AhnLab vs Sophos
AhnLab and Sophos are both Platform vendors that bring their own security platform. AhnLab targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Sophos serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. AhnLab includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 5 for Sophos (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
AhnLab and Sophos are both Platform vendors that bring their own security platform. AhnLab targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while Sophos serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. AhnLab includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 5 for Sophos (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Sophos offers broader coverage (5 surfaces vs. 1). AhnLab may suit teams that need depth over breadth.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | South Korean and APAC organizations that already run AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR | Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 3/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | $1,000,000 |
- 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
- Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- $1,000,000
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | AhnLabPLATFORM | SophosPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Very Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | AhnLab EDR | Sophos EndpointCrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneCarbon Black |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Sophos Central SIEM integration via API |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: Optional add-onIDIdentity: Not coveredSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContain | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | $1,000,000 |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | Yes |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Identity | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Network | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | ≤1 hour |
| 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. | Per-user and per-server pricing. Two tiers: MDR Essentials (monitoring and basic response) and MDR Complete (full IR and breach warranty). |
| 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. | MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade. Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription. Post-Secureworks acquisition (Feb 2025): unclear if Sophos MDR and Taegis MDR will merge or remain separate products. Breach warranty limited to ONE claim total across all subscriptions, not per-incident |
| Data portability | Limited | Partial |
| Contract terms | Per EDR agent, Custom quote, EDR Premium paid tier | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | EmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | APAC | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Requires AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR plus external transmission of AhnLab EDR detection logs. Public materials do not publish a standard onboarding timeline. | Weeks, varies by environment size and integration scope |
| Industry focus | TechnologyFinancial ServicesManufacturingGovernmentHealthcare | ManufacturingHealthcareFinancial ServicesRetailTechnology |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Sophos reports a 38-minute average case closure time. The MDR service description defines a 60-minute response-time SLA for 90% of High Severity Cases, with eligibility timing and service-credit limits. |
| 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. | G2: #1 overall MDR for 14 consecutive report cycles, 1,543 reviews, 95% satisfaction. Gartner Peer Insights: 2026 Customers' Choice for Endpoint Protection (4.9/5). MITRE ATT&CK 2025: 100% detection coverage. Praised for integration breadth and MDR Complete's all-in pricing. Recurring complaints about technical support responsiveness and endpoint agent resource usage. |
| Compliance | MITRE ATT&CK evaluationsSE Labs Advanced Security Test | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0GDPRHIPAAHITRUST CSF |
| Certifications | SE Labs AAA rating for AhnLab EPP/EDRMITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 7 participant | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0 |
| Founded | 1995 | 1985 |
| 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. | 90 days standard, 1-year extended available as add-on |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between AhnLab and Sophos?
AhnLab is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Sophos is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). SLA commitments differ: AhnLab offers Not disclosed, Sophos offers ≤1 hour. AhnLab covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Sophos.
How do AhnLab and Sophos differ in response capabilities?
AhnLab supports 3 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Sophos supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with AhnLab and included with Sophos.
How does AhnLab pricing compare to Sophos?
AhnLab pricing: Not published. Sophos pricing: Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed.. 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 Sophos: MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade; Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription.
Should I choose AhnLab or Sophos?
Choose AhnLab if: south Korean and APAC organizations that already run AhnLab V3, EPP and EDR. Choose Sophos if: existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform. AhnLab is not ideal for buyers that want MDR layered on top of existing CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne or other endpoint tools. Sophos is not ideal for organizations needing raw telemetry query access (Sophos Central provides dashboards only).
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.