Best Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) for Small Business

How Many Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) Products Does G2 Track?

Total Products under this Category: 38

Category Stats (Sep 2026)

  • Average Rating: 4.55/5 (↓0.02 vs Aug 2026) The average rating of products in this category, based on all submitted ratings
  • Top Trending Product: Orca Security (+0.09%) - Among all products in this category, Orca Security recorded the largest rating increase compared to last month

Last updated: September 01, 2026

How Does G2 Rank Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) Products?

Why You Can Trust G2's Software Rankings:

  • 30 Analysts and Data Experts
  • 3,400+ Authentic Reviews
  • 38+ Products
  • Unbiased Rankings

G2's software rankings are built on verified user reviews, rigorous moderation, and a consistent research methodology maintained by a team of analysts and data experts. Each product is measured using the same transparent criteria, with no paid placement or vendor influence. While reviews reflect real user experiences, which can be subjective, they offer valuable insight into how software performs in the hands of professionals. Together, these inputs power the G2 Score, a standardized way to compare tools within every category.

G2 Grid® for Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP)

G2 Grid® for Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) plotting products by satisfaction and market presence

Highlighted products: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Aikido Security, Cortex Cloud, and FortiCNAPP.

Underlying data: [Grid® JSON](https://www.g2.com/categories/cloud-native-application-protection-platform-cnapp/grids.json?focus%5B%5D=microsoft-defender-for-cloud&focus%5B%5D=crowdstrike-falcon-cloud-security&focus%5B%5D=aikido-security&focus%5B%5D=cortex-cloud&focus%5B%5D=forticnapp&segment=small-business)

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a cloud native application protection platform for multicloud and hybrid environments with comprehensive security across the full lifecycle, from development to runtime.

Average Rating: 4.4/5.0

Total Reviews: 426

Who Is the Company Behind Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

  • Seller: Microsoft
  • Year Founded: 1975
  • HQ Location: Redmond, Washington
  • Twitter: @microsoft
    13,091,739 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    232,750 employees on LinkedIn®
  • Ownership: MSFT

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Saas Consultant, Software Engineer
  • Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  • Company Size: 38% Medium, 35% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users value the robust security features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, effectively protecting against diverse cyber threats.
  • Users appreciate the comprehensive security of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, effectively protecting against various cyber threats.
  • Users praise the robust security features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, enhancing threat detection and prevention effectively.
  • Users appreciate the security alerts from Microsoft Defender for Cloud, enhancing their overall cloud security experience.
  • Users value the effective threat detection of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, ensuring robust security for their cloud resources.
Cons
  • Users find the complexity of configuration in Microsoft Defender for Cloud challenging, affecting their overall experience.
  • Users note that while Microsoft Defender for Cloud is excellent, it can be expensive for small to medium businesses.
  • Users experience delayed detection with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, often missing suspicious threats and alerts.
  • Users find the complex interface and downtimes of Microsoft Defender for Cloud detracting from its overall usability.
  • Users experience false positives in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, leading to confusion over legitimate files being flagged.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security

Crowdstrike Falcon Cloud Security is the only CNAPP to stop breaches in the cloud Built for today’s hybrid and multi-cloud environments, Falcon Cloud Security protects the entire cloud attack surface - from code to runtime - by combining continuous agentless visibility with real-time detection and response. At runtime, Falcon Cloud Security delivers best-in-class cloud workload protection and real-time cloud detection and response (CDR) to stop active threats across hybrid environments. Integrated with the CrowdStrike Falcon platform, it correlates signals across endpoint, identity, and cloud to detect sophisticated cross-domain attacks that point solutions miss—enabling teams to respond faster and stop breaches in progress. To reduce risk before attacks occur, Falcon Cloud Security also delivers agentless-driven posture management that proactively shrinks the cloud attack surface. Unlike typical solutions, Crowdstrike enriches cloud risk detections with adversary intelligence and graph-based context, enabling security teams to prioritize exploitable exposures and prevent breaches before they happen. Customers using Falcon Cloud Security consistently see measurable results: 89% faster cloud detection and response 100x reduction in false positives by prioritizing exploitable, business-critical risk 83% reduction in cloud security licenses due to elimination of redundant tools

Average Rating: 4.5/5.0

Total Reviews: 216

Who Is the Company Behind CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security?

  • Seller: CrowdStrike
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2011
  • HQ Location: Sunnyvale, CA
  • Twitter: @CrowdStrike
    110,809 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    21,058 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  • Company Size: 48% Large, 33% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users value the real-time threat detection of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, enhancing their protection in cloud environments.
  • Users value the real-time threat detection of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, enhancing their cloud security management significantly.
  • Users value the real-time detection efficiency of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security for enhanced cloud threat management.
  • Users value the real-time vulnerability detection of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, enhancing proactive risk management and security.
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, making it a top choice for cloud cybersecurity.
Cons
  • Users find CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security to be expensive, particularly challenging for small businesses with budget constraints.
  • Users face issues with alert fatigue and response lag, calling for improved prioritization and better support resources.
  • Users experience alert fatigue and desire improved response times and better training resources for CrowdStrike Falcon.
  • Users find the feature complexity of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security can overwhelm new users and necessitate a learning curve.
  • Users report a challenging learning curve with CrowdStrike Falcon, especially for those unfamiliar with similar tools.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security?

Aikido Security

Aikido Security is the developer-first security platform that unifies code, cloud, protection, and attack testing in one suite of best-in-class products. Built by developers for developers, Aikido helps teams of any size ship secure software faster, automate protection, and simulate real-world attacks with AI-driven precision. The platform’s proprietary AI cuts noise by 95%, delivers one-click fixes, and saves developers 10+ hours per week. Aikido Intel proactively uncovers vulnerabilities in open source packages before disclosure, helping secure more than 50,000 organizations worldwide, including Revolut, Niantic, Visma, Montblanc, and GoCardless.

Average Rating: 4.6/5.0

Total Reviews: 263

Who Is the Company Behind Aikido Security?

  • Seller: Aikido Security
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2022
  • HQ Location: Ghent, Belgium
  • Twitter: @AikidoSecurity
    11,770 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    320 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Founder, CTO
  • Top Industries: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
  • Company Size: 79% Small, 14% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Aikido Security?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of Aikido Security, thanks to its clear insights and seamless integration.
  • Users appreciate Aikido Security's robust security capabilities, providing a comprehensive and seamless integration in their workflow.
  • Users value the intuitive dashboard of Aikido Security, which simplifies security issue identification and management.
  • Users value the easy integrations of Aikido Security, enhancing workflows with seamless connections to existing GitLab repositories.
  • Users find Aikido's easy setup highly efficient, enabling quick implementation and immediate usability for security assessments.
Cons
  • Users note the lack of advanced features in Aikido Security, such as dark mode and in-depth analysis options.
  • Users find the pricing structure expensive for micro businesses, making upgrades difficult to justify.
  • Users note the limited features of Aikido Security, wishing for more customization and advanced options.
  • Users find the pricing issues challenging, especially for micro businesses, due to the steep upgrade costs.
  • Users feel Aikido Security is lacking features like advanced reporting and deeper compliance analysis compared to competitors.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Aikido Security?

Cortex Cloud

Cortex Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, the next version of Prisma Cloud, understands a unified security approach is essential for effectively addressing AppSec, CloudSec, and SecOps. Connecting cloud security and SOC workflows enables teams to achieve holistic visibility, trace risk across the lifecycle, and correlate real-time threat activity with development and runtime contexts. Cortex Cloud is a unified platform built on three core pillars: data integration, AI-driven intelligence, and automation. Now you can safeguard applications, data, and infrastructure across multicloud and hybrid environments with a unified data model that consolidates telemetry from code, runtime, identity, and endpoints, all into a single data source. Empower teams with precise, AI-powered insights and 2200+ machine learning models to identify and stop zero-day threats with real-time advanced threat detection and response. And automate with 1000+ prebuilt playbooks across your cloud stack to reduce manual workloads, accelerate remediations, and cut response times tenfold. Cortex Cloud delivers more than tools—it transforms how organizations secure their cloud environments.

Average Rating: 4.1/5.0

Total Reviews: 125

Who Is the Company Behind Cortex Cloud?

  • Seller: Palo Alto Networks
  • Company Website:
  • Year Founded: 2005
  • HQ Location: Santa Clara, CA
  • Twitter: @PaloAltoNtwks
    128,951 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    23,492 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

  • Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer & Network Security
  • Company Size: 38% Large, 32% Medium

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About Cortex Cloud?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users appreciate the ease of use of Cortex Cloud, benefiting from its streamlined interface and centralized management.
  • Users value the user-friendly interface and seamless integrations of Cortex Cloud, enhancing efficiency and incident management.
  • Users value the comprehensive security overview of Cortex Cloud, enhancing protection across all environments and stages.
  • Users value the comprehensive visibility provided by Cortex Cloud, enhancing efficiency and simplifying incident management.
  • Users appreciate the secure and centralized cloud integration of Cortex Cloud, enhancing efficiency and organization in their processes.
Cons
  • Users find Cortex Cloud to be expensive, particularly challenging for smaller teams with limited budgets.
  • Users find the difficult learning curve of Cortex Cloud frustrating, especially for beginners navigating its features.
  • Users face a steep learning curve with Cortex Cloud, as some features are not intuitive for beginners.
  • Users find the pricing issues with Cortex Cloud significant, especially affecting smaller teams considering affordability.
  • Users find the complex setup of Cortex Cloud challenging, especially for newcomers without prior experience.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of Cortex Cloud?

FortiCNAPP

FortiCNAPP (formerly Lacework) is an AI-powered Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform that delivers unified security across your multi-cloud and hybrid environments. Built to protect the entire application lifecycle—from development to runtime—it combines posture management, workload protection, identity security, and threat detection into one integrated platform. By leveraging machine learning and behavioral analytics, FortiCNAPP helps security teams detect unknown threats, reduce noise, and accelerate response. Integrated with the Fortinet Security Fabric, it provides full-stack visibility across cloud, network, and endpoint environments—empowering teams to operate with confidence, reduce complexity, and scale securely.

Average Rating: 4.4/5.0

Total Reviews: 383

Who Is the Company Behind FortiCNAPP?

  • Seller: Fortinet
  • Year Founded: 2000
  • HQ Location: Sunnyvale, CA
  • Twitter: @Fortinet
    151,422 Twitter followers
  • LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
    16,564 employees on LinkedIn®
  • Ownership: NASDAQ: FTNT

Who Uses This Product?

  • Who Uses This: Security Engineer, Security Analyst
  • Top Industries: Information Technology and Services, Computer Software
  • Company Size: 62% Medium, 26% Large

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About FortiCNAPP?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros
  • Users value the robust security features of FortiCNAPP, enhancing their multi-cloud monitoring and protection effectively.
  • Users value the vulnerability detection capabilities of FortiCNAPP, enhancing security and prioritization in application development.
  • Users value the effective alert management of FortiCNAPP, enhancing security posture and compliance with clear insights.
  • Users value the good visibility across cloud resources provided by FortiCNAPP, enhancing security management efficiency.
  • Users commend the ease of use of FortiCNAPP, highlighting its smooth setup and intuitive interface for efficient deployment.
Cons
  • Users find the difficult setup of FortiCNAPP challenging, requiring significant time and expertise for effective onboarding.
  • Users find the poor documentation challenging, particularly impacting new users' understanding and setup of FortiCNAPP.
  • Users find the complex setup challenging, especially newcomers needing help with documentation and configuration.
  • Users find the setup difficulty with FortiCNAPP challenging, particularly due to confusing processes and insufficient documentation.
  • Users find the complex configuration of FortiCNAPP challenging, especially for newcomers without cloud security expertise.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of FortiCNAPP?

What Are G2 Users Discussing About FortiCNAPP?

Lauren Worth
LW
Researched and written by Lauren Worth
Updated