Arctic Wolf vs UnderDefense
Arctic Wolf and UnderDefense are both Pure-play MDRs that work with your existing tools. Arctic Wolf targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while UnderDefense serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Arctic Wolf includes 3 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Identity, Network), compared to 5 for UnderDefense (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Arctic Wolf and UnderDefense are both Pure-play MDRs that work with your existing tools. Arctic Wolf targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations, while UnderDefense serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Arctic Wolf includes 3 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Identity, Network), compared to 5 for UnderDefense (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
UnderDefense offers broader coverage (5 surfaces vs. 3). Arctic Wolf may suit teams that need depth over breadth.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market organizations without a dedicated SOC that want a named security team, not just a monitoring service | Mid-market teams with existing EDR/SIEM that want MDR layered on top without ripping and replacing |
| Price | $12-18/endpoint/mo | From $11/device/mo; annual MDR contract |
| Response authority | 3/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Warranty | $3,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
- Best fit
- Mid-market organizations without a dedicated SOC that want a named security team, not just a monitoring service
- Price
- $12-18/endpoint/mo
- Response authority
- 3/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- $3,000,000
- Best fit
- Mid-market teams with existing EDR/SIEM that want MDR layered on top without ripping and replacing
- Price
- From $11/device/mo; annual MDR contract
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- $1,000,000
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Arctic WolfTECH-AGNOSTIC | UnderDefenseTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Arctic Wolf AgentAurora Endpoint SecuritySentinelOne SingularityCrowdStrike FalconFortiEDRMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint | CrowdStrikeSentinelOneMicrosoft Defender |
| SIEM integrations | Aurora Platform | SplunkMicrosoft SentinelElastic |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: Optional add-onIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Guided Response | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateContainDisable accounts | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Third-party buyer data reports Arctic Wolf MDR observed pricing around $12-18/endpoint/month for 100-500 endpoint buyers and $8-14/endpoint/month for 1,000+ endpoint buyers. AWS Marketplace also lists MDR Basic starting at $44,000/year for up to 100 users. | Starts at $11/device/month (vendor-published) |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | $3,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Per-user pricing with multiple license types. Limited User ~$20/user/month, Standard User ~$200/user/month. Aurora Managed Endpoint Defense ~$110/device/month. Bundled in Core, Plus, and Total tiers with Silver/Gold/Platinum concierge levels. | Per-device pricing, vendor-agnostic (same rate for all asset types) |
| Hidden cost warnings | Remediation is guided, not performed on your behalf. May need a separate IR retainer for hands-on incident response.. Normalized data and threat feeds are not directly accessible. You get dashboards and reports, not raw data.. $3M warranty requires Aurora Managed Endpoint Defense plus a Security Operations Bundle, creating platform dependency.. Multiple license types (Limited at $20, Standard at $200) at very different price points. Clarify which applies to your deployment.. Full security posture takes several months in complex environments despite a 30-day onboarding target. | $11/device is a starting price for marketing. Actual cost varies by scope, and annual contract is required.. 3-year contract required for $1M breach warranty. Not available on 1-year deals.. IR retainer is separate from MDR. $0 upfront but billed per-incident, so budget for breach costs on top of subscription.. Custom integrations beyond pre-built connectors may require professional services fees. |
| Data portability | Limited | Full |
| Contract terms | Annual, 2-year, 3-year | Annual |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | SlackTeamsEmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | North AmericaEurope |
| Onboarding | 30 days or less with a dedicated onboarding team. Full security posture takes several months in complex environments. | 30 days |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyManufacturingRetailGovernment | ManufacturingHealthcareFinancial Services |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published. Arctic Wolf reports ~7-minute Mean Time to Ticket (alert to ticket creation), which is not the same as MTTR. | Not published |
| Community view | Polarizing along predictable lines. Gartner Peer Insights rates 4.8/5 (451+ reviews) and G2 4.7/5 (~276 reviews), with mid-market customers praising the Concierge model. Reddit and practitioner forums are more critical, with recurring complaints about false positive rates, limited data transparency, and guided-not-hands-on remediation. PeerSpot mindshare dropped ~48% year-over-year. | Gartner Peer Insights 4.9/5 (7 reviews). G2 shows 5/5 but across only 31 total reviews for all products. 66 reviews on Clutch with strong ratings. PeerSpot mindshare is 0.0% in the MDR category. No Reddit or independent practitioner forum discussion found. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001CMMCPCI DSSHIPAAFTC Safeguards Rule | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001HIPAAPCI DSS |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013 | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001Splunk certificationsGIACOSCP |
| Founded | 2012 | 2017 |
| Data retention | 90 days standard. Extended retention available as add-on (up to 10 years). Data sovereignty options: US, Canada, Germany, or Australia. | Determined by customer's existing SIEM. UnderDefense does not store raw logs, data lives in customer infrastructure. |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Arctic Wolf and UnderDefense?
Arctic Wolf is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). UnderDefense is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Arctic Wolf offers ≤1 hour, UnderDefense offers Not disclosed. Arctic Wolf covers 3 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for UnderDefense.
How do Arctic Wolf and UnderDefense differ in response capabilities?
Arctic Wolf supports 3 autonomous actions (account disable, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable. UnderDefense supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable.
How does Arctic Wolf pricing compare to UnderDefense?
Arctic Wolf pricing: Third-party buyer data reports Arctic Wolf MDR observed pricing around $12-18/endpoint/month for 100-500 endpoint buyers and $8-14/endpoint/month for 1,000+ endpoint buyers. AWS Marketplace also lists MDR Basic starting at $44,000/year for up to 100 users.. UnderDefense pricing: Starts at $11/device/month (vendor-published). Watch for with Arctic Wolf: Remediation is guided, not performed on your behalf. May need a separate IR retainer for hands-on incident response.; Normalized data and threat feeds are not directly accessible. You get dashboards and reports, not raw data.. Watch for with UnderDefense: $11/device is a starting price for marketing. Actual cost varies by scope, and annual contract is required.; 3-year contract required for $1M breach warranty. Not available on 1-year deals..
Should I choose Arctic Wolf or UnderDefense?
Choose Arctic Wolf if: mid-market organizations without a dedicated SOC that want a named security team, not just a monitoring service. Choose UnderDefense if: mid-market teams with existing EDR/SIEM that want MDR layered on top without ripping and replacing. Arctic Wolf is not ideal for security teams that want direct access to raw telemetry, custom detection engineering, or SIEM query capabilities. UnderDefense is not ideal for organizations that require independently validated detection metrics (MITRE, Forrester, etc.) before committing.
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.