In one paragraph
Cotool and Vega both appear in this guide's vendor directory. On the autonomy ladder, Cotool's own material describes Level 3, Continuous hunting, human review and Vega's describes Level 2, Directed autonomous hunts. Both state 3 of the twelve capabilities in our matrix. Cotool states hunts start without a per-hunt request and names its intelligence sources where Vega does not; Vega states queries data where it already lives, findings arrive with corroboration or shown working and publishes an open framework or specification where Cotool does not. This guide does not pick a winner; which differences matter depends on your must-haves.
Guide updated September 2026 · Autonomous Threat Hunting editors
Where do Cotool and Vega differ?
Cotool states, Vega does not publish
- Hunts start without a per-hunt request: Agents gather intel from the web, check relevance to the environment and propose detections.
- Names its intelligence sources: Agents crawl the web for intel; custom intel sources including STIX/TAXII.
Vega states, Cotool does not publish
- Queries data where it already lives: Federated analytics: "No migration, ingestion, or egress."
- Findings arrive with corroboration or shown working: "Every step of the hunt shows its work."
- Publishes an open framework or specification: Detection Skills, released 4 August 2026 as an open specification built on the Agent Skills format.
Both state
Detection changes kept in version control, Maps hunts or detections to MITRE ATT&CK, States MCP support
Neither states
New rules tested on historical data before release, Response actions staged for human approval, States a security attestation, Publishes a list price
How do they compare row by row?
| Capability | Cotool | Vega | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunts start without a per-hunt request | StatedAgents gather intel from the web, check relevance to the environment and propose detections. | Not publishedThe hunting page describes a user supplying the hypothesis; whether hunts start without one is not published. | Only Cotool states it |
| Queries data where it already lives | Not publishedWorks through 40+ native integrations; whether data is queried in place or copied is not stated on the pages reviewed. | StatedFederated analytics: "No migration, ingestion, or egress." | Only Vega states it |
| New rules tested on historical data before release | Not publishedHow proposed detections are approved before deployment is not published. | Not publishedPromotion of a hunt to a detection is described; a backtest step is not published. | Neither states it |
| Detection changes kept in version control | StatedCompatible with existing detection-as-code infrastructure; agent version control. | Stated"Every change has a diff, an author, and an approver." | Both state it |
| Findings arrive with corroboration or shown working | Not publishedNot described on the pages reviewed. | Stated"Every step of the hunt shows its work." | Only Vega states it |
| Response actions staged for human approval | Partly statedDescribes Respond automation; approval steps are not described in detail. | Not publishedResponse actions are not described on the pages reviewed. | Neither states it |
| Maps hunts or detections to MITRE ATT&CK | StatedMaps the detection suite across sources onto MITRE ATT&CK to surface gaps. | Stated"Promote it to a MITRE-mapped detection on the spot." | Both state it |
| Names its intelligence sources | StatedAgents crawl the web for intel; custom intel sources including STIX/TAXII. | Not publishedIntelligence sources are not named on the pages reviewed. | Only Cotool states it |
| Publishes an open framework or specification | Not publishedNone found on the pages reviewed. | StatedDetection Skills, released 4 August 2026 as an open specification built on the Agent Skills format. | Only Vega states it |
| States MCP support | StatedCustom MCP listed among integrations. | StatedMCP support. | Both state it |
| States a security attestation | Not publishedNot found on the pages reviewed. | Not publishedNot found on the pages reviewed. | Neither states it |
| Publishes a list price | Not publishedNo list price on the pages reviewed. | Not publishedNo list price on the pages reviewed. A sandbox is offered at sandbox.vega.io. | Neither states it |
What does each publish about pricing?
| Cotool | No list price on the pages reviewed. |
|---|---|
| Vega | No list price on the pages reviewed. A sandbox is offered at sandbox.vega.io. |
Neither vendor publishes a list price on the pages reviewed. Ask each for a written price basis and budget separately for query compute on your data platforms.
Where does each run, and what controls does it describe?
Cotool
- Works through integrations; the detect page states 40+ native integrations and compatibility with existing detection-as-code infrastructure.
- Integrations named include CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, Okta, Code42, Kandji, Splunk, Datadog, Panther, Snowflake, Databricks, incident.io, Jira, Linear, TheHive, Tines, VirusTotal, AbuseIPDB, GreyNoise, urlscan, Socket, Slack and Microsoft Teams; custom MCP.
- Custom intel sources including STIX/TAXII.
- Agent version control. Approval steps for proposed detections are not described in detail.
Vega
- Federated analytics that queries every source in place: "No migration, ingestion, or egress."
- MCP support. The connectors page does not name individual connectors. A sandbox is offered at sandbox.vega.io.
- "Every step of the hunt shows its work."
- "Detections live in source control, reviewed like any other code change"; "Every change has a diff, an author, and an approver."
Which should you look at first?
Look at Cotool first if your must-haves include hunts start without a per-hunt request or names its intelligence sources.
Look at Vega first if your must-haves include queries data where it already lives or findings arrive with corroboration or shown working.
Either way, put both through the same trial questions, and try the calculator with your own must-haves.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cotool better than Vega?
Do Cotool and Vega query data in place?
Do Cotool and Vega publish pricing?
Cotool alternatives · Vega alternatives · Open this pair in the side-by-side view · Directory entry for Cotool · Directory entry for Vega