CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Cobalt vs UnderDefense

Cobalt offers a full suite of offensive security services, from autonomous pentesting to human-led pentesting. UnderDefense sells UnderDefense MAXI, a security and compliance automation platform, and an MDR service in which security experts monitor, detect and respond to incidents. CISO Tribune files both under Penetration testing and red team services. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Cobalt
  • UnderDefense
Cobalt vs UnderDefense: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
CobaltCobalt offers a full suite of offensive security services, from autonomous pentesting to human-led pentesting.cobalt.ioUnderDefenseUnderDefense sells UnderDefense MAXI, a security and compliance automation platform, and an MDR service in which security experts monitor, detect and respond to incidents.underdefense.com
What it sells
  • Autonomous Pentest[3][7]Complete pentests in 24 hours with proof of exploit on every finding.
  • Cobalt Sage AI[3][6][7]The intelligence Cobalt says powers every Cobalt pentest.
  • Secure Code Review[8]Human-led analysis of source code to find security vulnerabilities.
  • Internal Network Pentest[10]Testing of internal systems by Cobalt experts.
  • UnderDefense MAXI[1][2][3][5][6]A security and compliance automation platform. UnderDefense MAXI integrates with SIEMs, firewalls and endpoint protection solutions.
  • UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC[4]AI agents investigate each alert. Analysts on shift 24/7 decide what happens next.
  • MDR[1][2][6]Security experts monitor, detect and respond to incidents.
  • Cloud-based SIEM[2]A cloud-based SIEM that collects, analyzes and responds to security events.
  • CIS AWS Benchmark assessment[8]A self-service assessment of AWS security.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 5, 2026[5]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[10]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Cobalt sells mainly to security and development teams. Cobalt says customers use it to test critical web applications and APIs in production, AI and LLM-based applications still in development, and globally distributed networks segmented by location and business unit. Cobalt offers centralized management of parent and child organizations. Cobalt says its pentesting helps customers meet audit, regulatory and customer requirements.UnderDefense MAXI integrates with a customer's security infrastructure, including SIEMs, firewalls and endpoint protection solutions. UnderDefense offers compliance templates to organizations working toward standards such as SOC2 and ISO 27001. UnderDefense MAXI provides executive-level reports for C-level readers.
Last verified
September 27, 2026October 26, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Cobalt and UnderDefense are both filed under Penetration testing and red team services.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Cobalt's primary category is Penetration testing and red team services; UnderDefense's is MDR and managed SOC.
  • UnderDefense is also filed under Compliance automation and SOAR and security automation.
  • Cobalt lists Autonomous Pentest, Cobalt Sage AI, Secure Code Review and Internal Network Pentest. UnderDefense lists UnderDefense MAXI, UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC, MDR, Cloud-based SIEM and CIS AWS Benchmark assessment.

What it sells: Cobalt

What Autonomous Pentest does[3][7]
Cobalt Autonomous Pentest is overseen by Cobalt Core pentesters. Cobalt says it delivers complete pentests in 24 hours with proof of exploit on every finding.
What Cobalt Sage AI does[3][6][7]
Cobalt says Cobalt Sage AI is built on 13 years of expertise and informed by thousands of security engagements. Cobalt says it removes reconnaissance, scanning, triage and reporting work so human experts can focus on complex attack paths.
What Secure Code Review does[8]
Secure code review is described as human-led analysis of source code. Cobalt uses SAST and SCA for automated scanning and then manually reviews the output to validate findings.
What Internal Network Pentest does[10]
Cobalt says its experts use network scanning tools, exploit frameworks and manual techniques to find and exploit vulnerabilities in internal systems. Findings appear in real time on the Cobalt platform with remediation guidance.

What it sells: UnderDefense

What UnderDefense MAXI does[1][2][3][5][6]
UnderDefense MAXI natively monitors endpoints, networks, users and decoy beacons. UnderDefense MAXI provides ready-to-use playbooks, AI-powered alert enrichment and notifications through Slack, Jira or a preferred tool. UnderDefense MAXI provides pre-built compliance templates for standards such as SOC2 and ISO 27001.
What UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC does[4]
UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC uses AI agents that investigate each alert. Analysts on shift 24/7 decide what happens next.
What CIS AWS Benchmark assessment does[8]
UnderDefense offers a self-service CIS AWS Benchmark assessment. The assessment covers evaluating the maturity of cloud security controls, identifying misconfigurations, providing detailed mitigation instructions and giving a summary table with a final CVSS v3.0 score.

Questions about Cobalt and UnderDefense

What do Cobalt and UnderDefense sell?
Cobalt sells Autonomous Pentest, Cobalt Sage AI, Secure Code Review and Internal Network Pentest. UnderDefense sells UnderDefense MAXI, UnderDefense Agentic AI SOC, MDR, Cloud-based SIEM and CIS AWS Benchmark assessment.
Are Cobalt and UnderDefense in the same category?
They share Penetration testing and red team services. Cobalt's primary category is Penetration testing and red team services and UnderDefense's is MDR and managed SOC.
Who are Cobalt and UnderDefense sold to?
From its own pages, Cobalt sells mainly to security and development teams. UnderDefense MAXI integrates with a customer's security infrastructure, including SIEMs, firewalls and endpoint protection solutions.

About Cobalt

Cobalt offers a full suite of offensive security services, from autonomous pentesting to human-led pentesting. The Cobalt Offensive Security Platform helps customers move beyond point in time pentesting to a continuous offensive security program.[1][3]

Cobalt says most pentesting programs still operate on an annual cycle. Cobalt describes the gap between how fast risk changes and how often organizations test for it as the exposure adversaries count on.[7]

The Cobalt Platform centralizes access to the full range of security testing services: web app, API, cloud, network, red teaming, AI and LLM, and more. Customers can launch a pentest in hours and get real-time findings. Customers can collaborate directly with testers via the platform, Microsoft Teams or Slack. Cobalt says Cobalt Sage AI powers every Cobalt pentest and is built on 13 years of expertise, informed by thousands of security engagements. Cobalt says Cobalt Sage AI removes the reconnaissance, scanning, triage and reporting work so human experts can focus on complex attack paths and creative scenarios.[1][3][4][7][10]

Cobalt delivers penetration testing across the entire application portfolio to find and fix vulnerabilities before they are exploited. Cobalt says network and cloud infrastructure are high-value targets in a constant state of change, and that Cobalt identifies and validates real exposures across the attack surface. Network and cloud testing covers Internal Network Pentest, External Network Pentest, Cloud Pentest and Cloud Configuration Review. Advanced offensive security services from Cobalt test systems against the tactics and techniques of a sophisticated adversary. Cobalt's advanced services include Red Teaming, Digital Risk Assessment and Secure Code Review. Customers use Cobalt to test critical web applications and APIs in production, AI and LLM-based applications still in development, and globally distributed networks segmented by location and business unit. For code review, Cobalt uses SAST and SCA for automated scanning and then reviews the scanner output manually to validate the findings.[3][4][8][10]

Cobalt offers two testing delivery models. Customers can choose one or mix and match depending on assets, environment, release cycles and goals. Human-led testing draws on purpose-built methodologies and 500+ vetted security experts in the Cobalt Core. Cobalt Autonomous Pentest delivers complete pentests in 24 hours with proof of exploit on every finding, overseen by Cobalt Core pentesters. Agentic Penetration Testing as a Service pairs AI-driven automation with human pentesters to deliver continuous offensive security. Cobalt says periodic penetration testing meets compliance deadlines and continuous testing gives coverage in between.[3][4][7]

Cobalt pushes vulnerability data into Jira, GitHub, ServiceNow and more through 50+ integrations. Cobalt offers unlimited retesting with a seven-day SLA. Cobalt offers centralized management of parent and child organizations. Cobalt says its customizable reports are mapped to SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and PCI-DSS. A Cobalt Credit represents the equivalent of 8 hours of offensive security testing. Cobalt sells credits in annual packages that include asset scoping, testing, retesting and platform access. Credits do not roll over into the next contract.[2][3][4][7][9]

Cobalt on the record

Sources

Cobalt full record

  1. [1]cobalt.ioCobalt · cobalt.io · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cobalt Introduces New AI Capabilities for Continuous PentestingCobalt via Business Wire · businesswire.com · published March 19, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Cobalt: Continuous Offensive Security TestingCobalt · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cybersecurity Services | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Cobalt Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 23, 2026 · Tier C
  6. [6]Modern Offensive Security Platform | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Agentic PTaaS: Pentest as a Service | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Secure Code Review Services | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Pentest Pricing & Penetration Testing Costs | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Internal Network Penetration Testing Services | CobaltCobalt · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A

UnderDefense full record

  1. [1]underdefense.comUnderDefense · underdefense.com · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Compliance PricingUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Agentic AI SOC & Compliance Automation Platform | UnderDefenseUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Elastic Cloud Pricing 2026: Serverless, Hosted, and SIEMUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Cloudflare Pricing 2026: WAF, Zero Trust, and EnterpriseUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Palo Alto Networks Pricing 2026: Firewalls, SASE, and XDRUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]2025 MXDR Pricing Guide: Choosing the Right MXDR providerUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Episode 4: Cyber Resilience 201 — AWS Cloud Security - UnderDefenseUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]E-Mail Under Attack - UnderDefenseUnderDefense · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]UnderDefense MAXI Reviews & Product DetailsG2 · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier C

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