ASM Comparison
HailBytes ASM vs CyCognito
CyCognito is a capable enterprise EASM platform built around an attacker’s-perspective discovery engine. HailBytes ASM deploys that same continuous external recon inside your AWS or Azure account, at infrastructure-grade cost, with white-label output for MSSPs and pen-test firms.
TL;DR
CyCognito pioneered automated attack-surface discovery with an attacker-perspective approach that maps business relationships to find shadow IT and unknown subsidiaries. It is a strong choice for large enterprises that want a managed SaaS service and have the budget for it. HailBytes ASM covers the same external attack-surface problem but deploys directly in your cloud tenancy, bills at infrastructure rates, and ships white-label deliverables that make client-facing recon profitable for MSSPs and pen-test firms.
- Pick HailBytes ASM if data residency, self-hosted control, GovCloud eligibility, or white-label client deliverables are requirements—or if CyCognito’s enterprise pricing is out of budget.
- Pick CyCognito if you want a fully managed SaaS service with a dedicated customer-success team and your primary need is org-tree-aware discovery across a large, distributed enterprise.
Pricing & Cost Model
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | CyCognito |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing axis | Infrastructure ($0.24/vCPU/hour) | Enterprise contract (per asset or negotiated) |
| Annual cost (small surface) | ~$4,200 | $50,000–$80,000 (typical floor) |
| Annual cost (mid surface) | ~$4,200–$8,400 | $80,000–$150,000 |
| Annual cost (large surface) | ~$8,400–$17,000 | $150,000–$400,000+ |
| Free trial | 30 days via AWS / Azure Marketplace | Demo / pilot on request (no self-serve trial) |
| Procurement path | Cloud marketplace (counts toward EDP / MACC) | Enterprise sales motion, direct contract |
| MSSP / multi-tenant licensing | ✅ Built-in workspaces, per-instance billing | 🟡 Custom enterprise arrangement required |
Architecture & Control
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | CyCognito |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment model | Self-hosted VM in your AWS / Azure account | Fully managed SaaS (CyCognito-operated) |
| Data residency | ✅ Stays in your cloud tenancy | ❌ Processed on CyCognito infrastructure |
| Source code access | Source-available under ELv2 | Closed source |
| Government cloud (GovCloud / Azure Gov) | ✅ Both supported | ❌ Not available |
| Custom scan wordlists / tooling | ✅ Full control | ❌ Managed black-box service |
| Per-tenant isolation | One VM per tenant | Multi-tenant SaaS platform |
| On-premises / air-gapped option | 🟡 Via cloud-disconnected AMI/image | ❌ |
Capability Comparison
| Capability | HailBytes ASM | CyCognito |
|---|---|---|
| Subdomain & DNS enumeration | ✅ 30+ tool pipeline | ✅ Proprietary discovery engine |
| Internet-facing port & service scanning | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in |
| Subsidiary / org-tree discovery | 🟡 Manual target grouping | ✅ CyCognito’s core differentiator |
| CVE matching & severity scoring | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cloud connector asset discovery (AWS / Azure / GCP) | ✅ First-party connectors | ✅ Cloud integrations |
| Web application scanning | ✅ Via integrated tools | ✅ Built-in |
| AI-powered analysis | ✅ OpenAI + local Ollama (GPU) | 🟡 Proprietary risk scoring |
| MCP server / AI-agent tooling | ✅ Built-in (Claude / Cursor / Windsurf) | ❌ |
| SIEM integration | ✅ Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, Chronicle | ✅ SIEM connectors |
| Ticketing & webhook fan-out | ✅ Jira, ServiceNow, GitHub Issues, GitLab | ✅ Jira, ServiceNow |
| Compliance framework mapping | ✅ 12 frameworks (NIST, SOC 2, PCI, ISO…) | 🟡 Risk-prioritization lens |
| White-label client deliverables | ✅ Built-in PDF reports + custom branding | ❌ |
| Scheduled continuous monitoring | ✅ Cron-based periodic scans | ✅ Continuous |
| Exposure graph visualization | ✅ Interactive Cytoscape.js graph | ✅ Asset relationship maps |
| STIX / TAXII 2.1 export | ✅ | ❌ |
| OpenVEX export | ✅ | ❌ |
When HailBytes ASM Wins
- Budget is a constraint. A small-to-mid ASM deployment on HailBytes costs $4,200–$17,000/year. The typical CyCognito enterprise contract starts around $50,000 and scales up significantly—a cost that many MSSPs, pen-test firms, and mid-market security teams can’t justify.
- Data residency and sovereignty matter. Regulated industries, government contractors, and privacy-conscious enterprises need scan results to stay inside their own cloud tenancy. HailBytes runs entirely within your AWS or Azure account; CyCognito’s managed SaaS model does not offer that guarantee.
- Government cloud requirements. AWS GovCloud and Azure Government deployments are supported out of the box—CyCognito is not available in either environment.
- MSSP and pen-test firm resale. Fixed per-instance pricing combined with white-label branded PDF reports makes per-client external ASM commercially viable. CyCognito’s enterprise-contract model is not designed for white-label resale.
- AI-agent recon workflows. A built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf drive scans and finding triage directly, enabling fully automated recon pipelines.
- Full scan pipeline control. Open wordlists, custom tool configuration, and source-available code mean you can tune and extend the scan logic—not possible with a black-box SaaS service.
When CyCognito Wins
- Large, highly distributed enterprise with many subsidiaries. CyCognito’s org-tree discovery—automatically mapping acquired entities, subsidiaries, and shadow-IT assets to a corporate family tree—is a genuine differentiator for Fortune-500-scale attack surfaces where the hardest problem is knowing what you own.
- Fully managed service with dedicated CSM. If your team wants to hand off the scan infrastructure entirely and receive quarterly business reviews, CyCognito’s managed SaaS model fits. HailBytes ASM is self-hosted, which gives control but requires your team to manage the VM.
- No in-house cloud operations capacity. Running HailBytes ASM well means owning the AWS or Azure deployment. CyCognito removes that operational burden entirely.
Try HailBytes ASM
Both marketplace listings include a 30-day trial that covers the VM cost as well.
Related Comparisons
Other enterprise EASM and recon platforms commonly evaluated alongside CyCognito:
- vs Palo Alto Cortex Xpanse — enterprise EASM from the Xpanse acquisition.
- vs Mandiant Attack Surface Management — threat-intel-enriched external ASM.
- vs Rapid7 Surface Command — connector-based CAASM with exposure analytics.
- vs Censys — internet-wide certificate and port intelligence.
- vs Tenable ASM — Lumin-powered external attack surface management.
- Full ASM comparison matrix — every vendor side by side, plus the HailBytes ASM product page.
See HailBytes ASM in Action
Skip the slide deck. Watch the product run end-to-end before you book a call.
Try HailBytes ASM Free
Get a free trial deployment on AWS or Azure. Our team will walk you through setup and help you run your first reconnaissance scan within 30 minutes.
- ✓ 30-day free trial on AWS or Azure
- ✓ Guided onboarding from our security team
- ✓ No credit card required to start
- ✓ 30+ security tools pre-configured