Comprehensive analysis across 10 dimensions using data from G2, Gartner Peer Insights, MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations, AV-TEST, and practitioner communities. No vendor payments. No marketing spin.
Based on our analysis of 5,000+ practitioner reviews and independent testing data, the answer depends on your organization's size and needs:
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Common questions about endpoint detection and response solutions.
For small businesses in 2026, Huntress and Sophos Intercept X are the top-rated EDR solutions. Huntress offers 24/7 SOC services included at $2.50-4/endpoint/month with #1 G2 SMB ratings for 10+ consecutive quarters. Users particularly praise its human-led threat analysis and low false positive rate. Sophos provides validated protection at $28-79/user/year with 15-year Gartner MQ Leader status and excellent MSP support through 3,500+ partners.
CrowdStrike Falcon and Palo Alto Cortex XDR achieved 100% detection in MITRE ATT&CK evaluations. CrowdStrike demonstrated 4-minute mean time to detect (MTTD)—6-11x faster than competitors. Cortex XDR was the first vendor ever to achieve 100% technique-level detection with zero configuration changes. However, users note both come with premium pricing and steeper learning curves.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is highly capable for enterprises already in the Microsoft ecosystem. It achieved 18/18 AV-TEST scores and Gartner MQ Leader status. For M365 E5 customers, it's included at no additional cost. However, users report complexity in false positive management, fragmented documentation, and inconsistent support quality. Non-Microsoft environments face significant friction with third-party integrations.
For cost-effectiveness with validated protection: Bitdefender GravityZone offers premium-tier detection at $3/endpoint/month with 6 AV-TEST awards in 2024. ESET PROTECT is 50-60% cheaper than CrowdStrike and SentinelOne with comparable prevention and the lightest agent footprint. For Microsoft shops, Defender for Endpoint is effectively free with M365 E5 licensing.
SentinelOne Singularity offers industry-unique ransomware rollback that can recover encrypted files without backups—a capability competitors cannot match. Users report stopping Qbot spreads across 50+ endpoints in minutes. Sophos Intercept X features CryptoGuard anti-ransomware technology with automatic file rollback. Bitdefender also provides tamperproof backups and remote ransomware blocking.
Both are top-tier enterprise EDR solutions with comparable detection rates. CrowdStrike leads on validation (100% MITRE scores, 4-min MTTD) and enterprise scale, but costs $99-185/device/year and the July 2024 outage affected trust. SentinelOne offers unique ransomware rollback, 88% fewer alerts, and better cross-platform legacy support, but users report agent performance issues on RDS/Terminal Servers. Choose CrowdStrike for maximum detection validation; choose SentinelOne for ransomware recovery and autonomous response.
THE CVE rankings are not paid for by vendors. We do not accept payment for placement, and no vendor has editorial influence over our rankings or analysis. Our methodology is transparent and publicly documented.
All information is sourced from publicly available data including G2, Gartner Peer Insights, TrustRadius, PeerSpot, Reddit communities, vendor documentation, and independent testing organizations (MITRE ATT&CK, AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, SE Labs). While we make best efforts to ensure accuracy and reflect the current state of these products, we may have made errors or omissions. Product capabilities, pricing, and market conditions change frequently.
This analysis represents a point-in-time snapshot and should not be the sole basis for purchasing decisions. We encourage readers to conduct their own due diligence, request product demonstrations, and evaluate solutions against their specific requirements.
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