Armor vs Expel: MDR comparison 2026
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).
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
- •Threat hunting included in base pricing (it's an add-on with Expel)
Choose Expel if:
- •Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR
- •Security teams that value transparency and want to see every SOC action in real time
- •Multi-cloud environments needing broad integration coverage including Oracle Cloud
- •You need SaaS and Identity coverage included in base pricing
- •You want direct Slack integration with your SOC
Bottom line: 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.
Frequently asked questions
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 (endpoint isolation, network containment, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Expel supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) 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).