HailBytes ASM vs Bitsight
A self-hosted ASM alternative for security teams that need active discovery and remediation workflows, not just an outside-in security rating.
TL;DR
Bitsight is primarily a security-ratings platform: it produces a letter-grade risk score from outside-in passive observations, useful for board reporting and third-party risk management. HailBytes ASM is an operational ASM platform that runs the recon pipeline inside your own AWS or Azure account and produces actionable findings for the team that has to fix them.
- Pick HailBytes ASM if you need findings your team can triage and fix, white-label deliverables, full data residency, or unlimited active scans.
- Stay with Bitsight if your primary need is third-party risk scoring, vendor monitoring, or executive-facing security ratings.
Pricing & Cost Model
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | Bitsight |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing axis | Infrastructure ($0.24/vCPU/hour) | Per company / per vendor monitored |
| Annual cost (own surface) | ~$4,200–$17,000 | ~$50,000+ entry |
| Annual cost (TPRM, hundreds of vendors) | N/A (not the same use case) | $100,000+ enterprise |
| Free trial | 30 days via AWS / Azure Marketplace | Sales-led demo |
| Procurement path | Cloud marketplace (counts toward EDP / MACC) | Direct enterprise contract |
Architecture & Control
| Dimension | HailBytes ASM | Bitsight |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Self-hosted in your AWS / Azure account | SaaS (Bitsight-hosted) |
| Source code access | Source-available under ELv2 | Closed source |
| Data residency | Whatever cloud region you pick | Bitsight-controlled |
| Scan model | Active scans, you control cadence and scope | Outside-in passive observations and external feeds |
| Custom scan logic / wordlists | ✅ Full control | ❌ |
Capability Comparison
| Capability | HailBytes ASM | Bitsight |
|---|---|---|
| Active subdomain enumeration | ✅ | 🟡 Outside-in |
| Active port & service scanning | ✅ | 🟡 Limited |
| CVE matching against fingerprinted services | ✅ | ✅ |
| Security rating / letter grade | ❌ | ✅ Core product |
| Third-party / vendor monitoring | 🟡 You scan their public surface | ✅ Industry standard |
| Custom wordlists | ✅ Unlimited | ❌ |
| AI-powered finding analysis | ✅ OpenAI + Ollama (local GPU) | 🟡 Limited |
| MCP server / AI-agent tooling | ✅ Built-in (Claude / Cursor / Windsurf) | ❌ |
| Jira / Slack / SIEM routing | ✅ Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, Chronicle | ✅ Limited |
| Government cloud (GovCloud / Azure Gov) | ✅ Both | 🟡 Limited |
| White-label for client deliverables | ✅ Built-in | ❌ |
When HailBytes ASM Wins
- You need actionable findings, not a letter grade. Bitsight is excellent for boards and procurement; HailBytes is built for the team that ships the fix.
- Pen-test firms and MSSPs reselling continuous monitoring. A flat per-instance cost is what makes the white-label deliverable profitable to package.
- Government and regulated industries. Run in AWS GovCloud or Azure Government and your scan data stays inside your own tenancy.
- AI-agent recon workflows. A built-in MCP server lets Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf drive scans and triage findings without custom glue code.
When Bitsight Wins
- Third-party risk management at scale. Continuous scoring across hundreds of vendors is Bitsight’s home turf.
- Executive and board reporting. The letter-grade rating is a clean, defensible artifact in that context.
- Cyber-insurance and procurement workflows that explicitly require Bitsight or peer-rating data.
Many teams run both: Bitsight for vendor risk scoring, HailBytes ASM for operational discovery and remediation on their own surface.
Try HailBytes ASM
Both marketplace listings include a 30-day trial that covers the VM along with the software.
Related Comparisons
Other risk-rating and ASM platforms usually evaluated alongside Bitsight:
- vs SecurityScorecard — the other major third-party risk-rating service.
- vs Microsoft Defender EASM — Azure-native external ASM.
- vs Detectify — SaaS web-app surface monitoring.
- vs Censys — internet-wide certificate and port intelligence.
- Full ASM comparison matrix — every vendor side by side, plus the HailBytes ASM product page.
See HailBytes ASM in Action
Skip the slide deck. Watch the product run end-to-end before you book a call.
Try HailBytes ASM Free
Get a free trial deployment on AWS or Azure. Our team will walk you through setup and help you run your first reconnaissance scan within 30 minutes.
- ✓ 30-day free trial on AWS or Azure
- ✓ Guided onboarding from our security team
- ✓ No credit card required to start
- ✓ 30+ security tools pre-configured