SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Axonius vs Censys: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Axonius describes 3 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Censys describes 2; they differ on CAASM aggregation, External attack surface management, CMDB-centred inventory and Exposure management. On collection, Axonius works without new agents and Censys 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: Axonius
Lower bar, lighter: Censys ASM

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	Axonius	Censys ASM
Positioning	Axonius grew out of cyber asset attack surface management (CAASM) into a broader asset intelligence platform. Axonius describes the Axonius Asset Cloud: it connects to the tools a company already runs through adapters (its directory lists 1,306), correlates what each one reports into one record per asset, and acts on gaps through workflows and bi-directional integrations.	Censys's external exposure management product, built on first-party scanning of all 65K ports and the Censys Internet Map.
Deployment	Hosted SaaS, or self-managed on-premises or in your own cloud. The hosted option runs on an AWS EC2 instance separated from other customers' environments. Source: Axonius pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	Discovery expands from seeds the customer adds in the console or through the API; assets found beyond the seeds appear under a Found by Censys tab. Source: Censys docs: seed your attack surface · Read 27 Sep 2026
CAASM aggregationDiffers	Described Its adapter directory lists 1,306 adapters to security and IT tools; correlating what each reports into one record per asset is the core of the product. Source: Axonius adapter directory · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Agent-based inventory	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	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 First-party scanning across all 65K ports finds services on nonstandard ports, starting from seeds you supply. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026
CMDB-centred inventoryDiffers	With a condition Works alongside a CMDB rather than replacing it: the ServiceNow adapter fetches CMDB tables for reconciliation, and enforcement actions create, update or remove ServiceNow assets. Source: Axonius docs: ServiceNow adapter · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Exposure managementDiffers	Described A smart prioritization engine and single or multi-step workflows sit on the correlated inventory; prioritization draws on findings from the tools you connect. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	With a condition Applies EPSS and KEV to external findings, confirms reachability and routes remediation tasks; internal assets are not described. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026
Servers and network devicesDiffers	Partly Network devices are covered through adapters to network tools; a native network scanner is not described. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Cloud workloads	Matches Cloud is a listed asset type. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches Names AWS, Google Cloud and Azure among its integrations. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026
SaaS applicationsDiffers	Matches Discovers sanctioned, unsanctioned and unmanaged SaaS, including shadow apps, OAuth tokens and risky extensions. Source: Axonius: SaaS applications · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Identities as assetsDiffers	Matches Human and non-human identities, including service accounts, API keys and automation identities. Source: Axonius: identities · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Off-network laptopsDiffers	Partly Devices are collected through the endpoint and management tools you connect, such as Microsoft Intune or CrowdStrike Falcon; no Axonius agent is described. Source: Axonius docs: Microsoft Intune adapter · Read 11 Oct 2026	Not in our sources
OT and IoT devicesDiffers	Matches IoT and OT are listed asset types. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discoveryDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches First-party scanning of all 65K ports. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026
Offers its own agent	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Works without new agents	Matches Collects through adapters (API connections) to tools you already run; the pages we read describe no Axonius endpoint agent. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches Discovery runs from the internet, starting from seeds added in the console or through the API. Source: Censys docs: seed your attack surface · Read 27 Sep 2026
Merges records from several sourcesDiffers	Matches Correlates data from every connected adapter into one record per asset. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Feeds or updates a CMDB	Matches Enforcement actions create, update, and disable or remove assets in ServiceNow, and can create ServiceNow incidents. Source: Axonius docs: ServiceNow adapter · Read 11 Oct 2026	Matches ServiceNow CMDB is a named integration. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026
Cross-source queries and reportsDiffers	Matches Query Wizard for questions across all connected sources. Source: Axonius documentation · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Workflows, tickets or actions	Matches Workflows run single actions or multi-step sequences with ticket tracking; enforcement sets live in the Action Center. Source: Axonius platform · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches Auto-creates, routes and tracks remediation tasks. Source: Censys external exposure management · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price or pricing basis publishedDiffers	Matches Device-based pricing is published: the pricing page shows a starting rate of $8.55 per asset for 15,000 to 24,999 assets, and each device seen by several tools counts once. Source: Axonius pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	Partly ASM is contact sales; a free platform account exists and credits start at $100. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Free tier or trialDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly A free Censys platform account exists; ASM itself is sold through sales. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026
Platform it is part of	None	None
Integrations	1,306 adapters in its adapter directory, including documented adapters for CrowdStrike Falcon, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Rapid7 Nexpose and InsightVM, Microsoft Intune and Entra ID, and ServiceNow. We did not reproduce the full list. Source: Axonius adapter directory · Read 11 Oct 2026	Webex, Slack, Jira, ServiceNow ITSM, Tenable VM, Google Security Operations, Microsoft Sentinel, ServiceNow CMDB, Axonius, Brinqa, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure. Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price	Published: device-based pricing on unique, correlated devices, with tiers from under 500 devices to 10M+ and volume discounts in every tier. The pricing page shows "Starting at $8.55 per asset for 15,000-24,999 assets"; the billing period is not stated in what we read. AWS Marketplace listing: 500 assets for $90,625 on a 12-month contract. Source: Axonius pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	ASM: contact sales. A free Censys platform account exists, and credits start at $100. Source: Censys pricing · Read 27 Sep 2026

Where do they differ?

CAASM aggregation: Axonius describes it; Censys is not in our sources.
External attack surface management: Axonius is not in our sources; Censys describes it.
CMDB-centred inventory: Axonius describes it with a condition; Censys is not in our sources.
Exposure management: Axonius describes it; Censys describes it with a condition.
Servers and network devices: Axonius partly matches; Censys is not in our sources.
SaaS applications: Axonius matches; Censys is not in our sources.
Identities as assets: Axonius matches; Censys is not in our sources.
Off-network laptops: Axonius partly matches; Censys is not in our sources.
OT and IoT devices: Axonius matches; Censys is not in our sources.
Internet-facing discovery: Axonius is not in our sources; Censys matches.
Merges records from several sources: Axonius matches; Censys is not in our sources.
Cross-source queries and reports: Axonius matches; Censys is not in our sources.
Price or pricing basis published: Axonius matches; Censys partly matches.
Free tier or trial: Axonius is not in our sources; Censys partly matches.

Can they work together?

Yes, on the pages we read:

Webex, Slack, Jira, ServiceNow ITSM, Tenable VM, Google Security Operations, Microsoft Sentinel, ServiceNow CMDB, Axonius, Brinqa, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure.
Source: Censys integrations · Read 27 Sep 2026

Choose Axonius if

You already run many security and IT tools and they disagree about what exists
You need SaaS apps and identities in the same inventory as devices, with workflows to close gaps

Choose Censys if

Your biggest unknown is what you expose to the internet
You want external findings to land in ServiceNow CMDB or an aggregation tool you already run

Which limits should you check?

Axonius

Coverage depends on the tools you connect: each adapter needs API access and credentials, and no agent or native network scanner of its own is described.
External (internet-facing) discovery is not described on the pages we read.
No free tier or trial is listed on the pages we read, and the AWS Marketplace listing prices 500 assets at $90,625 for 12 months.

Censys

An external view only: internal devices, SaaS apps and identities are not covered.
Discovery starts from seeds you supply, and ASM pricing goes through sales.

Put Axonius and Censys in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Axonius or Censys better?

Neither is scored on this site. Axonius describes 3 of five approaches and Censys 2 on the pages we read, and they differ on 14 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 Axonius and Censys work with a CMDB?

Axonius: Matches. Enforcement actions create, update, and disable or remove assets in ServiceNow, and can create ServiceNow incidents. Censys: Matches. ServiceNow CMDB is a named integration.

Do Axonius or Censys publish prices?

Axonius: Published: device-based pricing on unique, correlated devices, with tiers from under 500 devices to 10M+ and volume discounts in every tier. The pricing page shows "Starting at $8.55 per asset for 15,000-24,999 assets"; the billing period is not stated in what we read. AWS Marketplace listing: 500 assets for $90,625 on a 12-month contract. Censys: ASM: contact sales. A free Censys platform account exists, and credits start at $100.