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Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Rapid7 InsightIDR comparison

Palo Alto Networks and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Palo Alto Networks is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.5, while Rapid7 is ranked #22 with an average rating of 7.8. Palo Alto Networks holds a 3.4% mindshare in EDR, compared to Rapid7’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Palo Alto Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Read 103 Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks reviews
  • 13,813 Views
  • 7,735 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Rapid7 InsightIDR
Read 32 Rapid7 InsightIDR reviews
  • 6,636 Views
  • 1,924 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Cortex XDR and Rapid7 InsightIDR compete in the threat detection and response category. Rapid7 InsightIDR has an edge due to its advanced analytics features, providing detailed threat insights, although it comes at a higher cost.

Features: Cortex XDR offers comprehensive integration, easy threat detection across multiple environments, and unified threat management. Rapid7 InsightIDR delivers strong log management, enriched alerting capabilities, and robust analytical features for deeper threat context.

Room for Improvement: Cortex XDR could benefit from enhanced threat intelligence updates, faster real-time responses, and greater customization flexibility. Rapid7 InsightIDR needs simpler customization options, improved user interface for non-technical users, and streamlined setup processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cortex XDR is known for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Rapid7 InsightIDR offers a fast deployment process, with noted initial challenges that could be alleviated with better customer training, but maintains efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: Cortex XDR is competitive in pricing with solid ROI due to its comprehensive protection features. Rapid7 InsightIDR is more costly but offers high-value returns from superior threat identification, catering to enterprises prioritizing advanced features over budget.

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Buyer's Guide
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR
December 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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
8th
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (5th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
Rapid7 InsightIDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
22nd
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (15th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (7th), Threat Deception Platforms (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.4%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightIDR is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks3.4%
Rapid7 InsightIDR1.2%
Other95.4%
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH - PeerSpot reviewer
ABHISHEK_SINGH
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration
Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.
Read full review
SohailHyder - PeerSpot reviewer
SohailHyder
Head of Cyber Security at Super Secure
Has supported compliance needs for mid-sized organizations but lacks customization and advanced integration
If we pitch Rapid7 InsightIDR against solutions such as SIEMs from Splunk or LogRhythm, it is not as customizable as a SIEM solution is. This is where it can improve if we keep in front the feature sets of a complete SIEM solution. Most common in the market is QRadar, but it is depleting now. It has been taken over by some other products such as Splunk and LogRhythm. If we compare these things with Rapid7 InsightIDR, then there are definitely some gaps that need to be filled. Data retention is also one concern because Rapid7 InsightIDR is cloud-based and operates on a subscription model. Whatever data you want to retain, it has to be paid for separately or it has a cost. Other solutions that are on-premises can have their own infrastructure or they provide some data retention for a month or in some capacity-wise, they provide that solution to them which makes them more attractive.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool is easy to use."
"It's very stable. I've never experienced downtime for the ASM console or ASM core."
"The solution doesn't need a high level of technical training."
"One thing that I like about Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, it is detecting all the suspicious or malicious binaries, and it has integration with Palo Alto Firewall."
"They have a new GUI which is just fantastic."
"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"The product's most valuable features are massive user and feature intelligence exploit detection."
"Cortex is the best tool for endpoint detection, with playbooks that automate and gather endpoint logs, block malicious processes, and update incident tickets, showcasing end-to-end processes with automation in investigation and reducing the analysis workflow."
More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros
"The solution provides satisfying native integration features"
"The solution is very stable and works very well for what I need it to do."
"Another very important part of insightIDR is the ability to collect data from endpoint devices via agent software. With a large remote workforce, this allows visibility into the endpoints that are connected to the internet, but not to the corporate network."
"InsightIDR helps us investigate an environment to discover information about incidents."
"Rapid7's reporting is more robust than Tenable's."
"The technical support is a solid 10 out of 10 as they take the time to answer any questions or problems which may arise in a reasonable time frame."
"I have seen that Rapid7 InsightIDR provides security to the networks and endpoints in the company."
"Rapid7 InsightIDR is budget-friendly and has a good market position because not everybody can afford to go for LogRhythm or Splunk or QRadar."
More Rapid7 InsightIDR pros
 

Cons

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks could improve by adding a sandbox feature to better compete with their competitors which have it."
"It should support more mobile operating systems. That is one of the cons of their infrastructure right now."
"It is not very strong in terms of endpoint management. It should have additional features like DLP, encryption, or advanced device control. Currently, Cortex is good in terms of the security of the endpoints, but it is not as good as other vendors in terms of the management of the endpoint."
"Dashboards do not allow everyone to see what's happening."
"However, if you do not have Palo Alto in your environment, you are paying these additional services just for Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, so it is not a cost-effective solution."
"It would be good to have a better way to search for a file within the UI."
"It would be good if they could make an exception for applications. Sometimes, it can be a bit of a challenge to make exceptions for certain applications that have been used as rogue."
"There are some default policies which sometimes affect our applications and cause them to run around. In the hotel industry, we use a different type of data versus Oracle and SQL. By default, there are some policies which stop us from running properly. Because of this, the support level is also not that strong. We have to wait to get a results."
More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons
"They should add more configuration and security features to it."
"It takes time for the product's support team to resolve issues, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The interface for doing investigation needs to be enhanced with minor improvements that would make it more useful."
"Cloud risk assessment is one area where I think they need a lot of improvement."
"Rapid7 doesn't integrate well with all our security tools from various vendors, so we plan to switch. Many of our solutions work with Rapid7, but some do not. We are already searching for a replacement already."
"I would like the ability to adjust the threshold of certain existing alerts. Currently the only option is to change the notifications or create my own alert."
"InsightIDR's integration with other solutions could be improved. Also, I'd like more control from the portal over what's happening on the endpoint side. For example, when I see an attack on an endpoint, I want to be able to stop it from the portal."
"There is a future in AI with Rapid7, however, it is not fully operated. There are certain limitations with Rapid7 that I am working on."
More Rapid7 InsightIDR cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We didn't have to pay any additional fee for the cloud instance. It just came with the renewal, which was nice."
"If one wishes to work with another team or large number of users at a future point, he must purchase a license for them."
"We pay about $50,000 USD per year for a bundle that includes Cortex XDR."
"This is an expensive solution."
"It is "expensive" and flexible."
"The price of the product is not very economical."
"The return on investment is from the user side because we have seen the performance of it increase the delivery time of the product if we are using too many web-based and on-premise applications. In indirect ways, we saw the return of investment in terms of performance and user satisfaction increase."
"Our customers have expressed that the price is high."
More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice
"Rapid7 InsightIDR is a cheaply priced product. On a scale of one to ten, where one is very expensive, and ten is very cheap, I rate the product's price at seven or eight."
"Rapid7 InsightIDR's pricing is reasonable but we have challenges with the Minimum Order Quantity. It is not reasonable for customers who have less than one hundred devices. If they can reduce Minimum Order Quantity, it is good. You have to pay around 5000-6000 dollars per year for the product. The pricing includes maintenance and support costs."
"The solution has a mid-range price point in the market"
"Rapid7 InsightIDR charges us based on the endpoints we connect to."
"I rate Rapid7 InsightIDR's price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"Licensing is by endpoint and amount of retention time (at least ours is). Default retention was one year, but we are able to push the retention further if needed. There's also a provide-your-own-S3 option for longer retention if you don't want to pay for the additional retention years in your Rapid7 agreement."
"It is on a yearly basis. For our own company, for about 250 users, it was 16,000 euros a year."
"The pricing and licensing are competitive."
More Rapid7 InsightIDR pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise44
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. The ability to reverse damage caused by ransomware with minimal interruptions to...
See all answers
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
See all answers
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
See all answers
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is asking to miss details that are critical, and ending up a statistic. Also, rememb...
See all answers
What do you like most about Rapid7 InsightIDR?
During simulations or demonstrations, the tool generates alerts, providing details such as the specific application, its origin, and potential threats. For instance, it can identify if an applicati...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 InsightIDR?
The product pricing is very cheap.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
Compared 8% of the time
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Logo
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
Compared 5% of the time
SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Logo
SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
Compared 5% of the time
Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Logo
Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
Compared 5% of the time
Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Logo
Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
Compared 3% of the time
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Rapid7 InsightVM vs Rapid7 InsightIDR Logo
Rapid7 InsightVM vs Rapid7 InsightIDR
Compared 6% of the time
Microsoft Sentinel vs Rapid7 InsightIDR Logo
Microsoft Sentinel vs Rapid7 InsightIDR
Compared 5% of the time
Splunk Enterprise Security vs Rapid7 InsightIDR Logo
Splunk Enterprise Security vs Rapid7 InsightIDR
Compared 5% of the time
Darktrace vs Rapid7 InsightIDR Logo
Darktrace vs Rapid7 InsightIDR
Compared 4% of the time
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Rapid7 InsightIDR Logo
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Rapid7 InsightIDR
Compared 4% of the time
More Rapid7 InsightIDR Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks
January 2026
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks reportDownload Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report
Buyer's Guide
Rapid7 InsightIDR
January 2026
Rapid7 InsightIDR reportDownload Rapid7 InsightIDR product report
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
InsightIDR
 

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks delivers comprehensive endpoint security, integrating well with other systems to offer robust threat detection and real-time protection through AI-driven analytics.

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks offers advanced endpoint protection and threat detection through AI and behavior-based analytics. Its user-friendly design simplifies integration with firewalls, delivering multi-layered protection with low resource consumption. Valued for policy management, USB control, and incident correlation, Cortex XDR enhances threat management and real-time threat hunting capabilities. However, users note challenges with third-party integration, reporting, and dashboard automation. Agent performance across operating systems and memory consumption are areas for improvement, alongside reducing false positives and simplifying endpoint management and setup.

What features does Cortex XDR offer?

  • Behavior-Based Detection: Analyzes user behavior to identify suspicious activities.
  • AI Analytics: Utilizes AI for accurate threat detection and response.
  • Real-Time Protection: Provides immediate defense against threats.
  • Policy Management: Allows customization of security policies across endpoints.
  • USB Control: Regulates USB device access for added security.
  • Incident Correlation: Connects and analyzes various security events for better response.
  • Firewall Integration: Seamlessly works with firewalls for enhanced security.
  • Machine Learning Capabilities: Continuously improves threat detection precision.

What benefits should be considered in reviews?

  • Low Resource Consumption: Efficient security functions without taxing system resources.
  • Multi-Layered Protection: Comprehensive security across multiple attack vectors.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design for easier management.
  • Enhanced Threat Management: Identifies and mitigates threats effectively.
  • Real-Time Threat Hunting: Proactively searches for and mitigates potential threats.

Cortex XDR is crucial in industries requiring robust endpoint protection, such as finance, healthcare, and technology. It supports malware detection, behavioral analysis, and ransomware mitigation across endpoints, including remote work environments, providing comprehensive threat visibility and security policy management. The solution's integration with firewalls and specialized industry requirements enhances security posture in diverse operational settings.

Palo Alto Networks

Parsing hundreds of trivial alerts. Managing a mountain of data. Manually forwarding info from your endpoints. Forget that. InsightIDR instantly arms you with the insight you need to make better decisions across the incident detection and response lifecycle, faster.

Rapid7
 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Liberty Wines, Pioneer Telephone, Visier
Buyer's Guide
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR
December 2025
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