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Picus Security 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

Picus Security
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
The NodeZero Platform by Ho...
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
1st
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
16
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 Picus Security is 12.8%, down from 18.6% 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%
Picus Security12.8%
Other73.3%
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
 

Featured Reviews

Ronald Paz - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Systems Engineer at Boomslang Tech
Continuous validation has improved detection coverage and now provides evidence-based security decisions
The best feature Picus Security offers in my experience is automated attack simulation plus MITRE mapping. It provides real evidence of control effectiveness, standardized validation using the MITRE ATT&CK framework, and enables risk-based prioritizations. For example, before Picus Security, we thought EDR was working, but after working with Picus Security, EDR detects 72% of credential access techniques. The automation and use of the MITRE ATT&CK framework have helped me significantly in my day-to-day work. For example, as I mentioned before, we thought EDR was working, but after the test with Picus Security, we detected that EDR detects 72% of credential access techniques. This changed decision-making from our opinion to metrics-driven security. The impact on the organization from using Picus Security was important because it increased visibility of security gaps, reduced a false sense of security, improved SOC detection accuracy, and supported audit and compliance in frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and CIS Controls. In my project specifically, the positive impact of Picus Security was to improve our organization's security validation maturity from a reactive posture to a continuous evidence-driven validation model. We improved detection capability, reduced security gaps, and experienced faster validation of security controls. Specific outcomes or metrics showing these improvements include detection coverage based on MITRE ATT&CK. The metric is simulated techniques successfully detected. Before Picus Security, it was 57% to 75%. After tuning with Picus Security, it was 80% to 95%. Additionally, for prevention effectiveness, represented by control efficacy, the metric is the percentage of attacks blocked before execution. Before it was 40% to 55%. After tuning with Picus Security, it reached 70% to 90%.
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

"You have the liberty of physically executing a specific set of rules in your environment."
"It's very useful software because the customer mostly configures their IPS and manages their firewalls, WAF, and the DBS according to the latest update, latest news, or according to the situation."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its integration capabilities with the other security tools."
"It provides good reports and offers signature-based solutions."
"The most valuable feature of Picus Security is its threat intelligence, providing suggestions to block and prevent attacks by identifying malicious files and providing threat IDs."
"One of the most valuable features would be the detection capability, specifically the ability to detect alarms and logs collected from SIEM tools."
"The impact on the organization from using Picus Security was important because it increased visibility of security gaps, reduced a false sense of security, improved SOC detection accuracy, and supported audit and compliance in frameworks such as ISO 27001, NIST, and CIS Controls."
"If someone was looking into this product, I would absolutely recommend it."
"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 best feature of The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai is that it is an autonomous pen testing tool that knows how to penetrate into the system automatically and perform lateral movement inside the network without the need for scripting."
"We chose The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai because, first, of its superior technical capability for the use cases we were looking for, second, the cost, which we believe was much more affordable than the other products, and third, the customer and technical support was very good for us."
"My favorite feature about The NodeZero Platform is that it's autonomous, and it truly delivers on that promise—it can be set and forgotten while it performs its tasks, and it does exactly what it claims to do."
"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."
"For us, The NodeZero Platform is literally the single best security solution we have because the way that it works is we're able to scan every part of our network, both internally and externally, and then get completely actionable feedback that doesn't matter if it's for an application developer or a network admin."
"I rate the stability of the NodeZero Platform a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The reporting and data analysis could be improved. Specifically, the analysis of the results."
"The amount of integrations that the product can handle is an area of concern, making it one of the aspects where improvements are required."
"According to the attack vectors, you cannot specify which product is failing or which product is working well because there's no agent."
"There is room for improvement in the response rate provided by customer support."
"To improve, Picus Security could consider establishing a data center in India to address trust issues and increase interest from Indian customers."
"Let's say if a customer's environment has 10 security devices and they need to know that there is an attack that has bypassed their devices, they cannot go and inspect every device and every rule in their security devices."
"From a real-world perspective, Picus Security could be improved with more native integration with LATAM-used tools, improved report customization for executive-level dashboards, and enhanced automation in remediation workflows, ideally with SOAR-like capabilities."
"The reports are quite useless."
"They've added a chatbot which isn't particularly useful, but when it can't answer questions, it forwards messages to human support."
"I would like to see an improvement in the notification management."
"Sometimes even their support doesn't know why we're seeing certain issues."
"When it comes to the stability of The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai, I would rate it around seven to eight because the stability is not that high initially due to the need for daily updates and modifications as new vulnerabilities appear."
"The only issue we’ve encountered is that sometimes the scans take a long time to complete."
"The speed of the scans takes some time, but in my opinion, it is not surprising for what it is doing."
"If we have had problems, that is with the actual licensing style they are using."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have certain price ranges for their products, depending upon the use cases, and the number of applications the customer wants to try."
"There is a yearly license according to the number of vectors. The pricing is moderate."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Picus Security?
The most valuable feature of Picus Security is its threat intelligence, providing suggestions to block and prevent attacks by identifying malicious files and providing threat IDs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Picus Security?
The pricing of Picus Security is average, and it offers a good value for money.
What needs improvement with Picus Security?
There is room for improvement in the response rate provided by customer support. Picus Security could improve the response time.
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

Akbank, Exclusive Networks, Garanti, ING Bank, QNB Finansbank, Turkcell, Vodafone, Yapı Kredi
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 Picus Security vs. The NodeZero Platform by Horizon3.ai and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.