Red Canary vs Sophos: MDR Comparison 2026
Red Canary (Pure-play MDR) and Sophos (Services firm) take different approaches to managed detection and response. Red Canary works with your existing tools, while Sophos works with your existing tools. Red Canary targets SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise organizations; Sophos focuses on SMB, Mid-market, and Enterprise.
Key Differences at a Glance
Winner by Category
Red Canary vs Sophos: Which Should You Choose?
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
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, Red Canary does not)
Bottom line: Red Canary (Pure-play MDR) and Sophos (Services firm) serve different buyer profiles. Your decision depends on whether you prioritize Red Canary's vendor-agnostic mdr with 9 edr platform integrations, detection-as-code methodology, and the stro... or Sophos's 350+ vendor integrations, inclusive full-scale incident response with no caps, $1m breach warrant....
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between Red Canary and Sophos?
Red Canary is a Pure-play MDR that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). Sophos is a Services firm that is technology-agnostic (works with your existing tools). SLA commitments differ: Red Canary offers Not disclosed, Sophos offers ≤15 minutes.
How do Red Canary and Sophos differ in response capabilities?
Red Canary supports 6 autonomous actions (endpoint isolation, process termination, network containment, account disable, file quarantine, custom playbooks) 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 Red Canary and included with Sophos.
How does Red Canary pricing compare to Sophos?
Red Canary pricing: Not publicly disclosed. User-reported: ~$100/endpoint/year (2023 PeerSpot data point, may have changed). Available through AWS Marketplace.. Sophos pricing: Custom quote required; tiered pricing bands (10-24, 25-49, 50-99, etc.) (10-seat minimum). 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. 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 Red Canary or Sophos?
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). Choose Sophos if: sMBs and mid-market organizations seeking an all-in-one MDR with inclusive IR. Red Canary is not ideal for global organizations needing follow-the-sun SOC coverage — only Denver SOC confirmed. Sophos is not ideal for large enterprises needing deep, custom detection engineering.