Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs ServiceNow Security Operations comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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

Palo Alto Networks Cortex X...
Ranking in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
SOC as a Service (2nd)
ServiceNow Security Operations
Ranking in Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
6th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Security Incident Response (1st), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) category, the mindshare of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is 9.6%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ServiceNow Security Operations is 3.5%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR9.6%
ServiceNow Security Operations3.5%
Other86.9%
Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)
 

Featured Reviews

DayaramGoyal - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers automation but requires enhancements for intuitive configuration
Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is a good product with enhanced and efficient playbooks, as demonstrated during our use case simulations. We have implemented automation features, such as automated responses to email threats and automatic configuration of target devices for blocking specific IPs. The analytics feature in Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR is impressive. The solution is quite exhaustive regarding integrations, with many pre-integrations available, especially for market-leading products. There might be challenges with make-in-India products, as they tend not to build the necessary connectors. This depends on whether you are selling to enterprises or other customers. For government customers, you might encounter many Indian products, such as firewalls, which could pose integration challenges unless you have open APIs. However, for market-leading products, there are ready-made integrations available.
Abhinay Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience seamless integration and effective incident response with a little room for improvement in setup time
Integration is crucial in ServiceNow Security Operations because everything must be integrated to obtain data. Without integration, the solution is not as beneficial as expected. In SecOps, real-time data is essential to avoid discrepancies between real-time events and ServiceNow data. Multiple tools integrate with ServiceNow Security Operations, with Qualys being one of them. ServiceNow Security Operations collects data from various sources and presents it in a single, respectable format for assessment and action. The main benefit is not having to access separate tools for different data. It provides a unified user experience where all work and fixes can be managed from one location.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a scalable solution."
"The strengths of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR stem from the fact that it provides functionalities related to patching and URL blocking...It is a scalable solution."
"The orchestration in XSOAR is significantly easier compared to other SOAR tools I've used."
"The most valuable features of Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR are the remote controller from the workstation that can execute commands and isolate the systems outside of the network. Only the system with an internet connection can execute the task because the main console is in the cloud."
"Palo Alto is easy to use."
"The pricing is very good."
"The solution provides threat intelligence with EDR."
"The most valuable features are simplicity and ease of integration."
"Reduces time to closure and closure metrics for vulnerabilities."
"Multiple projects use the ServiceNow tool because it is a low-cost and open-source tool."
"ServiceNow Security Operations also takes care of GRC, governance, risk and compliance, enabling it to provide risk assessment."
"The ease of use is great."
"ServiceNow Security Operations collects data from various sources and presents it in a single, respectable format for assessment and action, providing a unified user experience where all work and fixes can be managed from one location."
"The product's most valuable features include the no-code capability for workflows and flow design, which makes it user-friendly, and the ability to perform advanced configurations."
"​Integration to other security tools allows for a consolidated view of all vulnerabilities, incidents, etc. for all sorts of leverage in a single platform to assess governance risk and compliance as well as an enhanced, enriched intelligence.​"
"It's stable."
 

Cons

"Previously, when Demisto was, there was a community edition; we could use it, reinstall it, and customize it. Since Palo Alto took over, it has become more financially oriented. It's business, but they could offer a pro model and a lighter model for different needs."
"The solution's correlation rules and playbooks should be improved."
"I would love to see more flexibility on what we can display and design on the dashboards."
"They should provide integration with machine learning platforms."
"It is not a very scalable solution."
"The solution's technical support could be better."
"Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR lacks to offer SIEM functionalities currently."
"It doesn't offer automatic internet reports out of the box."
"Visibility and transitions between teams present significant challenges in the SecOps space, indicating that substantial training and hand-holding are required to improve usability, which is one observation I have had."
"The dashboard and playbook creation will need to improve"
"There are limitations for the third-parties that are providing the inputs. They should increase the robustness of the solution."
"There is room for improvement in terms of developer support and documentation."
"The solution needs to make customization easier. You cannot do much customization immediately. It requires an extensive workload. If the customization process was user-friendly, it would be much better."
"An area for improvement I observed in ServiceNow Security Operations is the need to maintain correct CMDB data because if you're unable to do this, you can't perfectly maintain the vulnerability data. CMDB data in ServiceNow Security Operations needs to be accurate. As I've been working on ServiceNow Security Operations for only seven months, I still need more time to try all its modules before I can give recommendations regarding additional features I'd like to see in the solution."
"The threat intelligence module needs a better dashboard."
"Report generation within ServiceNow can take some time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company did not make any payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product since we were only using its pilot version."
"When I first looked at Demisto, it had a price tag of $250,000 but when we finally purchased it, it was $345,000."
"The solution's cost is reasonable."
"It is expensive."
"The pricing is fair. The pricing reflects the value and feature set it offers."
"Cortex XSOAR's price could be lower."
"The solution is based on an annual licensing model that is expensive."
"The solution's pricing needs improvement."
"It is an expensive product."
"The product is more expensive than other solutions."
"This product is a good value for the money."
"The solution is more expensive than BMC Remedy, the other ITSM tool available in the market."
"If you're going to implement it on your own, there would be internal costs. If you're going to implement it through a contractor or consultant, you have to pay for that."
"Compared to competitor tools, ServiceNow Security Operations is more affordable"
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) solutions are best for your needs.
872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
Comparing pricing to Micro Focus, they were offering bundles, making it free with their SIEM. For customers, it is zero versus $20 million, which is why they have to make a decision.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR?
To improve the solution, it needs to have complete features that are low-code, no-code, and should be plug-and-play. We need to see improvements in that area to facilitate cyber analysts.
What do you like most about ServiceNow Security Operations?
The most valuable aspect of working with ServiceNow is its meaningful and feature-rich product.
What needs improvement with ServiceNow Security Operations?
ServiceNow Security Operations is not specifically a vulnerability management or incident tool, but rather a data aggregator. It would be beneficial if, similar to the Discovery module which assess...
 

Also Known As

Demisto Enterprise, Cortex XSOAR, Demisto
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Cellcom Israel, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, esri, Cylance, Flatiron Health, Veeva, ADT Cybersecurity
DXC Technology, Freedom Security Alliance, Prime Therapeutics, Seton Hall University, York Risk Services
Find out what your peers are saying about Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs. ServiceNow Security Operations and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.