Fortra vs Red Canary: MDR Comparison 2026
Fortra (Services firm) and Red Canary (Pure-play MDR) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Fortra works with your existing tools, while Red Canary works with your existing tools. Fortra targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations; Red Canary focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Fortra vs Red Canary: Which Should You Choose?
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
Choose Red Canary if:
- •Organizations wanting detection-as-code with all detections mapped to MITRE ATT&CK for transparency
- •Linux-heavy environments needing purpose-built Linux EDR (eBPF/Audit) for containers and Kubernetes
- •Security teams wanting Slack-native SOC communication with configurable automated response playbooks
- •You want direct Slack integration with your SOC
Bottom line: Fortra (Services firm) and Red Canary (Pure-play MDR) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Fortra's established mdr with strong cloud/compliance positioning and formalized slas or Red Canary's vendor-agnostic mdr with 9 edr platform integrations, detection-as-code methodology, and the stro....
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Fortra and Red Canary?
Fortra is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Red Canary is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Fortra offers ≤15 minutes, Red Canary offers Not disclosed.
How do Fortra and Red Canary differ in response capabilities?
Fortra supports 5 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Red Canary supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Incident response is included with Fortra and not included with Red Canary.
How does Fortra pricing compare to Red Canary?
Fortra pricing: Custom-quoted pricing. Red Canary pricing: Not publicly disclosed. User-reported: ~$100/endpoint/year (2023 PeerSpot data point, may have changed). Available through AWS Marketplace.. 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. Watch for with Red Canary: Pricing not publicly disclosed — requires sales engagement for any quote; Resource-based pricing (per-endpoint + per-user + per-cloud) can scale unexpectedly.
Should I choose Fortra or Red Canary?
Choose Fortra if: mid-market organizations needing strong compliance support. Choose Red Canary if: mid-market organizations wanting vendor-agnostic MDR that works with their existing EDR (CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne, Carbon Black, Cortex XDR, Trend Micro, Jamf). Fortra is not ideal for organizations wanting long-term vendor stability — managed services transferring to LevelBlue (deal pending, no timeline disclosed). Red Canary is not ideal for global organizations needing follow-the-sun SOC coverage — only Denver SOC confirmed.