EDR for SMBs: Defender, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Sophos

Traditional antivirus looks for known malicious files. EDR (endpoint detection and response) goes further: it records what happens on every device, flags suspicious behaviour and lets you isolate a computer remotely before the problem spreads across your network.

That's often what decides how a ransomware attack ends. Attackers usually spend time setting the stage before they encrypt anything, and EDR is what lets you use that window.

We compared four products that regularly show up in quotes for Canadian small and mid-sized businesses: Microsoft Defender for Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity and Sophos Endpoint, formerly Intercept X.

Trap number one: the entry-level bundle isn't always EDR

This is the most important finding in this comparison. At three of the four vendors, the cheapest bundle doesn't include EDR.

• CrowdStrike: Falcon Go, often marketed as the small business option, includes next-gen antivirus, device control, mobile protection and Express Support. EDR only appears in Falcon Enterprise, roughly three times the price.
• SentinelOne: according to the official comparison table, Singularity Core and Control don't include EDR; it starts at Singularity Complete.
• Sophos: the Intercept X brand has been retired. Sophos Endpoint is the baseline protection, Sophos EDR adds threat hunting, investigation and response, and Sophos XDR extends all of that beyond the endpoint.
• Microsoft: Defender for Business bundles EDR, automated investigation and remediation, and vulnerability management in a single plan.

So when you compare quotes, insist on the exact bundle name. A "CrowdStrike" quote at US$60 per device and another at US$185 don't protect you the same way.

Microsoft Defender for Business: often already paid for

If your company subscribes to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, you already have Defender for Business. It still has to be configured and every device onboarded: having it in the licence doesn't mean it's protecting your machines. Sold on its own, it costs CA$4.10 per user per month, and each licence covers up to five devices. Policies are managed from the Microsoft Defender portal or the Intune admin centre.

The limits are clear: 300 users maximum, an extra licence for servers, and data stored in data centres outside Canada (the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, India or the United Arab Emirates, according to Microsoft's documentation). For round-the-clock monitoring, the product page points you to Microsoft's partner directory.

CrowdStrike and SentinelOne: published prices, two ways to buy

Both vendors publish prices in US dollars, which makes budgeting easier. How you buy is different, though.

CrowdStrike sells its bundles directly online, monthly or annually. Annual subscriptions are paid upfront, with a full refund if you cancel within 30 days. Android and iOS protection is included in every bundle, and Falcon Complete, the 24/7 managed service, is available through sales.

SentinelOne lists Singularity Complete at US$179.99 per endpoint per year, a price shown for 5 to 100 workstations, but purchases go through an authorized partner whose final price prevails. Its best-known feature is rollback: the agent can reverse an attack's changes and restore a Windows system to its prior state. On the other hand, Complete keeps 14 days of EDR data, and the MDR service is only offered as an add-on from Singularity Commercial up.

Sophos: the option that keeps data in Canada

Of the four, Sophos is the only vendor whose official pages mention a Canadian data region, with a data centre in Montréal for its cloud console, now called Sophos Fusion (the evolution of Sophos Central). Its documentation notes that some products, such as Sophos Mobile, aren't offered in that region.

For organizations handling personal information, that matters: EDR logs contain user names and file names. If you operate in Québec, Law 25 regulates communicating personal information outside the province, and other provinces have their own rules. Check your situation with your legal advisor.

Feature-wise, Sophos Endpoint includes CryptoGuard, which detects malicious encryption and restores the affected files. Sophos EDR can also use Microsoft Defender as the protection agent, a compromise worth considering for an SMB that's already set up. The downside: no published prices, so everything goes through a quote.

EDR with nobody reading the alerts

EDR generates alerts. If nobody reads them at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, the tool mostly documents the attack after the fact. According to a CDW study, detection time at small Canadian organizations rose from 4.0 days in 2024 to 6.8 days in 2025.

All four options offer a path to 24/7 monitoring: Falcon Complete, Sophos MDR, SentinelOne's MDR, or a Microsoft partner for Defender. Budget for it from day one, and plan your first 24 hours of a ransomware incident. No EDR makes up for poorly maintained devices either: a patch management policy is still the foundation.

How to choose

1. Start with what you already pay for. If you have Business Premium, configure Defender for Business before buying anything else.
2. Insist on the exact bundle name in every quote, and confirm it includes EDR.
3. Decide who responds to alerts during the day, at night and on weekends. That cost, more than the licence, often makes the difference.
4. Check where the data goes if you handle sensitive personal information, and document your decision.
5. Count every device: servers, MacBooks, phones. Depending on the licensing unit (user, device or server), the bill can vary a lot.
6. Test before you sign: trials run from 15 days to a month depending on the vendor, and SentinelOne works through demos.

Once you've picked a product, our team can deploy it and harden its configuration as part of a remediation and hardening engagement.