Endpoint IndexWhat is EDR software, and which should a small business buy?
EDR software, short for endpoint detection and response, is an agent on each computer that records what runs, flags behaviour that looks like an attack and lets a person isolate the machine and see what happened. We track 8 EDR products sold to small businesses; on our score, Microsoft Defender for Business leads at 75 out of 100. EDR is one of three kinds of endpoint security software, and the all-products ranking sets it beside antivirus and managed response.
Why does EDR need someone to answer its alerts?
EDR records process, file and network activity on every computer and flags behaviour that looks like an attack under way. The flag is the product. Antivirus blocks known bad files and stops there; EDR assumes something will get past and gives a person the evidence to find it, contain it and see how far it went. That makes the staffing question come first.
A small business buying EDR is choosing between two operating models. In the first, its own IT person or its MSP triages the console and decides what to isolate. In the second, the vendor's analysts watch around the clock and act on the business's behalf. ThreatDown Advanced and ThreatDown Elite show the price of that difference cleanly: the same ThreatDown agent at $79.00 per endpoint per year, where 24/7 managed response is not offered, or at $99.00 per endpoint per year with it included. The side-by-side EDR comparison sets price, test results and effort next to each other.
Which EDR is best for your kind of office?
No IT staff, buying direct. ThreatDown Elite. Its online store sells from 5 to 20 endpoints (larger fleets buy through ThreatDown or a partner) and includes managed detection and response in the list price, so alerts go to ThreatDown's analysts rather than to an inbox nobody reads.
A Microsoft 365 business with someone technical in-house. Microsoft Defender for Business, at $36.00 per user per year. It sits in the same admin world your staff already use and has fresh AV-Test and AV-Comparatives results. Three limits: the licence covers up to 300 users (Microsoft recommends Defender for Endpoint above that), Microsoft sells no managed response for this product, and Windows or Linux servers need the separate Defender for Business servers add-on at $3 per server.
An MSP runs your IT. Huntress Managed EDR, bought through the MSP. Huntress is built for that channel, with multi-tenant management, native RMM and PSA integrations and no Huntress seat minimum when an MSP buys it. Bought direct or from a reseller it carries a 50-endpoint minimum, which changes the maths for a ten-person office.
Regulated health data. Only 2 of the 8 products here come from a vendor that publishes an offer to sign a HIPAA business associate agreement: SentinelOne Singularity Control and SentinelOne Singularity Complete. On both, 24/7 managed response is not offered, so the practice or its MSP still has to answer the alerts. ThreatDown and Huntress state that they do not sign BAAs. Microsoft, Cynet and WatchGuard publish no BAA position for these products; Microsoft's BAA covers only the services on its HIPAA in-scope list, and that list does not name Defender for Business, so get written confirmation before you rely on it.
Mac-heavy fleet. All 8 products here list macOS support, so the question is what works there. ThreatDown's ransomware rollback covers Windows only, and neither Huntress nor Defender for Business offers rollback on any platform. Ask each vendor which response actions run on a Mac before you rely on them.
Fewer than five computers. Defender for Business sells from a single seat. ThreatDown's store starts at 5, and SentinelOne shows a price for SentinelOne Singularity Control only from 5 workstations, sold through partners. Every vendor's smallest order is in seat minimums by vendor.
Choosing between the big three. If your shortlist is CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and Microsoft, CrowdStrike vs SentinelOne vs Microsoft Defender sets their EDR plans, lab results and contract terms side by side.
Which EDR buying mistakes should you avoid?
Buying detection with no one on the other end. An unread EDR console is a detailed record of a breach nobody stopped. If the honest answer to "who looks at this at 7pm on a Friday?" is nobody, buy a managed tier or have your MSP contract to watch it.
Pricing Huntress at the seat count you have. The leaderboard shows Huntress with a purchase minimum rather than a per-seat price at 10 seats for a reason: bought direct, the smallest commitment is 50 endpoints. Through an MSP there is no floor, and the MSP sets your price.
Missing the renewal clause. SentinelOne's master subscription agreement renews automatically and prices the renewal at 120% of the previous fee unless you give 30 days' written notice. That applies to SentinelOne Singularity Complete at $179.99 per endpoint per year and to Singularity Control. Put the notice date in the diary on the day you sign.
What can the Fit Score tell you about EDR?
The Fit Score rewards what a small buyer can check: a published price, a self-serve checkout, independent lab results from the last 18 months and the breadth of what is included. It does not measure detection quality directly, and in this group that matters.
Both SentinelOne tiers and both ThreatDown tiers score zero for efficacy. They did not fail a test. Their latest independent results come from the 2024 round of MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations, which is now outside the 18-month window, and none of them has a current AV-Test or AV-Comparatives business result. A zero here means "no recent evidence", not "weak protection". Huntress Managed EDR publishes no lab results at all, which is a choice a buyer should weigh, and 2 products lose every price point because they publish no price.
| Product | AV-Test protection | AV-Comparatives protection | MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation |
|---|---|---|---|
 Microsoft Defender for Business | 6.0/6 2026-08 | 98.8% 2026-H1 | 83.8% coverage 2024 Dated |
 ThreatDown Elite | No public result | No public result | 23.7% coverage 2024 Dated |
| ThreatDown Advanced | No public result | No public result | 23.7% coverage 2024 Dated |
 SentinelOne Singularity Control | No public result | No public result | 90% coverage 2024 Dated |
 Huntress Managed EDR | No public result | No public result | No public result |
| SentinelOne Singularity Complete | No public result | No public result | 90% coverage 2024 Dated |
 Cynet All-in-One | No public result | No public result | 100% coverage 2025 |
 WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360 | No public result | No public result | 26.7% coverage 62 of 90 not evaluated 2025 |
Use the rank to shortlist on buying friction and value. Use the lab table to judge protection, and treat a missing or dated result as an open question to put to the vendor.
What should you check before buying EDR?
- Run the trial on your real machines, including any Macs and servers, and note how many alerts a normal week produces.
- Get in writing who can isolate a computer out of hours and whether they need your permission first.
- Confirm operating system coverage for every response action you care about, not only for detection.
- Ask for the renewal price, the auto-renewal terms and the notice period before you sign.
- If you handle health data, have the signed BAA in hand before the agent touches a device.
