Field Effect vs Sophos: MDR Comparison 2026
Field Effect (MDR provider) and Sophos (Services firm) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Field Effect requires its own security platform, while Sophos works with your existing tools. Field Effect targets SMB and Mid-market organizations; Sophos focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Field Effect vs Sophos: 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 Sophos if:
- •SMBs and mid-market organizations seeking an all-in-one MDR with inclusive IR
- •Organizations with diverse, multi-vendor security stacks needing broad integration support
- •Companies wanting straightforward pricing with predictable costs
- •Breach warranty matters to you (Sophos offers one, Field Effect does not)
Bottom line: Field Effect is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Sophos is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Field Effect and Sophos?
Field Effect is a MDR provider that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Sophos is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Field Effect offers Not disclosed, Sophos offers ≤15 minutes.
How do Field Effect and Sophos differ in response capabilities?
Field Effect supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine) and approval is configurable. Sophos 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 Sophos.
How does Field Effect pricing compare to Sophos?
Field Effect pricing: MDR Core: $99/user/month (ideal for <=25 users). MDR Complete: custom pricing (larger organizations, compliance requirements).. Sophos pricing: Custom quote required; tiered pricing bands (10-24, 25-49, 50-99, etc.) (10-seat minimum). 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 Sophos: MDR Essentials does NOT include breach warranty or full incident response — those require MDR Complete; Linux server protection requires separate Sophos Workload Protection subscription.
Should I choose Field Effect or Sophos?
Choose Field Effect if: sMBs and MSPs wanting affordable, easy-to-deploy MDR with published per-user pricing. Choose Sophos if: sMBs and mid-market organizations seeking an all-in-one MDR with inclusive IR. Field Effect is not ideal for organizations with existing CrowdStrike/SentinelOne/Defender deployments — requires proprietary Field Effect agent. Sophos is not ideal for large enterprises needing deep, custom detection engineering.