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Expel vs Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR 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

Expel
Ranking in SOC as a Service
4th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (17th)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex X...
Ranking in SOC as a Service
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the SOC as a Service category, the mindshare of Expel is 8.6%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is 6.0%, down from 22.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SOC as a Service Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR6.0%
Expel8.6%
Other85.4%
SOC as a Service
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2578461 - PeerSpot reviewer
MDR Specialist at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Rapid threat management and diverse technology integration for effective monitoring
Expel has made it easier for companies to monitor and manage various log sources. With its vast integration portfolio, customers can efficiently monitor diverse environments. Time to value is quick, as Expel can turn their service up very rapidly. They have both automated active responses and human processes that quicken threat resolution.
CC
Enterprise Security Architect V at FirstEnergy
Customization supports seamless workflow while data influx challenges response time
What I appreciate most about Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is that it is very open, even more so than Anomali. I can create various custom automations and custom fields. There is significant customization ability in this platform. If I already have an established process, I do not have to change my process to fit into the tool. I can modify the tool to fit into my process, which makes things considerably easier. All of our alerts from different tools come into this central place as we have multiple SIEMs. We have items coming from Anomali and other platforms that are not SIEM tools. This serves as our central location where our SOC analysts can work and determine if incident response is needed. The platform provides data enrichment capabilities, offering information upfront so analysts do not have to search for it. They can access details such as username, phone number, email address, and workplace information. For malware files, they can retrieve details from VirusTotal, including file names and environment presence. We have built substantial automation around these features, which also helps us track case metrics, investigation time, and threat mitigation duration.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Their threat hunting protocol and process with AI and machine learning are strong, allowing for active and rapid responses."
"It is a scalable solution."
"Each incident collected is orchestrated with automation that selects the security analyst to be involved, or provides complex execution plans for managing security incidents."
"They have a portal where you can find any kind of integration that you need."
"The most valuable features of Cortex XSOAR include its vast library of plugins, which allow us to integrate various tools and solutions seamlessly."
"Palo Alto is easy to use."
"Cortex XSOAR's most valuable features are the playbooks, custom integration, the machine-learning model, and the layout, classifier, and mapper."
"It has an extensive list of integrations that are available out of the box which makes it easy to start."
"We use the solution to automate our SIEM tools and incidents."
 

Cons

"The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solution. There's a gap there, and solutions might require third-party assistance for management."
"We need a little hands-on experience to install the solution."
"When Palo Alto bought the solution, the pricing increased by 1.5 times. There's been a 50% increase, which is a lot."
"Implementing this solution requires a lot of involvement from the vendor and it should be made easier for the partners."
"The platform’s setup procedures could be streamlined compared to one of its competitors."
"Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR could improve the Panorama feature. We had to turn it off because it was not working properly."
"They should provide integration with machine learning platforms."
"Creating complex playbooks using coding languages, such as Python, could be easier."
"The solution's correlation rules and playbooks should be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It's cheaper compared to its competitors."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price, I rate the pricing a nine."
"The solution's pricing needs improvement."
"Palo Alto offers significant discounts to customers who purchase the products repeatedly."
"The solution is expensive."
"Cortex XSOAR's price could be lower."
"There is a yearly license required for this solution and it is expensive."
"It is approx $10,000 or $20,000 per year for two user licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
9%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Expel?
Expel's pricing has adapted as the market evolved and has become competitive over the past twelve months.
What needs improvement with Expel?
The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solution. There's a gap there, and solutions might require third-party assistance for m...
What is your primary use case for Expel?
I have experience reselling Expel. Customers often come to me wanting to evaluate multiple providers to make a choice based on their specific use cases, requirements, technology investments, and so...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
Comparing pricing to Micro Focus, they were offering bundles, making it free with their SIEM. For customers, it is zero versus $20 million, which is why they have to make a decision.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
To improve the solution, it needs to have complete features that are low-code, no-code, and should be plug-and-play. We need to see improvements in that area to facilitate cyber analysts.
 

Also Known As

Workbench, Expel SOC-as-a-Service
Demisto Enterprise, Cortex XSOAR, Demisto
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amanda Fennell CSO
Cellcom Israel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, esri, Cylance, Flatiron Health, Veeva, ADT Cybersecurity
Find out what your peers are saying about Arctic Wolf Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Fortra and others in SOC as a Service. Updated: January 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.