 workloads: Small (up to 100) $7,000.00, Small-Medium (300) $12,000.00, Medium (500) $17,000.00, Large (1,000) $30,000.00. The listing has 1-month and 12-month tabs; we did not capture which term these figures belong to, so confirm the term on the listing. No price on Orca's own site. Upwind: AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Upwind Cloud Security Platform $30,000.00; Upwind Managed Detection and Response 24/7 Service $6,000.00. The quantity each price covers was not captured in our read. 24-month and 36-month contracts are listed with savings. No price on Upwind's own site. Neither figure is a quote for your estate.