Field Effect vs Ontinue: MDR Comparison 2026
Field Effect (MDR provider) and Ontinue (Microsoft-ecosystem) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Field Effect requires its own security platform, while Ontinue requires its own security platform. Field Effect targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Ontinue focuses on Mid-market and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Field Effect vs Ontinue: 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 Ontinue if:
- •Organizations heavily invested in Microsoft E5/Defender ecosystem
- •Teams wanting Microsoft Teams as primary SOC communication channel
- •Mid-market and enterprise needing fast onboarding on Microsoft stack
Bottom line: Field Effect (MDR provider) and Ontinue (Microsoft-ecosystem) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Field Effect's mitre-validated detection (11-min mttd, detected every measured step) with vendor-claimed 99.9% n... or Ontinue's microsoft-native mxdr with 99.5% ai-automated incident resolution rate and unique teams-based col....
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Field Effect and Ontinue?
Field Effect is a MDR provider that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Ontinue is a Microsoft-ecosystem that is platform-native (requires their own security stack).
How do Field Effect and Ontinue differ in response capabilities?
Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine) and approval is configurable. Ontinue 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 Ontinue.
How does Field Effect pricing compare to Ontinue?
Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $99/user/month (ideal for <=25 users). MDR Complete: custom pricing (larger organizations, compliance requirements).. Ontinue 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 Ontinue: Requires Microsoft E5 or Defender licenses as prerequisite; Microsoft Sentinel consumption costs are separate.
Should I choose Field Effect or Ontinue?
Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing. Choose Ontinue if: organizations heavily invested in Microsoft E5/Defender ecosystem. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments — requires proprietary Field Effect agent. Ontinue is not ideal for organizations using non-Microsoft EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne).