AhnLab vs Northwave
AhnLab is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. AhnLab targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. AhnLab includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Buyer brief
AhnLab is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. AhnLab targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. AhnLab includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
AhnLab is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Northwave is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | South Korean and APAC organizations that already run AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 3/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- South Korean and APAC organizations that already run AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 3/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | AhnLabPLATFORM | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | AhnLab EDR | Customer endpoint telemetry |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Customer log sources |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: Optional add-onIDIdentity: Not coveredSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContain | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Identity | Not offered | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | Not offered |
| Network | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Based on the number of AhnLab EDR agents installed. AhnLab says EDR Premium includes the EDR license fee and that service cost requires a separate inquiry. | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | The service is tied to AhnLab's endpoint stack, so buyers with existing CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender or SentinelOne deployments should price migration and overlap.. AhnLab separates basic MDR from paid EDR Premium. Buyers should confirm which response actions are included in each tier.. Public materials do not disclose minimum seats, regional availability, SLA terms or retained-forensics scope.. Fuller cross-domain detection may require AhnLab XDR, TIP, MDS, cloud or CPS products outside endpoint MDR. | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.. Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR.. Cloud, SaaS and identity coverage are not named as clearly as endpoint, log and network telemetry.. Detection tuning depends on onboarding log sources and threat-based use cases, which may affect deployment effort. |
| Data portability | Limited | Partial |
| Contract terms | Per EDR agent, Custom quote, EDR Premium paid tier | Custom |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | APAC | Europe |
| Onboarding | Requires AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR plus external transmission of AhnLab EDR detection logs. Public materials do not publish a standard onboarding timeline. | Northwave says implementation starts with a plan covering service elements, phases, planning and threat-based use cases, then onboarding log sources and processes. No standard public onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | TechnologyFinancial ServicesManufacturingGovernmentHealthcare | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | AhnLab has stronger public proof around endpoint products than around MDR delivery. English-language MDR-specific buyer reviews are sparse, so buyers should validate analyst quality, escalation process and regional support through references. | Northwave has limited MDR-specific public review volume. The public buyer case rests on European delivery, Utrecht SOC operations and the connection between MDR, CERT, red team and threat research. Buyers should validate response authority, cloud and identity coverage, pricing and escalation rules before signing. |
| Compliance | MITRE ATT&CK evaluationsSE Labs Advanced Security Test | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX |
| Certifications | SE Labs AAA rating for AhnLab EPP/EDRMITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 7 participant | – |
| Founded | 1995 | 2006 |
| Data retention | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. AhnLab EDR collects endpoint behavior, file, registry, network, process, system and Windows event-log data for analysis in EDR Analyzer. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between AhnLab and Northwave?
AhnLab is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). AhnLab covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Northwave.
How do AhnLab and Northwave differ in response capabilities?
AhnLab supports 3 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does AhnLab pricing compare to Northwave?
AhnLab pricing: Not published. Northwave pricing: Not published. Watch for with AhnLab: The service is tied to AhnLab's endpoint stack, so buyers with existing CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender or SentinelOne deployments should price migration and overlap.; AhnLab separates basic MDR from paid EDR Premium. Buyers should confirm which response actions are included in each tier.. Watch for with Northwave: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.; Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR..
Should I choose AhnLab or Northwave?
Choose AhnLab if: south Korean and APAC organizations that already run AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR. Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. AhnLab is not ideal for buyers that want MDR layered on top of existing CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne or other endpoint tools. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging sales.
Daylight Security
AI-native MDR for buyers comparing active remediation across endpoint, cloud, identity, and SaaS. Daylight works with existing EDR/SIEM stacks and uses ChatOps-native collaboration, so it can be a useful third reference point in this comparison.