Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Assetnote ASM is a commercial external attack surface management tool by Assetnote. Shodan is a free external attack surface management tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best external attack surface management fit for your security stack.
Based on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise security teams managing sprawling external infrastructure will get the most from Assetnote ASM because its hourly asset discovery actually catches exposures before your business units spin up new services, not weeks after. The platform covers ID.AM and DE.CM across NIST CSF 2.0, meaning you're building a real asset inventory while monitoring it continuously, and the exploit-based verification eliminates the noise that buries actionable findings in traditional scanners. Skip this if your organization lacks the headcount to operationalize a workflow-driven program; Assetnote's strength is enabling lean teams to prioritize, not giving you a dashboard to ignore.
Security teams responsible for internet-facing infrastructure need Shodan to find what attackers see before attackers do. The free tier gives you real-time visibility into your own exposed devices, services, and default credentials across millions of internet scans without licensing friction. Skip this if your organization lacks the operational discipline to act on what you find; Shodan surfaces problems faster than most teams can remediate them, which creates noise without a triage process in place.
External attack surface management platform with continuous asset discovery
A search engine for the Internet of Things (IoT) that discovers and monitors devices connected to the internet.
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Common questions about comparing Assetnote ASM vs Shodan for your external attack surface management needs.
Assetnote ASM: External attack surface management platform with continuous asset discovery. built by Assetnote. Core capabilities include Hourly automated asset discovery and scanning, Asset enrichment and contextualization, Exploit-based vulnerability verification..
Shodan: A search engine for the Internet of Things (IoT) that discovers and monitors devices connected to the internet..
Both serve the External Attack Surface Management market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.
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