ASM / CTEM: Compare & Choose
ASM/CTEM services come in many shapes, and choosing is hard. This page lays out how the types differ and roughly what they cost, and guides you to the plan that fits.
Landscape
Service types and rough cost
| Type | Price band |
|---|---|
| Free single-scan (Vendor F)Scans one site for free or a low fee. No asset discovery or continuous monitoring. | Free–~$2/mo (no discovery, single site) |
| Self-serve tool (Vendor A)You operate the tool yourself to scan and monitor. Operations are on you. | Self-serve from ~$270/mo / assisted from ~$800/mo (human) |
| Per-domain (Vendor B)Attack-surface management (ASM) contracted and billed per domain. | ~$300/mo per domain |
| Continuous human analyst (Vendor C)Analysts scan and report on an ongoing basis. Hands-on, but expensive. | from ~$2,000/mo |
| AI scan (Vendor D)AI scans apps and code and even proposes fixes (more app/code testing than external attack surface). | from ~$470/mo |
| Suite / inquiry-based (Vendor E)Bundles several capabilities. ASM pricing is inquiry-based. | ASM: inquiry / scan from ~$330/mo |
| Global low-cost SaaS (English-only)Self-serve SaaS with English-only UI and support. | $99 / $129 / €82–302 (monthly, 3 services) |
| Global majors (English, enterprise, annual)Global enterprise attack-surface tools. Enterprise-oriented, annual contracts, pricing on inquiry. | thousands of $/mo (undisclosed, annual, inquiry) |
| PentaTrailAI-native CTEM/ASM. Discovery through validation, remediation, and executive reporting — at this price. | ASM $290 / CTEM $490 (3 domains, 5 users; unlimited subdomains) |
Which type
Which type should you pick?
It comes down to your current setup and how much you want automated. Read the ones that apply.
Cost is the top priority
A free single-scan tool is an option — but it doesn't discover assets or monitor continuously, so you never see the whole attack surface. To map it end-to-end, PentaTrail ASM ($290/mo) does that.
You want to run it yourself
A self-serve tool automates discovery and monitoring. But validation (“is it actually exploitable?”) and remediation tracking are on you. To hand off validation and remediation too, PentaTrail CTEM ($490/mo).
You want hands-on help
A continuous human-analyst service is hands-on, but runs about $800–$2,000/mo. PentaTrail automates the same prioritization, remediation guidance, and validation with AI at CTEM $490/mo.
You value a global major's breadth and track record
Global majors (English, enterprise) are an option. Discovery and detection are strong, but pricing is thousands per month on annual contracts. To run discovery through validation, remediation, and executive reporting for a few hundred a month, PentaTrail CTEM ($490).
You want AI to handle it end-to-end
PentaTrail fits. ASM ($290) covers discovery, monitoring, and risk rating; CTEM ($490) adds prioritization, validation, remediation, and executive reporting, all the way through.
Comparison
Feature & coverage comparison
| PentaTrail CTEM ($490) | PentaTrail ASM ($290) | Vendor F (free single-scan) | Vendor A (self-serve tool) | Vendor B (per-domain) | Vendor C (human analyst) | Vendor D (AI scan) | Vendor E (suite) | Global low-cost SaaS (English) | Global majors (English, enterprise) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated asset discovery | ◎ | ◎ | ✕ | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ | — | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ |
| Continuous monitoring & diff | ◎ | ◎ | △ | ◎ | ○ | ○ | ○ | ◎ | ○ | ◎ |
| Detect & rank vulnerabilitiesOrder found issues from most to least dangerous | ◎ | ◎ | ○ | ◎ | ○ | ◎ | ○ | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ |
| Actually check if it is exploitable (validation) | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | △ | — | ◎ | ◎ | ○ | △ | △ |
| Evidence you can seeShows why it is risky, and it can be audited | ○ | ○ | △ | ○ | — | — | ○ | ○ | ○ | △ |
| Fix guidance & task bundling (AI)We bundle many findings by fix approach into a few clear tasks | ◎ | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | — | — | ○ | △ | △ | △ |
| Remediation task management (owner / due date) | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | — | — | — | △ | △ | ○ |
| Business-impact grouping & ownershipGroup by business impact and assign an owner | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | △ | — | — | — | △ | △ | △ |
| Executive summary | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | △ | — | — | — | △ | △ | ○ |
| AI-native + MCP/APIOperate it from an AI agent via API/MCP | ◎ | ◎ | ✕ | ✕ | — | — | ○ | ✕ | ✕ | △ |
| Price (starting monthly) | $490 | $290 | Free–~$2 | from ~$270 | ~$300/domain | from ~$2,000 | from ~$470 | from ~$330 (ASM: inquiry) | $99 / $129 / €82–302 | thousands of $ (inquiry) |
| Pricing transparency (can you pin the total?) | ◎ | ◎ | ◎ | △ | ◎ | △ | △ | ✕ | △ | ✕ |
Billing
Can you predict the bill?
The dividing line is whether you can predict your bill as your attack surface — the sites you monitor, hosts like shop.example.com — grows.
| Billing model | Predictability |
|---|---|
| PentaTrail (billed per domain) | Flat. You pay by the number of domains ($290 = 3 domains included, +$75 per additional domain). Every subdomain under a domain is included with no cap, so adding subdomains never changes the price. You can total it from the public prices alone. |
| Billed per asset (site) | The more sites you monitor, the higher the price. The total often requires a sales inquiry, and cost gets harder to predict as your attack surface grows. |
Why so affordable
Why we can offer it at this price
PentaTrail is $290 for ASM and $490 for CTEM not because of a discount, but because it's built differently.
Built end-to-end with AI
PentaTrail is designed from real security-operations experience and built end-to-end with generative AI. The developer salaries that are the biggest cost of traditional software barely apply here.
No human analyst in the loop
Discovery runs on deterministic techniques (DNS, certificate logs, OSINT); validation, remediation guidance, and executive reports are AI-generated. There is no continuous human-analyst cost — the kind behind services at thousands of dollars a month — baked into the price.
No sales gate
Pricing, features, and real sample reports are all public, so there is no quoting or sales-call overhead. We pass that saving back into the price.
Why PentaTrail
Finding isn't protecting.
From discovery to validation, remediation, and board-level reporting — done with AI. That's why we can publish pricing and features in full.
Pricing, features, and real sample reports — all visible on this page
Per-domain pricing. Monitor any number of subdomains; the wider your surface, the lower the cost
We don't stop at discovery — AI actually checks whether it's exploitable
Bundle many findings by fix approach into a few clear tasks. Manage by owner and due date, up to executive reporting
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What do these services typically cost?
For external attack-surface management, self-serve tools start around $270/mo, per-domain billing around $300/mo, and continuous human-analyst services around $2,000/mo. PentaTrail is $290 for ASM and $490 for CTEM.
Should I choose ASM or CTEM?
If you want to find, monitor, and rank your attack surface by risk, ASM ($290/mo). If you also want AI to validate exploitability, drive remediation by owner and due date, and produce executive reports, CTEM ($490/mo). You can upgrade to CTEM later.
How is this different from a continuous human-analyst service?
Continuous human-analyst services run about $800–$2,000/mo. PentaTrail automates the same prioritization, remediation guidance, and validation with AI and delivers it at CTEM $490/mo.