Palo Alto Networks vs SISA ProACT
Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. SISA ProACT is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Palo Alto Networks targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; SISA ProACT serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Palo Alto Networks includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for SISA ProACT ().
Buyer brief
Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that requires its own security platform. SISA ProACT is a Services firm that works with your existing tools. Palo Alto Networks targets Mid-market and Enterprise organizations; SISA ProACT serves Mid-market and Enterprise. Palo Alto Networks includes 5 attack surfaces in base pricing (Endpoint, Cloud, SaaS, Identity, Network), compared to 0 for SISA ProACT ().
Palo Alto Networks is the choice if you want a single-vendor stack with deep integration. SISA ProACT is better if you have existing tools and want flexibility.
At a glance
| FIELD |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Enterprise organizations already invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem (NGFW, Prisma, WildFire) wanting native MDR | Regulated organizations that need MDR plus PCI, payment forensics and incident-response depth from the same provider |
| Price | Cortex XDR Pro platform: ~$81/endpoint/yr; MDR extra | Custom quote |
| Response authority | 6/6 actions · Configurable | 2/6 actions · Configurable |
| Stack | Requires own platform | Works with existing stack |
| Data access | Full query access | Reports only |
| Warranty | Available | 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
- Best fit
- Regulated organizations that need MDR plus PCI, payment forensics and incident-response depth from the same provider
- Price
- Custom quote
- Response authority
- 2/6 actions · Configurable
- Stack
- Works with existing stack
- Data access
- Reports only
- Warranty
- None listed
Detailed comparison
| FIELD | Palo Alto NetworksPLATFORM | SISA ProACTTECH-AGNOSTIC |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | ||
| Target size | Mid-market, Enterprise | Mid-market, Enterprise |
| Sentiment | Positive | Mixed |
| Your stack | ||
| Approach | Requires their platform | Works with your tools |
| EDR integrations | Cortex XDR (native, required for full endpoint D&R)Third-party EDR telemetry (MSIAM 2.0, Feb 2026) | Customer EDR |
| SIEM integrations | Cortex XSIAM (native) | Customer SIEM |
| Coverage | EPEndpoint: CoveredCloudCloud: CoveredIDIdentity: CoveredSaaSSaaS: CoveredNetNetwork: CoveredOTOT/IoT: Optional add-on | EPEndpoint: LimitedCloudCloud: LimitedIDIdentity: LimitedSaaSSaaS: LimitedNetNetwork: LimitedOTOT/IoT: Not covered |
| Response | ||
| Response type | Active Remediation | Active Remediation |
| Approval policy | Configurable | Configurable |
| Response actions | IsolateKill processContainDisable accountsQuarantineCustom playbooks | Disable accountsCustom playbooks |
| IR included | Separate | Separate |
| Cost | ||
| Price range | 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. | Not published |
| Minimum seats | None | None |
| Breach warranty | ✓ | – |
| More details | ||
| Requires own agent | Yes | No |
| Endpoints | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Cloud workloads | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Identity | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| SaaS apps | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| Network | ✓ Included | ~ Limited |
| OT/ICS | + Optional | Not offered |
| Threat hunting | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Response SLA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| 24/7 coverage | ✓ | Business hours |
| Pricing model | Subscription-based, custom pricing. Cortex XDR/XSIAM platform license required as prerequisite, with Unit 42 MDR service as additional subscription. | Custom quote. SISA does not publish ProACT MDR package pricing. |
| Hidden cost warnings | 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 | Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.. The service is heavily payment-security oriented, so non-payment buyers should confirm whether use cases fit their environment.. ProACT lists many stack components, including SIEM, EDR, CASB, UEBA, SOAR, threat hunting and dark web monitoring, so buyers should confirm which are included in the base quote.. Response automation is a major part of the pitch, so pre-approved SOAR actions and rollback rules should be documented before go-live.. DFIR and payment forensic services are adjacent SISA services, so buyers should confirm what investigation and response work is included in MDR. |
| Data portability | Limited | Partial |
| Contract terms | Annual, Multi-year | Custom, ProACT Agentic SOC, ProACT MXDR, DFIR Retainer Services |
| Channels | PortalEmailPhone | Portal |
| Data access | Full query access | Reports only |
| Dedicated analyst | ✓ | – |
| SOC regions | North AmericaEuropeAsia-Pacific | |
| Onboarding | 4-8 weeks typical for enterprise | Not published. SISA says ProACT can use a customized and scalable stack with cloud and on-premise deployment options, but no standard onboarding duration was found. |
| Industry focus | Government/Public SectorFinancial ServicesHealthcareTechnologyCritical Infrastructure | PaymentsFintechFinancial Services |
| MTTD | 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. | Not published |
| MTTR | Not formally published. Green Bay Packers case study: median resolution time 42 minutes with Cortex XSIAM. Customers report up to 90% reduction in MTTR. | Not published |
| Community view | 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. | No meaningful MDR-specific buyer-review signal was found in major English-language review communities during this pass. The public buyer case rests on SISA's payment-security focus, ProACT Agentic SOC, forensic intelligence, 1,000+ customer claim, 40+ country footprint and PCI forensic-investigation credentials. Buyers should validate pricing, SOC delivery model, response authority and non-payment use cases directly. |
| Compliance | SOC 2+ (aligned to HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, UK NCSC)ISO 27001FedRAMP ModerateDoD IL5StateRAMP | PCI DSSPCI PINPCI 3DSPCI P2PEPCI S3PCI S-SLCPCI MPoCSWIFTGDPR |
| Certifications | SOC 2+ (with HIPAA Security Rule alignment)ISO 27001FedRAMP Moderate (Cortex XDR, Cortex Data Lake, Prisma Access, Prisma Cloud, WildFire)DoD IL5StateRAMPGovRAMP | PCI Global Payment Forensic InvestigatorPCI Qualified Security AssessorPCI-recognized laboratory for MPoC security evaluationsPCI GEAR committee member |
| Founded | 2005 | 2006 |
| Data retention | Cortex Data Lake: ~$11,000 per 1TB. Retention configurable by customer. | SISA says ProACT supports PCI-compliant cloud deployments and on-premise options for data localization requirements, including custom Kubernetes and GCP environments. No standard public MDR retention period was found. |
| API available | ✓ | – |
| Website | Visit → | Visit → |
FAQ
What is the main difference between Palo Alto Networks and SISA ProACT?
Palo Alto Networks is a Platform vendor that is platform-native (requires their own security stack). SISA ProACT is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Palo Alto Networks covers 5 attack surfaces in base pricing vs. 0 for SISA ProACT.
How do Palo Alto Networks and SISA ProACT differ in response capabilities?
Palo Alto Networks supports 6 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks, endpoint isolation, file quarantine, network containment, process termination) and approval is configurable. SISA ProACT supports 2 autonomous actions (account disable, custom playbooks) and approval is configurable.
How does Palo Alto Networks pricing compare to SISA ProACT?
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.. SISA ProACT pricing: Not published. 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. Watch for with SISA ProACT: Public pages do not publish MDR pricing, contract minimums or service-credit language.; The service is heavily payment-security oriented, so non-payment buyers should confirm whether use cases fit their environment..
Should I choose Palo Alto Networks or SISA ProACT?
Choose Palo Alto Networks if: enterprise organizations already invested in the Palo Alto ecosystem (NGFW, Prisma, WildFire) wanting native MDR. Choose SISA ProACT if: banks, payment processors, fintechs and payment ecosystem buyers that want MDR informed by forensic-investigation experience. Palo Alto Networks is not ideal for sMBs or budget-constrained organizations (significant platform prerequisites plus MDR service fee). SISA ProACT 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.