Cymulate vs IBM X-Force Exchange comparison

Cymulate and IBM are both solutions in the Threat Intelligence Platforms category. Cymulate is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.6, while IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 9.0. Cymulate holds a 1.1% mindshare in TIPT, compared to IBM’s 1.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cymulate users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IBM users who would recommend it.

Cymulate

Read 5 Cymulate reviews

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71 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IBM X-Force Exchange

Read 4 IBM X-Force Exchange reviews

654 Views
168 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cymulate

IBM X-Force Exchange

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

IBM X-Force Exchange and Cymulate are both prominent products in the cybersecurity landscape. Despite IBM X-Force Exchange's strong support and competitive pricing, Cymulate stands out for its comprehensive features, which users find justify the higher cost.

What features are offered by IBM X-Force Exchange in comparison to Cymulate?

IBM X-Force Exchange offers valuable threat intelligence, a collaborative environment, and competitive pricing. Cymulate provides breach and attack simulation capabilities, continuous security assessments, and comprehensive security testing features.

What areas of improvement can be found in IBM X-Force Exchange in comparison to Cymulate?

IBM X-Force Exchange needs enhanced integration capabilities, real-time data processing, and improved flexibility in integrations. Cymulate requires broader integration with other security tools, enhanced report customization, and improved flexibility for security testing.

How is the ease of deployment and customer service of IBM X-Force Exchange in comparison to Cymulate?

IBM X-Force Exchange's deployment is straightforward with responsive customer service. Cymulate also offers easy deployment but with slightly more complexity in setup and proactive support.

What setup costs and ROI can be seen with IBM X-Force Exchange in comparison to Cymulate?

IBM X-Force Exchange is cost-effective and offers solid ROI. Cymulate's higher setup costs are balanced by its extensive feature set, leading to favorable ROI over time.

To learn more, read our detailed Cymulate vs. IBM X-Force Exchange Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cymulate vs. IBM X-Force Exchange

June 2025

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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

Cymulate

Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms

9th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) (1st), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (11th), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (1st)

IBM X-Force Exchange

Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Threat Intelligence Platforms category, the mindshare of Cymulate is 1.1%, down from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM X-Force Exchange is 1.6%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Threat Intelligence Platforms

Featured Reviews

Ondrej Kováč

Solution Engineer at Exclusive Networks Czechia

Advanced cybersecurity solution for attack based vulnerability mng. and upskill platform for SOC.

While Cymulate's technology shows great promise and delivers excellent results, their approach to positioning the solution appears to overlap with other companies like Tenable, making them both direct and indirect competitors. Cymulate must refine their messaging and manage expectations effectively. In my experience, they need to be more attentive internally and mindful of potential negative impacts on customers. They exhibit a high degree of flexibility, which can result in sudden changes without adequate alerting. Communicating with them via phone for business matters can be challenging. On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Cymulate's technology level at eight, but their business level at four out of ten.

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JohnTamakloe

Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

A threat intelligence platform aiming to enhance its intelligence

It falls under the category of AI-embedded threat intelligence, which makes detection more efficient by reducing the rate of false positives and improving the overall detection rate. When the threat intelligence alone doesn’t provide enough information, we use other methods to verify the threat. For example, IBM has its threat intelligence team and tools. If the threat intelligence doesn’t yield much information, the tool has a framework that can identify suspicious activity. We then use our judgment and experience to implement compensating controls, whether for a potentially malicious patch, IP address, or any other threat. Customers benefit from it, even if they’re not directly integrating it. Through our service, they receive the benefits of the integration. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cymulate is easy to set up, install, and configure."

"The reporting capabilities are very good."

"The security validation feature helps my organization in assessing our security posture."

"The most valuable feature for us is the zero-day."

"Cymulate has positively impacted our organization by helping us to take care of the efficacy and reviewing the policies and configuration."

"This product has helped to increase staff productivity."

"The most valuable feature is you have the expertise of human experience directly involved. There is a team of experts."

"It's quite integratable so you can actually integrate and get IP malware and URL information. It also gives you some form of intelligence into what you're trying to investigate or what you're trying to understand."

Cons

"The cost can be quite high, and it impacts scalability as more simulations require additional expenses."

"The reporting process requires significant improvement as it often takes longer than expected and the quality is lacking."

"I will be honest, we have it, but in the last year, I didn't maintain the system until a month ago."

"The product must provide consultancy for initial setup."

"The way Cymulate works for EDR could be improved, as it drops payload and requires action from the EDR console for remediation, which can block the whole process of Cymulate execution."

"I would like to see better integration with other systems, solutions, and vendors."

"We would like to have more AI capabilities to detect threats and improve its productivity from a cybersecurity standpoint."

"You have to look for the new information from X-Force. X-Force will provide it but you have to look for it. We need clearer visibility."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is affordable."

"Cymulate's services are expensive."

"Cost is clearly a consideration, but the important thing is what we do with the data and how we protect it."

"One of the fastest ways to cut costs is reducing staff, and this product can reduce staff by 70 percent."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cymulate?

The most valuable feature for us is the zero-day.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cymulate?

The pricing for Cymulate could be better. If I were to rate it, it would be a six out of ten.

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What needs improvement with Cymulate?

The way Cymulate works for EDR could be improved, as it drops payload and requires action from the EDR console for remediation, which can block the whole process of Cymulate execution. They should ...

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What needs improvement with IBM X-Force?

It is very expensive.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM X-Force?

It's a threat intelligence platform, and we aim to enhance its intelligence by integrating additional security solutions.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering IBM X-Force?

See all answers

Comparisons

Pentera vs Cymulate

Compared 38% of the time

Picus Security vs Cymulate

Compared 22% of the time

XM Cyber vs Cymulate

Compared 12% of the time

Mandiant Advantage vs Cymulate

Compared 5% of the time

SafeBreach vs Cymulate

Compared 5% of the time

More Cymulate Competitors

VirusTotal vs IBM X-Force Exchange

Compared 39% of the time

Recorded Future vs IBM X-Force Exchange

Compared 24% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs IBM X-Force Exchange

Compared 21% of the time

ReversingLabs vs IBM X-Force Exchange

Compared 15% of the time

More IBM X-Force Exchange Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)

June 2025

Download Cymulate product report

Buyer's Guide

Threat Intelligence Platforms

June 2025

Download IBM X-Force Exchange product report

Also Known As

No data available

X-Force Exchange, X-Force

Overview

For companies that want to manage their security posture against the evolving threat landscape: Cymulate SaaS-based Extended Security Posture Management (XSPM) deploys within an hour, enabling security professionals to continuously challenge, validate and optimize their cyber-security posture end-to-end across the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The platform provides out-of-the-box, expert and threat intelligence-led risk assessments that are simple to deploy and use for all maturity levels, and constantly updated. It also provides an open framework to create and automate red and purple teaming by generating penetration scenarious and advanced attack campaigns tailored to their unique environments and security politices. Cymulate allowes professionals to manage, know and control their dynamic environment.

Cymulate

IBM X-Force Exchange is a cloud-based threat intelligence sharing platform enabling users to rapidly research the latest security threats, aggregate actionable intelligence and collaborate with peers. IBM X-Force Exchange is supported by human- and machine-generated intelligence leveraging the scale of IBM X-Force.

IBM

Sample Customers

Euronext, YMCA, Telit, Nemours

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Cymulate vs. IBM X-Force Exchange

June 2025

Free Report: Cymulate vs. IBM X-Force Exchange

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