Choose Darktrace or Sophos
Choose Darktrace if
- Critical infrastructure and industrial environments needing OT/ICS security with protocol-agnostic detection
- Security teams comfortable with autonomous response technology and willing to invest tuning time for optimal detection
- You want direct Slack integration with your SOC
Choose Sophos if
- Existing Sophos endpoint or firewall customers adding managed services on their existing platform
- SMBs and mid-market with diverse security stacks needing broad integration support (350+ tools)
- Organizations wanting all-in MDR pricing with full IR and $1M breach warranty (MDR Complete)
- You need Endpoint and Cloud and SaaS and Identity coverage included in base pricing
- Breach warranty matters to you (Sophos offers one, Darktrace does not)
What’s actually different
Buyer brief
Updated 2026-04-09
Fit. Darktrace comes from network detection and response. Its Self-Learning AI builds behavioral baselines per device and user, with Antigena autonomous response containing threats through network-level actions in seconds. Sophos comes from endpoint protection, with 350+ third-party integrations and a mature MDR service backed by 26,000+ subscribers.
Response. Sophos includes more by default. MDR Complete bundles unlimited incident response, a 60-minute contractual SLA for high-severity cases and a $1M breach warranty. Darktrace MDR includes none of those. IR is not part of the service and there is no warranty or published SLA. Sophos detected 100% of adversary sub-steps in the 2025 MITRE ATT&CK evaluation. Darktrace has not participated in any MITRE evaluations.
Cost and scope. Darktrace's MDR launched in June 2024, so limited independent feedback exists on the managed service specifically. Sophos has been reviewed on G2 for 14 consecutive quarters (#1 MDR, 1,543 reviews). Darktrace reviewers consistently report high false positive rates requiring significant tuning, even with the Cyber AI Analyst filtering layer. Darktrace's strength is OT/ICS coverage and novel threat detection through behavioral analysis. Sophos offers limited OT monitoring but covers endpoint, cloud, SaaS, identity and network natively. Full Darktrace coverage across all modules (endpoint, cloud, email, OT) requires purchasing each separately, which increases cost significantly.
FAQ
What is the main difference between Darktrace and Sophos?
Darktrace 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: Darktrace offers Not disclosed, Sophos offers ≤1 hour. Darktrace covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Sophos.
How do Darktrace and Sophos differ in response capabilities?
Darktrace supports 3 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, network containment, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Sophos supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Darktrace and included with Sophos.
How does Darktrace pricing compare to Sophos?
Darktrace pricing: Not published. Reviewers report pricing in the upper market segment.. Sophos pricing: Custom quote required. Tiered pricing bands based on organization size. Starting price not publicly disclosed.. 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 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.