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Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Varonis Platform comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 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 Cloud by Palo Alto N...
Ranking in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.4
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (38th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (17th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (23rd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (16th), Software Supply Chain Security (14th), Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM) (7th), Application Security Posture Management (ASPM) (9th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (9th)
Varonis Platform
Ranking in Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (15th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (4th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (3rd), Data Governance (4th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st), Compliance Management (7th), Ransomware Protection (7th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (6th), Insider Risk Management (1st), AI Security (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

Nuno-Santos - PeerSpot reviewer
Cybersecurity Analyst at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Has improved real-time threat detection and unified cloud protection through AI and automation
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is creating some confusion in terms of names because this is recent. They changed the names of the products and are now clarifying their offer. The family of the products is not easy to follow because it's very recent. Regarding the generative AI security tool, I know for sure it's Agentic. Based on my experience with Palo Alto, I can suggest what Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks could make better or what additional functions could be added. This is the best tool in the market. It's not the time to tell what they could do better because it's a recent tool. The market is now adopting it. Our experience doesn't show that they need to do more.
SureshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
Has improved data visibility and protection while enabling automated compliance monitoring
Varonis Platform offers multiple features for data protection, such as data discovery and classification. We can identify, discover, and classify sensitive data effectively, which is crucial given the DPDP law in India and GDPR. The platform also excels in access and exposure tracking, enabling us to monitor users, permissions, and reduce access to sensitive files. Additionally, it includes UEBA for behavior analytics and threat detection, making it valuable for compliance and audit readiness. Varonis Platform has helped our organization primarily for DPDP compliance, although I currently don't have a specific example related to GDPR or HIPAA. A unique feature of Varonis Platform that stands out to me is that, in the current market, it is one of the best data classification solutions available. Compared to others such as Forcepoint, Varonis Platform is agent-based and AI-driven for detection and response, identifying data based on its content and context, and it includes automated remediation and lifecycle automation, making it a leading product in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks has impacted our organization positively by keeping our machines secure and our team using the dashboard to find issues quickly."
"I have absolutely seen improvements in our incident close rates, with mean time to detect and respond reduced significantly, sometimes by at least forty to fifty percent."
"Overall, Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is a technically strong product, and I rate it ten out of ten."
"I have seen several benefits from using Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks: It was easy to use and easy to migrate from the IBM platform."
"The AI and automation features in detecting and responding to high-risk threats are impressive; it's one of the best tools regarding AI technology and unifies security in one platform in real-time, improving vulnerability analysis, incident response, and compliance reporting."
"The analytics would have to be our most valuable feature."
"Varonis Platform is transparent and captures everything in the environment without impacting the performance. The tool helps us unify data feeds into a single reporting system."
"The solution's classification engine is highly configurable and efficient."
"Varonis Platform support has been amazing throughout every step that we have taken with them."
"In my experience, the best features that Varonis Platform offers are data labeling, data classification, along with all the integrations and its easy-to-use platform."
"There's also a 90-day policy where if a user is not using the warehouse, it will automatically delete that username."
"The solution ensures that users have not accidentally shared sensitive information with the wrong people or too many people."
"Varonis offers robust data access governance, allowing us to understand which sensitive data exists and who has access to it."
 

Cons

"The pricing is high, making ROI challenging to justify, especially during transitions between solutions."
"Some aspects of the GUI can be confusing and make it difficult for me to find certain options or navigate where needed."
"Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is creating some confusion in terms of names because this is recent."
"Overall, I rate Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks as an eight out of ten. I think that it could improve on price, as I know that the Google solution has the best price, and this is one of the conditions."
"The GUI should be more functional. There should be a process for connecting through Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc."
"We have Microsoft Office 365. I just saw an article today which says that they're actually getting integrated with Microsoft Office 365, which would be a useful feature. For user-based reports, log on activity, and stuff like that, it doesn't seem to really be present like Log360. That could just be my inexperience with it. I've been dealing with it for only about two and a half months."
"For unstructured data monitoring, it's one of the top ones, if not the top one, due to its usability."
"One area for improvement is the calculation engine. When applying rules in Varonis, especially for large datasets (terabytes of data), the calculations can be slow and require time to process. Speeding up this process would be beneficial."
"The solution's interface is a little complicated with regard to setting up filters and reports."
"Be prepared that when you implement the product, you will have to tune it as you go."
"While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environments."
"The product is very complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"You could do a subscription, where you pay yearly, or you could purchase it outright. The licensing cost is based on the number of users on the system that you are monitoring."
"Varonis Platform wasn't certainly the cheapest solution."
"It's expensive, kind of, really expensive."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."
"The platform is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."
"Licensing is on an annual basis. Maintenance and renewal fees are separate. Varonis Datalert is quite expensive."
"The pricing is good. It neither expensive nor cheap. It is average."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Performing Arts
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
The solution is costly, with high-end capabilities suitable for enterprises. It is less affordable for startups or small-scale vendors.
What needs improvement with Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
Regarding areas for improvement, the tool performs its functions well, but frequent name changes across Palo Alto Networks products can be frustrating for technical teams who must continually adapt...
What is your primary use case for Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks?
Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks serves as our primary tool for understanding our assets and performing API integration between our multi-cloud infrastructure, specifically AWS and Azure, to gain...
What do you like most about Varonis Platform?
The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand w...
What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?
While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environments. However, this is not an issue in mid-level organizations. I suggest enhan...
What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?
My main use case for Varonis Platform is for data classification on the user's machine, specifically for data visibility and protection. A quick, specific example of how I use Varonis Platform for ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SlashNext Complete
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nottingham Building Society
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs. Varonis Platform and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.