Athena Dynamics RAD vs GRASSMARLIN: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)
Features, pricing, ratings, and pros & cons — compared head-to-head.
Athena Dynamics RAD is a commercial operational technology asset discovery tool by Athena Dynamics. GRASSMARLIN is a free operational technology asset discovery tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best operational technology asset discovery fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, integrations, company size fit, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise maritime operators need RAD because it discovers OT assets across hybrid IT/OT networks without requiring onboard hardware or disrupting vessel systems, a constraint that kills most traditional discovery tools in this domain. The ClassNK certification and passive scanning with 60-minute active phases prove the vendor understands maritime ops; E26 compliance support closes a real gap in the category. Skip this if your fleet runs purely air-gapped networks or if you need NIST ID.RC recovery capabilities built in; RAD prioritizes asset visibility and continuous monitoring over incident response orchestration.
Operations teams defending critical infrastructure without dedicated ICS/SCADA visibility should start with GRASSMARLIN; its passive network mapping gives you topology sight-lines without touching production systems, which matters when downtime costs six figures per hour. The tool is free and runs on commodity hardware, so deployment friction is nearly zero for teams of any size. The tradeoff is real: GRASSMARLIN maps what exists but doesn't actively hunt for misconfigurations or lateral movement, so it's a foundation layer, not a standalone defense.
