CrowdStrike vs Sophos
Buyer brief
Updated 2026-03-08
Both include incident response and both have strong MITRE results, which is an uncommon combination. Most MDR providers charge extra for IR or don't offer it.
CrowdStrike's 4-minute MTTD came from the 2024 MITRE managed services evaluation. Sophos achieved 100% detection across all adversary sub-steps in the 2025 MITRE ATT&CK evaluation, though that tested the platform rather than the managed service. Sophos MDR Complete includes unlimited IR with no caps and a contractual 60-minute SLA for high-severity cases. CrowdStrike includes IR with a $2M warranty but publishes no formal response time SLA.
The data access gap is wide. CrowdStrike gives full query access to Falcon data. Sophos provides dashboards only, and multiple reviewers note limited customization. CrowdStrike is Falcon-only. Sophos requires its own agent for full MDR but accepts 350+ third-party integrations for telemetry enrichment and offers an XDR Sensor for detection-only monitoring alongside existing endpoint protection. On warranty terms, Sophos's $1M is a single-claim limit across all subscriptions. CrowdStrike's $2M tiers at $1M standard and $2M with Identity. Sophos has 26,000+ MDR subscribers and 1,543 G2 reviews, far more community validation than CrowdStrike publishes.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Enterprise organizations (200+ endpoints) wanting MITRE-validated detection speed with autonomous remediation | Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform |
| Price | Est $15-25/endpoint/mo, 200+ endpoints | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · No approval | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Warranty | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
- 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
- Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- $1,000,000
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | CrowdStrikePLATFORM | SophosPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Very Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrike Falcon | Sophos EndpointCrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneCarbon Black |
| SIEM integrations | Falcon Next-Gen SIEM | Sophos Central SIEM integration via API |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: Optional add-onSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Fully Autonomous | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Estimated $15-25/endpoint/month (estimates vary by deployment size) | Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed. |
| Minimum seats | 200 | None |
| Breach warranty | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | Yes |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | ~ Limited |
| 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-user and per-server pricing. Two tiers: MDR Essentials (monitoring and basic response) and MDR Complete (full IR and breach warranty). |
| 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 | MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade. Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription. Post-Secureworks acquisition (Feb 2025): unclear if Sophos MDR and Taegis MDR will merge or remain separate products. Breach warranty limited to ONE claim total across all subscriptions, not per-incident |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | EmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | minutes to deploy | Weeks, varies by environment size and integration scope |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareGovernmentRetailTechnology | ManufacturingHealthcareFinancial ServicesRetailTechnology |
| MTTD | 4 minutes | Not published |
| MTTR | Less than 30 minutes (internal benchmark) | Sophos reports a 38-minute average case closure time. The MDR service description defines a 60-minute response-time SLA for 90% of High Severity Cases, with eligibility timing and service-credit limits. |
| 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: #1 overall MDR for 14 consecutive report cycles, 1,543 reviews, 95% satisfaction. Gartner Peer Insights: 2026 Customers' Choice for Endpoint Protection (4.9/5). MITRE ATT&CK 2025: 100% detection coverage. Praised for integration breadth and MDR Complete's all-in pricing. Recurring complaints about technical support responsiveness and endpoint agent resource usage. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022FedRAMP HighHIPAAPCI DSSCSA STAR Level 1 & 2 | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0GDPRHIPAAHITRUST CSF |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022FedRAMP HighCSA STARNSA NSCAP CIRA | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022ISO 27017:2015ISO 27018:2019PCI DSS v4.0 |
| Founded | 2011 | 1985 |
| Data retention | Not published. Standard Falcon data retention varies by module. | 90 days standard, 1-year extended available as add-on |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between CrowdStrike and Sophos?
CrowdStrike is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Sophos is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). SLA commitments differ: CrowdStrike offers Not disclosed, Sophos offers ≤1 hour. CrowdStrike covers 4 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Sophos.
How do CrowdStrike and Sophos 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. Sophos supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable.
How does CrowdStrike pricing compare to Sophos?
CrowdStrike pricing: Estimated $15-25/endpoint/month (estimates vary by deployment size) (200-seat minimum). Sophos pricing: Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed.. Watch for with CrowdStrike: Minimum 200-500 endpoints required, eliminates most SMBs; Requires CrowdStrike Falcon platform, cannot use with competing EDR. Watch for with Sophos: MDR Essentials does NOT include full incident response or breach warranty, requires MDR Complete upgrade; Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription.
Should I choose CrowdStrike or Sophos?
Choose CrowdStrike if: enterprise organizations (200+ endpoints) wanting MITRE-validated detection speed with autonomous remediation. Choose Sophos if: existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform. CrowdStrike is not ideal for sMBs with fewer than 200 endpoints (minimum requirement) or budget-conscious buyers. Sophos is not ideal for organizations needing raw telemetry query access (Sophos Central provides dashboards only).
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.