Armor vs Expel
Armor is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Armor targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Expel serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Armor includes 3 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, Network), compared to 5 for Expel (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Armor is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Armor targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Expel serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Armor includes 3 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, Network), compared to 5 for Expel (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Armor is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Expel is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Healthcare or financial services teams already running Microsoft Sentinel who need compliance consulting baked in | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR |
| Price | XDR+SOC estimate: from ~$4,317/mo | TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr |
| Response authority | 4/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Healthcare or financial services teams already running Microsoft Sentinel who need compliance consulting baked in
- Price
- XDR+SOC estimate: from ~$4,317/mo
- Response authority
- 4/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR
- Price
- TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ArmorPLATFORM | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Very Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Armor Anywhere Agent (Trend Micro) Microsoft Defender | CrowdStrikeSentinelOneCarbon BlackPalo Alto CortexElasticCybereason Microsoft Defender |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft Sentinel | SplunkPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleExabeamSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar Microsoft Sentinel |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: Optional add-onSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateContainQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Starting at ~$4,317/month for XDR+SOC (per SourceForge listing) | Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | Extra cost |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom pricing, platform subscription model | Custom pricing by coverage type: cloud infrastructure (by resources), on-prem (by endpoints), SaaS (by user accounts), phishing (by email count). Three tiers: Starter, Select, Premium. |
| Hidden cost warnings | 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.. Full coverage assumes Microsoft Sentinel and Defender XDR are already licensed. Those Microsoft costs are yours.. No macOS or mobile agent support. If you have Apple endpoints, you need a separate tool. | Threat hunting is NOT included in base MDR, it is a separate add-on. Incident response is NOT included and must be obtained separately. Premium tier required for direct Slack/Teams SOC communication. Pricing scales significantly based on number of integrations and coverage areas |
| Data portability | Limited | Full |
| Contract terms | Annual | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | SlackTeamsEmailPortal |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North AmericaAsia-Pacific | North America |
| Onboarding | Not publicly disclosed | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. |
| Industry focus | HealthcareFinancial ServicesRetailInsuranceUtilitiesSaaS/Technology | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy |
| MTTD | Not published | Not separately published |
| MTTR | Not published | 14 minutes for critical/high incidents with auto-remediation. 22 minutes average alert-to-fix for critical alerts. |
| Community view | Almost no public review footprint. G2 shows 4.8/5 but from only 12 reviews, and Gartner Peer Insights has none. Employee reviews on Indeed raise leadership and strategy concerns. Frost & Sullivan included Armor in their 2025 Top 20 MDR list, but that is analyst recognition, not customer validation. | Forrester Wave MDR Leader Q1 2025 (5/5 in 15 of 21 criteria). Gartner Peer Insights 4.6/5 (142 reviews). G2 4.8/5. PeerSpot 9.0/10. Widely praised for transparency, integration breadth, and speed. Primary criticism: threat hunting and incident response are add-ons, not included. |
| Compliance | PCI DSSHIPAAHITRUSTISO 27001ISO 27018ISO 27701GDPRFedRAMPNISTSEC | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR |
| Certifications | ISO 27001ISO 27018ISO 27701MISA Member (Microsoft)Microsoft Advanced Specialization: Threat ProtectionMicrosoft Advanced Specialization: Cloud Security | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) |
| Founded | 2009 | 2016 |
| Data retention | Not publicly disclosed | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Armor and Expel?
Armor is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Armor covers 3 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Expel.
How do Armor and Expel differ in response capabilities?
Armor supports 4 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment) and approval is configurable. Expel supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is included with Armor and not included with Expel.
How does Armor pricing compare to Expel?
Armor pricing: Starting at ~$4,317/month for XDR+SOC (per SourceForge listing). Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. 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 Expel: Threat hunting is NOT included in base MDR, it is a separate add-on; Incident response is NOT included and must be obtained separately.
Should I choose Armor or Expel?
Choose Armor if: healthcare or financial services teams already running Microsoft Sentinel who need compliance consulting baked in. Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Armor is not ideal for teams running macOS or mobile-heavy environments with no agent support for either. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools).
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.