Arctic Wolf vs Field Effect: MDR Comparison 2026
Arctic Wolf (Pure-play MDR) and Field Effect (MDR provider) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Arctic Wolf works with your existing tools, while Field Effect requires its own security platform. Arctic Wolf targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Field Effect focuses on SMB and Mid-market.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Arctic Wolf vs Field Effect: Which Should You Choose?
Choose Arctic Wolf if:
- •Mid-market organizations (50-1000 employees) without a dedicated SOC
- •IT generalists overwhelmed by managing multiple security point solutions
- •Organizations wanting a technology-agnostic MDR that works with existing tools
- •Breach warranty matters to you (Arctic Wolf offers one, Field Effect does not)
Choose Field Effect if:
- •SMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing
- •Canadian organizations needing domestic data hosting and PIPEDA compliance
- •Healthcare, government, and defense contractors needing HIPAA/CMMC/NIST compliance support
Bottom line: Field Effect is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Arctic Wolf is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Arctic Wolf and Field Effect?
Arctic Wolf is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Field Effect is a MDR provider that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). SLA commitments differ: Arctic Wolf offers ≤1 hour, Field Effect offers Not disclosed.
How do Arctic Wolf and Field Effect differ in response capabilities?
Arctic Wolf supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine) and approval is configurable.
How does Arctic Wolf pricing compare to Field Effect?
Arctic Wolf pricing: Starting ~$20/user/month; MDR Basic ~$44,000/year for up to 100 users. Enterprise pricing is custom.. Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $99/user/month (ideal for <=25 users). MDR Complete: custom pricing (larger organizations, compliance requirements).. Watch for with Arctic Wolf: Incident response and remediation is guided, not performed on your behalf — may need separate IR retainer; Normalized data and active threat feed not directly accessible to customers — security operates as a 'black box' for some. Watch for with Field Effect: MDR Core excludes network monitoring, DNS firewall, and dark web monitoring — significant feature gap vs Complete; $99/user adds up quickly — 50 users = $4,950/month.
Should I choose Arctic Wolf or Field Effect?
Choose Arctic Wolf if: mid-market organizations (50-1000 employees) without a dedicated SOC. Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing. Arctic Wolf is not ideal for large enterprises requiring deep data access and custom detection engineering. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments — requires proprietary Field Effect agent.