What is Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud/Cortex Cloud?
Prisma Cloud is Palo Alto Networks’ flagship CNAPP offering, featuring built-in CSPM, CWPP, CIEM, DSPM, and application security capabilities. Historically, the Cortex portfolio included SOC and detection products like XDR and CDR. Now, Palo Alto is unifying Prisma Cloud and Cortex CDR under the Cortex Cloud banner – a combined cloud security platform that blends posture, runtime detection, and automation in one offering.
Like most CNAPPs, Cortex Cloud consolidates multiple cloud security capabilities into a single platform, addressing risks across build, deploy, and runtime. Recently, Prisma Cloud has expanded capabilities to address AI-related risks, such as AI service configurations and data exposure, across major cloud providers. It’s a strong player in the market, though customer feedback highlights some important considerations around deployment and integration.
Key features
Consolidated CSPM, AI-SPM, DSPM, CDR, and CWP in a single platform
Automated real-time threat hunting via Precision AI
Three-layer coverage: code, infrastructure, and runtime
Use cases
Adding cloud security capabilities to a Palo Alto Networks–heavy tech stack
Supporting shift-left security initiatives
Securing containers and Kubernetes
Fortifying complex networks and multi-cloud environments
Maintaining compliance across standards like PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2
Considerations
Cortex Cloud is a capable CNAPP, but deployment and ongoing management can require careful planning, especially in large or complex environments. While the platform consolidates many capabilities, maximizing value often requires thoughtful integration. For teams already invested in Palo Alto Networks technologies, the benefits of tight ecosystem integration can help offset this complexity.
What is CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security?
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security is a CNAPP solution that helps enterprises secure critical cloud assets like applications and data. Historically, CrowdStrike has been known for its endpoint and workload security leadership. Falcon Cloud Security extends this foundation into the cloud, combining agent-based runtime protections with agentless posture capabilities.
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security covers core CNAPP capabilities including CSPM, CIEM, CDR, and CWPP, with ongoing expansion into application and data security. The availability and depth of ASPM and DSPM features may vary by package and integration.
CrowdStrike Falcon has also expanded into securing AI and ML models and resources, reflecting the growing enterprise adoption of AI. No surprises there, considering the dramatic proliferation of enterprise AI. Beyond AI, another notable CrowdStrike offering is its 24/7 managed security services.
CrowdStrike Falcon is a capable tool, though some organizations may find that certain cloud use cases require complementary solutions.
Key features
CSPM, CIEM, CDR, and CWPP capabilities
Integration with the CrowdStrike Threat Graph for risk scoring and correlation
AI-driven threat detection and intelligence for cloud workloads
Optional managed services to extend coverage with 24/7 monitoring
Use cases
Gaining visibility into multi-cloud environments and cloud workloads
Prioritizing risks with threat intelligence–driven context
Detecting and responding to cloud-specific threats in real time
Augmenting internal resources with managed detection and response for cloud
Considerations
Falcon Cloud Security extends CrowdStrike’s strong endpoint and workload protection into the cloud, but its cloud-native capabilities are still developing. Because many features rely on agents, large-scale or highly dynamic cloud estates may require additional configuration to achieve full coverage and consistency. For organizations that already use Falcon across endpoints, extending coverage into cloud workloads can provide strong alignment with existing security operations.
Cortex/Prisma Cloud vs. CrowdStrike Falcon: Key differences
A Palo Alto Networks vs. CrowdStrike comparison wouldn’t be complete without a head-to-head look at cloud security capabilities:
Cloud-native architecture and deployment
Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon have the same goal: protecting enterprise cloud environments. But the way they’re built and the way they secure these environments is pretty different:
Prisma Cloud supports both API-based (agentless) integrations for posture and risk assessment, and agent-based defenders for runtime and workload protection. CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security combines agentless (API-based) cloud posture and discovery with agent-based sensors for workload and runtime protection, leveraging its EDR heritage.
CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security extends from an agent-based foundation, relying on sensors deployed to workloads and cloud resources for runtime visibility. While some posture management features are available through agentless APIs, its deeper protections are primarily agent-driven.
Multi-cloud and hybrid coverage
Prisma Cloud offers code-to-cloud coverage across major providers such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Support for additional cloud platforms may vary by specific capability or module.
CrowdStrike Falcon is also compatible with major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Oracle, but because many protections rely on agents, achieving comprehensive coverage in dynamic, large-scale cloud environments may require additional deployment planning. That said, CrowdStrike Falcon excels at hybrid endpoint management, a necessity for many companies.
Threat detection and response capabilities
Prisma Cloud uses analytics to baseline cloud activity and detect anomalies as part of its CNAPP capabilities. This helps teams detect zero-day attacks and DNS-based attacks, and it also supports teams looking to flag suspicious incidents before they become full-fledged events.
CrowdStrike Falcon uses AI-driven analytics and its Threat Graph intelligence to power real-time detection and response. These strengths are especially evident in workloads and environments where Falcon sensors are deployed. By contrast, Cortex Cloud emphasizes broader code-to-cloud coverage, extending deeper into application and infrastructure layers.
Risk prioritization and context
Cortex Cloud takes a diverse range of factors into consideration, including network exposure, misconfigurations, excessive access, and pathways to sensitive data. This way, the platform can create a risk hierarchy based on business-critical processes and priorities. And all of Cortex Cloud’s security information is unified into a single data lake, providing a comprehensive knowledge base for risk-based prioritization. Because risk prioritization depends on comprehensive visibility, organizations should consider how deployment models influence coverage and accuracy.
CrowdStrike also adopts a risk-based approach to issue prioritization, powered by its enterprise Threat Graph database. This enables the platform to assign threat and risk scores, correlate telemetry, and prioritize vulnerabilities based on real-world adversary behaviors and perimeters.
For both platforms, the depth of cloud coverage and connectivity depends on deployment choices and environments, which can impact consistency.
DevOps and developer experience
Cortex Cloud’s security features cover the whole spectrum of an application lifecycle, and by plugging into CI/CD pipelines and developer workflows, the platform can help you resolve issues before they infiltrate runtime.
CrowdStrike Falcon integrates into cloud environments primarily at the workload and runtime stages. While it’s less focused on early development lifecycle integration compared to Prisma Cloud, Falcon delivers strong runtime visibility and intelligence that can help security teams detect and respond to active threats.
Scalability and flexibility
Both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon are scalable and flexible, but in different ways:
Scaling Cortex Cloud is modular: Basically, you just add cloud components when you need them.
CrowdStrike Falcon is highly scalable for large enterprise deployments, supporting thousands of workloads and multi-cloud environments. As with most agent-based platforms, performance and coverage depend on deployment architecture and configuration choices.
In practice, Cortex Cloud emphasizes modular scaling across cloud environments, while CrowdStrike Falcon scales effectively for endpoint and workload coverage.
Total cost of ownership
Before we get into pricing, it’s important to remember that both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon can help businesses avoid buying multiple point solutions: They both unify tools that companies would have to otherwise purchase separately.
Key factors to evaluate include:
Cortex Cloud comes in two offerings: SaaS and self-hosted. While custom pricing exists, Cortex Cloud prices itself in a credit-based system. Businesses get a certain number of credits, which they can use to purchase cloud modules. As the need for more cloud modules grows, cloud security costs can rise.
CrowdStrike’s pricing is modular, with core offerings licensed by workload or environment and additional features available as add-ons. Falcon Cloud Security packaging is tailored to the mix of modules and the scale of the deployment.
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Cortex/Prisma Cloud vs. CrowdStrike Falcon: Which solution is best for your organization?
Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon each offer distinct strengths and approaches to security. Cortex Cloud is an all-in-one cloud security platform that’s good for securing multi-cloud architectures and achieving a strong cloud compliance posture. CrowdStrike Falcon brings proven endpoint and workload expertise into the cloud, excelling at runtime protection and threat intelligence, while Prisma Cloud emphasizes breadth of coverage across application, infrastructure, and compliance layers.
Both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon show limitations when evaluated against comprehensive cloud-first requirements. Cortex Cloud isn’t always straightforward when it comes to deployment, management, and budgeting, and CrowdStrike Falcon prioritizes endpoints over cloud infrastructure.
If you need multi-cloud coverage, fast agentless onboarding, code-to-cloud correlation, and precise risk prioritization, consider an agentless-first CNAPP with optional lightweight runtime sensors.
Both Cortex Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon offer enterprise-grade capabilities, but each comes with trade-offs. Organizations may want to evaluate whether a cloud-native CNAPP platform provides a more unified approach for their specific needs.
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Evaluating cloud security options? Consider Wiz
When weighing Prisma Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon, many organizations also evaluate Wiz as a purpose-built, cloud-native alternative. Unlike platforms that began with endpoint or network security and later expanded into the cloud, Wiz was designed from the start to secure distributed cloud environments.
Wiz connects via APIs in minutes, providing agentless visibility across AWS, Azure, GCP, and Kubernetes. From there, its Security Graph correlates misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, identities, and data exposure into clear attack paths that teams can act on. Optional lightweight runtime sensors add depth where needed without slowing down operations.
Because Wiz unifies secure development (Wiz Code), posture management (Wiz Cloud), and runtime detection and response (Wiz Defend) in a single CNAPP, security teams and developers share the same context. That means issues can be caught earlier in the lifecycle, prioritized by real exploitability, and resolved faster.
With built-in data security and AI-SPM to cover emerging risks, Wiz helps enterprises scale securely as new technologies and workloads are adopted. The result: a single platform that accelerates time to value while reducing the need for multiple point tools.
Ready to see it in action? Request a demo to connect your AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud in minutes, visualize real attack paths with unified context, and prioritize what to fix first.