HailBytes ASM vs SecurityScorecard
A self-hosted ASM alternative for security teams that need active discovery and fixable findings, not just an outside-in security letter grade.
TL;DR
SecurityScorecard is primarily a security-ratings platform that produces A through F letter grades for your org and your vendors, derived from outside-in observations. HailBytes ASM is an operational ASM platform that runs the recon pipeline inside your own AWS or Azure account and produces actionable findings for the team that has to remediate them.
- Pick HailBytes ASM if you need findings your team can triage and fix, white-label deliverables, full data residency, or unlimited active scans.
- Stay with SecurityScorecard if your primary need is third-party risk scoring, vendor monitoring at scale, or executive-facing security ratings.
Pricing & Cost Model
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | SecurityScorecard |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing axis | Infrastructure ($0.24/vCPU/hour) | Per company / per vendor monitored |
| Annual cost (own surface) | $11,760–$23,520 (8–16 vCPU; $16,800–$33,600 list), all-in, clearly below SecurityScorecard’s entry price at 8 vCPU ($15,120–$20,160) and above it at 16 ($30,240–$40,320) | ~$25,000+ entry |
| Annual cost (TPRM, hundreds of vendors) | N/A (not the same use case) | $75,000+ enterprise |
| Free trial | 30 days via AWS / Azure Marketplace | Free instant scorecard for own org |
| Procurement path | Cloud marketplace (counts toward EDP / MACC) | Direct enterprise contract |
HailBytes figures are the 1-year commitment price (delivered as an AWS or Azure private offer, not a discount on the published meter) with list alongside, so the comparison sits on the same annual-contract basis as the competitor column. The meter covers software only; the VM, storage, and networking run in your own cloud account and are billed separately at roughly $35/vCPU/month, $220/month at 4 vCPU, $280 at 8, $560 at 16, and $1,120 at 32, so scale that line to the size on the row you are reading.
Our cost steps with the size of the surface rather than scaling per asset, so every comparison on this page is calculated all-in against the rung that fits. 4 vCPU is ASM’s documented minimum and suits a small, stable surface (about $8,520/year all-in on a 1-year commitment, $11,040 at list). 8 vCPU is the size ASM’s own hardening guide names Production (recommended) and covers 10 to 50 scheduled scans a day ($15,120 / $20,160). 16 vCPU covers 50+ scans a day ($30,240 / $40,320). Quote 4 vCPU only where the surface genuinely is small and stable; 8 vCPU is the size we recommend for production. Full pricing.
Sizing above 8 vCPU: ASM sizes its scan worker from the host, so a larger instance scans proportionally faster: a 16 vCPU deployment gives the scan engine twice the cores an 8 vCPU one does. Instances deployed before August 2026 pick this up on the next update, when the installer rewrites the worker limits to match the machine.
Architecture & Control
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | SecurityScorecard |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Self-hosted in your AWS / Azure account | SaaS (SecurityScorecard-hosted) |
| Source code access | Ships with the deployment; auditable under NDA | Closed source |
| Data residency | Whatever cloud region you pick | SecurityScorecard-controlled |
| Scan model | Active scans, you control cadence and scope | Outside-in passive observations + external feeds |
| Custom scan logic / wordlists | ✅ Full control | ❌ |
Capability Comparison
| Capability | HailBytes ASM | SecurityScorecard |
|---|---|---|
| Active subdomain enumeration | ✅ | 🟡 Outside-in |
| Active port & service scanning | ✅ | 🟡 Limited |
| CVE matching against fingerprinted services | ✅ | ✅ |
| Security letter grade | ❌ | ✅ Core product |
| Third-party / vendor monitoring at scale | 🟡 You scan their public surface | ✅ Industry standard |
| Custom wordlists | ✅ Unlimited | ❌ |
| AI-powered finding analysis | ✅ OpenAI + Ollama (local GPU) | 🟡 Limited |
| MCP server / AI-agent tooling | ✅ Built-in (Claude / Cursor / Windsurf) | ❌ |
| SIEM / Jira / Slack routing | ✅ Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, Chronicle | ✅ Limited |
| Government cloud (GovCloud / Azure Gov) | ✅ Both | 🟡 Limited |
| White-label for client deliverables | ✅ Built-in | 🟡 MAX (managed) tier |
See It in the Product
SecurityScorecard rates you from the outside. ASM shows the findings behind the rating, on infrastructure you control.
Captured from a running instance. See all 48 screens →
When HailBytes ASM Wins
- You need actionable findings, not a letter grade. SecurityScorecard is excellent for boards and procurement; HailBytes is built for the team that ships the fix.
- Pen-test firms and MSSPs. White-label output and a fixed per-instance cost are what turn resold continuous monitoring into a real margin line.
- Government and regulated industries. Deploy in AWS GovCloud or Azure Government and scan data never leaves the tenancy you control.
- AI-agent recon workflows. A built-in MCP server gives Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf direct control over scans and triage.
When SecurityScorecard Wins
- Third-party risk management at scale. Continuous scoring across hundreds of vendors is core to the product.
- Executive and board reporting. The letter-grade rating is a clean, defensible artifact in that context.
- Cyber-insurance and procurement workflows that explicitly require SecurityScorecard or peer-rating data.
Many teams run both: SecurityScorecard for vendor risk scoring, HailBytes ASM for operational discovery and remediation on their own surface.
Try HailBytes ASM
The AWS and Azure Marketplace listings each include a 30-day trial that covers the VM as well.
Related Comparisons
Other risk-rating and ASM platforms usually evaluated alongside SecurityScorecard:
- vs Bitsight: the other major third-party risk-rating service.
- vs Microsoft Defender EASM: Azure-native external ASM.
- vs Detectify: SaaS web-app surface monitoring.
- vs Censys: internet-wide certificate and port intelligence.
- 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 walks you through setup and your first steps, whether that’s a single organization or a multi-client rollout.
- ✓ 30-day free trial on AWS or Azure
- ✓ Guided onboarding from our security team
- ✓ No credit card required to start
- ✓ 40+ security tools pre-configured