Expel vs Red Canary
Buyer brief
Updated 2026-03-08
This is the closest head-to-head on the site. Both are vendor-agnostic Forrester Wave Leaders (Q1 2025) with full data query access and configurable auto-remediation. Red Canary has broader EDR support (8 platforms), Slack-native SOC communication and included threat hunting. Expel has more integration breadth overall (160+), a REST API and lower entry pricing ($11,640/year).
The real conversation is about Zscaler. After acquiring Red Canary for $675M in August 2025, Zscaler disclosed elevated customer churn in Feb 2026 earnings, with mindshare declining from 4.2% to 2.9%. Forrester flagged that vendor-agnostic positioning may erode under Zscaler ownership. Expel remains independent.
Neither includes incident response or a breach warranty. If long-term independence from a platform vendor matters to your procurement team, that tips toward Expel. If Slack-native SOC access and the broadest EDR support matter more today, Red Canary still delivers on the product.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR | Linux-heavy environments needing purpose-built Linux EDR for containers and Kubernetes |
| Price | TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr | Core rates, period unstated: $120/endpoint + $100/user + $250/cloud resource |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Full query access |
| 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
- Linux-heavy environments needing purpose-built Linux EDR for containers and Kubernetes
- Price
- Core rates, period unstated: $120/endpoint + $100/user + $250/cloud resource
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC | Red CanaryTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Very Positive | Positive |
| ›› Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | ElasticCybereason CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, Carbon Black, Palo Alto Cortex | Trend MicroJamfRed Canary Linux EDR CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, SentinelOne, Carbon Black, Palo Alto Cortex |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleExabeamSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar Microsoft Sentinel | Microsoft Sentinel |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| ›› Cost | ||
| Price range | Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas. | Core Plan: $120/endpoint + $100/user + $250/cloud resource. Billing period not stated in profile data. Complete and Enterprise plans priced higher. Available through AWS Marketplace. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| ›› More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Network | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | + Optional |
| 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. | Resource-based pricing: per-endpoint + per-user + per-cloud-resource. Three tiers: Core (SMB), Complete (mid-market), Enterprise (custom with dedicated support). |
| 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 | Resource-based pricing (endpoint + user + cloud) can scale unexpectedly as environments grow. Elevated customer churn post-Zscaler acquisition disclosed in Feb 2026 earnings, market mindshare declined 4.2% to 2.9% year-over-year. Single SOC location in Denver with no follow-the-sun model documented. Enterprise tier required for dedicated support and custom features. Vendor-agnostic positioning may erode over time under Zscaler ownership per Forrester |
| Data portability | Full | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | SlackTeamsEmailPortal | SlackTeamsEmailPortalPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | North America | North America |
| Onboarding | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. | Days to weeks depending on environment complexity and number of integrations |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy | TechnologyFinancial ServicesHealthcareGovernmentEducation |
| MTTD | Not separately published | Sub-minute median time to acknowledge (vendor-published, measured from alert reaching analyst) |
| MTTR | 14 minutes for critical/high incidents with auto-remediation. 22 minutes average alert-to-fix for critical alerts. | Seconds for automated containment, minutes for analyst-driven response |
| 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. | Forrester Wave MDR Leader Q1 2025. G2 4.7/5 (127 reviews, #1 customer satisfaction). Gartner Peer Insights 4.6/5 (131+ reviews). PeerSpot 9.0/10. Product quality remains strong post-Zscaler acquisition, but Zscaler disclosed elevated customer churn in Feb 2026 earnings with market mindshare declining from 4.2% to 2.9% year-over-year. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001 |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) | SOC 2 Type II (annual independent assessment)ISO 27001:2013 (annual independent assessment)Working toward FedRAMP certification |
| Founded | 2016 | 2014 |
| Data retention | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy | Security Data Lake with SQL query interface during service. Specific retention periods available on request. |
| API available | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Expel and Red Canary?
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Red Canary is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools).
How do Expel and Red Canary 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. Red Canary supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable.
How does Expel pricing compare to Red Canary?
Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. Red Canary pricing: Core Plan: $120/endpoint + $100/user + $250/cloud resource. Billing period not stated in profile data. Complete and Enterprise plans priced higher. Available through AWS Marketplace.. 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 Red Canary: Resource-based pricing (endpoint + user + cloud) can scale unexpectedly as environments grow; Elevated customer churn post-Zscaler acquisition disclosed in Feb 2026 earnings, market mindshare declined 4.2% to 2.9% year-over-year.
Should I choose Expel or Red Canary?
Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Choose Red Canary if: organizations with existing EDR investments (CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne, Carbon Black, Cortex XDR, Trend Micro, Jamf) wanting MDR layered on top. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools). Red Canary is not ideal for global organizations needing follow-the-sun SOC coverage, only Denver SOC confirmed.
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.