Cynet vs Northwave
Cynet is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Cynet targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Cynet includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Buyer brief
Cynet is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Cynet targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Cynet includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Cynet is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Northwave is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | SMB and mid-market organizations with small security teams wanting maximum coverage from a single platform | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC |
| Price | $7-10/endpoint/mo | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- SMB and mid-market organizations with small security teams wanting maximum coverage from a single platform
- Price
- $7-10/endpoint/mo
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | CynetPLATFORM | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | SMB, Mid-market | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Cynet 360 | Customer endpoint telemetry |
| SIEM integrations | Syslog export to external SIEM | Customer log sources |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› 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 | $7-10/endpoint/month depending on tier. Elite is $7/endpoint/month (EPP+EDR+CyOps MDR). All-in-One is $10/endpoint/month (adds NDR, UEBA, Deception, SOAR, SSPM). Verified on cynet.com/packages. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | 20 | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | Not offered |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Per-endpoint monthly subscription with published pricing on website | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | 20-endpoint minimum ($140/month floor for Elite, $200/month for All-in-One). 1-year auto-renewing contracts standard, combined with platform lock-in makes exit disruptive. Requires replacing existing EDR with Cynet agent, significant migration effort if already deployed on CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender. DFIR not included. Full incident response is a separate paid engagement.. 90-day standard data retention. Longer retention requires exporting to an external SIEM at your own cost.. No breach warranty offered | Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.. Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR.. Cloud, SaaS and identity coverage are not named as clearly as endpoint, log and network telemetry.. Detection tuning depends on onboarding log sources and threat-based use cases, which may affect deployment effort. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual | Custom |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | Europe |
| Onboarding | Hours to days depending on environment size. Single lightweight agent. | Northwave says implementation starts with a plan covering service elements, phases, planning and threat-based use cases, then onboarding log sources and processes. No standard public onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | HealthcareFinancial ServicesTechnology/SaaSProfessional ServicesManufacturing | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure |
| MTTD | Sub-5 minutes (vendor-claimed internal benchmark, not independently validated) | Not published |
| MTTR | Sub-10 minutes (vendor-claimed internal benchmark, not independently validated) | Not published |
| Community view | Gartner Peer Insights 4.7/5 (139+ reviews across markets), VoC Strong Performer for XDR 2025 and EPP 2026. PeerSpot 8.8/10 (97% recommend). Praised for all-in-one simplicity and transparent pricing. Not included in Gartner MQ or Forrester Wave, limiting enterprise credibility. Small company (~260-320 employees, $21M revenue in 2024) raises long-term viability questions. | Northwave has limited MDR-specific public review volume. The public buyer case rests on European delivery, Utrecht SOC operations and the connection between MDR, CERT, red team and threat research. Buyers should validate response authority, cloud and identity coverage, pricing and escalation rules before signing. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type 2ISO 27001 | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type 2ISO 27001ISO 27032 | – |
| Founded | 2015 | 2006 |
| Data retention | 90 days standard. Syslog export to any external SIEM for extended retention. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Cynet and Northwave?
Cynet is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Northwave is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Cynet covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Northwave.
How do Cynet and Northwave differ in response capabilities?
Cynet supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Cynet pricing compare to Northwave?
Cynet pricing: $7-10/endpoint/month depending on tier. Elite is $7/endpoint/month (EPP+EDR+CyOps MDR). All-in-One is $10/endpoint/month (adds NDR, UEBA, Deception, SOAR, SSPM). Verified on cynet.com/packages. (20-seat minimum). Northwave pricing: Not published. Watch for with Cynet: 20-endpoint minimum ($140/month floor for Elite, $200/month for All-in-One); 1-year auto-renewing contracts standard, combined with platform lock-in makes exit disruptive. Watch for with Northwave: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or named default response actions.; Rapid Response is a separate related service, so buyers should confirm what incident-response support is included in base MDR..
Should I choose Cynet or Northwave?
Choose Cynet if: sMB and mid-market organizations with small security teams wanting maximum coverage from a single platform. Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. Cynet is not ideal for large enterprises with existing CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, or Defender deployments since Cynet requires replacing your EDR. Northwave is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or response SLAs before engaging 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.