# Best Sophos Alternatives for Small Business (October 2026) *Sophos protects well, but its quote-only pricing and separate server, phone and EDR licences push many small offices elsewhere.* > Sophos Endpoint is well tested but sold on partner quotes, without EDR, and with servers, Linux and phones on separate subscriptions. This guide matches each reason a small business leaves Sophos to the tracked product that fixes it, with list prices, lab results and contract terms. Endpoint Index research (Buyer's guide). Published 2026-10-10, updated 2026-10-10, data as of 2026-10-02. Source: https://endpointindex.com/research/sophos-alternatives-small-business/ ## Executive summary **The best Sophos alternative for a small business depends on what Sophos is not giving you: a published price, EDR in the same licence, or servers and phones without extra subscriptions.** For a self-serve price with strong lab results, Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security at $38.50 per endpoint per year is the closest swap. For EDR without a partner quote, Microsoft Defender for Business includes it at $36.00 per user per year. For someone else to answer the alerts, ThreatDown Elite includes 24/7 managed response at $99.00 per endpoint per year. Sophos itself remains a good choice for an office happy to buy through a partner: it scored 6 out of 6 for protection in AV-Test's August 2026 business round. ## Why do small businesses look for a Sophos alternative? Sophos Endpoint has four traits that send small buyers to other vendors. 1. **No published price.** Sophos sells through partners and quotes, plus its own AWS Marketplace listing, which the [Sophos pricing guide](/research/sophos-pricing/) sets out. A five-person office often wants to see a price and pay by card. 2. **No EDR in Sophos Endpoint.** EDR is not offered: Sophos's feature matrix keeps detection and investigation tools for Sophos EDR, the next product up. 3. **Servers, Linux and phones cost extra.** Linux and Windows Server need Sophos Workload Protection, and phones need Sophos Mobile. 4. **A performance flag.** AV-Comparatives did not approve Sophos in its March to June 2026 business test, despite 98.3% protection, because its performance impact went over the lab's limit. Older PCs are where that shows. ## Which Sophos alternative fits your situation? | Your situation | Start with | Why | |---|---|---| | You want a price you can see and pay online | Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security | Self-serve from 3 devices, Linux included, and its engine scored 99.8% in AV-Comparatives' current business test | | You want EDR without a partner quote, on Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Defender for Business | EDR included, licensed per user, with current AV-Test and AV-Comparatives results | | You want EDR, rollback and patching outside Microsoft | ThreatDown Advanced | One agent with all three, sold online from 5 devices | | Nobody will answer alerts | ThreatDown Elite | 24/7 managed response included in the list price | | An MSP runs your IT and wants one multi-tenant console | ESET PROTECT Core | MSP console, Linux and phones in the licence, online to 99 devices | | You need a signed HIPAA BAA | SentinelOne Singularity Control | SentinelOne says it may sign one; Sophos's pages do not say | ## How do the Sophos alternatives compare?

Product	EDR	24/7 managed response	Ransomware rollback	Linux	Mobile
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security	Not offered	Not offered	Included	Included	Add-on
ESET PROTECT Core	Not offered	Not offered	Included	Included	Included
Microsoft Defender for Business	Included	Not offered	Not offered	Add-on	Included
ThreatDown Elite	Included	Included	Included	Included	Add-on
ThreatDown Advanced	Included	Not offered	Included	Included	Add-on
Sophos Endpoint	Not offered	Not offered	Included	Add-on	Add-on

From each vendor's product and pricing pages. "Add-on" means available at extra cost. Follow a product link for sources and verification dates.

Prices at 10, 25 and 100 seats, where the vendor publishes them:

Product	Per unit per month	10 seats / yr	25 seats / yr	100 seats / yr
Microsoft Defender for Business	$3.00 /user/mo	$360.00	$900.00	$3,600.00
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security	$3.21 /endpoint/mo	$384.99	$854.99	$3,064.99
ESET PROTECT Core	$4.58 /endpoint/mo	$549.00	$1,167.50	Via sales (online up to 99)
ThreatDown Advanced	$6.58 /endpoint/mo	$790.00	Via sales (online up to 20)	Via sales (online up to 20)
ThreatDown Elite	$8.25 /endpoint/mo	$990.00	Via sales (online up to 20)	Via sales (online up to 20)

Annual totals from each vendor's store or calculator at list price. "Quote only" means the vendor publishes no online price at that seat count; "Min N seats" means the vendor's smallest purchase is larger.

Sophos is not in the price table because it publishes no price on its own site. Lab results for the same products:

Product	AV-Test protection	AV-Comparatives protection	MITRE ATT&CK Evaluation
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security	6.0/6 2025-12	99.8% 2026-H1	72.5% coverage 1 of 80 not evaluated 2024 Dated
ESET PROTECT Core	6.0/6 2025-12	98.8% 2026-H1	24.4% coverage 36 of 90 not evaluated 2025
Microsoft Defender for Business	6.0/6 2026-08	98.8% 2026-H1	83.8% coverage 2024 Dated
ThreatDown Advanced	No public result	No public result	23.7% coverage 2024 Dated
Sophos Endpoint	6.0/6 2026-08	98.3% 2026-H1	73.3% coverage 2025

Latest published round per lab, as recorded on each product page. Results marked "Dated" are past the freshness window and score zero in the SMB Fit Score. MITRE does not rank or score vendors.

The trade-off is plain in the last table. Sophos, Bitdefender, Microsoft and ESET all have current lab results; ThreatDown has none from the last 18 months, so choosing it for its included features means accepting less recent outside evidence. ## When is Sophos still the right choice? Sophos suits a small business that already works with a Sophos partner, wants strong protection scores and has PCs with enough headroom for the agent. It also suits a business planning to grow into managed response, because Sophos MDR is sold by the same vendor as a separate product. The [SentinelOne vs Sophos comparison](/compare/sentinelone-singularity-complete-vs-sophos-endpoint/) covers the most common head-to-head. ## What should you check before switching from Sophos? 1. Find your Sophos renewal date and terms; the licence agreement allows fixed-term or auto-renewing subscriptions, so it depends on your partner's paperwork. 2. Count servers, Linux machines and phones separately, because the alternatives license them differently. 3. Uninstall the Sophos agent cleanly before deploying the new one; two endpoint agents on one machine cause conflicts. 4. Trial the replacement on your slowest PC if performance was the reason for leaving. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best alternative to Sophos for a small business? Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security for a direct swap with a published price and strong lab results, or Microsoft Defender for Business if you also want EDR and use Microsoft 365. ### Sophos or Bitdefender for a small office? Bitdefender, if you want to buy online at a published price: it is self-serve, includes Linux and has the higher AV-Comparatives protection rate in the current round. Sophos, if you buy through a partner and value its full AV-Test score and its route to managed response. ### Does Sophos have a cheaper alternative with EDR? Yes. Microsoft Defender for Business includes EDR at $36.00 per user per year, and ThreatDown Advanced at $79.00 per endpoint per year. Sophos's own EDR is a separate product sold on quotes. ### Why did AV-Comparatives not approve Sophos? Because its performance impact score went over the lab's limit in the March to June 2026 business test, even though its protection rate was 98.3%. AV-Comparatives approves products only when both protection and performance pass. ## Methodology and caveats Each product's price, capabilities and lab results come from its product page on Endpoint Index, every value sourced and dated. Sophos's capability states follow its own tech-spec matrix, which withholds EDR features from Sophos Endpoint even though its product page describes detection and response. Prices are list prices per seat per year; partners may quote differently. The [SMB Fit Score](/methodology/) ranks fit for a small buyer, not protection strength. ## Sources 1. Sophos. [Endpoint tech specs](https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/endpoint-security/tech-specs) and [How to buy](https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/endpoint-security/how-to-buy). 2. AV-Comparatives. [Business Security Test 2026 (March to June)](https://av-comparatives.org/tests/business-security-test-2026-march-june/). 3. AV-Test. [Business Windows client tests](https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/business-windows-client/), August 2026 round. 4. Endpoint Index. Product pages for each alternative named, with per-value sources. Latest price check: 2026-10-02.