Expel vs Sapphire
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Sapphire is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Sapphire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 4 for Sapphire (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network).
Buyer brief
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that works with your existing tools. Sapphire is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Expel targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Sapphire serves SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise. Expel includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 4 for Sapphire (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Network).
Expel (Pure-play MDR) and Sapphire (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 Sapphire's sapphire mdr is strongest for uk buyers that value local ownership, a crest-accredited uk soc and....
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR | UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC |
| 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 | 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
- UK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
›› Detailed comparison
| FIELD | ExpelTECH-AGNOSTIC | SapphireTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| ›› Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | SMB, 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 | EDR toolsMicrosoft technologies |
| SIEM integrations | SplunkMicrosoft SentinelPalo Alto Cortex XSIAMGoogle ChronicleSecuronixSumo LogicIBM QRadar Exabeam | SIEM tools Exabeam |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| ›› 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 | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| 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. | Custom quote. Sapphire 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 response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.. MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form.. The page publishes vendor-reported comparative metrics without independent methodology.. IR hours are included as standard, but buyers should confirm number of hours, coverage triggers and overage rates. |
| Data portability | Full | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom |
| Channels | SlackTeamsEmailPortal | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Full query access | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | – | – |
| SOC regions | North America | Europe |
| Onboarding | Hours to days via API integrations. 7-minute initial tool connection demonstrated. | Sapphire references onboarding and implementation that can be shorter than expected, but no standard public MDR onboarding timeline was found. |
| Industry focus | Financial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyEducationEnergy | Public SectorDefenceFinancial ServicesProfessional ServicesIndustrialsManufacturingOperational TechnologyHealthcare |
| 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. | Sapphire has limited MDR-specific community review volume. The public buyer case is strongest for UK ownership, UK-based SOC delivery, CREST SOC accreditation and IT/OT services depth. Buyers should validate response authority, price, metrics and the exact split between MDR, MXDR, OT SOC and incident-response work. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019GDPR | ISO 27001NISTHIPAADORACyber Essentials PlusCRESTGDPRPCI DSS |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type II (annual audit May 1 to April 30)ISO 27001:2013ISO 27701:2019 (processor) | CREST SOCCREST Penetration TestingCyber Essentials PlusISO 27001 |
| Founded | 2016 | 1996 |
| Data retention | Per-contract basis with automated secure disposal per retention policy | Not published as a standard MDR retention period. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
›› FAQ
What is the main difference between Expel and Sapphire?
Expel is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Sapphire is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Expel covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 4 for Sapphire.
How do Expel and Sapphire 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. Sapphire supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Expel and included with Sapphire.
How does Expel pricing compare to Sapphire?
Expel pricing: Starting at $11,640/year. Custom quotes based on environment size and coverage areas.. Sapphire 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 Sapphire: Public pages do not publish response SLAs or exact response-authority rules.; MDR, MXDR and OT SOC scope can differ materially, so buyers should define monitored surfaces in the order form..
Should I choose Expel or Sapphire?
Choose Expel if: mid-market and enterprise organizations with existing security tools wanting vendor-agnostic MDR. Choose Sapphire if: uK organisations that want MDR from a UK-owned provider with a UK-based CREST-accredited SOC. Expel is not ideal for organizations wanting platform-native MDR from a single vendor (Expel requires existing security tools). Sapphire is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing or contractual response SLAs before sales engagement.
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.