Switching guide
Cortex Cloud alternatives: switching from Cortex Cloud for multi-cloud coverage
Short answer
The highest-scoring alternatives to Cortex Cloud on our coverage weights are Orca Security, Wiz and CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security. Cortex Cloud scores 7.75 and ranks 5 of 9. Before switching, check the rows where Cortex Cloud still scores higher, listed under each alternative below.
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial assessment; we did not run the products.
Why do teams look beyond Cortex Cloud?
- The pages reviewed do not name agentless workload scanning.
- No public price list.
- Prisma Cloud customers are being moved onto Cortex Cloud, which is a natural point to compare options.
Which alternatives score highest?
- 7 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
- 2Wiz4 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named and Runtime layer when you need it
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Path to first findings, Runtime layer when you need it, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth and Risk context from day one
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Path to first findings and Cost visibility before purchase
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
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Path to first findings, Runtime layer when you need it and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named, Risk context from day one and Integrations and reach
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named and Integrations and reach
- 3 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Agentless workload depth and Path to first findings
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
- 7 of 8
Scores higher than Cortex Cloud on: Clouds and environments named and Cost visibility before purchase
Cortex Cloud scores higher on: Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
- Named on the vendor's pages we reviewed
- Not named on the pages we reviewed (this does not mean unsupported)
What should you check before you switch?
- Whether the alternative covers the posture modules you use today: CIEM, DSPM and attack surface management.
- Whether CNAPP is already included in your Cortex Cloud Runtime Security contract at no additional cost.
- How the alternative fits next to your Palo Alto Networks security operations tools.
When should you stay with Cortex Cloud?
Stay with Cortex Cloud if you run Palo Alto Networks security operations products, value its runtime agent and CDR, and CNAPP comes at no additional cost under your Cortex Cloud Runtime Security contract.
Frequently asked questions
What is the top-scoring alternative to Cortex Cloud?
Orca Security at 9.09 on our default weights. It scores higher than Cortex Cloud on Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one and Cost visibility before purchase.
Which Cortex Cloud alternatives name the most clouds?
Orca Security (7 of 8), Aqua Security (7 of 8) and Wiz (4 of 8).
Which Cortex Cloud alternative publishes its pricing?
Orca Security: 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. Wiz: AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Wiz Essential, 100 cloud workloads, $24,000.00; Wiz Advanced, 100 cloud workloads, $38,000.00. Add-ons: Wiz Sensor (100 sensors, for Wiz Advanced) $28,000.00; Wiz Code (100 licenses) $58,500.00; Wiz Defend (300 GB of logs per month, for Wiz Advanced) $18,000.00. Wiz's own site quotes custom prices. CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security: AWS Marketplace, pay as you go (listing combined with Next-Gen SIEM): runtime host protection $0.023 per hour per running host; container protection $0.054 per hour per running worker node; Fargate protection $0.01 per hour per Fargate instance. 30-day free trial with up to $500 in usage credits. CrowdStrike's own pricing page lists endpoint bundles only. Microsoft 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%. Sysdig Secure: AWS Marketplace, 1-month contract: CNAPP Enterprise $72.00 per unit per month (the unit was not captured in our read); 12-month contracts listed as saving up to 17%. Sysdig's own pricing page: licensing by number of hosts, prices by quote. 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.