Best EDR for Small Business in 2026
What a company of about 25 people pays for endpoint detection in 2026, which cheap seat is only antivirus, and who answers the alert.
Microsoft Defender for Business is the best EDR for a small business in 2026 when about 25 people already use Microsoft 365. The seat is $3 per user a month, paid yearly, so that year is $900, with detection included and no Microsoft overnight queue.
Buy Huntress if nobody opens alerts, or SentinelOne Complete or Falcon Enterprise for the detection package. Huntress lists at $8.99 per endpoint a month, and a direct order starts at 50 seats, so you pay for machines you do not have.
Falcon Go, SentinelOne Core, ESET Core, and ThreatDown Core are prevention seats, not EDR. Treating one of them as detection is how a 25-person company pays twice.
Key facts8 tools compared: Microsoft Defender for Business, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne…
- 8 tools compared: Microsoft Defender for Business, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity Complete, CrowdStrike Falcon Enterprise, ESET PROTECT Premium, ThreatDown Advanced, Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Sophos EDR
- Huntress Managed EDR (best for: Companies that need a 24/7 SOC and can accept a 50-seat direct minimum): MSRP $8.99/endpoint/mo. Direct purchase requires 50 seats per product.
- SentinelOne Singularity Complete (best for: Fleets of 5 to 100 workstations that need extended detection and a partner invoice): $179.99/endpoint/yr, for 5 to 100 workstations. A partner sets the final invoice.
- CrowdStrike Falcon Enterprise (best for: Buyers who need Falcon detection and will not stop on the Go antivirus card): $184.99/device/yr, or $19.99/device/mo. Go and Pro do not include EDR.
A company of about 25 people usually loses this purchase on the logo. CrowdStrike or SentinelOne can be the name on the door while the card in the cart is still antivirus. That detection license is a second bill the buyer did not plan.
Toolradar data: Toolradar, the software directory we run, tracks 866 security tools as of 17 October 2026, on its security ranking. Among the 146 that publish a paid price, the median cheapest plan is $15.98 a month.
This page keeps eight products a company that size can actually consider, and it prices one year from vendor pages read on 18 October 2026. Shorter profiles of those products, outside this 25-person worksheet, are on Microsoft 365, Huntress, SentinelOne, and CrowdStrike.
The wider market, without this page's headcount limits, is best EDR and endpoint protection, while antivirus licensing sits in best antivirus for business. A staffed monitoring contract is in best MDR services, and the price survey, without the 25-person cart limits, is how much EDR costs.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
Microsoft Defender for Business
Published EDR for under 300 users, with the overnight queue left on your IT lead.
$3/user/mo, paid yearly. No minimum. Up to 300 users, five devices each.
Microsoft 365 companies of about 25 people whose IT lead will read alerts
Managed EDR with the SOC in the rate, and a 50-seat floor if you buy direct.
MSRP $8.99/endpoint/mo. Direct purchase requires 50 seats per product.
Companies that need a 24/7 SOC and can accept a 50-seat direct minimum
SentinelOne Singularity Complete
The first SentinelOne package marked extended detection, at a rate a partner can replace.
$179.99/endpoint/yr, for 5 to 100 workstations. A partner sets the final invoice.
Fleets of 5 to 100 workstations that need extended detection and a partner invoice
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender for Business | $3/user/mo, paid yearly. No minimum. Up to 300 users, five devices each. | Microsoft 365 companies of about 25 people whose IT lead will read alerts |
| Huntress Managed EDR | MSRP $8.99/endpoint/mo. Direct purchase requires 50 seats per product. | Companies that need a 24/7 SOC and can accept a 50-seat direct minimum |
| SentinelOne Singularity Complete | $179.99/endpoint/yr, for 5 to 100 workstations. A partner sets the final invoice. | Fleets of 5 to 100 workstations that need extended detection and a partner invoice |
| CrowdStrike Falcon Enterprise | $184.99/device/yr, or $19.99/device/mo. Go and Pro do not include EDR. | Buyers who need Falcon detection and will not stop on the Go antivirus card |
| ESET PROTECT Premium | $2,332.50 for 25 devices, 1 year. Premium starts at 10 devices. | Companies from 10 devices that want ESET's 24/7 MDR rather than the Core prevention seat |
| ThreatDown Advanced | $79/device/yr on Advanced EDR. The page sells 5 to 20 devices. | Fleets of 5 to 20 devices that can finish Advanced EDR on the public cart |
| Bitdefender GravityZone EDR | EDR publishes no list price. A 10-device Small Business checkout is $227.49 before VAT. | Teams that want GravityZone EDR and will take a demo because the page has no price |
| Sophos EDR | Publishes no list price. The buy page is a quote, and EDR includes Endpoint. | Companies that will request a quote and need detection above the Endpoint seat |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. 1 of 8 sells by quote only and publishes no price; that entry says so rather than estimating.
Microsoft Defender for Business
Published EDR for under 300 users, with the overnight queue left on your IT lead.
- Pricing
- $3/user/mo, paid yearly. No minimum. Up to 300 users, five devices each.
Best for: Microsoft 365 companies of about 25 people whose IT lead will read alerts
Pros
- The product page includes AI-powered endpoint detection and response with automatic attack disruption, on top of next-gen antivirus, so the seat is detection.
- The cap is 300 users and five devices per user, with no minimum, so a 25-person company does not pay for empty licenses.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium is $22 per user a month, paid yearly, and already includes this product, so do not buy the seat again.
Cons
- There is no 24/7 SOC in the seat, so skip it if the IT lead will not read incidents after hours.
- Servers need the Defender for Business servers add-on, and Microsoft publishes no price for it, so a file server cannot be budgeted here.
Huntress Managed EDR
Managed EDR with the SOC in the rate, and a 50-seat floor if you buy direct.
- Pricing
- MSRP $8.99/endpoint/mo. Direct purchase requires 50 seats per product.
Best for: Companies that need a 24/7 SOC and can accept a 50-seat direct minimum
Pros
- The endpoint rate includes 24/7 threat detection and response, active remediation, incident reporting, and managed antivirus, so the night shift sits in the contract.
- Buying through an MSP has no Huntress seat minimum, so 25 endpoints are not forced up to 50 and the MSP sets the price.
- The pricing page lists no separate setup or onboarding fee, so the seat rate is the published bill before tax.
Cons
- A direct or reseller purchase requires 50 seats per product on a 12-month term, so 25 machines still pay for 50 at list.
- The lower worked example is for 100 endpoints, and the partner rate is a form, so that example is not a 25-person quote.
SentinelOne Singularity Complete
The first SentinelOne package marked extended detection, at a rate a partner can replace.
- Pricing
- $179.99/endpoint/yr, for 5 to 100 workstations. A partner sets the final invoice.
Best for: Fleets of 5 to 100 workstations that need extended detection and a partner invoice
Pros
- Extended Detection and Response is marked on Complete, Commercial, and Enterprise, and left off Core and Control, so those cheaper packages are not this buy.
- Complete includes 14 days of data retention and the AI Security Assistant. Commercial moves retention to 90 days and adds managed threat hunting, for a longer lookback than Complete.
- Printed prices cover 5 to 100 workstations, so 25 endpoints sit in the band without an enterprise quote.
Cons
- Purchases go through an authorized partner, and the partner price replaces the page when they disagree, so budget the invoice.
- Core is $69.99 per endpoint a year and Control is $79.99, and neither is marked extended detection, so stopping there buys prevention.
CrowdStrike Falcon Enterprise
The Falcon bundle with detection and threat hunting, for buyers who skip the Go antivirus card.
- Pricing
- $184.99/device/yr, or $19.99/device/mo. Go and Pro do not include EDR.
Best for: Buyers who need Falcon detection and will not stop on the Go antivirus card
Pros
- Endpoint detection and threat hunting are included on Enterprise and marked off on Go and Pro, so the cheaper cards are antivirus.
- Enterprise includes Express Support on the annual or monthly device rate, so support is not a second product.
- The pricing FAQ lists Windows, macOS, and Linux, so a mixed fleet of those three is in scope.
Cons
- Falcon Go is $59.99 per device billed annually and is the antivirus bundle, capped at 100 devices. A company of 25 machines can buy it and still lack EDR.
- The 15-day trial covers Prevent, device control, and Express Support, not the Enterprise bundle, so it will not show the product ranked here.
ESET PROTECT Premium
The ESET tier that adds 24/7 MDR, sold online from 10 devices, not the Core seat.
- Pricing
- $2,332.50 for 25 devices, 1 year. Premium starts at 10 devices.
Best for: Companies from 10 devices that want ESET's 24/7 MDR rather than the Core prevention seat
Pros
- Premium is Core plus 24/7 MDR with expert-led monitoring, sold online, so a 25-device company can buy the staffed tier without a quote.
- The configurator starts Premium at 10 devices, so 25 devices can finish online instead of a giant pack.
- Core at 25 devices is $1,167.50 for the year, and its list is prevention, firewall control, and LiveGuard, not MDR.
Cons
- Ultimate is a 99-device pack at an introductory $9,999, so 25 people would pay for 74 seats they do not have.
- Small Office Protection covers 5 to 25 devices for offices with no IT admin, and it is not the Premium MDR tier.
ThreatDown Advanced
ThreatDown's Advanced EDR plan, on a public cart that stops at 20 devices.
- Pricing
- $79/device/yr on Advanced EDR. The page sells 5 to 20 devices.
Best for: Fleets of 5 to 20 devices that can finish Advanced EDR on the public cart
Pros
- The page names the $69 plan Core Next-Gen AV and the higher plan Advanced EDR, so the cheaper card is antivirus.
- Advanced describes ransomware rollback for files encrypted, detected, or modified, for up to 7 days, which is the recovery window.
- Elite is $99 per device a year, named Elite MDR, with 24/7 analyst monitoring for when staff will not work the case.
Cons
- The quantity control accepts 5 to 20 devices, so a 25-device company cannot order on the page.
- The largest Advanced order on the page is 20 devices, and device 21 is a different sale.
Bitdefender GravityZone EDR
Cross-endpoint detection with no published dollar, so the deals cart is a different product.
- Pricing
- EDR publishes no list price. A 10-device Small Business checkout is $227.49 before VAT.
Best for: Teams that want GravityZone EDR and will take a demo because the page has no price
Pros
- The EDR page describes correlation across endpoints, historical and live search, and response on the GravityZone agent, which is what a demo sells.
- The FAQ points a company with no analysts to Bitdefender MDR, which includes EDR and a 24/7 SOC.
- Business Security Enterprise offers a one-month trial, while EDR Cloud is a demo request, so the trial is not that product.
Cons
- The EDR page publishes no price, so a 25-person worksheet cannot include it until sales sends a number.
- The deals page prices Small Business Security, Business Security, and Business Security Premium, and those 10-device cards are not named EDR.
Sophos EDR
Detection and response as its own Sophos license, sold only from a quote form.
- Pricing
- Publishes no list price. The buy page is a quote, and EDR includes Endpoint.
Best for: Companies that will request a quote and need detection above the Endpoint seat
Pros
- Sophos EDR extends Endpoint with detection and response, and the license includes Endpoint, so it is one agent.
- The buy page lists Sophos MDR, which includes XDR, as the 24/7 option when your team will not sit the queue.
- Pricing is described per user, with no published dollar, so the meter is known and the 25-person total is not.
Cons
- The how-to-buy page is a quote, with no public per-user figure, so Sophos cannot be priced for 25 people from the site.
- Endpoint and EDR are different licenses, and ordering Endpoint does not order detection.
What it is
Endpoint detection and response is an agent on each laptop that records what programs do and can isolate the machine when that behavior looks like an attack.
A product that only blocks a known file is antivirus. Several vendors sell both under one name, and the cheap tier is usually the antivirus one.
The other half of the decision is who is awake. Defender for Business, SentinelOne Complete, and Falcon Enterprise detect on the device and leave the queue with your IT person.
Huntress, ESET PROTECT Premium, and ThreatDown Elite put analysts in the rate when nobody on staff will open an alert. Sophos MDR does the same job only after a quote, so it cannot go on a worksheet yet.
Servers are a separate line on more than one of these products. A laptop price does not cover the file server in the closet, so check the user or device meter before you multiply headcount.
Why it matters
Defender for Business is the low published EDR bill for 25 people, and it does not make you buy empty seats. It fits a company already paying Microsoft per person, and you should skip it when the IT lead will not open alerts after the workday.
Huntress bought direct bills at least 50 endpoints, even for a company of about 25 machines. Those extra seats are the price of a 24/7 SOC, which suits a firm with nobody on the night shift. An MSP can buy without that minimum, and the MSP's invoice is not the list rate.
Complete and Falcon Enterprise are detection tiers a partner will price, and the printed figure is one the reseller can replace. ESET Premium is the online MDR total for that headcount, for buyers who want analysts and a finished checkout.
ThreatDown's public cart stops at 20 devices, so a larger fleet cannot finish on the page. Bitdefender's dollar checkout is a 10-device prevention pack, so it is the wrong cart if you came for detection. Sophos publishes no license price, so it stays off a worksheet until a quote arrives.
Key features to look for
Pricing
The year totals below are each vendor's rate times the count shown, and they are a worksheet rather than a quote. Tax, a partner discount, or a struck promo price is noted on the row, and contact sales means no published dollar.
Defender is the low EDR bill when your own staff read alerts. Huntress direct is the SOC bill, with a floor of 50 seats rather than 25. ESET Premium is the MDR total a 25-device company can finish online.
Complete and Falcon Enterprise are the detection tiers, and Core and Go are prevention on the same logos. ThreatDown will not take a 25-device order, and Bitdefender's visible checkout is a 10-device prevention pack before VAT, not EDR.
Business Premium already includes Defender for Business, so a standalone purchase bills the same people again. A one-month Defender trial takes a card and converts to paid unless you cancel.
Methodology: we started from the products a 25-person company is offered for endpoint detection, kept the tier that actually includes detection or a managed response, and priced 25 users or 25 devices where the page allows it. Dupple has no test lab, so this is not a hands-on test.
How we compare products is on how we rate. Sources, read 18 October 2026: Defender for Business, Huntress pricing, SentinelOne packages, CrowdStrike pricing, ESET US subscription plans, ThreatDown pricing, Bitdefender US deals, GravityZone EDR, Sophos Endpoint, and Sophos how to buy.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Defender for Business | $3/user/mo | Paid yearly, up to 300 users and five devices per user, EDR included |
| Defender for Business, 25 users, 1 year | $900/yr | Twenty-five people on the standalone user license, before tax |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | $22/user/mo | Paid yearly, and the suite already includes Defender for Business |
| Business Premium, 25 users, 1 year | $6,600/yr | The whole suite for 25 people, not a second endpoint product |
| Huntress Managed EDR, list rate | $8.99/endpoint/mo | MSRP with the 24/7 SOC included, before any volume example |
| Huntress direct floor, 50 endpoints | $449.50/mo | List math for the 50-seat direct minimum, not a printed 50-unit tier |
| Huntress direct floor, 1 year | $5,394/yr | Twelve months of that 50-seat list floor |
| SentinelOne Singularity Core | $69.99/endpoint/yr | Endpoint protection for 5 to 100 workstations, without the EDR mark |
| SentinelOne Singularity Control | $79.99/endpoint/yr | Advanced endpoint controls, still without extended detection on the matrix |
| SentinelOne Singularity Complete | $179.99/endpoint/yr | Extended detection, 14-day retention, for 5 to 100 workstations |
| SentinelOne Complete, 25 endpoints | $4,499.75/yr | Page rate times 25, inside the band a partner can replace |
| SentinelOne Singularity Commercial | $229.99/endpoint/yr | Adds identity detection, 90-day retention, and managed threat hunting |
| SentinelOne Singularity Enterprise | Contact sales | Top package, including the agentic AI SOC analyst |
| Falcon Go, annual | $59.99/device/yr | Antivirus bundle, purchases limited to 100 devices |
| Falcon Go, monthly | $7.99/device/mo | Month-to-month Go rate, same 100-device cap |
| Falcon Pro, annual | $99.99/device/yr | Adds host firewall management, and detection is still off |
| Falcon Enterprise, annual | $184.99/device/yr | Includes endpoint detection and threat hunting |
| Falcon Enterprise, monthly | $19.99/device/mo | Month-to-month Enterprise rate, same detection bundle |
| Falcon Enterprise, 25 devices, annual | $4,624.75/yr | Annual device rate times 25 |
| ESET PROTECT Core, 25 devices, 1 year | $1,167.50/yr | Prevention tier, online from 5 devices, not the MDR line |
| ESET PROTECT Premium, 25 devices, 1 year | $2,332.50/yr | Adds 24/7 MDR, online from 10 devices |
| ESET Premium with guided onboarding, 25 devices | $2,548.50/yr | Onboarding total stored beside the 25-device Premium price |
| ESET PROTECT Ultimate, 99 devices | $9,999 | Introductory pack of 99 devices; the card strikes $16,360 beside it |
| ESET Small Office Protection, 25 devices | $512.50/yr | Pack for 5 to 25 devices and no IT admin, not Premium |
| ThreatDown Core | $69/device/yr | Next-gen AV seat on the one-year plan |
| ThreatDown Advanced | $79/device/yr | Advanced EDR, quantity control limited to 5 to 20 devices |
| ThreatDown Advanced, 20 devices, 1 year | $1,580/yr | Largest one-year Advanced order the page will take |
| ThreatDown Elite | $99/device/yr | Elite MDR, the staffed tier above Advanced |
| GravityZone Small Business Security, 10 devices, list | $324.99 | Struck one-year price on the US deals card, before the offer |
| GravityZone Small Business Security, 10 devices, checkout | $227.49 | 30% off that card, before VAT, with up to 3 file servers |
| GravityZone Business Security, 10 devices, checkout | $269.49 | 30% off the middle deals card, before VAT |
| GravityZone Business Security Premium, 10 devices, checkout | $615.99 | 30% off the Premium deals card, before VAT |
| Bitdefender GravityZone EDR | Contact sales | EDR product page has a trial path for Enterprise and a demo for EDR Cloud |
| Sophos EDR | Contact sales | Quote form, per-user basis, license includes Sophos Endpoint |
The bottom line
Defender for Business is the 2026 pick when about 25 people already live in Microsoft 365 and someone will read alerts. Detection is in the seat, and there is no SOC. Read the Defender for Business review before you stack it on Business Premium.
Choose Huntress when the night shift has to be in the contract, and budget the direct floor or buy through an MSP. Choose Complete or Falcon Enterprise for detection, not Go or Core. Choose ESET Premium for 24/7 MDR you can finish online at 25 devices.
Leave ThreatDown to fleets the cart will sell, leave the Bitdefender deals cart as prevention, and leave Sophos on a quote. Rollback after encryption is in best ransomware protection. A one-person stack is in best security tools for an IT team of one.
Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Best EDR for Small Business in 2026", October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best EDR for a small business in 2026?
How much does EDR cost for 25 people?
Is there a free EDR for a small business?
Defender for Business or Huntress for a small company?
Does Falcon Go include EDR?
Can a 25-person company buy ThreatDown or Bitdefender EDR online?
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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