CrowdStrike vs Secureworks
Buyer brief
Updated 2026-04-09
CrowdStrike requires its own Falcon platform and gives analysts full authority to act without customer approval. Secureworks works with your existing EDR (CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, Carbon Black and Sophos) through the Taegis open XDR platform, with configurable approval modes.
CrowdStrike's 4-minute MTTD is MITRE-validated from the 2024 managed services evaluation. Secureworks achieved 100% visibility and 95% detection in its inaugural MITRE ATT&CK evaluation and offers a contractual 60-minute investigation SLA with service-level credits if missed. CrowdStrike publishes no formal SLA, relying on its $2M breach warranty as a financial commitment instead.
Both include incident response. CrowdStrike bundles IR with the warranty. Secureworks includes unlimited remote IR for confirmed active adversary incidents. CrowdStrike covers all six response actions. Secureworks covers four (endpoint isolation, network containment, account disable and custom playbooks) but does not support process termination or file quarantine as documented proactive actions. The organizational question matters. Sophos acquired Secureworks for $859M in February 2025, cut approximately 6% of the workforce and is consolidating Taegis into Sophos Central. Long-term platform direction is uncertain for enterprise buyers who chose Taegis specifically.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Enterprise organizations (200+ endpoints) wanting MITRE-validated detection speed with autonomous remediation | Enterprise organizations wanting open XDR with existing CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne, or Carbon Black EDR |
| Price | Est $15-25/endpoint/mo, 200+ endpoints | Buyer benchmark: median $91,350/yr |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · No approval | 4/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Full query access |
| Warranty | $2,000,000 | None listed |
- Best fit
- Enterprise organizations (200+ endpoints) wanting MITRE-validated detection speed with autonomous remediation
- Price
- Est $15-25/endpoint/mo, 200+ endpoints
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · No approval
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- $2,000,000
- Best fit
- Enterprise organizations wanting open XDR with existing CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne, or Carbon Black EDR
- Price
- Buyer benchmark: median $91,350/yr
- Response authority
- 4/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | CrowdStrikePLATFORM | SecureworksTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrike Falcon | CrowdStrike Falcon InsightMicrosoft Defender for EndpointSentinelOneVMware Carbon Black (Cloud & Enterprise)Sophos EndpointTaegis Endpoint Agent (native) |
| SIEM integrations | Falcon Next-Gen SIEM | Taegis XDR (native Next-Gen SIEM) |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: Optional add-onSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Fully Autonomous | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateContainDisable accountsCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Estimated $15-25/endpoint/month (estimates vary by deployment size) | Third-party buyer data reports a $91,350/year median buyer cost for Secureworks, with a visible public range from $15,200 to $421,751/year. PeerSpot reviews also report MDR/MXDR annual deals around $60K-$320K+ depending on environment. |
| Minimum seats | 200 | None |
| Breach warranty | $2,000,000 | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | + Optional |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | ≤1 hour |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Per-endpoint pricing, tiered by endpoint count and coverage scope | Per-endpoint pricing, custom/quote-based. Three tiers: MDR, MDR Plus, MDR Enhanced. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Minimum 200-500 endpoints required, eliminates most SMBs. Requires CrowdStrike Falcon platform, cannot use with competing EDR. Identity and cloud workload coverage are separate add-ons. July 2024 global outage raised reliability concerns | Sophos acquisition completed Feb 2025, Taegis integration into Sophos Central underway with long-term platform consolidation likely. ~6% workforce reduction (~380 roles) in Feb 2025 post-acquisition, verify analyst continuity. Per-endpoint pricing varies widely ($70-$170/endpoint reported), negotiate hard |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | minutes to deploy | 30-45 days typical |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareGovernmentRetailTechnology | Financial ServicesGovernmentHealthcareManufacturing / OTEducationRetailTechnology |
| MTTD | 4 minutes | Not formally published. |
| MTTR | Less than 30 minutes (internal benchmark) | Not formally published. 60-minute investigation SLA from case initiation to customer notification (service-level credits apply). |
| Community view | Forrester Wave MDR Leader (Q1 2025), IDC MarketScape Leader (2024), Gartner Peer Insights 96% willingness to recommend (117 reviews). MITRE-validated fastest MTTD. Premium pricing and platform lock-in are accepted trade-offs for top-tier detection and response. July 2024 global outage dented trust temporarily. | G2 4.6/5 (48 reviews). PeerSpot 7.8/10 (#2 MSSP, #15 MDR). Glassdoor 3.5/5 with 64% recommending. Taegis achieved 100% visibility and 95% detection in MITRE evaluation. Product quality respected, but organizational stability is the concern after Sophos acquisition and significant headcount losses. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022FedRAMP HighHIPAAPCI DSSCSA STAR Level 1 & 2 | ISO 27001SOC 2 Type IIFFIEC Examined (Technology Service Provider)FIPS 140-3HIPAA/HITRUSTPCI DSSGDPR |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022FedRAMP HighCSA STARNSA NSCAP CIRA | ISO 27001 (ISMS for Taegis infrastructure, Schellman-certified)SOC 2 Type II (security, availability, confidentiality)FFIEC Examined as Technology Service Provider (annually)FIPS 140-3 encryption complianceCOBIT alignmentNIST SP800-53 alignment |
| Founded | 2011 | 1998 |
| Data retention | Not published. Standard Falcon data retention varies by module. | 12 months standard included. Extendable up to 48 additional months for a fee. |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between CrowdStrike and Secureworks?
CrowdStrike is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Secureworks is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: CrowdStrike offers Not disclosed, Secureworks offers ≤1 hour.
How do CrowdStrike and Secureworks differ in response capabilities?
CrowdStrike supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and acts without approval. Secureworks supports 4 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable.
How does CrowdStrike pricing compare to Secureworks?
CrowdStrike pricing: Estimated $15-25/endpoint/month (estimates vary by deployment size) (200-seat minimum). Secureworks pricing: Third-party buyer data reports a $91,350/year median buyer cost for Secureworks, with a visible public range from $15,200 to $421,751/year. PeerSpot reviews also report MDR/MXDR annual deals around $60K-$320K+ depending on environment.. Watch for with CrowdStrike: Minimum 200-500 endpoints required, eliminates most SMBs; Requires CrowdStrike Falcon platform, cannot use with competing EDR. Watch for with Secureworks: Sophos acquisition completed Feb 2025, Taegis integration into Sophos Central underway with long-term platform consolidation likely; ~6% workforce reduction (~380 roles) in Feb 2025 post-acquisition, verify analyst continuity.
Should I choose CrowdStrike or Secureworks?
Choose CrowdStrike if: enterprise organizations (200+ endpoints) wanting MITRE-validated detection speed with autonomous remediation. Choose Secureworks if: enterprise organizations wanting open XDR with existing CrowdStrike, Defender, SentinelOne, or Carbon Black EDR. CrowdStrike is not ideal for sMBs with fewer than 200 endpoints (minimum requirement) or budget-conscious buyers. Secureworks is not ideal for buyers concerned about organizational stability after Sophos acquisition and significant headcount losses.
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.