Help AG vs Palo Alto Networks
Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Help AG targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Palo Alto Networks serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Help AG includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for Palo Alto Networks (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Buyer brief
Help AG is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. Help AG targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; Palo Alto Networks serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Help AG includes 0 attack surfaces in base pricing (), compared to 5 for Palo Alto Networks (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network).
Palo Alto Networks is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. Help AG is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs | Enterprise organizations already invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem (NGFW, Prisma, WildFire) wanting native MDR |
| Price | Custom quote | Cortex XDR Pro platform: ~$81/endpoint/yr; MDR extra |
| Response authority | 1/6 actions · Configurable | 6/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Works with existing stack | Requires own platform |
| Data access | Reports only | Full query access |
| Warranty | None listed | Available |
- Best fit
- Middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 1/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
- Best fit
- Enterprise organizations already invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem (NGFW, Prisma, WildFire) wanting native MDR
- Price
- Cortex XDR Pro platform: ~$81/endpoint/yr; MDR extra
- Response authority
- 6/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Requires own platform
- Data access
- Full query access
- Warranty
- Available
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Help AGTECH-AGNOSTIC | Palo Alto NetworksPLATFORM |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Mixed | Positive |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Works with your tools | Requires their platform |
| EDR integrations | None listed | Cortex XDR (native, required for full endpoint D&R)Third-party EDR telemetry (MSIAM 2.0, Feb 2026) |
| SIEM integrations | None listed | Cortex XSIAM (native) |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Limited | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | Custom playbooks | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks |
| IR included | ✓ Included | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | Not published | Cortex XDR Pro: ~$81/endpoint/year reported (platform only, pricing sources vary). Unit 42 MDR service is additional custom pricing. Total cost depends on endpoints, tier, coverage scope, and contract terms. |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | – | ✓ |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | No | Yes |
| Endpoints | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Cloud workloads | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Identity | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| SaaS apps | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| Network | ~ Limited | ✓ Included |
| OT/ICS | ~ Limited | + Optional |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pricing model | Custom quote. Help AG does not publish MDR package pricing. | Subscription-based, custom pricing. Cortex XDR/XSIAM platform license required as prerequisite, with Unit 42 MDR service as additional subscription. |
| Hidden cost warnings | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture.. Response Automation-as-a-Service is named separately, so containment actions, permissions and cost should be written into the quote.. Help AG lists a broad cybersecurity portfolio around MDR, so buyers should separate included MDR scope from SecOps, CTEM, DFIR, advisory and cloud-security projects.. Public pages cite MTTD and MTTR improvement without figures, so buyers should ask for contractual metrics rather than relying on marketing claims. | Cortex XDR/XSIAM platform license is a significant prerequisite cost on top of MDR service fee. Cortex Data Lake storage costs are separate and scale with data volume. Renewal price increases reported by community (up to 225% per some Gartner reviews). Best experience requires native Cortex XDR agent, third-party EDR support available via MSIAM 2.0 but with reduced fidelity. Enterprise pricing only, not accessible for SMBs |
| Data portability | Partial | Limited |
| Contract terms | Custom, Managed Detection and Response, Response Automation-as-a-Service, Digital Forensics and Incident Response | Annual, Multi-year |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | |
| Data access | Reports only | Full query access |
| Dedicated analyst | – | ✓ |
| SOC regions | Middle East | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific |
| Onboarding | Not published. Help AG says Unicorn supports rapid deployment of threat detection content and playbooks, but no standard MDR onboarding duration was found. | 4-8 weeks typical for enterprise |
| Industry focus | GovernmentCritical InfrastructureEnterprise | Government/Public SectorFinancial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyCritical Infrastructure |
| MTTD | Not published | Not formally published. Customers report up to 90% reduction. 2x faster than average MDR participant (Frost & Sullivan 2024). Green Bay Packers case study: 5-minute response time. |
| MTTR | Not published | Not formally published. Green Bay Packers case study: median resolution time 42 minutes with Cortex XSIAM. Customers report up to 90% reduction in MTTR. |
| Community view | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on Help AG's Middle East focus, e& enterprise ownership, sovereign UAE and KSA SOCs, 800+ certified experts, response automation, threat hunting and DFIR integration. Buyers should validate pricing, exact response authority, SLA figures and data-residency terms directly. | PeerSpot 8.4/10 (Cortex XDR platform, not MDR-specific). Frost & Sullivan Frost Radar Leader Global MDR 2024 and 2025. Strong detection capabilities and threat intelligence praised. Pricing is the most consistent complaint. No G2 MDR listing. No Reddit discussion specific to Unit 42 MDR found. |
| Compliance | ISO 27001ISO 22301ISO 20000-1ISO 27035-2NCASAMADESC | SOC 2+ (aligned to HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, UK NCSC)ISO 27001FedRAMP ModerateDoD IL5StateRAMP |
| Certifications | ISO-certified sovereign SOCsISO 27001:2022ISO 22301:2019ISO 20000-1:2018ISO 27035-2:2023SOC CMM Level 3CREST-certified DFIR | SOC 2+ (with HIPAA Security Rule alignment)ISO 27001FedRAMP Moderate (Cortex XDR, Cortex Data Lake, Prisma Access, Prisma Cloud, WildFire)DoD IL5StateRAMPGovRAMP |
| Founded | 2005 | 2005 |
| Data retention | Help AG says MDR services are fully delivered within the region and aligned with data-residency and regulatory requirements. No standard public MDR log-retention period was found. | Cortex Data Lake: ~$11,000 per 1TB. Retention configurable by customer. |
| API available | – | ✓ |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Help AG and Palo Alto Networks?
Help AG is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). Help AG covers 0 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 5 for Palo Alto Networks.
How do Help AG and Palo Alto Networks differ in response capabilities?
Help AG supports 1 autonomous actions (custom playbooks) and approval is configurable. Palo Alto Networks supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. Incident response is included with Help AG and not included with Palo Alto Networks.
How does Help AG pricing compare to Palo Alto Networks?
Help AG pricing: Not published. Palo Alto Networks pricing: Cortex XDR Pro: ~$81/endpoint/year reported (platform only, pricing sources vary). Unit 42 MDR service is additional custom pricing. Total cost depends on endpoints, tier, coverage scope, and contract terms.. Watch for with Help AG: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The service is positioned for sovereign UAE and KSA delivery, so buyers outside the region should confirm availability and data-residency architecture.. Watch for with Palo Alto Networks: Cortex XDR/XSIAM platform license is a significant prerequisite cost on top of MDR service fee; Cortex Data Lake storage costs are separate and scale with data volume.
Should I choose Help AG or Palo Alto Networks?
Choose Help AG if: middle East buyers that want MDR delivered from UAE and KSA sovereign SOCs. Choose Palo Alto Networks if: enterprise organizations already invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem (NGFW, Prisma, WildFire) wanting native MDR. Help AG is not ideal for buyers that need public MDR pricing before sales. Palo Alto Networks is not ideal for sMBs or budget-constrained organizations (significant platform prerequisites plus MDR service fee).
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.