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Cortex Xpanse vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex Xpanse
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Darktrace
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
84
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (9th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (13th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (4th), AI Observability (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 2.9%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 5.3%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Darktrace5.3%
Cortex Xpanse2.9%
Other91.8%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ali Mohamed - PeerSpot reviewer
Account Manager at Cairo International Airport Co.
Proactively manages security and identifies vulnerabilities with good alerts
We use Cortex Xpanse as a security control for attack surface management in our organization When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action. It checks vulnerabilities periodically, ensuring they are addressed, which helps in…
AM
Technical Consultant - Unix Platform Services at BITS AND BYTE IT CONSULTING PVT LTD
Consistent threat hunting and anomaly detection deliver valuable insights for network security management
In terms of improvement for Darktrace, pricing is the main concern. Pricing bothers me and this is one of the major factors when choosing a solution. When we get feedback from customers, that's the only felt need. When we factor in Darktrace, we do it only limited. We put it on where the perimeters and connections are, but still, some gray areas are left out, especially if we have multiple branches. We need Darktrace on each branch to get the data out, and I suggest having some kind of a centralized product that gets data from multiple sources to aggregate and provide the data.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."
"The best feature of the product is that it's easy to manage when we have set it up, and the beneficial impact of Cortex Xpanse for the company is security."
"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."
"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action."
"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"I highly recommend the overall solution to other users and rate it as nine out of ten."
"We allow customers to access our Wi-Fi as guests, and some of them were going to restricted sites. Darktrace showed us what they were doing so we could block them."
"Darktrace provides better visibility into network risks, allowing you to take preemptive action against risky user behavior."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace is its ability to detect and counter threats before they occur."
"I particularly like Antigena and the analytics around the real-time monitoring of our network. I also like its reporting because it has got a seven-day reporting period within the system. Every time you run the reports, it gives you the data about the previous seven days. I like that because it is in real-time. I enjoy reading those reports and getting a very clear and decisive idea of what's happening on my network on a real-time basis. I like the actual real-time monitoring of spoofing and things like that. I also like the user monitoring as well as the network logging capabilities."
"Darktrace is valuable since it offers full packet capture and detailed metadata."
"The autonomous response is also highly designed in Darktrace."
"Technical support is helpful and responsive."
 

Cons

"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."
"It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors might provide."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface. It may require more enhancements."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"There is an issue with the old versions of Cortex, and so when we have an older one with Windows or any OS, we have a problem with its connectivity with the cloud."
"Regarding technical support, I would rate it as a seven."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"The cost is a bit on the higher side."
"Needs to improve its collaboration with local partners."
"It takes time to go through the interface and pick up things. If it were a more straightforward interface, then it would free up time."
"Darktrace could improve its features, such as monitoring and detecting ransomware."
"I believe their network monitoring device licensing module could use some improvement."
"It can have more integration with orchestration or event management solutions. They can provide more knowledge or research information for analysts for investigating cases and detecting anomalies in networks."
"Darktrace requires numerous configurations. It would be beneficial if the configuration could be made simpler."
"The interface and dashboards could be improved for ease-of-use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."
"The tool's cost is too high."
"It is pretty expensive, but it is worth it. Its licensing is yearly."
"There is an annual license to use Darktrace."
"If you consider the features and the cost of market leaders, we are satisfied with the pricing."
"The solution is about $6,000 per quarter."
"It was $3,600 a month or $2,000 plus or so. I am not sure. Its licensing is pretty simple."
"Our customers feel that the price of Darktrace is quite high compared to other solutions."
"It is expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Xpanse?
I don't know the licensing or setup cost; I have no idea about the cost.
What needs improvement with Cortex Xpanse?
I'm not sure right now; I have nothing to comment on regarding what could be improved in the product. We are using it and we are satisfied. I have nothing to comment right now on what other feature...
What is your primary use case for Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse is usually used for security from clients.
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Xpanse vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.