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Fortra's Cobalt Strike vs The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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

Fortra's Cobalt Strike
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
6th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
The NodeZero Platform by Ho...
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (8th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (11th), Penetration Testing Services (1st), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) category, the mindshare of Fortra's Cobalt Strike is 2.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai is 13.9%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai13.9%
Fortra's Cobalt Strike2.5%
Other83.6%
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2519427 - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Compact, versatile, creates shell codes for bypassing antivirus and built-in report templates streamline the process
Probably its delivery methods could be improved. It might need some improvements on its spear phishing module. You can clone a web page, and then you can spear phish a target, and the target connects to your beacon. I believe that it needs to be more modernized to the current standards of multi-factor authentication bypass. Although there are already tools that actually do that, like Evilginx that’s been used as a proxy server, I truly believe Cobalt Strike could do something like that. I believe if Cobalt modernize this specific feature to try to bypass multi-factor authentication, it’s gonna be something. I’m not aware if it’s actually a feature in the latest Cobalt Strike updates, but from my version, I don’t see that it’s possible right now. I don’t think AI is at the stage where it can conduct such complex operations. AI is mostly being used to create phishing templates, very simple stuff. AI is not mature enough to do something more complex, although I truly believe that in a few years, it might have such capabilities.
Hussain Z - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager | Manager Security Services at RISK ASSOCIATES
Automated testing has transformed how we deliver fast, consistent security assessments
The key capabilities of the NodeZero platform by Horizon3.ai that I have found most valuable are its speed, scalability, and consistency. It is able to cover a broad scope in a relatively short period of time, which delivers significant efficiency gains when compared with traditional manual testing. It also provides a more consistent outcome, as the process is not influenced by human bias or variability. One of the most valuable features is the ability for security teams to remediate and retest vulnerabilities immediately. The one-click verification capability is particularly effective, as it allows fixes to be validated quickly without the need to rerun the entire assessment. This streamlines the remediation cycle and supports faster confirmation of security improvements. The platform’s real attack capabilities have also helped reduce false positives in the identification of vulnerabilities across our on-premises systems. Because the findings are evidence-based and validated prior to reporting, the results are more reliable and actionable. This enables us to focus our efforts on confirmed security issues that genuinely require attention, rather than spending time investigating theoretical or unverified exposures. The NodeZero platform also strengthens my understanding of potential security threats through its continuously updated capabilities. With new vulnerabilities emerging and being exploited in the wild on a regular basis, it is valuable to have a platform backed by a strong research and development function that continuously updates attack content to reflect the current threat landscape. This makes the platform effective not only as a point-in-time validation tool, but as part of an ongoing and continuous security assurance programme.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It also made a lot of post-exploitation activities easier."
"Cobalt Strike offers significant customization capabilities."
"The NodeZero Platform is amazing; what I love most about it is that it's automated and comparable to the manual pen testing we did with a third-party company, but with the added benefit of unlimited retesting to validate fixes."
"What I appreciate the most about The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai is its distinctive competitive advantage, which is the ability to bundle multiple security solutions into one single tool."
"The NodeZero Platform's real attack capabilities help identify vulnerabilities on my on-premise systems by adding an element of validation and offensive security testing on top of known vulnerabilities. The feature that allows security teams to fix and retest vulnerabilities instantly is very useful, even though it may not happen literally 'instantly.' It's a necessary tool for any organization to understand whether vulnerabilities are genuinely exploitable by attackers. With its near-real-time testing capabilities, it's an essential part of any security portfolio."
"After the third party conducts the pen test, The NodeZero Platform is run, and it finds the same things they found and sometimes a few other things that they did not even identify."
"The NodeZero Platform's real attack capabilities help in identifying vulnerabilities on our on-prem systems because it provides actual vulnerabilities by attacking our systems."
"The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai is better than manual penetration test scans, definitely worth trying if you are considering using it because it reduces the time and cost associated with manual scans and presents the data in a very clear way that even non-technical people can understand."
"If someone was looking into this product, I would absolutely recommend it."
"Penetration testing and scans are useful features."
 

Cons

"Probably its delivery methods could be improved."
"The stability of the tool can be improved."
"The speed of the scans takes some time, but in my opinion, it is not surprising for what it is doing."
"I think The NodeZero Platform could improve by leveraging GPUs for password cracking, which would be pretty good."
"Sometimes even their support doesn't know why we're seeing certain issues."
"I encountered challenges with patch management, as we struggled to test and implement patches due to time constraints. This led to our patch management process being ineffective."
"If we have had problems, that is with the actual licensing style they are using."
"They've added a chatbot which isn't particularly useful, but when it can't answer questions, it forwards messages to human support."
"The reports are quite useless."
"We did hundreds of tests, so that is why we did not continue, as it was very expensive for a very low yield."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Transportation Company
11%
Healthcare Company
9%
Hospitality Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
While not inexpensive, Cobalt Strike is a comprehensive platform. Its pricing reflects the capabilities and flexibility it offers. The solution can be cost-effective when utilizing its full potenti...
What needs improvement with Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
The stability of the tool can be improved. There are some limitations, but they tend to be more from outside of the tool rather than within it. The limitations often come from operators who may lac...
What is your primary use case for Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
I use Cobalt Strike to emulate threat actor activities.
What needs improvement with Horizon3.ai?
Improvements with The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai are already underway; many people mention infrastructure testing is well-handled, but they seek better web application testing, which is curre...
What is your primary use case for Horizon3.ai?
My main use case for The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai is to demo the platform to our channel partners and any end-user customers that they bring us, and also for my own benefit, as we look at o...
What advice do you have for others considering Horizon3.ai?
The way you find a vulnerability with The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai, you can also fix and then verify if that vulnerability has been solved, which is the selling point itself, emphasizing ex...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Horizon3.ai
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Government agencies, Defense Industrial Base organizations, and enterprises in regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and criticalinfrastructure rely on NodeZero to meet rigorous security and compliance requirements with continuous, scheduled, and on-demand testing.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Cobalt Strike vs. The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,264 professionals have used our research since 2012.