Field Effect vs Fortra: MDR Comparison 2026
Field Effect (MDR provider) and Fortra (Services firm) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Field Effect requires its own security platform, while Fortra works with your existing tools. Field Effect targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Fortra focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Field Effect vs Fortra: Which Should You Choose?
Choose Field Effect if:
- •SMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing
- •Canadian organizations needing domestic data hosting and PIPEDA compliance
- •Healthcare, government, and defense contractors needing HIPAA/CMMC/NIST compliance support
Choose Fortra if:
- •Mid-market organizations needing strong compliance support
- •Healthcare organizations requiring HIPAA compliance MDR
- •Cloud-first companies on AWS, Azure, or hybrid environments
Bottom line: Field Effect is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Fortra is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Field Effect and Fortra?
Field Effect is a MDR provider that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Fortra is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Field Effect offers Not disclosed, Fortra offers ≤15 minutes.
How do Field Effect and Fortra differ in response capabilities?
Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine) and approval is configurable. Fortra supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Field Effect and included with Fortra.
How does Field Effect pricing compare to Fortra?
Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $99/user/month (ideal for <=25 users). MDR Complete: custom pricing (larger organizations, compliance requirements).. Fortra pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Watch for with Field Effect: MDR Core excludes network monitoring, DNS firewall, and dark web monitoring — significant feature gap vs Complete; $99/user adds up quickly — 50 users = $4,950/month. Watch for with Fortra: Managed services being acquired by LevelBlue (announced Jan 2026, deal pending close — no timeline disclosed); Post-transition contract terms, SLAs, and pricing under LevelBlue are unconfirmed.
Should I choose Field Effect or Fortra?
Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing. Choose Fortra if: mid-market organizations needing strong compliance support. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments — requires proprietary Field Effect agent. Fortra is not ideal for organizations wanting long-term vendor stability — managed services transferring to LevelBlue (deal pending, no timeline disclosed).