ESET vs SentinelOne
ESET and SentinelOne are both Platform vendors that bring their own security platform. ESET targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations, while SentinelOne serves Mid-market and Enterprise.
Buyer brief
ESET and SentinelOne are both Platform vendors that bring their own security platform. ESET targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations, while SentinelOne serves Mid-market and Enterprise.
Both providers target similar markets. Compare their specific response actions, communication channels, and pricing structure to find the better fit for your environment.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | SMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums | Organizations already running SentinelOne Singularity wanting platform-native MDR without adding another vendor |
| Price | Custom quote | MDR add-on est $15-30+/endpoint/yr; platform extra |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 5/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Warranty | None listed | Available |
- Best fit
- SMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Organizations already running SentinelOne Singularity wanting platform-native MDR without adding another vendor
- Price
- MDR add-on est $15-30+/endpoint/yr; platform extra
- Response authority
- 5/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- Available
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ESETPLATFORM | SentinelOnePLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | ESET | SentinelOne |
| SIEM integrations | Microsoft SentinelElastic Splunk | Singularity AI SIEMIBM QRadarSwimlane Splunk |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: Optional add-onNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published, custom-quoted based on environment and device count with volume discounts | SentinelOne platform pricing is separate from the MDR add-on. Third-party comparison data reports Vigilance MDR around $15-30+/endpoint/year, while SentinelOne public platform tiers and enterprise bundles remain separate or custom. |
| Minimum seats | 25 | None |
| Breach warranty | – | ✓ |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | Yes |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | + Optional |
| Network | ~ Limited | + Optional |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Per-device pricing, custom-quoted. Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite as the base. MSP partners can get daily billing or monthly invoicing. | Platform license + MDR bolt-on. Current platform tiers: Complete ($179.99/endpoint/year), Commercial ($229.99/endpoint/year), Enterprise (custom). MDR pricing not publicly disclosed. Enterprise tier includes MDR. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite subscription as the base, which is a separate cost from MDR itself. MDR Ultimate pricing is significantly higher than standard MDR, but the exact gap is not published. Custom-quoted pricing with no published benchmarks means you have no leverage for comparison shopping. If you're not already an ESET customer, factor in the cost and time to migrate your entire endpoint stack | Platform license ($179.99-$229.99/endpoint/year) is required before MDR, significant prerequisite cost. MDR pricing is a bolt-on fee not shown on the public pricing page. IR not included in Essentials tier, only in Elite or as separate purchase. Data retention: 14 days (Complete), 30 days (Commercial), 90 days requires Enterprise tier. Platform-native lock-in, cannot use MDR with non-SentinelOne EDR |
| Data portability | Limited | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhone | PortalEmail |
| Data access | Dashboards | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Fast deployment via ESET PROTECT platform if you're already an ESET customer. Net-new deployments require platform setup first. | 1-2 weeks typical |
| Industry focus | SMB (all industries)EducationHealthcareFinancial ServicesGovernmentRetail | Financial ServicesHealthcareGovernmentEducationManufacturing |
| MTTD | 20 minutes (vendor-published) | Not publicly disclosed for MDR service. |
| MTTR | Approximately 5 minutes (vendor-published time to resolve) | 30-minute mean time to respond for Vigilance MDR (vendor-published public metric). MITRE Managed Services reported 47 minutes from detection to escalation in the evaluated scenario. Current Wayfinder public materials do not expose contractual response SLA terms. |
| Community view | KuppingerCole named ESET Product and Market Leader for MDR (December 2024). Praised for the low 25-device entry point and fast vendor-published detection times. Criticized for console UI complexity and full platform lock-in. Limited MDR-specific community discussion compared to larger competitors. | PeerSpot: Vigilance 8.6/10 but MDR market share declined 7.0% to 3.7% YoY (Feb 2026). G2: Vigilance Respond listing exists, 4.7/5 company rating. Gartner: Customers' Choice 2025 for XDR (97% recommend). MITRE Managed Services: 100% detection, best signal-to-noise ratio. Platform technology highly praised but MDR service gets mixed feedback, with support quality and false positive tuning as top complaints in 2026. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022FedRAMP ModerateFedRAMP HighIRAP (Australia)BSI C5:2020 (Germany) |
| Certifications | ISO 27001 | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2022 (Schellman-certified)FedRAMP Moderate (Singularity Platform)FedRAMP High (Purple AI, CNAPP, Hyperautomation, May 2025)IRAP (Australia government security framework)BSI C5:2020 (Germany cloud computing compliance)MITRE ATT&CK: 100% detection, zero delays, 5 consecutive years (platform eval)MITRE Managed Services: 100% detection of 15 attack steps, best signal-to-noise ratio |
| Founded | 1992 | 2013 |
| Data retention | Not published | Singularity Complete: 14 days. Singularity Commercial: 30 days. Enterprise: 90 days. Extended retention available as add-on up to 3 years. |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between ESET and SentinelOne?
ESET is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). SentinelOne is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack).
How do ESET and SentinelOne differ in response capabilities?
ESET supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. SentinelOne supports 5 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is included with ESET and not included with SentinelOne.
How does ESET pricing compare to SentinelOne?
ESET pricing: Not published, custom-quoted based on environment and device count with volume discounts (25-seat minimum). SentinelOne pricing: SentinelOne platform pricing is separate from the MDR add-on. Third-party comparison data reports Vigilance MDR around $15-30+/endpoint/year, while SentinelOne public platform tiers and enterprise bundles remain separate or custom.. Watch for with ESET: Requires ESET PROTECT Enterprise or Elite subscription as the base, which is a separate cost from MDR itself; MDR Ultimate pricing is significantly higher than standard MDR, but the exact gap is not published. Watch for with SentinelOne: Platform license ($179.99-$229.99/endpoint/year) is required before MDR, significant prerequisite cost; MDR pricing is a bolt-on fee not shown on the public pricing page.
Should I choose ESET or SentinelOne?
Choose ESET if: sMBs with 25-500 devices that want managed detection without meeting 200+ endpoint minimums. Choose SentinelOne if: organizations already running SentinelOne Singularity wanting platform-native MDR without adding another vendor. ESET is not ideal for organizations with non-ESET EDR that want to keep their existing platform and layer MDR on top. SentinelOne is not ideal for organizations running CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, or any non-SentinelOne EDR, platform-native lock-in.
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.