What Is MDR (Managed Detection & Response)? — 2026 Guide

What Is MDR: the criteria that matter and the top tools ranked on live pricing and ratings.

MDR gives you a 24/7 security operations center as a service: human analysts who monitor, investigate and respond to threats across your endpoints, identity and network so you don’t have to staff a SOC.

The mdr / xdr software landscape

We track 8 mdr / xdr software options. Blumira offer a free tier. All scores and prices below are recomputed from live data and stamped 2026-06-16.

What to look for

  • 24/7 human response (not just alerting)
  • What telemetry they ingest (endpoint, identity, email, network)
  • Response actions they’ll take on your behalf
  • MSP multi-tenant support and reporting
  • Per-endpoint or per-user pricing

Top mdr / xdr software on our data

ToolOur scoreStarting priceRating
Huntress8.6/10Custom quote4.9/5 (~700 G2 reviews)
Blumira8.1/10Free tier available4.6/5 (~120 G2 reviews)
Arctic Wolf7.8/10Custom quote4.7/5 (~250 G2 reviews)
Todyl7.7/10Custom quote4.8/5 (~60 G2 reviews)
Sophos MDR7.7/10Custom quote4.7/5 (~300 G2 reviews)
Blackpoint Cyber7.6/10Custom quote4.7/5 (~80 G2 reviews)

Our pick: Huntress

On the data we track, Huntress leads the mdr / xdr software category at 8.6/10 (4.9/5 (~700 G2 reviews)), on custom-quote pricing. The MSP favorite — human SOC and ITDR at a price SMBs can actually afford. See the Huntress review, pricing and alternatives, or the full best mdr / xdr software ranking.

Data as of June 16, 2026. Sources: huntress.com, g2.com, arcticwolf.com, g2.com, blackpointcyber.com, g2.com, todyl.com, g2.com, blumira.com, g2.com, sophos.com, g2.com, rapid7.com, g2.com, expel.com, g2.com. Figures are pulled from public vendor and security data and refreshed automatically.