# Shodan alternatives for monitoring your own attack surface

> Shodan searches the whole internet; if you need to watch only your own domains, servers and certificates, one of the tools below may fit better.

Canonical page: https://www.edgeprotect.io/compare/shodan-alternatives
Last updated: 29 October 2026

## Which tool fits which job?

Eleven options side by side. Read the "built for" column first. Tools built to search the internet answer a different question from tools built to watch one company.

| Tool | Built for | Pricing model | Discovery scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shodan | Searching internet-connected devices | One-time and monthly plans | The whole internet, queried by you |
| Censys | Internet search and attack surface management | Search plans and a quote-based management product | The whole internet, plus a managed view of your own assets |
| Microsoft Defender EASM | Organisations on Azure and Microsoft security tools | Per-asset billing through Azure | Your organisation, seeded from names you provide |
| Palo Alto Cortex Xpanse | Large enterprises | Quote-based | Your organisation, discovered continuously |
| CyCognito | Large enterprises with many subsidiaries | Quote-based | Your organisation and its subsidiaries |
| Intruder | Small and mid-size teams that want scheduled vulnerability scanning | Subscription tiers | Targets you add, with some discovery |
| Detectify | Web application and surface scanning | Subscription tiers | Domains you add and their subdomains |
| Netlas | Internet search for researchers and analysts | Subscription tiers | The whole internet, queried by you |
| Criminal IP | Internet search with threat context on addresses | Subscription tiers | The whole internet, queried by you |
| IVRE | Teams that want to run their own scanning framework | Open source, you host it | Whatever ranges you scan |
| EdgeProtect | Small and mid-size teams watching their own domains | Credit-based plans, see /pricing | Your verified domains: subdomains, hosts, open ports, services and certificates |

Pricing models change often. Details summarised from public pages; confirm with each vendor. EdgeProtect scans only domains you have shown are yours.

## What does Shodan cost?

A third-party comparison dated 29 July 2026 lists three price points. Check them against the Shodan site before you rely on them.

| Plan type | Price listed |
|---|---|
| One-time | $49 |
| Monthly | $69 per month |
| Higher monthly tier | $1,099 per month |

## Who should stay with Shodan?

Often, researchers.

- Stay with Shodan if you search the internet for devices that are not yours: research, threat hunting, checking a supplier, or finding every exposed instance of a product.
- Stay if you already have scripts and workflows built on its API. Moving them costs more than a new tool saves.
- Stay if you want raw search with no opinion about what matters. Tools built for one company do not offer that. They map what you own, not what exists.

A tool in the list above is a better fit when the question is "what does my own business expose, and what changed?"

## Where does EdgeProtect fit?

EdgeProtect is for watching your own attack surface.

- **Scan-based discovery.** Give EdgeProtect a domain you own and it maps subdomains, hosts, IP addresses, open ports, services and certificates. You can compare any two scans to see what appeared and what has gone.
- **Scans do not repeat by themselves.** Run one whenever something changes, such as a new website or a move to a new host. EdgeProtect does not watch continuously between scans.
- **Not a penetration test.** It is discovery and exposure mapping. It does not attack anything and it does not replace a test by a person.

It does not search the whole internet. For that, use Shodan or one of the other search tools in the table.

## Questions

### What is the difference between Shodan and attack surface management?

Shodan lets you search for devices across the internet. Attack surface management starts from your own domains and maps what belongs to you, so you see your exposure rather than everyone's.

### Which tool is best for monitoring only my own company?

Pick a tool built around your own domains, not a general internet search. The table shows which tools are built for that. Larger enterprises usually look at the quote-based platforms; smaller teams look at the subscription tools and EdgeProtect.

### Does EdgeProtect scan the whole internet like Shodan?

No. EdgeProtect scans only domains you have shown are yours, by DNS record, with a work email address on the domain, or by asking our team to review it.

### Does EdgeProtect scan continuously?

No. Scans do not repeat by themselves. You start one whenever something changes and compare it with the last one.

### Is an exposure scan the same as a penetration test?

No. A scan maps what is visible from the internet and does not attack anything. A penetration test is carried out by a person who tries to break in.

## Related

- [Pricing](https://www.edgeprotect.io/pricing)
- [Attack surface management](https://www.edgeprotect.io/features/attack-surface-management)