Attack surface management for small business buyers
Asked as “attack surface management platform”, and as “external attack surface monitoring tool”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 54 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, fourteen models each.
Standing · first-choice share
35%
Contested · Attaxion 19%
35Intruder19Attaxion09Attack Surface Scan37others
35% of first choices, contested.
Since October 2026▲+9Since October 2026: 26% → 35%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.Intruder held the lead, +9 points on 26%, inside the 11-point floor.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
Small business
Intruder35%Contested▲+9Since October 2026: 26% → 35%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This pageMid-marketIntruder29%Contested▼−20Since October 2026: 49% → 29%, −20 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →Enterprise
Cortex Xpanse44%Clear leader▲+15Since October 2026: 29% → 44%, +15 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →
Intruder35%Contested▲+9Since October 2026: 26% → 35%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This pageMid-marketIntruder29%Contested▼−20Since October 2026: 49% → 29%, −20 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →EnterpriseCortex Xpanse44%Clear leader▲+15Since October 2026: 29% → 44%, +15 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all fourteen models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince October 2026
01Intruder35%2%54endorsed leader▲+9Since October 2026: 26% → 35%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.26% → 35%
Intruder35%2%54endorsed leader▲+9Since October 2026: 26% → 35%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.26% → 35%02
Attaxion19%3%37accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 19% → 19%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.19% → 19%
Attaxion19%3%37accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 19% → 19%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.19% → 19%04
UpGuard BreachSight6%4%26accepted challenger▲+3Since October 2026: 3% → 6%, +3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 6%
UpGuard BreachSight6%4%26accepted challenger▲+3Since October 2026: 3% → 6%, +3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 6%05
Censys ASM6%23%26accepted challenger▲+1Since October 2026: 5% → 6%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.5% → 6%
Censys ASM6%23%26accepted challenger▲+1Since October 2026: 5% → 6%, +1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.5% → 6%06
Detectify2%9%34accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 7% → 2%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.7% → 2%
Detectify2%9%34accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 7% → 2%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.7% → 2%07
SurfaceLoop2%0%12accepted challenger▼−3Since October 2026: 5% → 2%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.5% → 2%
SurfaceLoop2%0%12accepted challenger▼−3Since October 2026: 5% → 2%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.5% → 2%08
Aikido Security2%10%10accepted challenger▼−1Since October 2026: 3% → 2%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 2%
Aikido Security2%10%10accepted challenger▼−1Since October 2026: 3% → 2%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 2%09
Shodan2%18%11accepted challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 2%
Shodan2%18%11accepted challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 2%10
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management2%49%39criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 2%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management2%49%39criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 2%Show the four products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
14Cortex Xpanse0%86%29criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Cortex Xpanse0%86%29criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%13
CyCognito0%70%30criticized challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 0%
CyCognito0%70%30criticized challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 0%11
Bitsight0%70%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Bitsight0%70%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%12
Tenable Attack Surface Management0%56%16criticized challenger▼−3Since October 2026: 3% → 0%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 0%
Tenable Attack Surface Management0%56%16criticized challenger▼−3Since October 2026: 3% → 0%, −3 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 0%The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. Both editions asked the same fourteen models. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to head
Intruder vs AttaxionIntruder vs CyCognitoIntruder vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Head-to-head pages are published for mid-market buyers, so these open on mid-market figures, not small business.All twenty-eight head-to-head pages: the top eight products, each against each
Intruder vs Censys ASMIntruder vs UpGuard BreachSightIntruder vs Cortex XpanseIntruder vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementAttaxion vs CyCognitoAttaxion vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementAttaxion vs Censys ASMAttaxion vs UpGuard BreachSightAttaxion vs Cortex XpanseAttaxion vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementCyCognito vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementCyCognito vs Censys ASMCyCognito vs UpGuard BreachSightCyCognito vs Cortex XpanseCyCognito vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Censys ASMMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs UpGuard BreachSightMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Cortex XpanseMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementCensys ASM vs UpGuard BreachSightCensys ASM vs Cortex XpanseCensys ASM vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementUpGuard BreachSight vs Cortex XpanseUpGuard BreachSight vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementCortex Xpanse vs Tenable Attack Surface Management
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
0102
030405060708091011121314Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative50%
Key
01Intruder35%
Intruder35%02Attaxion19%
Attaxion19%03Attack Surface Scan9%
Attack Surface Scan9%04UpGuard BreachSight6%
UpGuard BreachSight6%05Censys ASM6%
Censys ASM6%06Detectify2%
Detectify2%07SurfaceLoop2%
SurfaceLoop2%08Aikido Security2%
Aikido Security2%09Shodan2%
Shodan2%10Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management2%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management2%11Bitsight0%
Bitsight0%12Tenable Attack Surface Management0%
Tenable Attack Surface Management0%13CyCognito0%
CyCognito0%14Cortex Xpanse0%
Cortex Xpanse0%What they warned about
Five of fourteen models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Grok 4.20, Mistral Small, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, MiniMax M2.5 and GPT-6 Luna changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management49%
19 of 39 labels negative · 12 of 14 models · 5 hard negative
“"Enterprise-heavy tools (e.g., Microsoft Defender EASM, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface) were excluded" for SMB fit” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
CyCognito70%
21 of 30 labels negative · 10 of 14 models · 10 hard negative
“Enterprise-Focused Platforms (CyCognito, Tenable ASM, Mandiant) - Why to avoid: These platforms are "somewhat expensive, particularly for small to medium businesses"” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
Cortex Xpanse86%
25 of 29 labels negative · 8 of 14 models · 12 hard negative
“Avoid or be cautious about platforms like Palo Alto Cortex Xpanse / Mandiant ASM and CyCognito unless you have a dedicated security team and a significant budget.” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
Tenable Attack Surface Management56%
9 of 16 labels negative · 7 of 14 models · 4 hard negative
“Why to avoid: These platforms are "somewhat expensive, particularly for small to medium businesses"” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
What they cite
Fourteen of the fourteen models returned a source list in this edition: five return the pages they cited and nine the search results they consulted.
Sites the answers cite
73 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 840 links across 182 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. 35 of the 252 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category; the method page measures whether that reading tilts an answer.
vendor site · G241 answers · 57 citations · 12 models
vendor site · UpGuard33 answers · 50 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Attaxion29 answers · 43 citations · 12 models
29 answers · 30 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Cyble23 answers · 23 citations · 8 models
vendor site · SurfaceLoop21 answers · 39 citations · 8 models
vendor site · Attack Surface Scan19 answers · 22 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Intruder18 answers · 28 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Guideflow15 answers · 15 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Check Point13 answers · 13 citations · 7 models
13 answers · 13 citations · 8 models
vendor site · Ordr13 answers · 13 citations · 7 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
33 answers · 11 models
28 answers · 10 models
24 answers · 12 models
23 answers · 8 models
22 answers · 8 models
16 answers · 7 models
15 answers · 7 models
15 answers · 7 models
13 answers · 7 models
13 answers · 8 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “attack surface management platform”, “attack surface management platforms”, “best attack surface management platform”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intruder intruder.io | 35% | 291 | 27,100 | 8,557 | 49,562 | 43 | ||
| Attaxion attaxion.com | 19% | 61 | 50 | 0 | 1,077 | 6 | ||
| Attack Surface Scan attacksurfacescan.com | 9% | 17 | ||||||
| UpGuard upguard.com UpGuard BreachSight 6% | 6% | 101 | 2,900 | 80 | 319,457 company | 25 | 8 | |
| Censys censys.com Censys ASM 6% | 6% | 74 | 30 | 0 | 4,973 company | 43 | ||
| ManageEngine parent site ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus 4% | 4% | 49 | 8,100 | 675 | ||||
| Detectify detectify.com | 2% | 94 | 590 | 4 | 1,393 | 15 | ||
| SurfaceLoop surfaceloop.com | 2% | 13 | 0 | 12 | ||||
| Aikido aikido.dev Aikido Security 2% | 2% | 326 | 2,400 | 51 | 6,442 company | $936 | 120 | |
| runZero runzero.com | 2% | 20 | 1,900 | 16 | 1,882 | 12 |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 21 sites; 2 of them are among the sites the models cited here (attaxion.com, upguard.com). The first result for “attack surface management platform” is sentinelone.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best attack surface management platform for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which external attack surface monitoring tool would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top attack surface management platforms for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best attack surface management platform for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating an attack surface management platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which attack surface management platforms should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5Attaxion, IntelliBreachAttaxionChangedIntruderAttaxionno first choiceagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Two alternatives
Halo Security, IntruderTwo alternatives
Detectify, IntruderThree alternatives
CyCognito, Halo Security, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementThree alternatives
IntelliBreach, Intruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementGPT-5.4 miniIntruderCensys ASMChangedagainst: InsightCloudSec, Rapid7 InsightVMIntruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementCensys ASMno first choiceagainst: Mandiant Advantage Attack Surface Management, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform, Wiz
Three alternatives
Aikido Security, CTM360, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementOne alternative
Tenable Attack Surface ManagementFour alternatives
Censys ASM, CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, Rapid7 Surface Command, Tenable Exposure Management / ASMGemini 3.5 FlashIntruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Mandiant AdvantageIntruderHeldagainst: Cortex Xpanse, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementIntruderAttaxion, Intruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognitono first choiceagainst: Cortex Xpanseagainst: Bitsight, Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, IBM Randori, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Nmap scripts, OWASP Amass, ProjectDiscovery tools, SecurityScorecard, Sublist3r, Team Cymru Pure Signal
Three alternatives
Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, ProjectDiscovery Cloud PlatformFour alternatives
Censys ASM, Detectify, ProjectDiscovery Cloud Platform, UpGuard BreachSightFour alternatives
Detectify, ProjectDiscovery, runZero, watchTowrFour alternatives
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, OWASP Amass, ProjectDiscovery Suite, reNginePerplexity SonarIntruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognitoIntruderHeldagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Tenable Attack Surface ManagementDetectify, UpGuard BreachSightAttaxionagainst: Cortex Xpanseno first choiceagainst: Bitsight, Bugcrowd ASM, Censys ASM, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, CyCognito, Detectify, Forcepoint-branded "ASM" offerings, Invicti, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys VMDR, SecurityScorecard, Tenable Attack Surface Management
Three alternatives
Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, UpGuard BreachSightOne alternative
DetectifyFive alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, CyCognito, Intruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface ManagementThree alternatives
Detectify, Intruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementGrok 4.20Intruderagainst: Bitsight, Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys External Attack Surface ManagementMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementChangedagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure ManagementCyCognitoagainst: Attaxion, Censys ASM, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike, IBM, Mandiant Attack Surface ManagementAttaxion, Intruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface Managementno first choiceagainst: Aikido Security, Bugcrowd Attack Surface Management platform, CoalFire Attack Surface Management, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Four alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, SurfaceLoop, UpGuard BreachSightFour alternatives
Attaxion, Censys ASM, Detectify, IntruderFour alternatives
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface Management, UpGuard BreachSightThree alternatives
Detectify, Halo Security, IntelliBreachSeven alternatives
Censys ASM, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Rapid7 InsightVM, Tenable Attack Surface ManagementMistral SmallAikido Security, IntruderDetectify, IntruderChangedAttaxion, Intruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Managementagainst: Cortex XpanseAttaxionCensys ASM, IBM Randori, Netenrichagainst: Brinqaagainst: Bugcrowd Asset Inventory, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CyCognito, Mandiant Attack Surface Management, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
One alternative
DetectifyOne alternative
SurfaceLoopFour alternatives
Censys ASM, Detectify, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, UpGuard BreachSightTwo alternatives
Intruder, SurfaceLoopTwo alternatives
AttackSurfaceMapper, OWASP AmassDeepSeek V4 FlashIntruderIntruderHeldAikido Security, Intruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognitoPortWardenagainst: Censys ASM, Cortex Xpanse, CyCognitoSurfaceLoopagainst: ManageEngine, Microsoft Defender for Cloudagainst: Axonius, Bitsight, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, CyCognito, IBM, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys External Attack Surface Management
Four alternatives
Aikido Security, Censys ASM, Detectify, Halo SecurityThree alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, UpGuard BreachSightFive alternatives
Censys ASM, Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Shodan, bspekaTwo alternatives
Attaxion, IntruderFour alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, Intruder, UpGuard BreachSightLlama 4 MaverickUpGuard BreachSightno first choiceChangedHalo Security, UpGuard BreachSightAttack Surface Scan, Shodanno first choicenothing named
Four alternatives
Aikido Security, Attaxion, CyCognito, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager PlusTwo alternatives
Attaxion, UpGuard BreachSightQwen 3.7 FlashAttaxionSpoke.comChangedagainst: Bitsight, ShodanDetectifyIntruderagainst: CyCognito, Tenable Attack Surface Managementno first choiceagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, Qualys External Attack Surface Management, Rapid7, Rapid7 Nexpose, Splunk Enterprise Security, Tenable Attack Surface Management, Tenable Nessus
Two alternatives
Intruder, UpGuard BreachSightTwo alternatives
UpGuard BreachSight, VantaFour alternatives
Ordr, Polar Security, SpyCloud, WizFour alternatives
Aikido Security, Attaxion, Cyble Vision, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementKimi K2Intruderagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CyCognitoAttaxionChangedagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementIntruderAttack Surface Scan, Intruderagainst: Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, UpGuard BreachSightno first choiceagainst: Bitsight, Bugcrowd Asset Inventory, Burp Suite, Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, SecurityScorecard, Tenable Attack Surface Management, Wiz
Four alternatives
Attack Surface Scan, Attaxion, Detectify, UpGuard BreachSightThree alternatives
Intruder, PortWarden, SurfaceLoopFour alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, SurfaceLoop, UpGuard BreachSightFour alternatives
Attaxion, OWASP Amass, Sn1per Community Edition, bspekaSeven alternatives
Attack Surface Scan, Attaxion, Detectify, Intruder, Shodan, SurfaceLoop, UpGuard BreachSightGLM 4.7 FlashXIntruderIntruderHeldagainst: Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementAttaxionAttack Surface ScanIntruderagainst: CyCognito, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Mandiant Attack Surface Management, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface Management
Two alternatives
Aikido Security, WizTwo alternatives
Aikido Security, AttaxionTwo alternatives
Censys ASM, IntruderThree alternatives
Attack Surface Center, Attaxion, SurfaceLoopFive alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, Halo Security, UpGuard BreachSight, WizMiniMax M2.5ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager PlusAttack Surface ScanChangedagainst: Detectify, IntruderIntruderagainst: Censys ASM, WizAttaxion, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plusagainst: Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Managementno first choiceagainst: Bitsight
Three alternatives
Attaxion, Intruder, UpGuard BreachSightTwo alternatives
CyCognito, Halo SecurityGPT-6 LunaIntruderGlasstrail StarterChangedIntruder, runZeroagainst: Censys ASM, Hadrian AtlasrunZerono first choiceagainst: Censys ASM, Cortex Xpanse, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Shodan, Tenable Attack Surface Management
Two alternatives
Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementOne alternative
IntruderTwo alternatives
Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementTwo alternatives
Intruder, OWASP AmassMuse Glimmer 30BUpGuard BreachSightUpGuard BreachSightHeldSurfaceLoopagainst: Cortex Xpanse, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementAttack Surface Scanno first choiceagainst: Bugcrowd Asset Inventory, Burp Suite, Cortex Xpanse, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CyCognito, Mandiant Attack Surface Management, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Qualys External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface Management
Two alternatives
Attaxion, SurfaceLoopThree alternatives
Attack Surface Scan, Attaxion, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementFour alternatives
Attaxion, Detectify, Intruder, UpGuard BreachSightThree alternatives
Attaxion, OASM, Surface by CISO ToolboxBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Eighty-four rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 16:41 | yes | 9 | 7 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 17:17 | yes | 2 | 4 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 11:05 | yes | 10 | 23 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 15:39 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 18:58 | yes | 13 | 10 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 13:51 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 10:47 | yes | 23 | 23 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 12:11 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 19:20 | yes | 10 | 33 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 11:14 | yes | 15 | 28 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 19:31 | yes | 22 | 53 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 12:23 | yes | 5 | 26 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 09:56 | yes | 3 | 13 s |
| Direct recommendation | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 17:33 | yes | 24 | 37 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:19 | yes | 19 | 9 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 15:53 | no | 0 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 10:00 | no | 0 | 13 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 15:32 | yes | 10 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 17:25 | yes | 5 | 7 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 17:46 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 09:05 | yes | 24 | 24 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 09:15 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 13:16 | no | 0 | 38 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 18:09 | yes | 10 | 20 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 13:57 | yes | 14 | 147 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 19:14 | yes | 5 | 40 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 09:59 | yes | 3 | 20 s |
| Paraphrase | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 10:54 | yes | 24 | 29 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:03 | yes | 10 | 9 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 12:33 | yes | 5 | 8 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 12:49 | yes | 7 | 23 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 11:51 | yes | 10 | 7 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 19:11 | yes | 9 | 17 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 10:42 | yes | 5 | 7 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 18:47 | yes | 23 | 49 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 17:43 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 12:10 | no | 0 | 31 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 18:35 | yes | 22 | 30 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 10:22 | yes | 25 | 35 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 19:30 | yes | 19 | 44 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 12:03 | yes | 7 | 16 s |
| Comparative | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 16:05 | yes | 14 | 26 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:14 | yes | 14 | 10 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 19:39 | yes | 3 | 4 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 09:56 | yes | 5 | 16 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 13:15 | yes | 10 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 16:12 | yes | 5 | 10 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 19:26 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 09:06 | yes | 22 | 20 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 12:31 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 12:58 | yes | 5 | 19 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 12:41 | yes | 19 | 56 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 11:11 | yes | 25 | 163 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 17:21 | yes | 5 | 14 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 09:47 | yes | 3 | 13 s |
| Budget constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 09:37 | yes | 15 | 16 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 12:05 | no | 0 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 11:51 | yes | 3 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 11:07 | no | 0 | 15 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 15:39 | yes | 10 | 7 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 15:03 | yes | 14 | 18 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 16:23 | no | 0 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 08:44 | yes | 19 | 33 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 17:35 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 17:39 | no | 0 | 28 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 10:27 | yes | 13 | 19 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 16:58 | yes | 18 | 80 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 15:33 | no | 0 | 15 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 13:54 | yes | 2 | 18 s |
| Scale constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 17:50 | yes | 13 | 20 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 13:13 | yes | 17 | 8 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 19:16 | yes | 6 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 16:40 | yes | 11 | 23 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 13:06 | yes | 10 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 19:00 | yes | 9 | 9 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 14:23 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 11:59 | yes | 25 | 32 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 19:21 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 15:51 | no | 0 | 31 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 11:26 | yes | 23 | 53 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 10:21 | yes | 24 | 40 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 14:39 | no | 0 | 20 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 18:10 | yes | 6 | 23 s |
| Negative framing | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 17:27 | yes | 20 | 24 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
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Category-scoped readings
Attaxion read as Attaxion
Censys read as Censys ASM
Cyble read as Cyble Vision
Cyble (Cyble Vision) read as Cyble Vision
Intruder.io read as Intruder
Mandiant read as Mandiant Attack Surface Management
Palo Alto read as Cortex Xpanse
Qualys read as Qualys External Attack Surface Management
SentinelOne read as SentinelOne ASM
SentinelOne (Attivo) read as SentinelOne ASM
Tenable read as Tenable Attack Surface Management
Tenable (Enterprise/Nessus) read as Tenable Attack Surface Management
UpGuard read as UpGuard BreachSight
UpGuard (RiskRecon) read as UpGuard BreachSight
UpGuard Breach Risk read as UpGuard BreachSight
Unresolved, counted raw
AttackSurfaceMapper
Bugcrowd ASM
CoalFire Attack Surface Management
CyberAsset
Forcepoint-branded "ASM" offerings
Glasstrail Starter
Hadrian Atlas
Mandiant Advantage Attack Surface Management (legacy)
Microsoft Attack Surface Analyzer
Microsoft Defender External Attack Su
Nmap scripts
ProjectDiscovery
ProjectDiscovery Suite (Naabu, Nuclei, Katana, Uncover)
ProjectDiscovery tools (Naabu, Nuclei)
Red Hound
RedHunt Labs
SecurityTrails
Shodan.io
Spoke.com
Surface by CISO Toolbox
Team Cymru Pure Signal
Tenable Exposure Management / ASM
httpx
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.