Top 7 Managed Detection and Response Providers for 2026

The modern threat landscape demands more than just software; it requires a strategic, human-led defense. For executives, the challenge isn't merely preventing breaches, it's ensuring business continuity, meeting stringent compliance mandates like CMMC and HIPAA, and justifying security spend with measurable risk reduction. This is where managed detection and response providers transition from a line item to a strategic imperative. They offer the 24/7 expert oversight, advanced threat hunting, and incident response capabilities that most internal teams simply cannot sustain.

Choosing the right security partner is a critical decision, with different models offering unique benefits. To better understand the various models of security partnerships, it's essential to consult a strategic guide comparing Staff Augmentation Vs Managed Services, which can clarify which operational framework best suits your organization's goals.

This roundup moves beyond generic feature lists to provide a C-suite perspective on the top 7 MDR options for 2026, evaluating them on business alignment, compliance expertise, and their ability to function as a true extension of your leadership team. We analyze how each provider addresses the core needs of organizations in regulated industries, from defense contractors to healthcare systems, helping you select a partner that protects your operations and enables secure growth. Each entry includes direct links and actionable insights to simplify your evaluation process and connect you with the right solution.

1. Heights Consulting Group

Best for Executive-Led, Compliance-Focused Cybersecurity Governance

Heights Consulting Group distinguishes itself in the crowded field of managed detection and response providers by uniquely blending executive-level strategic advisory with comprehensive, hands-on managed security services. Led by former Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), including the esteemed Dr. Daniel Glauber, the firm operates less like a vendor and more like a strategic extension of a client's executive team. This CISO-led approach ensures that security initiatives are not just technically sound but are intrinsically aligned with business objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory mandates.

For organizations in highly regulated industries such as defense, healthcare, and finance, this model is a significant differentiator. It moves the conversation beyond mere alert monitoring to encompass risk quantification, board-level governance, and the development of a resilient, audit-ready security posture.

Key Capabilities & Strategic Advantages

Heights provides an end-to-end security portfolio that integrates C-suite strategy with frontline defense. This cohesive structure is designed to accelerate implementation timelines by a stated 40% compared to fragmented, multi-vendor approaches.

• Executive-Grade vCISO & Governance: Heights offers more than just outsourced security management; it provides genuine executive leadership. Their vCISO services include developing security roadmaps, presenting risk analysis to the board, and ensuring that cybersecurity investments deliver measurable returns.
• 24/7 Managed Detection & Response (MDR): The core of their managed services is a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) staffed by experts who monitor, detect, and respond to threats in real time. This includes proactive threat hunting across endpoints (EDR), networks, and cloud environments.
• Audit-Ready Compliance Expertise: With a claimed 100% success rate in compliance engagements, Heights demonstrates deep, practical expertise across complex frameworks like CMMC, SOC 2, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. They focus on building sustainable, audit-proof programs rather than just checking boxes.
• Future-Focused Security: The firm explicitly addresses emerging technology risks that many providers overlook. Their services include AI model risk assessments, Zero Trust architecture implementation, and security strategies for IoT and blockchain, positioning clients to innovate securely.

Ideal Use Cases & Implementation

Heights Consulting Group is an ideal partner for organizations requiring a mature, business-centric approach to security.

Expert Insight: The true value of Heights lies in their ability to translate technical security controls into business-aligned risk management. When a former Fortune 500 CISO is guiding your CMMC compliance, you gain not just technical expertise but also the credibility and strategic foresight needed for executive buy-in.

A typical engagement begins with a comprehensive assessment to understand business goals, risk exposure, and compliance gaps. From there, Heights develops a phased roadmap, starting with foundational controls like EDR and vulnerability management, then layering on strategic initiatives like Zero Trust and advanced compliance governance. This structured approach is central to understanding the benefits of managed security services, as it connects tactical security operations directly to long-term business resilience.

Pricing and Access

Heights Consulting Group does not publish standardized pricing tiers. Instead, they operate on a consultative model, requiring an initial discussion and a complimentary assessment to scope the engagement and provide a custom proposal. While this makes upfront budgeting less straightforward, it ensures that the services are precisely tailored to an organization's specific needs, size, and risk profile.

Website:https://heightscg.com

2. AWS Marketplace – MDR listings

For organizations deeply embedded in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) ecosystem, the AWS Marketplace presents a powerful, streamlined procurement channel for securing top-tier managed detection and response providers. Rather than a single provider, it is a curated digital catalog where you can discover, purchase, and deploy MDR services from a diverse range of vendors like Check Point, Netenrich, and Smarttech247 directly through your existing AWS account. This model simplifies vendor management by consolidating billing and leveraging established enterprise procurement workflows.

This approach is ideal for executive teams aiming to accelerate security deployments while maintaining budget oversight. By using the AWS Marketplace, you can tap into pre-approved spending commitments, such as an Enterprise Discount Program (EDP), to fund your security initiatives. This turns a complex procurement cycle into a straightforward addition to your monthly AWS invoice.

Why It Stands Out: Procurement Efficiency and Vendor Choice

The primary advantage of the AWS Marketplace is its integration with your existing cloud operations. It eliminates the friction of onboarding a new vendor, navigating separate legal reviews, and managing disparate payment schedules. Instead, you get a unified experience from discovery to deployment.

• Centralized Billing: MDR service fees appear as a line item on your AWS bill, simplifying cost allocation and financial tracking.
• Private Offers: Engage directly with providers to negotiate custom pricing, tailored service-level agreements (SLAs), and specific contract terms that fit your enterprise needs.
• Diverse Solutions: The marketplace hosts a wide spectrum of managed detection and response providers, from global leaders to niche specialists, allowing you to compare solutions that align with your technology stack and compliance mandates like CMMC or HIPAA.

Strategic Insight: For organizations with existing AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP) commitments, procuring MDR services through the Marketplace can help meet spending targets while simultaneously strengthening your security posture without requiring new, separate budget approvals.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While the marketplace simplifies procurement, it places the onus of due diligence squarely on the buyer. The quality, scope, and responsiveness of the managed detection and response providers vary significantly. Many listings use "Contact Us" for pricing, requiring you to initiate a private offer negotiation rather than seeing transparent, upfront costs.

To navigate this effectively, treat the marketplace as a powerful shortlisting tool. Identify vendors whose offerings align with your requirements for advanced threat detection and then engage them for detailed scoping calls and demos. Before committing, validate their expertise in your specific industry, confirm their incident response protocols, and scrutinize their SLAs to ensure they meet your operational resilience goals.

Website:https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace

3. CrowdStrike – Falcon Complete (Next‑Gen MDR)

For executive teams seeking a unified, endpoint-centric security solution, CrowdStrike’s Falcon Complete delivers one of the industry's most respected managed detection and response (MDR) services. Built directly on its market-leading Falcon platform, this is not a partner-led offering but a fully managed service delivered by CrowdStrike’s own elite team of security analysts and threat hunters. It combines powerful EDR technology with 24/7 human expertise for hands-on threat mitigation.

This integrated model is ideal for organizations looking to consolidate their security stack and entrust threat management to the same vendor that builds the underlying technology. Falcon Complete goes beyond alerts by performing full-cycle incident response, from initial detection to complete remediation, freeing up internal IT and security teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than tactical firefighting.

Why It Stands Out: Integrated Platform and Breach Warranty

The core differentiator for Falcon Complete is its single-vendor, single-agent architecture. Unlike other managed detection and response providers that layer their services on top of third-party tools, CrowdStrike owns the entire stack. This integration provides unparalleled visibility and control over endpoints, allowing for faster, more decisive response actions.

• Hands-On Remediation: The Falcon Complete team doesn't just notify you of a threat; they actively contain and eradicate it, taking direct action on compromised endpoints to stop attackers in their tracks.
• Breach Prevention Warranty: CrowdStrike contractually backs its service with a tiered warranty covering up to $1 million in breach response expenses, providing a level of financial assurance and risk transfer that is rare in the MDR market.
• Unified Platform Ecosystem: The service seamlessly integrates with CrowdStrike’s broader portfolio, including identity protection, cloud security, and next-gen SIEM, allowing for a consolidated and highly efficient security operations model.

Strategic Insight: For boards and executive leadership, the Breach Prevention Warranty transforms a technical service into a clear business value proposition. It provides a contractual backstop that quantifies the provider’s confidence and aligns their success directly with your security outcomes.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While the integrated platform is a major strength, it delivers maximum value when an organization is committed to the CrowdStrike ecosystem. If your organization relies on a diverse set of endpoint security tools from other vendors, integrating Falcon Complete might be less seamless. The service pricing is not publicly listed and requires direct engagement with their sales team for a custom quote based on endpoint count and desired service modules.

When evaluating Falcon Complete, CISOs should focus on its ability to serve as a comprehensive platform for advanced threat detection and response. Request a detailed explanation of their remediation protocols and how they align with your internal incident response plan. Scrutinize the terms of the Breach Prevention Warranty to understand its coverage limits and activation criteria, ensuring it meets your enterprise risk management and compliance needs, particularly for frameworks like CMMC or HIPAA.

Website:https://www.crowdstrike.com/products/managed-services/falcon-complete/

4. Microsoft Security – Defender Experts for XDR (MXDR)

For enterprises standardized on the Microsoft ecosystem, Defender Experts for XDR (MXDR) offers a highly integrated managed detection and response service directly from the source. This is not just a third-party add-on; it is Microsoft’s own team of security experts augmenting your in-house capabilities. They provide 24/7 managed triage, investigation, and response across the Microsoft 365 Defender suite, covering endpoints, identity, email, and cloud applications. This model is engineered to maximize the value of your existing Microsoft security investments.

This approach is particularly compelling for executive teams seeking to consolidate security vendors and reduce the operational overhead of managing disparate tools. By leveraging a service that is native to the security stack, you ensure that threat signals are correlated with maximum context and that response actions are executed with precision. This deep integration streamlines the entire security operations workflow, from initial alert to incident resolution.

Why It Stands Out: Native Integration and Expert Access

The primary advantage of MXDR is its seamless integration into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. There is no complex setup or need for third-party data connectors; the service works out-of-the-box with your existing Defender licenses. This creates a unified experience where Microsoft’s experts function as an extension of your team, providing real-time insights and taking action on your behalf within a familiar environment.

• Unified Management: Triage, investigation, and response actions are all visible within the same Defender dashboard your team already uses, ensuring transparency.
• On-Demand Expertise: The service includes "Ask Defender Experts," giving your team direct access to Microsoft security specialists for specific threat intelligence queries or guidance.
• Proactive Posture Management: Beyond reactive threat response, MXDR provides continuous recommendations to improve your security posture and reduce your attack surface.

Strategic Insight: For organizations heavily invested in Microsoft 365 E5 or similar licensing, MXDR is one of the most efficient managed detection and response providers available. It leverages your existing technology spend to deliver a sophisticated security service without the friction of onboarding an external vendor and toolset.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While the native integration is a powerful benefit, its value is maximized when an organization is fully committed to the Microsoft security stack. Its effectiveness diminishes if critical assets are protected by non-Microsoft tools. Pricing requires direct engagement with Microsoft sales, and there are specific licensing prerequisites and potential seat minimums that must be met.

To evaluate MXDR effectively, start by confirming your eligibility and understanding the licensing requirements detailed on Microsoft Learn. Engage their sales team to get a clear picture of the costs and service scope. For organizations with hybrid environments, it's crucial to assess how MXDR will complement your other security controls. This service is less of a standalone Security Operations Center and more of a specialized extension designed to master the Microsoft security ecosystem. To learn more about how a full-service SOC operates, see our guide on what a Security Operations Center is.

Website:https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/services

5. CDW – Mandiant Managed Defense (reseller product page)

For organizations that prefer established procurement channels and the value-added services of a major technology reseller, CDW offers a transactional path to acquiring world-class managed detection and response providers. Instead of engaging directly with a security vendor, you can leverage CDW's streamlined process to purchase sophisticated services like Mandiant Managed Defense through familiar product pages complete with SKUs, list pricing, and quoting workflows. This model is ideal for teams that rely on a trusted partner for procurement, billing, and logistics.

This approach is highly beneficial for enterprise and public sector buyers looking to consolidate vendor relationships and simplify their purchasing cycle. CDW acts as the central point for billing, U.S. tax and logistics, and navigating contract vehicles, allowing your team to bundle an MDR service with other necessary security technologies like EDR or SIEM tools. It transforms the often-complex acquisition of an outsourced security operations center into a manageable line item handled by your existing account representative.

Why It Stands Out: Procurement Simplicity and Price Transparency

The primary advantage of using a reseller like CDW is the radical simplification of the enterprise procurement process. It provides a level of upfront pricing transparency rarely seen when buying MDR services directly, allowing for quicker budgeting and initial comparisons. This transactional model removes the friction of vetting and onboarding a new security vendor from a financial and contractual standpoint.

• Transactional Product Pages: MDR services are presented with SKUs and list prices, enabling you to add them to a quote or cart just like any other hardware or software asset.
• Consolidated Procurement: Bundle MDR with other security stack components, services, and hardware from a single provider, simplifying your supply chain and vendor management.
• Public Sector Support: CDW's expertise with government and educational contract vehicles streamlines purchasing for regulated organizations needing compliant security solutions.

Strategic Insight: For CIOs and procurement officers, using CDW allows you to leverage existing master service agreements and payment terms. This accelerates the deployment of critical threat detection capabilities without the administrative overhead of negotiating a new, standalone vendor contract.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While CDW offers a straightforward purchasing path, the product SKU pages provide high-level information. The onus is on the buyer to perform deep due diligence on the service scope itself. The listed price is a starting point, and the final terms and service-level agreements (SLAs) will require direct engagement with both your CDW account manager and the MDR vendor, such as Mandiant.

Use CDW as a strategic procurement vehicle after you have validated the technical fit. First, confirm that the provider’s capabilities for advanced threat detection align with your operational needs. Then, work through your CDW representative to clarify the specific incident response protocols, reporting cadence, and support tiers included in the SKU you are purchasing. This ensures the service you buy is the service you need.

Website:https://www.cdw.com

6. G2 – Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category

For executive teams tasked with vendor selection, G2's Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category serves as a critical, data-driven starting point. It is not a direct provider but a peer-review platform that aggregates real-world user feedback, satisfaction scores, and market presence data. This allows you to evaluate and compare dozens of managed detection and response providers, from established leaders like Arctic Wolf and Secureworks to innovators like Red Canary, based on the unfiltered experiences of their actual customers.

This platform is invaluable for CISOs and procurement leaders aiming to build a defensible shortlist of potential partners. Instead of relying solely on vendor marketing materials, you can leverage G2’s crowd-sourced intelligence to validate claims, uncover potential service gaps, and understand how a provider performs in environments similar to your own. The platform’s quarterly Grid Reports offer a visual snapshot of the competitive landscape, categorizing vendors as Leaders, High Performers, Contenders, or Niche players.

Why It Stands Out: Independent Validation and Market Intelligence

G2’s primary strength is its foundation of authentic, verified user reviews. This peer-driven insight provides a level of transparency that is difficult to achieve through traditional sales cycles. You can filter reviews by company size, industry, and region to find feedback that directly mirrors your organization's context, making the evaluation process more relevant and efficient.

• Peer-Sourced Insights: Access hundreds of detailed reviews covering vendor responsiveness, technical expertise, and the quality of their threat intelligence.
• Comparative Analysis: Use G2’s comparison tools to directly pit top providers against each other on key criteria like "Quality of Support" and "Ease of Use."
• Market Segmentation: Quickly identify which managed detection and response providers are favored by enterprise clients versus those that specialize in the mid-market or SMB segments.

Strategic Insight: Leverage G2's "Verified Current User" filter to focus on the most recent and relevant feedback. This helps you understand a provider's current service quality and whether recent platform updates or organizational changes have impacted customer satisfaction.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While G2 is an exceptional tool for discovery and validation, it is not a substitute for rigorous, direct vendor due diligence. Pricing information is almost always absent, requiring direct engagement with vendors for quotes. Furthermore, be mindful that some review content may be influenced by vendor-led review campaigns, so it is crucial to analyze a cross-section of both positive and critical feedback.

Use G2 to build your initial shortlist of three to five high-potential managed detection and response providers. Dive into the detailed reviews to identify recurring themes related to their Security Operations Center (SOC) performance, incident response effectiveness, and communication protocols. Use these user-reported strengths and weaknesses to formulate targeted questions for your initial vendor meetings, ensuring your evaluation is grounded in real-world performance data.

Website:https://www.g2.com/categories/managed-detection-and-response-mdr

7. PeerSpot – Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category

For executive teams prioritizing peer-driven insights and real-world deployment experiences, PeerSpot serves as a critical due diligence resource. Instead of a direct provider, it is a B2B review platform where IT and security practitioners offer in-depth, candid feedback on the managed detection and response providers they use daily. This community-driven approach provides a valuable layer of qualitative data, moving beyond marketing claims to reveal the operational realities of partnering with a specific vendor.

This platform is particularly useful for leaders aiming to understand the true total cost of ownership, including the hidden operational overhead and integration challenges that often arise post-contract. By analyzing practitioner-level commentary and buyer's guides, you can build a more realistic and informed request for proposal (RFP) and vendor shortlist.

Why It Stands Out: Practitioner Insights and Unfiltered Feedback

The core advantage of PeerSpot is its focus on authentic, long-form reviews from verified users. This qualitative depth is difficult to find elsewhere and offers a ground-level view of a provider's performance, from the efficiency of their SOC analysts to the practicality of their reporting dashboards.

• Real-World Context: Reviews often detail specific use cases, deployment hurdles, and the actual value derived from the service, helping you gauge a provider’s fit for your industry and scale.
• Comparative Analysis: The platform allows you to compare vendors based on user ratings across multiple criteria, providing a crowdsourced perspective on strengths and weaknesses.
• Operational Realities: Gain insights into factors like false positive rates, communication quality during incidents, and the level of internal team effort required to manage the partnership effectively.

Strategic Insight: Use PeerSpot's detailed reviews to formulate highly specific, probing questions for your vendor calls. Citing real-world challenges mentioned by other users can help you cut through sales pitches and get direct answers about a provider’s ability to handle complex operational scenarios.

Key Considerations and Best Practices

While PeerSpot provides invaluable qualitative data, it's important to interpret its findings correctly. The popularity or volume of reviews for a given vendor may reflect community engagement levels more than true market share. Furthermore, pricing information is almost always absent, as costs are highly customized.

Treat PeerSpot as a primary research tool for the initial discovery and validation phases of your procurement process. Use the platform to identify managed detection and response providers that consistently receive positive feedback for the capabilities most important to you, such as threat hunting or compliance reporting. Cross-reference these peer insights with analyst reports and direct vendor consultations to build a comprehensive evaluation. Before making a final decision, ensure the vendor's SLAs and incident response playbooks align with your organization's risk tolerance and resilience objectives.

Website:https://www.peerspot.com/categories/managed-detection-and-response-mdr

Top 7 MDR Providers Comparison

From Evaluation to Partnership: Making the Right MDR Choice for Your Business

Selecting a partner from the crowded landscape of managed detection and response providers is one of the most critical security decisions your organization will make. It’s a choice that transcends technology procurement; it’s an investment in resilience, a commitment to compliance, and a strategic move to safeguard your business's future. The journey from evaluating vendors to forging a true security partnership requires a shift in perspective, moving from a simple checklist of features to a deep assessment of strategic alignment and business-centric outcomes.

As we've explored, the MDR market offers diverse models. You have the comprehensive, next-generation platforms like CrowdStrike Falcon Complete and Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR, which deliver powerful, integrated ecosystems directly from the source. Marketplaces like AWS and review aggregators such as G2 and PeerSpot provide a broad view of the industry, enabling you to compare dozens of solutions against peer feedback. Meanwhile, established security powerhouses resold through channels like CDW offer proven, enterprise-grade capabilities backed by decades of threat intelligence. Each path presents its own set of advantages, but the optimal choice hinges entirely on your unique operational needs, risk appetite, and compliance mandates.

Synthesizing Your Evaluation: Key Takeaways for Executive Decision-Makers

The right MDR partnership is not just about offloading security alerts; it's about gaining a strategic ally that understands your business context. Before making a final decision, distill your findings by focusing on three core pillars:

1. Alignment with Business Objectives: Does the provider speak the language of business risk, or just technical alerts? A premier partner translates security events into business impact, helping your executive team understand the "so what" behind a potential threat. They should demonstrate a clear understanding of your industry, whether it's navigating HIPAA for healthcare, CMMC for defense contracting, or SOC 2 for SaaS.

2. Demonstrable Expertise and Process Maturity: Look beyond marketing slicks and demand evidence of a mature, well-defined process. How do they handle incident escalation? What does their threat hunting methodology look like? Can they provide concrete examples of how they’ve helped similar organizations through a major incident? The answers to these questions reveal the true depth of their operational excellence.

3. Cultural and Operational Fit: The most effective MDR relationships feel like a true extension of your internal team. Evaluate the provider’s communication style, reporting cadence, and willingness to integrate with your existing workflows and personnel. A partner who forces you to adapt entirely to their model may create more friction than value. A collaborative approach is non-negotiable for long-term success.

Your Actionable Next Steps: From Shortlist to Signature

Armed with the insights from this guide, your path forward should be clear and deliberate. Don't let the sheer number of managed detection and response providers lead to analysis paralysis. Instead, use the evaluation checklist and recommended questions provided earlier to narrow your shortlist to two or three top contenders who align most closely with your specific requirements.

Engage these finalists in deep-dive discussions. Challenge their SLAs, scrutinize their reporting dashboards, and request reference calls with clients in your industry. Remember, you are not just buying a service; you are entrusting a critical component of your organization's defense to an external team. The ultimate measure of a successful MDR provider is not found in the number of threats they block, but in the confidence and resilience they build within your business. By prioritizing this strategic partnership model, you will secure more than just a vendor-you will gain a dedicated guardian for your digital assets, ensuring peace of mind for your team, your executives, and your board.

Ready to partner with a security expert that understands the unique compliance and risk challenges faced by your business? Heights Consulting Group provides bespoke vCISO services and managed security solutions designed to translate complex cybersecurity requirements into clear, actionable business strategies. Schedule a consultation with Heights Consulting Group to build a security program that delivers both compliance and confidence.