Expel vs Help AG
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Help AG serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for Help AG ().
Buyer brief
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Help AG serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for Help AG ().
Expel (Pure-play MDR) and Help AG (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Expel's api-first, vendor-agnostic mdr with 160+ integrations and full transparency into every soc action... or Help AG's help ag fits middle east buyers that want sovereign mdr with local soc delivery, automation and d....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR | Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs |
| Price | TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Reports only |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR
- Price
- TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC | Help AGTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Very Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneCarbon BlackPalo Alto CortexElasticCybereason | None listed |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkMicrosoft SentinelPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleExabeamSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar | None listed |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Limited |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | ✓ Included |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | ~ Limited |
| Threat hunting | Extra cost | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom pricing by coverage type: cloud infrastructure (by resources), on-prem (by endpoints), SaaS (by user accounts), phishing (by email count). Three tiers: Starter, Select, Premium. | Custom quote. Help AG does not publish MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Threat hunting is NOT included in base MDR, it is a separate add-on. Incident response is NOT included and must be obtained separately. Premium tier required for direct Slack/Teams SOC communication. Pricing scales significantly based on number of integrations and coverage areas | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture.. Response Automation-as-a-Service is named separately, so containment actions, permissions and cost should be written into the quote.. Help AG lists a broad cybersecurity portfolio around MDR, so buyers should separate included MDR scope from SecOps, CTEM, DFIR, advisory and cloud-security projects.. Public pages cite MTTD and MTTR improvement without figures, so buyers should ask for contractual metrics rather than relying on marketing claims. |
| Data portability | Full | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, Managed Detection and Response, Response Automation-as-a-Service, Digital Forensics and Incident Response |
| Channels | SlackTeamsEmailPortal | |
| Data access | Full query access | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | Middle East |
| Onboarding | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. | Not published. Help AG says Unicorn supports rapid deployment of threat detection content and playbooks, but no standard MDR onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy | GovernmentCritical InfrastructureEnterprise |
| MTTD | Not separately published | Not published |
| MTTR | 14 minutes for critical/high incidents with auto-remediation. 22 minutes average alert-to-fix for critical alerts. | Not published |
| Community view | Forrester Wave MDR Leader Q1 2025 (5/5 in 15 of 21 criteria). Gartner Peer Insights 4.6/5 (142 reviews). G2 4.8/5. PeerSpot 9.0/10. Widely praised for transparency, integration breadth, and speed. Primary criticism: threat hunting and incident response are add-ons, not included. | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on Help AG's Middle East focus, e& enterprise ownership, sovereign UAE and KSA SOCs, 800+ certified experts, response automation, threat hunting and DFIR integration. Buyers should validate pricing, exact response authority, SLA figures and data-residency terms directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000-1ISO 27035-2NCASAMADESC |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) | ISO-certified sovereign SOCsISO 27001:2022ISO 22301:2019ISO 20000-1:2018ISO 27035-2:2023SOC CMM Level 3CREST-certified DFIR |
| Founded | 2016 | 2005 |
| Data retention | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy | Help AG says MDR services are fully delivered within the region and aligned with data-residency and regulatory requirements. No standard public MDR log-retention period was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Expel and Help AG?
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Help AG is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Expel covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 0 for Help AG.
How do Expel and Help AG differ in response capabilities?
Expel supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Help AG supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Expel and included with Help AG.
How does Expel pricing compare to Help AG?
Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. Help AG pricing: Not published. Watch for with Expel: Threat hunting is NOT included in base MDR, it is a separate add-on; Incident response is NOT included and must be obtained separately. Watch for with Help AG: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture..
Should I choose Expel or Help AG?
Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Choose Help AG if: middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools). Help AG is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before 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.