Six managed-detection-and-response providers in our curated catalog. They look similar on the glossy slides — they're not similar in practice. Below is the honest version: when each one wins, when each one loses, and how to source whichever fits without re-explaining your environment five times.
| Enterprise · Top-tiereSentire | Enterprise MSSPLevelBlue | Microsoft StackOntinue | Google StackForesite | Mid-marketCyberMaxx | SMB · ChannelField Effect | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best-fit buyer | Mature CISO needing top-tier MDR + threat hunting | Enterprise needing turnkey MSSP across managed FW, SOC, MDR | Microsoft-first org wanting M365 E5 / Sentinel ROI | Google-stack org standardizing on Google SecOps | Mid-market wanting offensive-informed defense | SMB / outsourced CISO needing covered-everything MDR |
| Differentiator | 15-min MTTC, Elite Threat Hunters, deep TRU research | Scale, AT&T roots, Trustwave + Cybereason capabilities under one roof | Only MDR built on Microsoft, Teams-based collaboration model | Google Cloud Premier SecOps Partner; Catalyst Citadel agentic SOC; Glass Box Model (AI investigates, humans authorize) | Purple-team thinking applied to managed detection | Channel-first delivery, partner-friendly economics |
| Underlying stack | Atlas XDR (proprietary) | Multi-stack, includes Cybereason XDR | Microsoft Sentinel + Defender + own AI layer | Google SecOps (Chronicle) + Catalyst Citadel | Multi-vendor | Covalence (proprietary) |
| Typical floor | ~$50K+ annual | ~$75K+ annual | ~$40K+ annual (assumes existing E5) | ~$25K+ annual | ~$30K+ annual | ~$12K+ annual |
| Less ideal when… | Looking for a Microsoft-stack play — Ontinue wins there | Small/mid SMB — overkill | Stack is Google-first — Foresite wins there | Stack is Microsoft-first — Ontinue wins there | Need enterprise-scale GSI partnership | Need 24/7 white-glove with named TAM |
Brief us about eSentire if you want top-tier MDR, you have a mature SecOps program, and 15-minute mean-time-to-contain matters more than price.
Supplier page →Brief us about LevelBlue if you need a top-10 MSSP across multiple managed-security towers (SOC + MDR + managed FW + consulting), at enterprise scale.
Supplier page →Brief us about Ontinue if you're Microsoft-first (M365 E5, Defender, Sentinel) and want an MDR that maximizes that license investment instead of duplicating it.
Supplier page →Brief us about Foresite if you're Google-stack (Google Cloud, Google SecOps / Chronicle) and want an MDR with an agentic SOC built on that platform — the parallel to Ontinue, for Google.
Supplier page →Brief us about CyberMaxx if you're mid-market, you've outgrown alert-only MSSPs, and you want detection engineering informed by offensive research.
Supplier page →Brief us about Field Effect if you're SMB or you operate as an outsourced CISO/vCISO and need MDR that covers everything without enterprise pricing.
Supplier page →