Armor vs eSentire: MDR comparison 2026
Armor is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. eSentire is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Armor targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; eSentire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Armor includes 3 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, Network), compared to 5 for eSentire (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Key differences at a glance
Full comparison
Which should you choose?
Choose Armor if:
- •Healthcare or financial services teams already running Microsoft Sentinel who need compliance consulting baked in
- •Multi-cloud shops on AWS, Azure, or GCP that want a single MDR provider across all three
- •Organizations that value IR and forensics included in base pricing rather than as a retainer add-on
Choose eSentire if:
- •Organizations wanting contractual containment time guarantees (15-minute MTTC) with true active remediation
- •Mid-market and enterprise with complex multi-vendor security stacks needing 300+ integrations
- •Companies wanting unlimited incident response included in MDR (verify scope with vendor)
- •You need SaaS and Identity coverage included in base pricing
Bottom line: Armor is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. eSentire is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Armor and eSentire?
Armor is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). eSentire is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Armor offers Not disclosed, eSentire offers ≤15 minutes. Armor covers 3 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for eSentire.
How do Armor and eSentire differ in response capabilities?
Armor supports 4 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, network containment, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. eSentire supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Armor pricing compare to eSentire?
Armor pricing: Starting at ~$4,317/month for XDR+SOC (per SourceForge listing). eSentire pricing: $10-25/endpoint/month (community-reported on G2 and Vendr. Essentials $10-15, Advanced/Complete $15-25). Watch for with Armor: Armor Anywhere agent is built on Trend Micro. Running it alongside CrowdStrike or SentinelOne may cause conflicts, forcing a swap.; Compliance consulting (HIPAA readiness, HITRUST prep) is billed as professional services on top of the MDR subscription.. Watch for with eSentire: Tier differences are significant. Essentials may lack key response and advisory capabilities available in Advanced/Complete.; BYOL pricing differs from bundled Atlas Agent pricing. Custom pricing for 5,000+ endpoints..
Should I choose Armor or eSentire?
Choose Armor if: healthcare or financial services teams already running Microsoft Sentinel who need compliance consulting baked in. Choose eSentire if: organizations wanting contractual containment time guarantees (15-minute MTTC) with true active remediation. Armor is not ideal for teams running macOS or mobile-heavy environments with no agent support for either. eSentire is not ideal for budget-constrained SMBs seeking the lowest-cost MDR option.