Cipher vs eSentire
Cipher is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. eSentire is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Cipher targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; eSentire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Cipher includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for eSentire (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Cipher is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. eSentire is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Cipher targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; eSentire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Cipher includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for eSentire (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Cipher (Services firm) and eSentire (Pure-play MDR) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Cipher's cipher xmdr fits buyers that want a vendor-neutral mdr service backed by prosegur and delivered t... or eSentire's esentire excels at active, hands-on response and publicly reports 15-minute containment.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise buyers that want a managed service layered over existing security tools | Organizations wanting a provider that publicly reports 15-minute containment with true active remediation |
| Price | Custom quote | Buyer benchmark: $30-100/endpoint/yr |
| Response authority | 0/6 actions · Approval required | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Mid-market and enterprise buyers that want a managed service layered over existing security tools
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 0/6 actions · Approval required
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Organizations wanting a provider that publicly reports 15-minute containment with true active remediation
- Price
- Buyer benchmark: $30-100/endpoint/yr
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | CipherTECH-AGNOSTIC | eSentireTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Customer EDR | CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for EndpointSentinelOneVMware Carbon BlackeSentire Atlas Agent (proprietary, optional) |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Microsoft SentinelSplunkSumo Logic |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: Not coveredSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Guided Response | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Approval Required | Configurable |
| Response actions | Alert and notify only | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Third-party buyer data reports eSentire MDR endpoint-focused pricing around $60-100/endpoint/year for 50-200 endpoints, $40-80/endpoint/year for 200-1,000 endpoints, and $30-60/endpoint/year for 1,000+ endpoints. Older community reports cite $10-25/endpoint/month depending on tier. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Identity | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Network | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Cipher does not publish xMDR package pricing. | Per-endpoint pricing across three tiers (Essentials up to 500 endpoints, Advanced up to 5,000, Complete up to 5,000) with BYOL or bundled Atlas Agent options |
| Hidden cost warnings | Cipher says xMDR works with the existing technology stack, so buyers should confirm which tools are included in the quote and what integration work is extra.. Public pages do not publish response SLAs, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The site names EDR and IPS/IDS integration but does not publish named vendor integrations.. Response wording is broad, so buyers should document pre-approved actions before go-live. | 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.. MSP program uses inflexible per-customer purchasing model (criticized by partners) |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Custom, xMDR Services, xMDR Platform | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | Portal | TeamsEmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeLATAM | North AmericaEurope |
| Onboarding | Cipher advertises 20 days for full service activation, but buyers should confirm scope and contract timing. | Average 14 days deployment |
| Industry focus | HealthcareProfessional ServicesPayments | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernment |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | 15-minute Mean Time to Contain (vendor-published public metric). 99.3% of threats isolated at first host (vendor-published). 200+ new threat protections added daily. |
| Community view | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on Cipher's Prosegur ownership, xMDR Platform, 24/7 SOC claim, six-SOC footprint, portal access and existing-stack positioning. Buyers should validate pricing, response authority, named integrations and SOC delivery details directly. | G2 4.6/5 (272 reviews). Gartner Peer Insights 4.6/5 (83 reviews). PeerSpot 7.6/10. Forrester Wave Leader (Europe Q3 2025). Praised for public 15-minute containment metrics and true active remediation. Some price sensitivity for SMBs and occasional SOC response delays on non-emergency tickets. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001SOC 1SOC 2PCI DSSCREST | ISO 27001PCI-DSSSOC 2 Type IIHIPAA/HITRUSTGDPRNIST |
| Certifications | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001SOC ISOC IIPCI QSAPCI ASVCRESTTF-CSIRTCIPHER-CSIRT RFC2350 | ISO 15408UK Cyber EssentialsSIG LiteAITECMicrosoft Security Solutions PartnerAWS Partner Network |
| Founded | – | 2001 |
| Data retention | Cipher says all platform information is online 24/7 and available from any device. No public standard MDR data-retention period was found. | Not publicly disclosed |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Cipher and eSentire?
Cipher is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). eSentire is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Cipher covers 0 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for eSentire.
How do Cipher and eSentire differ in response capabilities?
Cipher supports 0 autonomous actions (none) and requires approval before acting. eSentire supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Cipher and included with eSentire.
How does Cipher pricing compare to eSentire?
Cipher pricing: Not published. eSentire pricing: Third-party buyer data reports eSentire MDR endpoint-focused pricing around $60-100/endpoint/year for 50-200 endpoints, $40-80/endpoint/year for 200-1,000 endpoints, and $30-60/endpoint/year for 1,000+ endpoints. Older community reports cite $10-25/endpoint/month depending on tier.. Watch for with Cipher: Cipher says xMDR works with the existing technology stack, so buyers should confirm which tools are included in the quote and what integration work is extra.; Public pages do not publish response SLAs, contract minimums or service-credit language.. 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 Cipher or eSentire?
Choose Cipher if: mid-market and enterprise buyers that want a managed service layered over existing security tools. Choose eSentire if: organizations wanting a provider that publicly reports 15-minute containment with true active remediation. Cipher is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before sales. eSentire is not ideal for budget-constrained SMBs seeking the lowest-cost MDR option.
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.