Critical Start vs Performanta
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Performanta is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Performanta serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Performanta (Endpoint, Identity).
Buyer brief
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Performanta is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Critical Start targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Performanta serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Critical Start includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Performanta (Endpoint, Identity).
Critical Start (Pure-play MDR) and Performanta (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 Performanta's performanta fits buyers that want microsoft-centered mdr with safe xdr, managed soc and incident-....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack | Buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response |
| 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 | Dashboards |
| 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
- Buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Critical StartTECH-AGNOSTIC | PerformantaTECH-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 | CrowdStrikeSentinelOnePalo Alto Cortex Microsoft Defender | Microsoft Defender |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkSumo Logic Microsoft Sentinel | Microsoft Sentinel |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | Not offered |
| 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. Performanta does not publish MDR, Safe XDR or managed SOC 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 explicit MDR offer is tied to Defender for Endpoint, so Microsoft licensing and customer tenant readiness can drive total cost.. Public pages do not define default MDR response authority, so buyers need the managed-technology boundary in writing.. Cloud and SaaS coverage appear tied to Microsoft security controls and Safe XDR scope, so non-Microsoft telemetry should be confirmed early.. Incident response is listed as a consulting service, so buyers should confirm what is included in MDR versus a separate incident-response engagement. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, Managed SOC, Safe XDR, MDR for Defender for Endpoint |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | EuropeAfrica |
| 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. Performanta describes scoping, discovery, prioritisation, validation and mobilisation stages for Safe XDR, but no standard implementation duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingTechnologyGovernmentProfessional ServicesRetailTransportation | Financial ServicesEducationHealthcareGovernmentRetailProfessional ServicesAgricultureTelecommunicationsManufacturingTransportationTourism |
| 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 Performanta's Microsoft security focus, UK and South Africa SOC operations, Safe XDR platform, threat-hunting process and incident-response consulting depth. Buyers should validate pricing, response authority, non-Microsoft telemetry support and exact incident-response inclusion directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 | – |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001MISA (Microsoft Intelligent Security Association)Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security | – |
| Founded | 2012 | 2010 |
| Data retention | CORR platform provides API access and data export (CSV/XLSX). Specific retention periods not publicly documented. | Not published. Performanta says it monitors customer environments and SIEM platforms, but no standard public MDR log-retention period or data-residency term was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Critical Start and Performanta?
Critical Start is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Performanta is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Critical Start offers ≤1 hour, Performanta offers Not disclosed. Critical Start covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Performanta.
How do Critical Start and Performanta 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. Performanta supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Critical Start pricing compare to Performanta?
Critical Start pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Performanta 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 Performanta: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The explicit MDR offer is tied to Defender for Endpoint, so Microsoft licensing and customer tenant readiness can drive total cost..
Should I choose Critical Start or Performanta?
Choose Critical Start if: mid-market to large enterprises wanting technology-agnostic MDR that works with their existing security stack. Choose Performanta if: buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response. Critical Start is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious organizations, enterprise-focused pricing not published. Performanta 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.