CrowdStrike Alternatives: 8 EDR Platforms Compared (2026)

The main CrowdStrike alternatives in 2026 are SentinelOne Singularity, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, Sophos Intercept X with Sophos MDR, Trend Vision One, Bitdefender GravityZone, Elastic Security and SenseOn. The right choice depends mostly on what you already own. Microsoft 365 E5 customers already hold Defender for Endpoint Plan 2. Palo Alto firewall estates fit Cortex XDR. Teams without a 24-hour SOC should look first at a managed service such as Sophos MDR. Teams that want open, self-hosted detection rules should look at Elastic.

This guide compares the eight on published pricing, independent test results and switching effort. Product facts link to each vendor's own documentation. Test figures come from AV-Comparatives and MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations, not from vendor marketing. If you are weighing a single swap, our SenseOn vs CrowdStrike comparison goes deeper on that pair.

CrowdStrike alternatives at a glance

How to read the two test columns:

• AV-Comparatives. Figures are from the Business Security Test March-June 2024, published 15 July 2024. We use that round because it tested Falcon and five of these alternatives side by side, and it is the round SenseOn's own published results cite. AV-Comparatives has since published the March-June 2025 and H1 2026 rounds, and every product's figures moved between rounds. Read the latest round before you decide. The product tested is named because it is not always the vendor's full EDR tier. "False alarms" means clean websites and files wrongly blocked, not the number of alerts your analysts will see.
• MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations. The column shows only whether the vendor took part in the Enterprise 2024 and Enterprise 2025 rounds. The 2024 round emulated a DPRK scenario; the 2025 round emulated Scattered Spider. MITRE publishes per-step detection results, so read the steps that match your threats rather than a vendor's headline claim.

Prices were checked on each vendor's own pricing page on 23 September 2026 and are US list prices. UK prices and enterprise discounts differ.

Why teams look for a CrowdStrike alternative

Four reasons come up in buyer conversations. Each has a factual basis you can check.

Cost at scale. Falcon's published bundles are priced per device per year. Falcon Enterprise, at US$184.99, is the first bundle that lists endpoint detection and response (CrowdStrike pricing). Add-ons are sold separately, and managed detection and response (Falcon Complete) is quoted. At several thousand endpoints the per-device price, plus add-ons, becomes a large line in the budget, which prompts a market check at renewal.

Module sprawl. Falcon's breadth arrives as separate products and add-ons. That suits a team standardising on Falcon. A team with a mixed estate, where identity, network and cloud evidence already sit in other tools, may prefer a platform that connects what it owns rather than adding modules.

The July 2024 content update outage. On 19 July 2024 at 04:09 UTC, CrowdStrike released a content update to Windows sensors (version 7.11 and later) that caused an out-of-bounds memory read and crashed Windows hosts. Mac and Linux sensors were not affected, and the content was reverted within about an hour (CrowdStrike root cause analysis, 6 August 2024). CISA confirmed the outage was not malicious cyber activity and cited Microsoft's estimate that it affected 8.5 million Windows devices, less than one percent of all Windows machines (CISA alert). CrowdStrike's post-incident review committed to staged canary deployment of this content and to customer control over when and where it is deployed. The lesson applies to every EDR vendor: ask how kernel-level content updates are staged, and whether you can set the timing yourself.

Coverage beyond the endpoint. EDR sees the endpoint. An independent study that ran advanced persistent threat attack scenarios against state-of-the-art EDRs found they failed to prevent and log the bulk of the attacks, and described ways to tamper with EDR telemetry (Karantzas and Patsakis, Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 2021). The finding is not specific to one vendor. It is why many teams add network and identity evidence, whichever EDR they choose. Our explainer on EDR vs XDR covers that choice.

The alternatives, one by one

1. SentinelOne Singularity

SentinelOne's Singularity Endpoint uses behavioural AI for detection and Storyline to link related activity into one investigation. It offers one-click rollback and remediation for ransomware on Windows, and covers Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and ChromeOS, including air-gapped environments. Published prices are US$179.99 per endpoint per year for Singularity Complete and US$229.99 for Singularity Commercial, for 5 to 100 workstations; Enterprise is quoted. It was not in the 2024 AV-Comparatives business round.

Choose it if you want automated containment and rollback with a small team, and published per-endpoint prices.

2. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Defender for Endpoint covers Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. It feeds endpoint signals into the Defender portal, where they are joined with identity, email and cloud alerts into one incident. Licensing comes as Plan 1, Plan 2 or Defender for Business, and Microsoft 365 E5 and E5 Security include Plan 2. Microsoft's own guidance notes that protection gets stronger as more Defender workloads are deployed. In the 2024 AV-Comparatives round, Defender Antivirus scored 98.2% real-world and 99.4% malware protection with zero false alarms.

Choose it if you already pay for E5, because the licence cost of the switch may be close to zero. Check server licensing separately.

3. Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR

Cortex XDR joins endpoint, network, cloud, identity and email data to detect and prioritise attacks. Palo Alto positions it as the foundation for Cortex XSIAM, its broader SOC platform. Palo Alto states that Cortex XDR reached 100% detection with no delays or configuration changes in MITRE's Enterprise 2024 round. Pricing is not published.

Choose it if you run Palo Alto firewalls or Prisma Cloud and want those signals in the same console.

4. Sophos Intercept X and Sophos MDR

Sophos Endpoint includes CryptoGuard, which blocks malicious encryption and reverts encrypted files, and more than 60 exploit mitigations on by default. Sophos MDR adds 24/7 detection and response. Sophos says it includes more than 500 integrations and serves organisations "running Microsoft, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and other vendor environments". So you can buy the service without replacing the agent first. Intercept X Advanced scored 98.0% real-world and 97.1% malware protection with two false alarms in the 2024 round. Pricing is quote-based.

Choose it if you lack a 24-hour SOC and want a managed service that can start on the tools you already run. Our MDR vs EDR guide sets out when a service beats a product.

5. Trend Vision One

Trend Micro now brands the platform TrendAI Vision One. Its security operations offering combines agentic SIEM, agentic SOAR and XDR across endpoints, networks, identity, email, cloud and data. Sovereign and private cloud deployment options are listed. Pricing is not published. Trend took part in both the 2024 and 2025 MITRE Enterprise rounds.

Choose it if you want to replace a SIEM and an EDR at the same time with one vendor.

6. Bitdefender GravityZone

GravityZone is Bitdefender's XDR platform. It offers a cloud console, an on-premises console, and an EU-hosted option for data residency. It includes EDR, XDR, MDR, risk scoring, and patch and vulnerability management. Business Security Premium scored 99.8% real-world and 99.2% malware protection with one false alarm in the 2024 round, the highest real-world rate among the products in this guide. Prices are not published on the platform page; there is a 30-day trial.

Choose it if data location or an on-premises console is a hard requirement.

7. Elastic Security

Elastic Security combines SIEM, XDR, endpoint protection (Elastic Defend) and cloud security. It runs on Elastic Cloud or on your own infrastructure. Its detection rules are public in the detection-rules repository, so you can read and adapt the logic. Pricing is usage-based on serverless, resource-based on hosted, and by nodes and RAM when self-managed. Elastic scored 99.6% real-world and 99.5% malware protection with zero false alarms in the 2024 round.

Choose it if you have engineers who want to own detection logic and data retention.

8. Where SenseOn fits

This is our product, so we state only what our documentation and published tests show.

SenseOn does not require you to remove Falcon. Its CrowdStrike connector centralises and correlates Falcon alerts and supports Falcon device isolation started from a SenseOn case. The Universal Sensor is one agent that collects endpoint, process, file, identity and network evidence. Its network inspection runs on Windows, macOS and supported Linux, with process and user attribution. Packet payloads are not transmitted, and on Linux without eBPF only process telemetry is collected. Identity response connectors for Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace and Ping Identity let an analyst revoke sessions or disable an account from the case.

Pricing is one annual pool of Flex Intelligence Credits within a Core, Advanced or Enterprise package, with no per-GB ingestion charge (pricing). In the 2024 AV-Comparatives round, SenseOn Platform with EPP scored 95.9% real-world and 98.7% malware protection with zero false alarms (results). That real-world rate is below Falcon Pro's 98.8% in the same round; Falcon Pro had 21 false alarms. SenseOn is not positioned as a full cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP).

One customer measure: John Jordan, Cyber Security Analyst at ED&F Man, said "We managed to cut down from 40 cases a day down to about 40 a month". That is a change in cases handled at one firm, not a universal rate.

Choose it if you want to keep Falcon and add network and identity evidence first, then decide what to retire.

Switching checklist

Use this before you sign, whichever alternative you pick.

1. List what Falcon does for you today. Record the bundle and add-ons, operating systems and server roles covered, response actions you use (isolation, scripts), and every integration with your SIEM, SOAR or ticketing.
2. Map the contract. Note the renewal date, notice period and term. Plan the overlap so you do not pay for two full estates longer than needed.
3. Decide: replace or run alongside. Sophos says its MDR serves organisations running CrowdStrike, and SenseOn has a CrowdStrike connector. Running alongside lets you compare cases before you retire anything.
4. Pilot on your hardest machines. Include each operating system, servers, virtual desktops and your oldest builds. Measure CPU, memory and boot time as well as detections.
5. Avoid two prevention engines fighting. During overlap, run one product in detect-only or passive mode, following each vendor's guidance.
6. Plan the uninstall. If uninstall protection is enabled on the current agent, work out how you will retrieve per-host tokens or change the policy before cut-over day.
7. Rebuild detections and exclusions. Custom rules, exclusions and automation do not move between vendors. List them and rebuild each one.
8. Keep the evidence you need. Export detection and incident history required for audit or regulators before the old console is switched off.
9. Ask about update staging. Ask how the new vendor stages content and agent updates, and whether you can set update rings.
10. Compare against a baseline. Before the pilot, record cases per day, false positives per day and analyst hours. Compare the same numbers at the end.

For a broader shortlist with more vendors, see 10 EDR solutions compared. If you are new to the category, start with what EDR is.

Sources

• AV-Comparatives, Business Security Test 2024 (March-June), published 15 July 2024, accessed 23 September 2026
• AV-Comparatives, Business Security Test 2025 (March-June), published 15 July 2025, accessed 23 September 2026
• AV-Comparatives, Business Security Test H1 2026 (March-June), published 15 July 2026, accessed 23 September 2026
• MITRE, ATT&CK Evaluations: Enterprise results, Enterprise 2024 and 2025 participant lists, accessed 23 September 2026
• George Karantzas, Constantinos Patsakis, "An Empirical Assessment of Endpoint Detection and Response Systems against Advanced Persistent Threats Attack Vectors", Journal of Cybersecurity and Privacy, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/jcp1030021 (open access)
• CISA, Widespread IT Outage Due to CrowdStrike Update, 19 July 2024 with updates to 26 July 2024, accessed 23 September 2026
• CrowdStrike, Channel File 291 Incident Root Cause Analysis, 6 August 2024, accessed 23 September 2026
• CrowdStrike, Falcon Content Update Preliminary Post Incident Report, 24 July 2024, accessed 23 September 2026
• CrowdStrike, Falcon pricing, US dollars, annual billing, accessed 23 September 2026
• SentinelOne, Singularity pricing, US dollars, 5 to 100 workstations, accessed 23 September 2026
• SentinelOne, Singularity Endpoint, accessed 23 September 2026
• Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, updated 28 July 2026, accessed 23 September 2026
• Palo Alto Networks, Cortex XDR, accessed 23 September 2026
• Sophos, Sophos Endpoint, accessed 23 September 2026
• Sophos, Sophos MDR, accessed 23 September 2026
• TrendAI (Trend Micro), Vision One Security Operations, accessed 23 September 2026
• Bitdefender, GravityZone platform, accessed 23 September 2026
• Elastic, Elastic Security documentation, accessed 23 September 2026
• Elastic, Elastic pricing, accessed 23 September 2026
• Elastic, detection-rules repository, accessed 23 September 2026
• SenseOn, Data connectors, accessed 23 September 2026
• SenseOn, How the Universal Sensor works, accessed 23 September 2026

How SenseOn writes, checks and corrects its content: editorial standards.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to CrowdStrike?

It depends on what you already own. Microsoft 365 E5 customers already hold Defender for Endpoint Plan 2. Palo Alto estates fit Cortex XDR. Teams without a 24-hour SOC should consider a managed service such as Sophos MDR. Teams that need an EU-hosted or on-premises console should look at Bitdefender GravityZone. Teams that want to keep Falcon and add network and identity evidence can run SenseOn alongside it.

Is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as good as CrowdStrike?

In the AV-Comparatives Business Security Test March-June 2024, Microsoft Defender Antivirus scored 98.2% real-world and 99.4% malware protection with zero false alarms. CrowdStrike Falcon Pro scored 98.8% and 99.1% with 21 false alarms. Those were the tested products, not each vendor's full EDR tier, and later rounds changed the figures, so read the latest round and pilot both on your own estate.

Is CrowdStrike safe to use after the July 2024 outage?

The outage came from a faulty content update, not a cyber attack, according to CISA and CrowdStrike's root cause analysis. CrowdStrike committed to staged canary deployment of that content and to customer control over when it is deployed. Whichever vendor you choose, ask how it stages kernel-level updates and whether you can set the timing.

Can I run a CrowdStrike alternative alongside Falcon?

Yes, for some products. Sophos says its MDR serves organisations running CrowdStrike environments, and SenseOn's CrowdStrike connector correlates Falcon alerts and can start Falcon device isolation from a SenseOn case. Running two prevention engines on the same host needs care: keep one in detect-only or passive mode during the overlap.

How do I switch from CrowdStrike?

List what Falcon does for you, map the contract dates, pilot on your hardest machines, plan the uninstall, rebuild custom detections and exclusions, export the history you must keep, and compare the pilot against a baseline of cases, false positives and analyst hours. The switching checklist above sets out each step.