Field Effect vs Kroll: MDR Comparison 2026
Field Effect and Kroll are both categorized as MDR providers, but differ in execution. Field Effect requires its own security platform and targets SMB and Mid-market organizations. Kroll works with your existing tools and focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Field Effect vs Kroll: 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 Kroll if:
- •Organizations wanting IR expertise built into MDR -- 3,000+ annual cases feeding detection, not just monitoring
- •Enterprises needing full threat eradication including forensics and root cause analysis, not just containment
- •Regulated industries needing compliance reporting, IR pedigree, and included $1M breach warranty
- •Breach warranty matters to you (Kroll offers one, Field Effect does not)
Bottom line: Field Effect is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Kroll is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Field Effect and Kroll?
Field Effect is a MDR provider that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Kroll is a MDR provider that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools).
How do Field Effect and Kroll differ in response capabilities?
Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine) and approval is configurable. Kroll supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is not included with Field Effect and included with Kroll.
How does Field Effect pricing compare to Kroll?
Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $99/user/month (ideal for <=25 users). MDR Complete: custom pricing (larger organizations, compliance requirements).. Kroll pricing: Not publicly disclosed. Unverified field estimates suggest $30K-$200K+/year depending on scope.. 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 Kroll: CrowdStrike Falcon Complete migration (Dec 2025) increases platform dependency -- customers wanting vendor-agnostic EDR lose that flexibility; Named TAM support (vs. Shared TAM) likely incurs additional cost; cost delta not disclosed.
Should I choose Field Effect or Kroll?
Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing. Choose Kroll if: organizations wanting IR expertise built into MDR -- 3,000+ annual cases feeding detection, not just monitoring. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments — requires proprietary Field Effect agent. Kroll is not ideal for organizations that need vendor-agnostic EDR choice (CrowdStrike migration reduces flexibility).