MDR vs EDR: When to Choose Each
Updated 26 March 2026
EDR gives your team the tools to detect and respond. MDR provides those same tools plus a team of analysts who do the work around the clock. The right choice depends on your in-house capacity, coverage requirements, and budget.
| Factor | EDR (Tool Only) | MDR (Managed Service) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Software tool your team operates | Software plus 24-hour managed analyst service |
| Staffing required | Minimum 1 to 2 security analysts on your team | No in-house security team required |
| Alert triage | Your team triages all alerts | Provider triages and filters to high-confidence incidents |
| Threat hunting | You run hunts (if team has capacity) | Provider hunts proactively on schedule |
| Incident response | Your team responds | Provider guides or takes containment actions |
| Coverage hours | Business hours unless team works shifts | 24x7 for standard MDR services |
| Time to detect | Depends on analyst availability and skill | Provider SLA - typically 1 to 8 hours |
| Alert fatigue | High - all alerts go to your team | Low - provider filters 90%+ before escalating |
| Cost per endpoint/mo | $3 to $15 (tool licence only) | $15 to $50 (tool plus analysts) |
| Best at 500 endpoints | $24,000 to $90,000/year | $90,000 to $300,000/year |
| Cyber insurance credit | Accepted as baseline control | Higher credit for MDR with 24-hour SLA |
| Compliance documentation | Raw logs and alerts | Investigation reports, monthly security summaries |
Choose EDR when...
- ✓You have 2 or more in-house security analysts with capacity to monitor alerts
- ✓Your team has existing SOC tooling (SIEM, SOAR) and wants to add EDR data
- ✓You need full control over detection logic and response actions
- ✓Budget is primary concern and you can accept business-hours coverage
- ✓You are planning to build MDR capabilities in-house over 12 to 24 months
Choose MDR when...
- ✓You lack a dedicated security team or analyst capacity to cover alerts daily
- ✓Your business requires 24x7 threat coverage and cannot staff night shifts
- ✓Cyber insurance or compliance (SOC 2, PCI DSS) requires documented incident response
- ✓You have experienced a breach or near-miss and need immediate coverage uplift
- ✓Your IT team is generalist and cannot be expected to investigate sophisticated attacks
The hidden cost of EDR without analysts
EDR tools generate 100 to 500 alerts per 100 endpoints per week. Without dedicated analyst time to triage these alerts, two things happen: alert fatigue leads to important signals being missed, or staff burnout drives security team turnover. The average cost of replacing a security analyst is $40,000 to $80,000 in recruitment and training. Factor this into your EDR vs MDR decision.
68%
of security teams report alert fatigue as their top challenge
197 days
average time to identify a breach without MDR monitoring
$1.12M
average cost saving when a breach is contained within 30 days