Expel vs Thales (S21sec)
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
Buyer brief
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Thales (S21sec) serves Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 2 for Thales (S21sec) (Network, OT/ICS).
Expel (Pure-play MDR) and Thales (S21sec) (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 Thales (S21sec)'s thales/s21sec is strongest for complex, regulated and critical-sector environments that value glo....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR | Critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response |
| Price | TrustRadius: from $11,640/yr | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 2/6 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
- Critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 2/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC | Thales (S21sec)TECH-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 tools |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkMicrosoft SentinelPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleExabeamSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar | Customer SIEM platformsThales SOC tooling |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | ContainCustom 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 | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | ✓ Included |
| 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 for Thales Cyber Detection and Response, Managed Security Services, SOC and MDR. Public prices are 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 current S21sec domain routes to Thales-branded services, so buyers wanting legacy S21sec-specific delivery should confirm contracting entity, SOC location and delivery team.. Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, service credits, MTTD/MTTR or formal MDR SLAs.. Thales offers a broad cybersecurity services portfolio; buyers should separate base MDR scope from CTI, DRPS, DFIR, CERT, ICS monitoring and advisory services.. Named endpoint, identity and cloud containment actions are not public and should be confirmed tool by tool.. Data retention, raw log access, offboarding and detection-content export rights are not described publicly. |
| Data portability | Full | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom cyber detection and response engagement, Managed Security Services, SOC and MDR, Critical-infrastructure cybersecurity services |
| Channels | SlackTeamsEmailPortal | EmailPhonePortal |
| Data access | Full query access | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | EuropeMEAAPAC |
| Onboarding | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. | Not published. Thales describes customer-centric service roadmaps and selecting/deploying detection and response technologies, but no standard MDR onboarding timeline. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy | Critical InfrastructureGovernmentDefenseEnergyManufacturingAviationSpaceFinancial ServicesTelecommunicationsHealthcareTransportationAutomotiveUtilitiesMaritime |
| 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. | The current public evidence is strong for Thales-branded global SOC, MDR, CTI, DFIR and critical-infrastructure detection and response, but weak for S21sec as a standalone public MDR brand. Buyers should validate current delivery model, SOC location, response authority, pricing and whether the contract is with Thales/S21sec in the relevant country. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR | DORATIBER-EUPCI DSSEASA Part-ISEASAICAOUNECE |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) | 8 threat intelligence and AI-driven SOCs around the worldSOCs in France, Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain, and New Zealand and Australia |
| Founded | 2016 | – |
| Data retention | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy | Not published. Public pages do not describe default log retention, raw log access, storage tiers or export terms for Thales SOC and MDR. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Expel and Thales (S21sec)?
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Thales (S21sec) is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Expel covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Thales (S21sec).
How do Expel and Thales (S21sec) 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. Thales (S21sec) supports 2 autonomous actions (custom playbooks, network containment) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Expel and included with Thales (S21sec).
How does Expel pricing compare to Thales (S21sec)?
Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. Thales (S21sec) 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 Thales (S21sec): The current S21sec domain routes to Thales-branded services, so buyers wanting legacy S21sec-specific delivery should confirm contracting entity, SOC location and delivery team.; Public pages do not publish prices, minimum terms, service credits, MTTD/MTTR or formal MDR SLAs..
Should I choose Expel or Thales (S21sec)?
Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Choose Thales (S21sec) if: critical infrastructure and public-sector buyers that need Thales/S21sec regional cyber detection and response. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools). Thales (S21sec) is not ideal for buyers that need a standalone legacy S21sec-branded MDR package.
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.