SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Armis vs Defender EASM: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Armis describes 4 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Defender EASM describes 2; they differ on CAASM aggregation, Agent-based inventory, External attack surface management, CMDB-centred inventory and Exposure management. On collection, Armis works without new agents and Defender EASM works without new agents. Many estates run two of these approaches together, so the question is often which pair, not which one; we do not score either.

By The Inventory Desk · CAASM Finder · Published 2026-10-11

Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.

How do their approaches compare?

Top bar: Armis Centrix
Lower bar, lighter: Microsoft Defender EASM

Full bar: described on the vendor's pages we read
Hatched bar: described with a condition (another product, a higher tier, or part of the approach)
Stub: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)

The bars show what each vendor's own pages describe, or how your answers weigh the five approaches. They are not a measure of how well a product works.

What are the facts, side by side?

From each vendor's own pages. Differs marks rows where the recorded status or check value differs.
Fact	Armis Centrix	Microsoft Defender EASM
Positioning	Armis calls Centrix a Cyber Exposure Management Platform. It builds an inventory of IT, OT, IoT and medical devices from agentless, passive discovery and adds modules for prioritization and remediation.	Microsoft's external attack surface management service, run as an Azure resource, with a prebuilt inventory, recursive discovery from seeds and billing on the Azure bill.
Deployment	A cloud platform with no on-premises hardware to install or manage for the asset management module. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	An Azure resource. Cross-tenant resource access, including Azure Lighthouse, is not supported. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
CAASM aggregationDiffers	With a condition Builds most of its inventory from its own agentless discovery and enriches it through more than 200 pre-built integrations. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Agent-based inventoryDiffers	With a condition Collects its own data without agents: agentless, passive discovery of managed and unmanaged devices. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
External attack surface managementDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	Described A prebuilt inventory for many organisations plus recursive discovery from seeds you supply. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026
CMDB-centred inventoryDiffers	With a condition Pushes enriched asset data back to your CMDB rather than replacing it. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Exposure managementDiffers	Described Sold as a Cyber Exposure Management Platform, with VIPR-Pro Prioritization and Remediation, Vulnerability Management Detection and Response, and Early Warning modules. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	With a condition Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene on external assets; remediation happens downstream through Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Servers and network devicesDiffers	Matches IT devices, managed or unmanaged, through agentless passive discovery. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
Cloud workloadsDiffers	Matches Cloud instances and hybrid VMs are covered. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
SaaS applications	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Identities as assets	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Off-network laptops	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
OT and IoT devicesDiffers	Matches OT and IoT devices, and medical devices through a separate module. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discoveryDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches Prebuilt inventory and recursive discovery from seeds. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026
Offers its own agentDiffers	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Works without new agents	Matches Agentless and passive. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches An Azure service that discovers from seeds and a prebuilt inventory. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
Merges records from several sourcesDiffers	Partly Identifies assets against a knowledgebase of over 6.5 billion assets; how records from integrations merge is not described in detail. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Feeds or updates a CMDBDiffers	Matches Pushes enriched data back to your CMDB. Source: Armis Centrix for Asset Management and Security · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
Cross-source queries and reportsDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
Workflows, tickets or actions	Partly Prioritization and remediation sit in the separate VIPR-Pro module. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partly Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer trigger remediation actions downstream. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price or pricing basis published	Partly AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract; no price on armis.com. Source: AWS Marketplace: Armis Device Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026	Partly Billable assets are defined (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) and charged on the Azure bill; Microsoft's pricing page showed no rate when we read it. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026
Free tier or trialDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches A 30-day free trial, then Azure billing. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026
Platform it is part of	None	Microsoft: Native to Azure, billed on the Azure bill, with a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM documentation · Read 27 Sep 2026
Integrations	More than 200 pre-built integrations. Source: Armis Centrix platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer, and a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price	No price on armis.com. AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract, with private offers. Source: AWS Marketplace: Armis Device Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026	Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026

Where do they differ?

CAASM aggregation: Armis describes it with a condition; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Agent-based inventory: Armis describes it with a condition; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
External attack surface management: Armis is not in our sources; Defender EASM describes it.
CMDB-centred inventory: Armis describes it with a condition; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Exposure management: Armis describes it; Defender EASM describes it with a condition.
Servers and network devices: Armis matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Cloud workloads: Armis matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
OT and IoT devices: Armis matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Internet-facing discovery: Armis is not in our sources; Defender EASM matches.
Merges records from several sources: Armis partly matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Feeds or updates a CMDB: Armis matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Cross-source queries and reports: Armis is not in our sources; Defender EASM partly matches.
Free tier or trial: Armis is not in our sources; Defender EASM matches.

Can they work together?

Neither vendor's pages we read name the other as an integration. That does not mean they cannot work together; ask both vendors.

Choose Armis if

Your estate includes OT, IoT or medical devices that cannot take an agent
You want device discovery and exposure modules from one vendor that is now part of ServiceNow

Choose Defender EASM if

You are on Azure and want an external inventory without a sales call
You want an outside-in baseline before choosing an inventory platform

Which limits should you check?

Armis

No price on armis.com; the only public figure is an AWS Marketplace minimum.
SaaS applications and identities are not described as asset classes on the pages we read.
Prioritization and remediation sit in separately named modules.

Defender EASM

External assets only: internal devices, SaaS apps and identities are not covered.
No built-in remediation workflow, and no cross-tenant resource access for groups with several Azure tenants.

Put Armis and Defender EASM in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Armis or Defender EASM better?

Neither is scored on this site. Armis describes 4 of five approaches and Defender EASM 2 on the pages we read, and they differ on 13 recorded facts. Which fits depends on where your assets live, whether you can install agents, your CMDB and your tools; the finder checks those.

Do Armis and Defender EASM work with a CMDB?

Armis: Matches. Pushes enriched data back to your CMDB. Defender EASM: Not in our sources.

Do Armis or Defender EASM publish prices?

Armis: No price on armis.com. AWS Marketplace listing: Centrix Standard minimum at $3,250 a month on a one-month contract, with private offers. Defender EASM: Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure.