Report: Comparison of Top CSPM Vendors (Wiz, Prisma Cloud, Orca Security, Lacework)

Overview

This report compares four widely recognized Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) platforms:

Wiz
Prisma Cloud (Palo Alto Networks)
Orca Security
Lacework / Lacework FortiCNAPP

The focus is on real, verifiable capabilities and customer experience rather than marketing slogans. The lens here is:

Coverage across major clouds and services
Depth and quality of risk visibility
Signal-to-noise (alert quality) and remediation
Compliance and governance
Ecosystem/integration maturity
Operational complexity and cost trade-offs

Throughout, "CSPM" is treated in the broader CNAPP context since all four vendors position posture management as part of a larger platform.

How do Wiz and Orca really differ on “agentless” cloud security? Is Prisma Cloud or Wiz stronger for highly regulated cloud workloads? When is a pure CSPM tool not enough compared with full CNAPP? How to choose between Orca Security and Lacework for multi-cloud environments? What actually works to reduce CSPM alert fatigue in large environments? Which CSPM cost drivers trip up enterprises the most?

High-level comparison

Capability snapshot

Dimension	Wiz	Prisma Cloud (PANW)	Orca Security	Lacework / FortiCNAPP
Primary positioning	CNAPP with strong CSPM, agentless first	CNAPP + broader PANW platform, heavy compliance & governance	Agentless CNAPP with CSPM, strong multi-cloud visibility	CNAPP/CSPM with behavior-based analytics, now tightly tied to Fortinet
Cloud providers covered	AWS, Azure, GCP and others (public case studies on AWS and GCP) AWS GCP	AWS, Azure, GCP plus others via official docs and customer stories PANW	AWS, Azure, GCP; Google Cloud-specific solution pages and APN content Google Cloud AWS	Focus on AWS, Azure, GCP via Lacework platform and FortiCNAPP docs Lacework Fortinet
Deployment approach	Fully agentless posture scanning, expanding into runtime with Wiz Defend and integrations Wiz	Mix of API-based posture, optional agents for workloads and containers Prisma Docs	Core is SideScanning™ agentless technology; now complemented by Orca Sensor for runtime SideScanning	Typically agent-based data collection behind the scenes, abstracted in FortiCNAPP offering FortiCNAPP
Depth of risk context	Strong emphasis on correlated "Security Graph" and risk-based vulnerability management Puppygraph	Deep policy set, broad coverage but can feel rule-heavy; context grows when combined with Cortex and NGFW PANW	Very strong attack-path and reachability analysis plus unified context across assets AWS APN	Behavior-based anomaly detection and workload baselining plus Fortinet feeds SiliconANGLE
Alert quality / noise	Generally praised for prioritization; still can generate many findings and requires tuning, but risk-based grouping is a differentiator WWT	Known-issues lists and customer feedback show noise and false-positive tuning challenges similar to peers Prisma Known Issues PeerSpot	Marketing highlights reduction of alert fatigue; reviews mention strong prioritization but some complain about volume and tuning effort Orca Report PeerSpot	Behavioral analytics can cut some noise, but some customers and analysts question stability and "AI not working" claims Omer on Security
Compliance coverage	CSPM plus vertical content (healthcare, etc.) but not historically the most compliance-forward tool Wiz Healthcare	Very strong: hundreds of policies mapped to CIS, PCI, HIPAA, etc., with deep audit workflows Prisma Compliance	Offers 150+ frameworks and CIS benchmarks for multi-cloud compliance Orca Compliance	FortiCNAPP documentation lists mapped frameworks, and partners highlight automated compliance workflows Fortinet Compliance Somerford
Ecosystem & integrations	Deep partnerships with hyperscalers and many security vendors (CloudGuard, Traceable, others) Checkpoint	Tight integration with PANW stack: Cortex XSOAR, NGFW, SASE, CDR XSOAR	Integrates with AWS Security Hub, Panther, Snowflake, Nucleus, etc. AWS Security Hub Panther	Deep Fortinet integration plus AWS integrations; ecosystem is more Fortinet-centric than open Fortinet Press
Cost & commercial posture	Premium pricing, especially at scale; some midmarket buyers look for cheaper alternatives UnderDefense pricing guide	Often perceived as expensive and complex to deploy/operate, though Forrester TEI pitches ROI Forrester TEI	Pricing is negotiable; case studies and press emphasize cost savings vs agent-based tools, but little independent TCO data Orca Privacy & Cost	Customer chatter and alternatives lists suggest pricing and packaging can be a pain point, especially versus newer CNAPPs CloudEagle

Wiz

Where Wiz is strong

1. Agentless multi-cloud visibility and coverage

Wiz’s core value prop is agentless scanning across AWS, Azure, GCP and others using cloud APIs plus its "Security Graph" for context. Official material and partner case studies (e.g., AWS and Google Cloud) show large enterprises deploying Wiz across thousands of accounts and projects to gain a unified view of risks across services like compute, storage, Kubernetes, and PaaS offerings.AWS GCP

Customer stories from enterprises such as Mars, Colgate-Palmolive, and large healthcare providers highlight:

Rapid onboarding due to not needing host agents
Discovery of previously unknown assets and misconfigurations
Consolidation of findings across multiple cloud providers into a single risk viewWiz Customers Healthcare case study

2. Deep risk context and prioritization

Wiz invests heavily in risk-based vulnerability and posture management: it correlates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, identity issues, and data exposure into attack paths and “toxic combinations.” The company and partners like Google Cloud and WWT show examples where security teams move from raw CVE lists to prioritized remediation tied to blast radius, internet exposure, and reachable identities.Security Graph Google Cloud architecture note

Analyst and practitioner writeups (e.g., Detailed reports from SoftwareAnalyst and Venture in Security) credit Wiz with:

Combining CSPM, vulnerability management, and some DSPM-style context in a single graph
Actually getting engineers to fix issues due to clearer risk narratives, not just check-box complianceSoftwareAnalyst Venture in Security

3. Enterprise adoption and ecosystem

Wiz has become a default shortlist item for large CNAPP/CSPM deals, with a very strong ecosystem of joint solutions – e.g., integrations with Check Point CloudGuard, Traceable, Contrast Security, and data security vendors.Checkpoint Traceable

Google’s announced intent to acquire Wiz for a reported $32B further signals its perceived strategic importance in multi-cloud security and posture management.Everest Group

Where Wiz is weaker or controversial

1. Not always plug-and-play for the most complex environments

Marketing emphasizes that agentless equals simplicity, but multi-cloud security remains hard. Critical commentary (e.g., long-form critiques and alternative-vendor blogs) point out that:

Large, highly dynamic environments still require significant onboarding and cloud configuration work
Certain runtime or niche workloads may still benefit from agents or other tools, meaning "agentless only" is not a full solution for everyoneTechMagic multi-cloud challenges ARMOs runtime comparison

2. Alert volume and operationalization

Even with risk-based grouping, users report that Wiz can generate a lot of findings. Reviews and integrator blogs highlight the need for:

Building strong processes around triage, ticketing, and ownership
Integrating Wiz with ITSM/SecOps tooling to avoid posture work becoming a backlogWWT PeerSpot reviews

3. Cost and vendor lock-in risk

Pricing is positioned at the high end of the market. Pricing guides and competitor writeups note that:

For midmarket or cost-sensitive orgs, Wiz can feel “too enterprise” from a budget standpoint
As Wiz expands into runtime and code security, there’s potential for platform lock-in if you rely on it for multiple security domainsUnderDefense pricing guide Cycode comparison

Is Lacework’s behavioral analytics a real alternative to Wiz’s graph-based approach?

Prisma Cloud (Palo Alto Networks)

Where Prisma Cloud is strong

1. Compliance-heavy CSPM with broad cloud support

Prisma Cloud has one of the most mature compliance stacks:

Hundreds of out-of-the-box policies mapped to CIS Benchmarks, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, NIST, ISO and others
Dashboards and reports tuned for auditors and regulatorsCompliance docs Regulatory use case

University and public-sector documentation (e.g., UC Berkeley, Nebraska university support pages) describe Prisma Cloud as the central tool to monitor cloud compliance posture across AWS, Azure and GCP.Berkeley Nebraska

2. Part of a large integrated platform

Prisma Cloud is deeply integrated with the wider Palo Alto Networks ecosystem:

Cortex XSOAR for automated response and orchestrationXSOAR integration
Next-Gen Firewalls and SASE for network-layer policy and enforcement
Cortex CDR for cloud detection and responseDark Reading SecurityBoulevard

This is appealing where Palo Alto is already the strategic security vendor, since posture findings can drive network rules, SOAR playbooks, and wider enforcement.

3. Multi-cloud posture plus CNAPP breadth

Prisma Cloud spans CSPM, CWPP, vulnerability management, IaC scanning and data security posture management. Content such as security guides and Microsoft co-authored blogs (e.g., Windows containers on Azure) describe scenarios where a single Prisma deployment covers multiple parts of the cloud-native lifecycle.Prisma overview Azure containers blog

Where Prisma Cloud is weaker or controversial

1. Complexity and learning curve

Customer comments, certifications, and implementation guides consistently show that Prisma Cloud is a complex product to deploy and tune:

Many modules (CSPM, CWPP, etc.) with their own configuration surfaces
Multi-step onboarding for each cloud provider
Documentation sections dedicated to troubleshooting findings and known issuesKnown issues Field guide

Partners and customers often rely on specialized integrators or in-house PANW experts to run the platform effectively.

2. Alert noise and operational friction

Like most large CSPMs, Prisma Cloud can generate large volumes of alerts and requires careful policy tuning. PANW’s own content on reducing alert fatigue and improving CSPM functionality implies that this has been a real problem in the field.Alert fatigue article New CSPM functionality

Community threads and Q&A highlight work around managing false positives, especially in vulnerability detection and compute defenders.Prisma false positive KB Community thread

3. Licensing and total cost of ownership

Forrester TEI and vendor collateral argue for positive ROI, but pricing guides and market commentary point to:

High license cost compared with more focused or newer CNAPPs
Additional spend on services/integrators to make full use of the platformForrester TEI UnderDefense pricing guide

Prisma Cloud tends to make the most sense when an organization already has a strong PANW footprint and can amortize skills and integrations across multiple security domains.

Where does Prisma Cloud’s CSPM beat Orca and where does it fall short?

Orca Security

Where Orca Security is strong

1. Agentless SideScanning and fast coverage

Orca is built around its patented SideScanning™ technology, which uses cloud configuration and disk snapshots to build a deep view of workloads without agents.SideScanning Brief

Key benefits shown in case studies and AWS/Google content:

Fast onboarding: customers like Wix and Clearco report getting broad coverage across AWS and Google Cloud with minimal friction.Wix case Clearco GCP case
Full-asset visibility: detection of unmanaged workloads and shadow assets

2. Unified context and attack-path analysis

Orca correlates vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, identity issues, and data exposure into contextual attack paths. The platform emphasizes:

Reachability analysis (which vulnerabilities are actually exploitable)
Attack-path visualization connecting internet-exposed assets to critical dataReachability on AWS Attack path video

This helps teams focus on fewer, more meaningful issues—important when you do not have a large SecOps staff.

3. Runtime and hybrid-cloud expansion

While originally purely agentless, Orca now offers the Orca Sensor for unified runtime security across hybrid and private clouds.Sensor press Hybrid runtime post

The strategy is:

Use SideScanning for broad, low-friction posture and vulnerability coverage
Add the sensor selectively where runtime telemetry is needed (e.g., AI services, Windows workloads, or on-prem)

4. Customer satisfaction and analyst recognition

Independent reviews and reports highlight high satisfaction with ease of use and visibility:

PeerSpot reviews consistently praise simplicity and context, though they note cost and tuning as considerationsPeerSpot
An independent analyst assessment (TAG) scored Orca highly on innovation and effectiveness for agentless CNAPPTAG report

Where Orca Security is weaker or controversial

1. Scalability and scan model limits

SideScanning’s reliance on snapshots and API calls has trade-offs:

Very large, highly dynamic environments may find scanning windows and API limits challenging; continuous, near-real-time changes can be harder to track than with always-on agents
Technical briefs and partner material acknowledge the need for careful scheduling and integration for big fleetsSideScanning Brief

User feedback in Q&A forums and integrations discussions hints at the need to:

Tune scanning schedules to avoid performance or API-throttling issues
Combine Orca with other tools for certain high-frequency workloads or niche PaaS services

2. Alert volume and tuning effort

Although Orca positions itself as solving alert fatigue (including publishing dedicated alert-fatigue reports), the fact that they emphasize this so heavily signals that:

Out-of-the-box, organizations still see a lot of alerts that must be triaged
Tuning is required to align severity and rules to the organization’s risk appetite2022 Alert Fatigue Report Alert fatigue blog

Security teams that lack process maturity may still drown in data, even with Orca’s prioritization features.

3. Integration gaps and niche limitations

Orca integrates with key platforms (AWS Security Hub, Panther, Snowflake, Nucleus, etc.), but compared to incumbents like Palo Alto, its ecosystem is:

More focused on cloud-native and data tooling
Less integrated with traditional on-prem security stacks and legacy SIEM/SOAR platforms out of the box

Some users on sites like SoftwareFinder and PeerSpot mention:

Desire for more native integrations
Occasional friction connecting Orca alerts into existing, older workflowsSoftwareFinder reviews

Is Orca’s hybrid-cloud runtime strategy enough to match Wiz Defend and other CNAPPs?

Lacework / Lacework FortiCNAPP

Note: Lacework’s technology is now increasingly surfaced as Lacework FortiCNAPP within Fortinet’s portfolio, but the underlying behavior-based analytics model is still central to its story.

Where Lacework is strong

1. Behavioral-based anomaly detection

Lacework was built on behavioral modeling: baselining normal behavior for workloads, users, and cloud resources, then detecting anomalies.

Evidence from Fortinet and media coverage shows examples such as:

Detecting accidental insider threats by noticing unusual access or data movement patternsFortinet blog
Identifying suspicious multi-cloud activity that traditional rule-based CSPM might missSiliconANGLE

This can be especially valuable where:

Environments are highly dynamic
Static rules are hard to maintain

2. Compliance and reporting workflows

Lacework’s CSPM capabilities include automated compliance checks (especially for AWS) and reporting geared toward audits:

AWS workshop content shows auto-validation against AWS controls and compliance frameworksAWS compliance
Somerford and eSentire materials explain how Lacework is used to drive continuous compliance monitoring and reporting for regulated environments.Somerford eSentire

3. Multi-cloud support and Fortinet ecosystem

Lacework FortiCNAPP is marketed as a multi-cloud solution, and Fortinet documentation lists supported compliance frameworks and cloud providers.FortiCNAPP Compliance frameworks

The Fortinet partnership offers:

Tight integration with NGFW, SASE, and other Fortinet security products
CDR (Cloud Detection and Response) use cases that tie Lacework telemetry into broader SOC workflowsFortinet–Lacework ESG brief

For organizations already standardizing on Fortinet, this can make Lacework the default CSPM/CNAPP layer.

Where Lacework is weaker or controversial

1. Questions around "AI didn’t work" and product strategy

A widely-cited industry critique titled "Lacework’s AI Didn’t Work" argues that:

Behavior-based, ML-heavy approaches can be brittle and hard to tune at scale
Lacework struggled to deliver consistently differentiated detection vs more rules-driven CNAPPsOmer on Security

This is one perspective, but it aligns with some market movements: Lacework has undergone strategic shifts, layoffs, and tighter coupling with Fortinet, which analysts interpret as a sign that the standalone platform’s economics and differentiation were challenging.

2. Deployment and operations complexity

Compared to agentless-first competitors (Wiz, Orca), Lacework typically relies on:

Collecting more telemetry (agents, sensors) to feed behavioral analytics
Heavier data pipelines to build and maintain baselines

Technical whitepapers and deployment guides highlight the need for careful planning to scale Lacework across large environments, and alternatives lists frequently cite complexity as a reason buyers consider other CNAPPs.Technical whitepaper CloudEagle alternatives

3. Signal-to-noise and stability concerns

Although behavioral analytics can reduce noise, some customers and practitioners point to issues like:

Hard-to-understand detection logic that makes triage harder
Alert quality that varies with environment changes, causing spikes in noise

The fact that vendors and partners explicitly market around "actionable alerts" and "reducing false positives" suggests that Lacework, like peers, has had to fight real-world alert fatigue.Clari case study CSPM alert-fatigue context

4. Cost and competitive pressure

Reports, alternative lists and market commentary portray Lacework as:

Facing heavy competition from Wiz, Orca, Prisma Cloud, and others
Sometimes perceived as expensive relative to newer CNAPP offerings with clearer ROI storiesCycode "Wiz competitors"CloudNuro CSPM comparison

If you already use Fortinet, does Lacework FortiCNAPP beat Prisma Cloud?

Practical guidance: how to choose

1. Start from your primary driver

a. Strongest risk context with minimal agents

Lean toward Wiz or Orca.
Wiz skews more toward a broad risk graph that includes application/code paths and some DSPM; Orca emphasizes agentless coverage plus attack-paths and now targeted runtime.
Consider your cloud scale and change rate: SideScanning vs Wiz’s scanning model have different trade-offs for very large, fast-changing fleets.

b. Compliance and PANW-centric security stack

Prisma Cloud is often the most natural fit if you are already a Palo Alto shop.
You get strong compliance mapping and tight integration with XSOAR, NGFW, and Cortex CDR—which reduces integration work but deepens vendor lock-in.

c. Fortinet-first network/security strategy

Lacework FortiCNAPP aligns with a Fortinet-centric SOC.
Behavioral analytics are a differentiator, but weigh this against deployment complexity and mixed sentiment around the AI story.

2. Evaluate on operational reality, not just features

Across all four vendors, patterns repeat:

Alert fatigue is real. Every platform will generate more findings than you can fix. Success depends on:
- Prioritization quality
- How well the tool pushes into your existing ticketing/SecOps flows
- Whether your teams can act on the findings
Onboarding and data quality drive value. Poor cloud inventory, tags, or IAM hygiene will blunt the value of any CSPM.
Platform sprawl vs lock-in. Consolidating on a single CNAPP (e.g., Wiz or Prisma Cloud) can reduce tool sprawl but increases dependence on that vendor.

3. A simple decision matrix

Choose Wiz if:

You want a market-leading agentless CNAPP with very strong multi-cloud posture and risk graph
You can afford premium pricing and have engineering capacity to integrate it deeply into workflows

Choose Prisma Cloud if:

You are a Palo Alto Networks customer and want deep compliance plus tight integration with PANW firewalls, XSOAR, and SASE
You have appetite for a complex, powerful platform and can invest in skilled admins/integrators

Choose Orca Security if:

You prioritize fast, agentless coverage with strong attack-path analysis and multi-cloud visibility
You want a focused CNAPP that is easier to roll out than heavy-weight platforms, and you are okay tuning alerts and managing some ecosystem gaps

Choose Lacework/FortiCNAPP if:

You are heavily invested in Fortinet and value behavioral anomaly detection integrated with Fortinet’s broader security stack
You are prepared to manage greater deployment and tuning complexity, and pricing fits your budget

Key takeaways

No single "best" CSPM exists—the right choice depends heavily on your existing security stack, cloud footprint, and team capacity.
Agentless-first platforms (Wiz, Orca) generally win on speed-to-value, but you still need process maturity to avoid alert fatigue.
Prisma Cloud and Lacework excel when paired with their broader ecosystems (Palo Alto and Fortinet respectively), but this comes with complexity and lock-in trade-offs.
Spend as much time on operating model as on vendor selection: who owns findings, how they flow into tickets, and how remediation is measured.

If you share your cloud providers, regulatory obligations, and current security stack, you can narrow this to a short, opinionated recommendation (e.g., 1–2 vendors) for your specific context.