Expel vs Macquarie Government
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Macquarie Government is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Macquarie Government serves Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 3 for Macquarie Government (Endpoint, Cloud, Network).
Buyer brief
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Macquarie Government is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Macquarie Government serves Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 3 for Macquarie Government (Endpoint, Cloud, Network).
Expel (Pure-play MDR) and Macquarie Government (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 Macquarie Government's macquarie government is strongest for australian agencies that need sovereign socaas backed by lo....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR | Australian Commonwealth and state agencies that require sovereign onshore SOCaaS and MDR |
| Price | TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 3/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| 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
- Australian Commonwealth and state agencies that require sovereign onshore SOCaaS and MDR
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 3/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC | Macquarie GovernmentTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Very Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | CrowdStrikeMicrosoft DefenderSentinelOneCarbon BlackPalo Alto CortexElasticCybereason | Customer endpoint security toolsWorkstation logs |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkMicrosoft SentinelPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleExabeamSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar | Macquarie Government SIEMaaSSplunk EnterpriseCustomer SIEM platforms |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateContainCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| 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 | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| 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 government subscription and procurement model. SOCaaS, SIEMaaS and SASE pricing is not published. |
| 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 | The service is explicitly built for Australian Commonwealth and state government agencies, so private-sector and non-Australian buyers may not be eligible or may not fit the operating model.. Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, MTTD/MTTR, service credits or formal MDR SLAs.. SOCaaS is closely tied to Macquarie Government SIEMaaS, Splunk, sovereign hosting, SASE and gateway services; model migration work if replacing the service later.. Buyers should document which automated response actions are allowed by default and which require agency approval.. Log retention, ingestion, secure cloud, SASE and CTI options can materially change the total contract scope. |
| Data portability | Full | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | SOCaaS subscription, SIEMaaS subscription, SASE for Government, Custom government procurement |
| Channels | SlackTeamsEmailPortal | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | APAC |
| Onboarding | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. | Not published. Macquarie Government describes customized playbooks aligned with agency security processes and integration with existing security systems. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy | GovernmentDefensePublic SectorCritical Infrastructure |
| 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. | Macquarie Government has strong vendor-controlled evidence for Australian government sovereignty, 24x7 SOC operations, SIEMaaS, threat intelligence and SASE integration, but little independent MDR-specific buyer-review signal in public communities. Government buyers should use procurement references to validate analyst quality, response authority, onboarding effort and Splunk/log-volume cost exposure. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR | Essential 8ISMIRAPASDACSCDISP |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) | NV1-cleared specialistsIndustry Security Program memberAustralian Government Strategic certified data centresPROTECTED-level secure web gateway assessmentIRAP-aligned virtual services gateway language |
| Founded | 2016 | – |
| Data retention | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy | SIEMaaS pages describe sovereign local hosting and storage of up to seven years of security and event information. Public pages do not publish default retention for SOCaaS contracts or export terms. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Expel and Macquarie Government?
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Macquarie Government is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Expel covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 3 for Macquarie Government.
How do Expel and Macquarie Government 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. Macquarie Government supports 3 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, network containment) and approval is configurable.
How does Expel pricing compare to Macquarie Government?
Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. Macquarie Government 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 Macquarie Government: The service is explicitly built for Australian Commonwealth and state government agencies, so private-sector and non-Australian buyers may not be eligible or may not fit the operating model.; Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, MTTD/MTTR, service credits or formal MDR SLAs..
Should I choose Expel or Macquarie Government?
Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Choose Macquarie Government if: australian Commonwealth and state agencies that require sovereign onshore SOCaaS and MDR. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools). Macquarie Government is not ideal for private-sector or non-Australian buyers that do not need a government-specific sovereign provider.
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.