Aqua Security Cloud VM Security vs Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud Runtime Security: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Aqua Security Cloud VM Security: VM security for cloud environments with compliance, runtime protection & monitoring. built by Aqua Security Software Ltd.. Core capabilities include Vulnerability scanning and malware detection for cloud VMs, CIS Benchmark compliance assessment for Linux, Real-time VM configuration monitoring and drift prevention..

Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud Runtime Security: Real-time cloud workload protection for VMs, containers, K8s & serverless. built by Palo Alto Networks. Core capabilities include Runtime threat protection with lightweight agent, Behavioral threat protection and malware analysis, Exploit prevention for cloud workloads..

Both serve the Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.

Aqua Security Cloud VM Security differentiates with Vulnerability scanning and malware detection for cloud VMs, CIS Benchmark compliance assessment for Linux, Real-time VM configuration monitoring and drift prevention. Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud Runtime Security differentiates with Runtime threat protection with lightweight agent, Behavioral threat protection and malware analysis, Exploit prevention for cloud workloads.

Aqua Security Cloud VM Security is developed by Aqua Security Software Ltd.. Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud Runtime Security is developed by Palo Alto Networks. Vendor maturity, funding stage, and team size can be important factors when evaluating long-term viability and support quality.

Aqua Security Cloud VM Security and Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud Runtime Security serve similar Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform use cases: both are Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform tools, both cover Runtime Security, Workload Security. Review the feature comparison above to determine which fits your requirements.