On July 19, 2024, endpoint detection and response provider CrowdStrike was involved in a global IT outage that affected over 8.5 million Windows devices worldwide. According to CrowdStrike, a faulty content update for its Falcon Sensor software caused the disruption — resulting in a significant number of Windows devices to crash.
This error led to major airlines, emergency services, media outlets and other businesses with computer systems blocked by the infamous Blue Screen of Death. You can read TechRepublic’s in-depth coverage of the CrowdStrike outage here.
SEE: How to Start a Career in Cybersecurity (TechRepublic Premium)
While CrowdStrike has since deployed a fix, it’s understandable for businesses to be wary of CrowdStrike as a viable EDR provider given the scale of the incident. If you fall in this boat, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we take a look at the best CrowdStrike alternatives and competitors for you and your organization.
While all the EDR alternatives in this list perform well in terms of threat detection, they vary in key aspects like market performance, ease of deployment and initial pricing.
My go-to CrowdStrike EDR alternative is SentinelOne Singularity. It includes automatic threat resolution allowing for one-click remediation; provides role-based access control and multi-tenant management; and offers a unique Storyline feature for automated contextualization of events across all device platforms.
In Gartner’s 2023 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms, SentinelOne was deemed a Leader in the EDR space and was praised for its intuitive and customizable user experience and broad platform support.
SEE: CrowdStrike vs Trellix (2024): What Are the Main Differences? (TechRepublic)
I personally like how SentinelOne merges EPP and enterprise-grade EDR capabilities into one platform, offering a comprehensive security solution in one service.
I chose SentinelOne as my best overall alternative for its strong balance of high quality detection and relatively affordable pricing. Per my research, SentinelOne is regarded as a solid replacement for CrowdStrike — especially since it offers arguably similar EDR performance at lower overall pricing.
While SentinelOne offers a suite of security solutions, its main EDR software is offered in four subscription packages: Singularity Control, Complete, Commercial and Enterprise. Below is a quick overview of pricing and feature inclusions for each:
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Another strong CrowdStrike substitute I recommend is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or MDE. MDE utilizes AI-powered technology to protect against ransomware, cyberattacks and other adversaries at an enterprise level. Like SentinelOne, MDE is recognized as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for EPPs and was also named a Leader in the Forrester Wave Endpoint Security, Q4 2023 report.
SEE: CrowdStrike vs Sophos (2024): Which Solution Is Better for Your Business? (TechRepublic)
Aside from AI capabilities, MDE offers a global threat intelligence database, granular controls and policies and a unified portal covering all endpoints and machines.
I picked MDE as a no-brainer choice for businesses that are already heavily invested in Microsoft’s suite of products. This is especially true given Microsoft’s 365 E5 software package that not only includes MDE, but also its other flagship services such as Word, Outlook and OneDrive.
MDE has two subscription plans: MDE P1 and P2. P1 is their basic endpoint protection service with next-generation anti-malware and endpoint firewall capabilities. Meanwhile, P2 offers the full EDR service plus automated investigation and remediation and sandbox functionality. Both MDE P1 and P2 are bundled with Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5, respectively.
I believe the best value is to go for Microsoft’s extensive 365 E5 package that includes the full MDE EDR and other Microsoft services. Below is the price for each 365 bundle:
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If your business is considering a transition into extended detection and response, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR is a good choice. It offers machine-learning-powered analytics spanning multiple data sources, has intelligent alert grouping that reduces investigation time and includes granular threat hunting via extended data collection and analysis.
SEE: VMware Carbon Black vs CrowdStrike Falcon (2024): Which Tool Is Best For Your Business? (TechRepublic)
As a solution, I like Cortex XDR’s wide coverage in endpoint security. It provides next-generation antivirus capabilities, disk encryption, USB device control, host firewall, among others.
Palo Alto Networks was also named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for EPPs. In the report, it was lauded for “its global reach and multilingual product localization” that helps it stand as a viable pick for many businesses worldwide.
I selected Cortex XDR for businesses that want to switch over from an EDR into an XDR solution. As an XDR, Palo Alto Cortex enables businesses to secure their network, endpoints, cloud and other aspects of their business — offering a holistic security solution that covers more bases. This is especially critical in protecting against more advanced attacks that affect organizations today.
For concrete information on pricing, I highly suggest contacting Palo Alto Networks via its website or other official channels.
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If your priority is prevention, Bitdefender GravityZone is a decent choice. GravityZone is designed to handle fileless attacks, ransomware, phishing and other common threats to businesses. It also utilizes a simple, centralized management console for easy viewing of all data and tools available in the platform.
SEE: 5 Best Endpoint Detection & Response Solutions for 2024 (TechRepublic)
According to the Forrester Wave Endpoint Security, Q4 2023 findings, Bitdefender stands out for its “aggressive prevention-first mindset.” Per Forrester, this is showcased through its extensive endpoint control functions, vulnerability management and device/OS-neutral capabilities.
I have Bitdefender GravityZone on this list for its straightforward and proactive approach to endpoint protection. It also gets points for its intuitive subscription and pricing scheme. Through its official site, Bitdefender GravityZone allows IT administrators to see an approximate price of a subscription corresponding with the exact number of endpoints they want covered and the contract length desired.
Bitdefender has a number of subscription packages which can be customized based on the number of devices and the length of contract. It has three main tiers for small businesses: Small Business Security, Business Security, Business Security Premium.
Below is a brief glimpse of each tier’s pricing and feature inclusions:
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It’s complicated. As easy as it is to dismiss CrowdStrike and its security solutions, there’s a reason why it topped our Best EDR software round-up early this year. It offers industry-leading performance and was widely recognized as the market leader in the space.
That being said, it’s also hard to ignore the massive consequences brought about by its faulty software update, which caused more than eight million Windows devices to crash.
Personally, I think the decision will depend on your business’ perspective on the incident and how severely or minimally you were affected by the disruption.
For organizations that experienced actual business loss due to the outage, looking into alternatives is probably the prudent choice. Meanwhile, businesses that were able to deal with the issue may opt to remain with CrowdStrike and see how they respond in the coming weeks.
Whichever you choose, it’s clear that other EDR providers are present which could serve as viable alternatives instead.
My rundown of the top CrowdStrike EDR alternatives involved an in-depth analysis of each EDR’s security capabilities, pricing and value for money.
In particular, I looked into official product documentation, feature inclusions and independent findings from recognized testing firms to gather data. Furthermore, I also took heavy consideration of real user testimonials talking about the top EDR solutions available in the market and which ones were thought to be the best CrowdStrike alternatives.
Finally, I also took into account what type of businesses or organizations would best benefit from each EDR provider I listed above.
