Darktrace vs Northwave
Darktrace is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Darktrace targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Darktrace includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Network), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Buyer brief
Darktrace is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Northwave is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Darktrace targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Northwave serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Darktrace includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Network), compared to 2 for Northwave (Endpoint, Network).
Darktrace 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 | Critical infrastructure and industrial environments needing OT/ICS security with protocol-agnostic detection | Benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 3/6 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
- Critical infrastructure and industrial environments needing OT/ICS security with protocol-agnostic detection
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 3/6 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 | DarktracePLATFORM | NorthwaveTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOne | Customer endpoint telemetry |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkMicrosoft Sentinel | Customer log sources |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: Optional add-onCloudCloud: Optional add-onIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: Not coveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateContainCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published. Reviewers report pricing in the upper market segment. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | + Optional | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | + Optional | Not offered |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Pricing based on number of devices monitored and service tier selected. | Custom quote. Northwave does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Full coverage (endpoint, cloud, email, OT) requires multiple separate modules that increase total cost significantly. High false positive rates require internal analyst time for tuning despite the MDR service. No free trial available to test before purchase. Steep learning curve may require professional services or extended onboarding | 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 | Limited | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual | Custom |
| Channels | EmailPortalTeamsSlackPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | Europe |
| Onboarding | Not published | 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 | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingEnergyGovernmentCritical Infrastructure | Financial ServicesHealthcareManufacturingLogisticsTechnologyPublic SectorCritical Infrastructure |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice 2025 for NDR (4.8/5, 242 reviews). Practitioners praise Self-Learning AI for detecting novel threats and Antigena response speed. Consistent complaints about high false positive rates, expensive pricing, and steep learning curve. MDR service launched June 2024, so limited community feedback on the managed service specifically. | 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 IIISO 27001GDPRCSA STAR Level 1 | NIS2ISO 27001GDPRTISAX |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001CSA STAR Level 1Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice 2025 (NDR) | – |
| Founded | 2013 | 2006 |
| Data retention | Not published. Varies by module. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Darktrace and Northwave?
Darktrace 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). Darktrace covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Northwave.
How do Darktrace and Northwave differ in response capabilities?
Darktrace supports 3 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable. Northwave supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Darktrace pricing compare to Northwave?
Darktrace pricing: Not published. Reviewers report pricing in the upper market segment.. Northwave pricing: Not published. Watch for with Darktrace: Full coverage (endpoint, cloud, email, OT) requires multiple separate modules that increase total cost significantly; High false positive rates require internal analyst time for tuning despite the MDR service. 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 Darktrace or Northwave?
Choose Darktrace if: mid-market and enterprise organizations wanting AI-powered threat detection with autonomous response across diverse attack surfaces. Choose Northwave if: benelux, DACH and Nordic buyers that want European MDR with a Utrecht SOC. Darktrace is not ideal for sMBs or budget-conscious buyers. Premium pricing, no trial, and no published pricing transparency.. 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.