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Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Fortra's Cobalt Strike comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Cloud and Data Center Security (1st), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (9th), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
Fortra's Cobalt Strike
Ranking in Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
6th
Average Rating
9.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) category, the mindshare of Akamai Guardicore Segmentation is 0.5%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Cobalt Strike is 1.6%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS)
 

Featured Reviews

KlavsThaarup - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers micro segmentation capabilities and easy to setup
It's micro-segmentation The label-based segmentation is the most valuable feature. There are always areas for improvement. It doesn't support a PAAC solution (Platforma as a service) in the cloud. So that could be improved. In future releases, I would like to see more integration with other…
reviewer2519427 - PeerSpot reviewer
Compact, versatile, creates shell codes for bypassing antivirus and built-in report templates streamline the process
Probably its delivery methods could be improved. It might need some improvements on its spear phishing module. You can clone a web page, and then you can spear phish a target, and the target connects to your beacon. I believe that it needs to be more modernized to the current standards of multi-factor authentication bypass. Although there are already tools that actually do that, like Evilginx that’s been used as a proxy server, I truly believe Cobalt Strike could do something like that. I believe if Cobalt modernize this specific feature to try to bypass multi-factor authentication, it’s gonna be something. I’m not aware if it’s actually a feature in the latest Cobalt Strike updates, but from my version, I don’t see that it’s possible right now. I don’t think AI is at the stage where it can conduct such complex operations. AI is mostly being used to create phishing templates, very simple stuff. AI is not mature enough to do something more complex, although I truly believe that in a few years, it might have such capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the visibility of processes and connections."
"From day one, you get threat intelligence. It will immediately block active threats, which has been useful."
"That is primarily because I've seen increased rules. It's kind of caught us a little off guard. With GuardiCore, I have had to deal with their technical support and engineering team in Israel. They are amazing. They are very quick to adapt."
"Initially, I liked the telemetry part. But later, we used the microsegmentation features that we were able to deploy and found that they really stood out from other vendors. It allows us to see microsegmentation as distributed services."
"Application Ring-Fencing and Deception Server, which is basically like a honeypot, are pretty useful features."
"We like the centralized management of the firewalls. Until we installed Guardicore Centra, we managed all our firewalls individually, so making changes was complicated, difficult, and time-consuming."
"The interface and dashboard are amazing."
"Guardicore Centra offers the best coverage specifically in backward compatibility with legacy operating systems."
"Cobalt Strike offers significant customization capabilities."
"It also made a lot of post-exploitation activities easier."
 

Cons

"Supports become difficult when it's for a big organization. For a small organization, medium organization, it still makes sense, however, for a big organization, it makes life difficult."
"The product needs a few features like enhanced user policies and payload-level inspection to improve the offering."
"In our version, when using the terminal server, we cannot exclude user tasks for each session."
"It doesn't support a PAAC solution (Platforma as a service) in the cloud."
"They can maybe improve their customer service just because they are kind of a small organization, and customer service isn't as big as others such as VMware."
"It would be very helpful for beginners if the solution had more windows to help with the terms inside instead of going to the documentation."
"I would rate the stability a six out of ten, where one is low and ten is high stability."
"The dashboard needs improvement. It should be more flexible so that I can easily see what I want or need to see."
"The stability of the tool can be improved."
"Probably its delivery methods could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The customer would complain about the cost."
"Compared to the pricing we were seeing from both Illumio and Edgewise, Guardicore was very competitive."
"The pricing is too high."
"GuardiCore has made some new changes to the license now. We've seen monthly and annual licenses based on a subscription. We have a few clients that pay anywhere from $25,000 a year."
"Guardicore Centra provides better value for money than NSX, was the other solution that we looked at, which was too expensive for what it does."
"The solution is reasonably priced and I would rate it a six out of ten. The tool's licensing costs are yearly."
"The price is the same as other products in the market. There's no price argument to choose one or the other product, it will cost the customer approximately the same."
"This is not a cheap solution but you have to consider the bigger picture, which is what it is giving you."
"It's expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Guardicore Centra?
I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. I know other micro-segmentation tools like Cisco or Illumio, and so I think they are in the middle.
What do you like most about Guardicore Infection Monkey?
Initially, I liked the telemetry part. But later, we used the microsegmentation features that we were able to deploy and found that they really stood out from other vendors. It allows us to see mi...
What needs improvement with Guardicore Infection Monkey?
When we have more than one interface, we can only have one policy for both interfaces. Normally, you have assets with a production interface and a server interface that are only for management. But...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
While not inexpensive, Cobalt Strike is a comprehensive platform. Its pricing reflects the capabilities and flexibility it offers. The solution can be cost-effective when utilizing its full potenti...
What needs improvement with Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
The stability of the tool can be improved. There are some limitations, but they tend to be more from outside of the tool rather than within it. The limitations often come from operators who may lac...
What is your primary use case for Fortra's Cobalt Strike?
I use Cobalt Strike to emulate threat actor activities.
 

Also Known As

Guardicore Centra, GuardiCore
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Santander, Frontier Airlines, OpenLink, Intermountain Healthcare, Cellcom, BancoBASE
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs. Fortra's Cobalt Strike and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.