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SPECIFICTION
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Critical Start MDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Critical Start MDR

criticalstart.com

Microsoft Defender for Business

microsoft.com

Side by side

FigureCritical Start MDRMicrosoft Defender for Business
Price from—$0.25/mo
Free plan——
Free trial—Yes
Open source——
WebYes—
Windows—Yes
macOS—Yes
iOSYesYes
AndroidYesYes
API—Yes
Plans published14
Spec score · Managed Detection and Response Services7.1 (#12)8.4 (#2)
HeadquartersCritical Start lists its headquarters at 6100 Tennyson Pkwy, Suite 200, Plano, Texas 75024.Redmond, Washington, United States
IntegrationsNamed integrations include CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne, and VMware Carbon Black.The product integrates with Microsoft 365 Lighthouse and can work with remote monitoring and management tools and professional services automation software.

Plans

Critical Start MDR

  • Critical Start MDRPriced on request

Critical Start MDR pricing →

Microsoft Defender for Business

  • Microsoft Defender for Business$3 a month
  • Microsoft Entra Internet Access$5 a month
  • Microsoft Entra Suite$12 a month
  • Microsoft Defender for Business$3 a year

Microsoft Defender for Business pricing →

In their own words

Critical Start MDR

Critical Start MDR is a managed detection and response service combining proactive security intelligence with human-driven threat detection and response. It identifies unmonitored assets, endpoint coverage gaps, and log-ingestion failures. Customers can choose automatic, facilitated, or managed remediation, while analyst collaboration and threat response are described as available 24x7x365. The MDR page states a 10-minute notification SLA for Critical alerts. Named integrations include CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne, and VMware Carbon Black. The provider also describes direct APIs and more than 100 log-source integrations across email, identity, cloud, network, and endpoint environments. MOBILESOC, available on iOS and Android, can isolate hosts, disable user accounts, and remove email. Analysts work in SOC 2 Type 2 certified centers. MDR for operational technology supports multiple physical locations, separate IT and OT alert handling, and read-only visibility rules. Pricing is available on request.

Visit criticalstart.com

Microsoft Defender for Business

Microsoft Defender for Business has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.

Visit microsoft.com