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Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs VMware Carbon Black Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.7
Cortex XDR secures data, reduces malware, lowers costs, and replaces systems, enhancing user satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Sentiment score
7.1
Users reported significant ROI with VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, citing reduced malware and ransomware incidents, and 10% cost savings.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Cortex XDR support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for delayed responses and knowledge gaps in certain regions.
Sentiment score
6.4
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint support is generally praised as effective and knowledgeable, but some report delays and issues with tiered support.
Their support is efficient and responsive whenever I raise a ticket through my portal.
Every vendor has similar support; it depends on how the case is handled and raised.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cortex XDR offers scalable, efficient data handling across Linux, Mac, and Windows, praised for simplifying large enterprise management.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is highly scalable and adaptable for various enterprises, praised for ease of adding tenants and managing environments.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Cortex XDR is praised for its stability and reliability, with minor issues noted but generally offering seamless protection.
Sentiment score
7.6
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is stable, lightweight, reliable, and highly rated, though minor issues with sensors and updates occasionally occur.
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XDR struggles with integration, high memory, false positives, limited features, complex setup, and lacks enhanced support and customization.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint struggles with mobile support, complex UI, performance issues, inadequate reporting, and insufficient third-party integration.
The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products.
Cortex XDR could improve its sales support team, including better commission structures and referral programs.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers view Cortex XDR as expensive yet flexible, offering scalable licensing with varying costs based on features and users.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint licensing is seen as expensive and inflexible, with prices ranging from $15 to $7,000 per node.
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
Compared to competitors such as CrowdStrike and Sophos, the pricing of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is similar to CrowdStrike but more expensive than Sophos.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR excels in cybersecurity with advanced detection, ease of use, and integration, offering scalable, efficient threat management.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint offers robust remote security with intuitive real-time detection, AI-driven threat response, and centralized cloud control.
The product provides automation responses in case of a threat attack, severity assessments, centralized manageability, and comprehensive compliance features, resulting in reduced costs.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
4th
Ranking in Ransomware Protection
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (7th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (4th)
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
22nd
Ranking in Ransomware Protection
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Security Incident Response (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.8%, down from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is 1.6%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

NiteshSharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Automated threat response and behavioral control improve security measures
I recommend adding a data loss prevention (DLP ( /categories/data-loss-prevention-dlp )) solution to Cortex XDR ( /categories/extended-detection-and-response-xdr ) by Palo Alto Networks. The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP ( /categories/data-loss-prevention-dlp ) policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products. Additionally, multi-tenancy and multi-cloud features are not available and should be considered for inclusion.
KarthikR1 - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has an easy setup but needs to mature on cloud environment security
The maturity of the Kubernetes security is absent in Carbon Black CB Defense. The solution has to mature on container security and a lot of cloud environment security. Security is available only for Windows, while security for Linux and Mac is not very strong. The deadlock issue causes me to put more effort into installing an upgrade. The numerous issues with the environment of the product solution should be addressed. Work orders are taking more than two months to get resolved. There's been one issue open for two months, and the solution they gave is being implemented step by step. Still, it is not meeting the requirements and breaking the system. Hence, our business is completely disturbed.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. The ability to reverse damage caused by ransomware with minimal interruptions to...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
What to choose: an endpoint antivirus, an EDR solution or both?
I can recommend Carbon Black, an award-winning next-gen anti-virus (NGAV) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) security solution. The CB Predictive Security Cloud platform combines multiple hi...
What's the difference between Carbon Black CB Response and Carbon Black CB Defense?
Carbon Black offers two different levels of Endpoint Detection and Response. One is the VM Carbon Black Cloud Endpoint Standard (CB Defense), and the other is the Carbon Black Endpoint Detection an...
What do you like most about Carbon Black CB Defense?
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is a highly stable solution.
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
Carbon Black CB Defense, Bit9, Confer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Netflix, Progress Residential, Indeed, Hologic, Gentle Giant, Samsung Research America
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs. VMware Carbon Black Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.