Field Effect vs Performanta
Field Effect is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Performanta is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Field Effect targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Performanta serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Field Effect includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity), compared to 2 for Performanta (Endpoint, Identity).
Buyer brief
Field Effect is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Performanta is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Field Effect targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Performanta serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Field Effect includes 4 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity), compared to 2 for Performanta (Endpoint, Identity).
Field Effect is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Performanta is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | SMBs and MSPs wanting affordable MDR with published per-user pricing | Buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response |
| Price | MDR Core: $3-$20/user/mo | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 5/6 actions · Configurable | 1/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Warranty | None listed | None listed |
- Best fit
- SMBs and MSPs wanting affordable MDR with published per-user pricing
- Price
- MDR Core: $3-$20/user/mo
- Response authority
- 5/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Dashboards
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Field EffectPLATFORM | PerformantaTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | SMB, Mid-market | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Field Effect Agent (proprietary, required)Carbon Black (enrichment)Palo Alto Cortex XDR (enrichment)Cisco Meraki (enrichment)Zscaler (enrichment)Thinkst Canary (enrichment) | Microsoft Defender |
| SIEM integrations | Syslog ingestion supported | Microsoft Sentinel |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: Optional add-onOTOT/IoT: Not covered | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantine | Custom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | MDR Core: $3-$20/user/month (volume discounts apply). MDR Complete: custom pricing. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | + Optional | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | Not offered | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Per-user, per-month | Custom quote. Performanta does not publish MDR, Safe XDR or managed SOC package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | MDR Core excludes network monitoring, DNS firewall, and dark web monitoring. Exact MDR Core price depends on volume and discounting within the published range. Requires proprietary Field Effect agent, cannot use existing EDR | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The explicit MDR offer is tied to Defender for Endpoint, so Microsoft licensing and customer tenant readiness can drive total cost.. Public pages do not define default MDR response authority, so buyers need the managed-technology boundary in writing.. Cloud and SaaS coverage appear tied to Microsoft security controls and Safe XDR scope, so non-Microsoft telemetry should be confirmed early.. Incident response is listed as a consulting service, so buyers should confirm what is included in MDR versus a separate incident-response engagement. |
| Data portability | Partial | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual | Custom, Managed SOC, Safe XDR, MDR for Defender for Endpoint |
| Channels | EmailPortalPhoneTeams | PortalEmailPhone |
| Data access | Dashboards | Dashboards |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North America | EuropeAfrica |
| Onboarding | Hours to days for most customers | Not published. Performanta describes scoping, discovery, prioritisation, validation and mobilisation stages for Safe XDR, but no standard implementation duration was found. |
| Industry focus | HealthcareFinancial ServicesGovernmentDefense ContractorsMSP/MSSP Channel | Financial ServicesEducationHealthcareGovernmentRetailProfessional ServicesAgricultureTelecommunicationsManufacturingTransportationTourism |
| MTTD | 11 minutes overall MTTD, first detection in 2 minutes (MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Managed Services Round 2, 2024) | Not published |
| MTTR | Not published | Not published |
| Community view | PeerSpot 9.2/10 (Jan 2026). SoftwareReviews 9.5/10 composite (423 verified reviews, +98 Net Emotional Footprint, Data Quadrant Leader four consecutive years 2022-2025). G2 Highest ROI in MDR, Winter 2026. Praised for easy setup, noise reduction, and MSP value. Main criticisms: limited third-party integrations and no raw log visibility. | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on Performanta's Microsoft security focus, UK and South Africa SOC operations, Safe XDR platform, threat-hunting process and incident-response consulting depth. Buyers should validate pricing, response authority, non-Microsoft telemetry support and exact incident-response inclusion directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001PIPEDA | – |
| Certifications | SOC 2 Type IIISO 27001Microsoft Virus Initiative (MVI) | – |
| Founded | 2016 | 2010 |
| Data retention | 90 days included, extended options available as upgrade | Not published. Performanta says it monitors customer environments and SIEM platforms, but no standard public MDR log-retention period or data-residency term was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Field Effect and Performanta?
Field Effect is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Performanta is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Field Effect covers 4 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 2 for Performanta.
How do Field Effect and Performanta differ in response capabilities?
Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (account disable, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Performanta supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Field Effect pricing compare to Performanta?
Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $3-$20/user/month (volume discounts apply). MDR Complete: custom pricing.. Performanta pricing: Not published. Watch for with Field Effect: MDR Core excludes network monitoring, DNS firewall, and dark web monitoring; Exact MDR Core price depends on volume and discounting within the published range. Watch for with Performanta: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The explicit MDR offer is tied to Defender for Endpoint, so Microsoft licensing and customer tenant readiness can drive total cost..
Should I choose Field Effect or Performanta?
Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable MDR with published per-user pricing. Choose Performanta if: buyers already committed to Microsoft Defender and Sentinel that want a services firm to manage detection and response. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments (requires proprietary agent). Performanta is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before sales.
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.