Defendable vs WatchGuard
Defendable is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. WatchGuard is a MSP-channel that works with your existing tools. Defendable targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; WatchGuard serves SMB and Mid-market. Defendable includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 5 for WatchGuard (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Defendable is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. WatchGuard is a MSP-channel that works with your existing tools. Defendable targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; WatchGuard serves SMB and Mid-market. Defendable includes 1 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint), compared to 5 for WatchGuard (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Defendable (Services firm) and WatchGuard (MSP-channel) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Defendable's defendable mdr fits nordic buyers that want norwegian soc monitoring, microsoft sentinel-friendly... or WatchGuard's watchguard mdr is strongest for msps that already standardize on watchguard or want a managed soc....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Norwegian and Nordic buyers that want MDR operated from Oslo and Gjovik | MSPs already selling WatchGuard Firebox, AuthPoint or Endpoint Security who want to add managed SOC coverage |
| Price | Custom quote | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 3/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Norwegian and Nordic buyers that want MDR operated from Oslo and Gjovik
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- MSPs already selling WatchGuard Firebox, AuthPoint or Endpoint Security who want to add managed SOC coverage
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 3/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | DefendableTECH-AGNOSTIC | WatchGuardTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Microsoft Defender | WatchGuard Endpoint SecurityCrowdStrike Microsoft Defender |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft Sentinel | WatchGuard Cloud |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | IsolateContainCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Network | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Defendable does not publish MDR package pricing. | Per licensed user or endpoint through WatchGuard service-provider licensing. Core MDR, Core MDR for Microsoft, Total MDR and Open MDR are separate package options. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. Response authority should be defined in writing because named autonomous endpoint and identity actions are not published.. Log storage can sit in the customer's Microsoft Log Analytics tenant or Defendable's platform, so retention and storage costs should be modeled early.. Incident-response retainer SLA is separate language and should not be assumed to be the MDR SLA.. Threat hunting is public, but hunt cadence and staffing are not published. | WatchGuard publishes package requirements but not public MDR pricing, so buyers need an MSP or WatchGuard quote before cost comparison.. The package names hide meaningful scope differences: Core MDR and Core MDR for Microsoft are narrower than Total MDR and Open MDR.. Open MDR can use existing tools, but buyers still need valid third-party licenses and permissions for each monitored source.. License expiration disables Managed Services portal access and stops MDR monitoring after the grace period.. Core MDR for Microsoft data is deleted after expiration if not renewed within the grace period. |
| Data portability | Partial | Limited |
| Contract terms | Custom, Incident Response Retainer | Subscription, Term license, 1 year, 3 years |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | Europe | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Defendable publishes an MDR onboarding flow covering identification, planning, platform establishment and execution. It does not publish a standard onboarding duration. | Vendor states onboarding can be completed in hours. April 2026 release notes added direct onboarding from WatchGuard Cloud. |
| Industry focus | Not published | Managed Service ProvidersHealthcareFinancial ServicesRetailTechnology |
| MTTD | Not published | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | 6 minutes mean time to first response on critical alerts (vendor-published, not a full MTTR metric). |
| Community view | Defendable has limited MDR-specific public review volume in major English-language review communities. The public buyer case rests on Norwegian SOC delivery, a direct MDR page, Microsoft Sentinel support, proactive threat hunting, a customer portal and incident-response depth. Buyers should validate pricing, response authority, retention cost and contractual SLA terms directly. | WatchGuard has a strong MSP installed base, but WatchGuard MDR is newer and public MDR-specific review volume is still thin. Reddit discussion in MSP communities is mixed: some MSPs like having EDR, MDR, firewall and MFA in one platform, while others say the endpoint and MDR stack needs more time to mature. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001Norwegian National Security Authority Quality Scheme for Incident Response | ISO 27001GDPRFIPS 140-2Common Criteria |
| Certifications | ISO 27001:2023Norwegian National Security Authority Quality Scheme for Incident ResponseEco-lighthouse certified | WatchGuard Cloud ISO/IEC 27001:2022Firebox FIPS 140-2Firebox Common Criteria EAL4+WatchGuard Endpoint Security CCN High ENSWatchGuard Endpoint Security Common Criteria EAL2+ |
| Founded | 2020 | 1996 |
| Data retention | Defendable says customers can store additional log data in their own Microsoft Log Analytics tenant or in Defendable's log management platform. It does not publish standard MDR retention periods. | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. WatchGuard Core MDR for Microsoft data is deleted after license expiration if not renewed within the grace period. |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Defendable and WatchGuard?
Defendable is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). WatchGuard is a MSP-channel that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Defendable covers 1 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for WatchGuard.
How do Defendable and WatchGuard differ in response capabilities?
Defendable supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. WatchGuard supports 3 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Defendable and included with WatchGuard.
How does Defendable pricing compare to WatchGuard?
Defendable pricing: Not published. WatchGuard pricing: Not published. Watch for with Defendable: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; Response authority should be defined in writing because named autonomous endpoint and identity actions are not published.. Watch for with WatchGuard: WatchGuard publishes package requirements but not public MDR pricing, so buyers need an MSP or WatchGuard quote before cost comparison.; The package names hide meaningful scope differences: Core MDR and Core MDR for Microsoft are narrower than Total MDR and Open MDR..
Should I choose Defendable or WatchGuard?
Choose Defendable if: norwegian and Nordic buyers that want MDR operated from Oslo and Gjovik. Choose WatchGuard if: mSPs already selling WatchGuard Firebox, AuthPoint or Endpoint Security who want to add managed SOC coverage. Defendable is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or contractual SLA terms before sales. WatchGuard is not ideal for direct enterprise buyers who want a mature, analyst-validated MDR service with deep public review volume.
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.