UnderDefense vs eSentire

UnderDefense is a managed security services firm offering 24/7 managed detection and response, managed SOC and SIEM, incident response, penetration testing and compliance services. Delivery is vendor-agnostic: the firm's MAXI platform layers alert triage, automation and reporting on top of a client's existing EDR and SIEM tools, and it operates co-managed SIEM on Elastic, Splunk, QRadar, LogRhythm and Sumo Logic. Founded in 2017, it is headquartered in New York and runs delivery teams from Jacksonville in the US, Krakow in Poland and Lviv in Ukraine. Its own site states 120 certified security engineers across three continents.

Pros

• Clutch lists UnderDefense at 4.9 out of 5 across 66 verified reviews, with a stated minimum project size of $5,000 and an hourly range of $50 to $99 (source: Clutch profile)
• The firm publishes an entry MDR rate of $11 per device per month on its own pricing page, which is more than most MSSPs disclose publicly
• MDR is designed to run on tools the client already owns rather than requiring replacement, with co-managed SIEM support named for five SIEM products (source: UnderDefense MDR services page)
• UnderDefense states it achieved SOC 2 Type I attestation on 25 November 2024, audited by Prescient Assurance (source: UnderDefense company news)

Things to check

Pricing: MDR published from $11 per device per month; Standard, Enhanced and Professional tiers are custom quoted and all MDR plans are sold as annual contracts. A free tier gives 14 days of platform access. Penetration testing engagements are stated at $5,000 to $30,000 depending on scope.

eSentire is one of the longest-operating pure-play MDR firms, protecting more than 2,000 organisations across 80+ countries. Its proprietary Atlas platform ingests signals across the customer's vendor stack and powers the firm's 24/7 SOC, threat hunting, and incident response. It runs an in-house Threat Response Unit (TRU) for original research and is well known for deep specialisation in financial services, legal, and insurance verticals.

Pros

• One of the well-established pure-play MDR providers (operating since 2001)
• Strong vertical playbooks for financial services and legal, including hedge fund and law-firm specialisation
• Vendor-broad Atlas platform reduces lock-in to a single EDR
• In-house TRU threat research team backs proactive hunting

Things to check

• Premium pricing; not positioned for the very low end of SMB
• Atlas terminology has shifted across MDR / XDR / agentic AI; clarify current taxonomy in contract
• Limited public pricing

Pricing: Custom (contact sales)