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Cortex Xpanse vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 15, 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 Xpanse
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Darktrace
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (8th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of Cortex Xpanse is 4.2%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 9.1%, down from 16.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

Ali Mohamed - PeerSpot reviewer
Proactively manages security and identifies vulnerabilities with good alerts
We use Cortex Xpanse as a security control for attack surface management in our organization When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action. It checks vulnerabilities periodically, ensuring they are addressed, which helps in…
Malebo Lethoba Group - PeerSpot reviewer
Have found the AI analyst and detection functions highly valuable for network operations while managing complexity in initial setup
The functions I find most valuable in Darktrace are the AI analyst as well as the detection.The autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace are not crucial for me because it doesn't work in a network where there are no core switches. In a modern network, the autonomous response doesn't work, especially when sitting in a shared data center.If I'm running a traditional network where I am not in a shared data center with a layer two dedicated for my resources, then it can work for me. However, if I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface."
"Cortex Xpanse is a strong solution for attack surface management, including digital brand protection and continuous monitoring."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"As an attack surface manager, I highly recommend Cortex Xpanse, especially if there are many services exposed publicly on the internet."
"The most valuable aspect is its ability to catch trojans and malware."
"The most valuable features of the solution are its firewall and antivirus."
"When there is an alert from Cortex Xpanse regarding a certificate or surface, it prompts us to take immediate action."
"Darktrace is extremely stable."
"In terms of features, the data or information they collect and unsupervised machine learning are very valuable. Its unsupervised machine learning has reduced our team's effort. Both Darktrace and Vectra work on unsupervised machine learning that learns the behavior or develops a profile on its own, which allows our security team to do some other tasks rather than spending time on Darktrace or Vectra. Because of unsupervised machine learning, its detection capability is quite good. Along with that, if we utilize the integration feature properly, the automated incident response capability of Darktrace is quite useful."
"I have used multiple solutions, but its graphical user interface is quite interesting and quite descriptive. There are a lot of video animations, and we can easily see how the data is transferred between various points. That's something really interesting. It is also quite easy to understand for a new user."
"The autonomous response is also highly designed in Darktrace."
"The most valuable feature has been the behavioral analytics that allows us to monitor all the traffic."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint protection."
"I am impressed with the product's ability to give insights into network traffic."
"Technical support is helpful and responsive."
 

Cons

"Some improvements are needed in the user interface. It may require more enhancements."
"Cortex Xpanse needs to add dark-web scanning."
"Some improvements are needed in the user interface."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"Cortex Xpanse should offer better customization and configuration options on its dashboard."
"It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors might provide."
"There is an issue with the old versions of Cortex, and so when we have an older one with Windows or any OS, we have a problem with its connectivity with the cloud."
"The solution would benefit from automation. Currently, you have to know what you are searching for."
"Darktrace could expand into EDR (endpoint detection and response) and combine it with its network detection."
"The pricing model is a little too high and could be more flexible."
"The dashboard and reporting for this solution could be improved as it is currently complex. The GUI for this solution could also be improved."
"They just need to make it a little bit more accurate as far as their alerts are concerned. It does generate some false positives that you have to tune. You have to do a lot of tuning when you first get it because of the false positives, but once it is all tuned up and ready to go, it will do its thing from there."
"I would like to see a feature where the tool ingests information from an anti-malware product that is present at the endpoint."
"In a shared environment, it doesn't work, and there are still some integration issues."
"The management user interface needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cortex Xpanse is cheaper than other solutions."
"The tool's cost is too high."
"Our customers feel that the price of Darktrace is quite high compared to other solutions."
"It is a very expensive product."
"Darktrace is pricey, but the price is reasonable for what the solution does, and it's comparable to other products."
"We had an issue with pricing initially and had to cancel some of the features of the projects to fit the budget. I would like to see pricing that is not broken up into parts so that we can buy the whole package once. Darktrace is more expensive than an average solution, but it's functionality won't match that of an average solution."
"I'm unfamiliar with the exact cost, but we have a yearly license and had to pay for Darktrace's services before the deployment. The product is very expensive, so some organizations can't afford to pay the total amount directly, meaning they often seek a partner or pay in installments, which increases the price more."
"They are too expensive compared with other vendors."
"The tool's pricing is costly."
"There is an annual license to use Darktrace."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse has an easy-to-use user interface.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cortex Xpanse?
Cortex Xpanse is a bit expensive compared to other market solutions like FortyRicoh and RiskIQ, making it more suitable for enterprise companies.
What needs improvement with Cortex Xpanse?
It's challenging to confirm the absolute coverage and penetration of Cortex Xpanse into the Dark Web. The solution lacks comprehensive intelligence on adversaries and risks, which other competitors...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex Xpanse vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.