COMPARE
Compare cloud security platforms side by side
Cloud Security Compare editors · Matchups reviewed September 2026 · Editorial assessment
The short version
Pick two to five of the nine platforms. The default view shows our top three by exact total: Wiz (4.4), Orca Security (4.2) and Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud (formerly Prisma Cloud) (4.0). Microsoft Defender for Cloud shares third place at 4.0. For any two vendors, the head-to-head page adds a tug-of-war bar per criterion.
| Row | Wiz | Orca Security | Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud (formerly Prisma Cloud) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 4.4 rank 1 | 4.2 rank 2 | 4.0 rank 3= |
| Agentless coverage and time to value (18%) | 4.8Connects by API and, Wiz states, reaches VMs, containers, serverless, PaaS and AI resources without agents. | 4.9Best of selectionSideScanning reads workload block storage out of band and covers VMs, containers and serverless across six clouds, including Oracle, Alibaba and Tencent. | 3.8Posture, vulnerability and attack-surface modules work from cloud APIs, but the pages we reviewed lead with a runtime agent and do not name agentless workload scanning. |
| Runtime protection depth (16%) | 4.2The eBPF-based Wiz Sensor can block threats, but runtime is a layer added to an agentless core rather than where the product started. | 3.8The eBPF Orca Sensor adds runtime detections and can terminate processes, but it is an optional layer and less proven than runtime-first rivals. | 4.6Best of selectionFormed by merging Prisma Cloud with Cortex CDR; a performance-optimized agent stops attacks as they execute. |
| Risk prioritization and attack paths (18%) | 4.9Best of selectionThe Security Graph links infrastructure, identities, data and AI resources into attack paths; it is the design most rivals get compared against. | 4.8Dynamic risk scoring and attack path analysis on one data model built from full agentless context. | 4.4SmartScore and SmartGrouping rank findings by real exposure, with attack path analysis across identities and data. |
| Code-to-cloud and AppSec (14%) | 4.6Best of selectionWiz Code covers SCA and SBOM, IaC, secrets and malware scanning, IDE and GitHub integration, ASPM and code-to-cloud tracing. | 4.4SCA, SAST, secrets, IaC and image scanning with GitHub, GitLab and Azure DevOps, plus cloud-to-code tracing that opens pull requests. | 4.5Application security is one of the platform's four pillars, aimed at stopping risk before it reaches production. |
| AI workload security (12%) | 4.6Best of selectionAgentless AI-BOM across SageMaker, OpenAI, Bedrock and Vertex AI, AI attack paths, and runtime detection of prompt injection and rogue agents. | 4.6Best of selectionAI-SPM inventory, shadow AI discovery, MCP server monitoring and AI AppGen Security for apps built on AI app builders. | 4.2AI-SPM maps models, datasets and agents, flags model poisoning and supply chain risk, and classifies data used for RAG. |
| Ecosystem and integrations (12%) | 4.9Best of selection200+ integrations through its WIN program, a Fortune 100 footprint Wiz puts above 65%, and Google ownership since March 2026. | 4.1Covers the source-control and CI/CD tools buyers expect, but its partner and market footprint is smaller than Wiz's or the platform vendors'. | 4.5Sits in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex portfolio next to its security operations products, and Prisma Cloud customers move onto it. |
| Pricing transparency (10%) | 1.5Best of selectionNo public price list; quotes come through sales or cloud marketplaces. | 1.5Best of selectionNo public price list; the pricing URL returns a 404 and quotes go through sales. | 1.5Best of selectionNo public price list; Palo Alto Networks includes CNAPP at no additional cost for Cortex Cloud Runtime Security customers. |
| Criteria won in this selection | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Deployment | Agentless, connects by cloud API; optional Wiz Sensor for runtime | Agentless SideScanning of workload block storage; optional Orca Sensor for runtime | Cloud API posture modules plus a performance-optimized runtime agent |
| Runtime sensor | Wiz Sensor, eBPF-based, blocks threats in real time on VMs, containers and serverless containers (Wiz Defend) | Orca Sensor, eBPF-based, Linux, Kubernetes and Windows; can be configured to terminate processes | Cortex Cloud Runtime Security agent; CDR from the Cortex CDR merger |
| Clouds named | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, OCI | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud | Multi-cloud (the pages we reviewed do not list clouds by name) |
| Code security | Wiz Code: SCA and SBOM, IaC, secrets, malware, IDE scanning, GitHub, code-to-cloud tracing, ASPM | SCM posture, SCA, SAST, secrets, IaC and container image scanning; GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps; cloud-to-code tracing into pull requests | Application security module aimed at stopping risk before production |
| AI security | AI-SPM with agentless AI-BOM (SageMaker, OpenAI, Bedrock, Vertex AI); runtime detection of prompt injection and rogue agents | AI-SPM (models, pipelines, training data, AI packages), shadow AI, MCP server monitoring, AI AppGen Security (unveiled ahead of Black Hat USA 2026) | AI-SPM: models, datasets and agents; model poisoning and supply chain risk; RAG data classification |
| Ownership | Part of Google since 11 March 2026 ($32 billion deal announced 18 March 2025) | Standalone vendor | Palo Alto Networks. Prisma Cloud merged with Cortex CDR to form Cortex Cloud (announced 13 February 2025) |
| Open-source project | None named | None named | None named |
| Published pricing | Not published. Contact sales. | Not published. Contact sales. The pricing URL returned a 404 when reviewed. | Not published. CNAPP included at no additional cost for Cortex Cloud Runtime Security customers. |
| Sources | Wiz platform · Wiz Code · Wiz Defend and Sensor · Wiz AI-SPM · Google closes Wiz deal · Google announcement | Orca platform · SideScanning · Orca Sensor · Application security · AI security · AI AppGen Security | Cortex Cloud launch press release · Cortex Cloud · Cloud posture security · AI-SPM |
| More | Wiz alternatives | Orca alternatives | Prisma Cloud alternatives |
Vendors are listed in score order.
Which head-to-heads cover this selection?
- Wiz vs OrcaWiz 4.4, Orca 4.2: Wiz wins 4, Orca wins 1, 2 tied
- Wiz vs Cortex CloudWiz 4.4, Cortex Cloud 4.0: Wiz wins 5, Cortex Cloud wins 1, 1 tied
- Orca vs Cortex CloudOrca 4.2, Cortex Cloud 4.0: Orca wins 3, Cortex Cloud wins 3, 1 tied
All 36 head-to-heads are listed on the home page.
Frequently asked questions
How many vendors can I compare at once?
Two to five. Beyond five the table stops being readable on a phone; for all nine at once, use the comparison matrix.
What does Best of selection mean?
It marks the highest score on that criterion among the vendors you picked, not across the whole matrix. Ties are all marked.
Where do the facts come from?
From vendor product pages, documentation and pricing pages reviewed in September 2026, linked in the Sources row. Where a vendor does not publish something, the table says so.
Related pages
- Score calculatorRe-rank with your own weights
- Comparison matrixAll nine platforms at once
- Agentless vs agent-basedWhy the runtime and agentless rows pull in opposite directions