Core Security Cobalt Strike vs Mortar: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Core Security Cobalt Strike: Post-exploitation threat emulation platform for red team operations. built by Core Security. Core capabilities include Beacon post-exploitation payload supporting reconnaissance, command execution, and payload deployment, Malleable C2 profiles to customize network indicators and simulate APT behavior, Covert communication over HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, TCP, and SMB named pipes..

Mortar: Mortar is an evasion technique to defeat and divert detection and prevention of security products, including AV, EDR, and XDR solutions..

Both serve the Offensive Security market but differ in approach, feature depth, and target audience.

Core Security Cobalt Strike is developed by Core Security. Mortar is open-source with 1,501 GitHub stars. Vendor maturity, funding stage, and team size can be important factors when evaluating long-term viability and support quality.

Core Security Cobalt Strike and Mortar serve similar Offensive Security use cases: both are Offensive Security tools, both cover Red Team. Key differences: Core Security Cobalt Strike is Commercial while Mortar is Free, Mortar is open-source. Review the feature comparison above to determine which fits your requirements.