Arctic Wolf vs Fortra: MDR Comparison 2026
Arctic Wolf (Pure-play MDR) and Fortra (Services firm) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Arctic Wolf works with your existing tools, while Fortra works with your existing tools. Arctic Wolf targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Fortra focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Arctic Wolf vs Fortra: 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, Fortra does not)
Choose Fortra if:
- •Mid-market organizations needing strong compliance support
- •Healthcare organizations requiring HIPAA compliance MDR
- •Cloud-first companies on AWS, Azure, or hybrid environments
Bottom line: Arctic Wolf (Pure-play MDR) and Fortra (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Arctic Wolf's strong concierge model for mid-market organizations needing a dedicated security partner or Fortra's established mdr with strong cloud/compliance positioning and formalized slas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Arctic Wolf and Fortra?
Arctic Wolf is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Fortra is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Arctic Wolf offers ≤1 hour, Fortra offers ≤15 minutes.
How do Arctic Wolf and Fortra 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. Fortra supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Arctic Wolf and included with Fortra.
How does Arctic Wolf pricing compare to Fortra?
Arctic Wolf pricing: Starting ~$20/user/month; MDR Basic ~$44,000/year for up to 100 users. Enterprise pricing is custom.. Fortra pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. 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 Fortra: Managed services being acquired by LevelBlue (announced Jan 2026, deal pending close — no timeline disclosed); Post-transition contract terms, SLAs, and pricing under LevelBlue are unconfirmed.
Should I choose Arctic Wolf or Fortra?
Choose Arctic Wolf if: mid-market organizations (50-1000 employees) without a dedicated SOC. Choose Fortra if: mid-market organizations needing strong compliance support. Arctic Wolf is not ideal for large enterprises requiring deep data access and custom detection engineering. Fortra is not ideal for organizations wanting long-term vendor stability — managed services transferring to LevelBlue (deal pending, no timeline disclosed).