Cipher vs ESET
Cipher is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. ESET is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Cipher targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; ESET serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Cipher includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 3 for ESET (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS).
Buyer brief
Cipher is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. ESET is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Cipher targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; ESET serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Cipher includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 3 for ESET (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS).
ESET is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Cipher is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise buyers that want a managed service layered over existing security tools | SMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 0/6 actions · Approval required | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Requires own platform |
| 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
- SMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | CipherTECH-AGNOSTIC | ESETPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | Customer EDR | ESET |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Microsoft SentinelElasticSplunk |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: Not coveredSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/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 | Not published, custom-quoted based on environment and device count with volume discounts |
| Minimum seats | None | 25 |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | Yes |
| Endpoints | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Identity | Not offered | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| Network | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| 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-device pricing, custom-quoted. Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite as the base. MSP partners can get daily billing or monthly invoicing. |
| 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. | Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite subscription as the base, which is a separate cost from MDR itself. MDR Ultimate pricing is significantly higher than standard MDR, but the exact gap is not published. Custom-quoted pricing with no published benchmarks means you have no leverage for comparison shopping. If you're not already an ESET customer, factor in the cost and time to migrate your entire endpoint stack |
| Data portability | Partial | Limited |
| Contract terms | Custom, xMDR Services, xMDR Platform | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | Portal | EmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeLATAM | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Cipher advertises 20 days for full service activation, but buyers should confirm scope and contract timing. | Fast deployment via ESET PROTECT platform if you're already an ESET customer. Net-new deployments require platform setup first. |
| Industry focus | HealthcareProfessional ServicesPayments | SMB (all industries)EducationHealthcareFinancial ServicesGovernmentRetail |
| MTTD | Not published | 20 minutes (vendor-published) |
| MTTR | Not published | Approximately 5 minutes (vendor-published time to resolve) |
| 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. | KuppingerCole named ESET Product and Market Leader for MDR (December 2024). Praised for the low 25-device entry point and fast vendor-published detection times. Criticized for console UI complexity and full platform lock-in. Limited MDR-specific community discussion compared to larger competitors. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001SOC 1SOC 2PCI DSSCREST | ISO 27001 |
| Certifications | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001SOC ISOC IIPCI QSAPCI ASVCRESTTF-CSIRTCIPHER-CSIRT RFC2350 | ISO 27001 |
| Founded | – | 1992 |
| 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 published |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Cipher and ESET?
Cipher is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). ESET is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Cipher covers 0 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 3 for ESET.
How do Cipher and ESET differ in response capabilities?
Cipher supports 0 autonomous actions (none) and requires approval before acting. ESET 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 ESET.
How does Cipher pricing compare to ESET?
Cipher pricing: Not published. ESET pricing: Not published, custom-quoted based on environment and device count with volume discounts (25-seat minimum). 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 ESET: Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite subscription as the base, which is a separate cost from MDR itself; MDR Ultimate pricing is significantly higher than standard MDR, but the exact gap is not published.
Should I choose Cipher or ESET?
Choose Cipher if: mid-market and enterprise buyers that want a managed service layered over existing security tools. Choose ESET if: sMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums. Cipher is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before sales. ESET is not ideal for organizations with non-ESET EDR that want to keep their existing platform and layer MDR on top.
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.