Critical Start vs Help AG
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Help AG serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for Help AG ().
Buyer brief
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Help AG serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for Help AG ().
Critical Start (Pure-play MDR) and Help AG (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Critical Start's technology-agnostic mdr with tbr deterministic alert auto-resolution, 100+ integrations, ot/ics s... or Help AG's help ag fits middle east buyers that want sovereign mdr with local soc delivery, automation and d....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack | Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs |
| Price | Not published | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack
- Price
- Not published
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Critical StartTECH-AGNOSTIC | Help AGTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeSentinelOneMicrosoft DefenderPalo Alto Cortex | None listed |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelSplunkSumo Logic | None listed |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | ≤1 hour | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom enterprise pricing (annual subscription, tiered by coverage depth) | Custom quote. Help AG does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | No public pricing at all, requires sales call for any ballpark. OT/ICS monitoring and vulnerability management are separate purchases on top of base MDR. Full IR/DFIR requires separate CIRT engagement, not included in MDR contract. Annual contract commitment typically required with no published minimum seat count | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture.. Response Automation-as-a-Service is named separately, so containment actions, permissions and cost should be written into the quote.. Help AG lists a broad cybersecurity portfolio around MDR, so buyers should separate included MDR scope from SecOps, CTEM, DFIR, advisory and cloud-security projects.. Public pages cite MTTD and MTTR improvement without figures, so buyers should ask for contractual metrics rather than relying on marketing claims. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, Managed Detection and Response, Response Automation-as-a-Service, Digital Forensics and Incident Response |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | |
| Data access | Dashboards | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | Middle East |
| Onboarding | 5-10 business days to first detection value (vendor-stated). 4-6 weeks for full enterprise onboarding. Vendor claims 2.66-day median TTFV for Microsoft Sentinel specifically. | Not published. Help AG says Unicorn supports rapid deployment of threat detection content and playbooks, but no standard MDR onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernmentProfessional ServicesRetailTransportation | GovernmentCritical InfrastructureEnterprise |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | 60 minutes or less median time to resolution for ALL alerts regardless of priority | Not published |
| Community view | Gartner Peer Insights 4.8/5 (53 reviews). PeerSpot 9.4/10, skewing large enterprise. Glassdoor 4.3/5 (140 reviews, some concerns about RIFs and turnover). IDC MarketScape Major Player (Emerging MDR, 2024). Praised for TBR noise reduction and SOC analyst accessibility. Criticized for onboarding communication gaps, missing Slack integration and opaque pricing. | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on Help AG's Middle East focus, e& enterprise ownership, sovereign UAE and KSA SOCs, 800+ certified experts, response automation, threat hunting and DFIR integration. Buyers should validate pricing, exact response authority, SLA figures and data-residency terms directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000-1ISO 27035-2NCASAMADESC |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001MISA (Microsoft Intelligent Security Association)Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security | ISO-certified sovereign SOCsISO 27001:2022ISO 22301:2019ISO 20000-1:2018ISO 27035-2:2023SOC CMM Level 3CREST-certified DFIR |
| Founded | 2012 | 2005 |
| Data retention | CORR platform provides API access and data export (CSV/XLSX). Specific retention periods not publicly documented. | Help AG says MDR services are fully delivered within the region and aligned with data-residency and regulatory requirements. No standard public MDR log-retention period was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Critical Start and Help AG?
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Help AG is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Critical Start offers ≤1 hour, Help AG offers Not disclosed. Critical Start covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 0 for Help AG.
How do Critical Start and Help AG differ in response capabilities?
Critical Start supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Help AG supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Critical Start and included with Help AG.
How does Critical Start pricing compare to Help AG?
Critical Start pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Help AG pricing: Not published. Watch for with Critical Start: No public pricing at all, requires sales call for any ballpark; OT/ICS monitoring and vulnerability management are separate purchases on top of base MDR. Watch for with Help AG: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture..
Should I choose Critical Start or Help AG?
Choose Critical Start if: mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack. Choose Help AG if: middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs. Critical Start is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious organizations, enterprise-focused pricing not published. Help AG is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before sales.
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.