CrowdStrike vs SentinelOne vs Bitdefender: Which EDR Is Right for Your Small Business?

Bitdefender GravityZone is the strongest value for lean IT teams. SentinelOne Singularity offers the most capable autonomous ransomware rollback. CrowdStrike Falcon is the leading choice for co-managed security environments.

All three are credible platforms, but they serve fundamentally different types of buyers. This comparison covers real pricing for 10 to 100 endpoints, what each vendor actually delivers at their SMB tier, management overhead for small teams, and clear recommendations based on your IT capacity.

If you're still deciding whether you need EDR at all, start with our EDR vs Antivirus guide. This article assumes you've already made that decision and need to choose a product.

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At a Glance: CrowdStrike vs SentinelOne vs Bitdefender

Which one is right for you? (Quick Reference)

Each of these recommendations is explained in detail in the operational scenarios section below.

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How much does EDR actually cost for 10–100 devices?

Expect to pay $600/year for CrowdStrike Falcon Go, $700–800/year for SentinelOne Core/Control, and as low as $270–390/year for Bitdefender GravityZone for a 10-device fleet.

Total Annual Cost by Fleet Size

CrowdStrike and SentinelOne prices based on published list rates. Bitdefender's lower bound reflects frequent promotional pricing (~$27/device); upper bound is the standard list rate (~$39/device). All prices are pre-tax USD as of February 2026. Verify current pricing at each vendor's website before purchasing.

What the Price Tags Don't Tell You

CrowdStrike's 100-device ceiling. Falcon Go maxes out at 100 endpoints. If your business is growing past that, you'll need to upgrade to Falcon Pro — a different product at a higher price point with a sales-driven purchasing process. For a 30-person company planning to double in three years, this ceiling matters now.

SentinelOne's quote-first reality. The published $69.99 (Core) and $79.99 (Control) per-endpoint prices are list rates. Most SMBs purchase through resellers or MSPs, where actual pricing varies. Mid-market companies (500+ endpoints) typically negotiate 15–25% below list price. For smaller deployments, expect to pay closer to list.

Bitdefender's transparency advantage. Both Bitdefender and CrowdStrike (Falcon Go) now offer direct online purchasing — you can select your device count and buy with a credit card without speaking to sales. However, Bitdefender's tiering structure is more straightforward: no 100-device cap to navigate, and the base Business Security tier frequently drops to ~$27/device during promotions (the site runs a 30% discount more often than not), making street pricing significantly lower than the $39/device list rate. SentinelOne remains the only one of the three that typically requires going through a reseller or MSP.

The hidden cost of MDR. All three vendors charge extra for managed detection and response (24/7 monitoring by their team). Budget an additional $5–20/endpoint/month on top of base platform costs if you want human analysts watching your alerts. For a 25-device deployment, that's $1,500–6,000/year on top of the platform license.

If all three are over budget, Malwarebytes for Teams (under 20 devices, ~$50/endpoint/year) or ThreatDown Core (for larger fleets) is a credible lower-cost option worth evaluating. See our Malwarebytes business review for a detailed breakdown.

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Do all three entry tiers actually include EDR?

No. None of the entry-level SMB tiers from these vendors deliver full EDR telemetry and forensic investigation. Understanding what each product actually includes at the tier you can afford helps you set realistic expectations before purchasing.

Is CrowdStrike Falcon Go a full EDR solution?

No. Falcon Go is a next-generation antivirus (NGAV) with device control and mobile protection, not an EDR platform. It uses CrowdStrike's cloud-based AI to block malware and provides USB device management, but it does not include the granular Insight XDR telemetry that analysts use to investigate how a breach was attempted. Those features require Falcon Pro ($99.99/device) or Enterprise — products with enterprise pricing and a sales-driven procurement process.

This is the most common point of confusion for SMBs shopping CrowdStrike. Falcon Go is a strong preventative tool for fleets under 100 devices. It's not the EDR platform that wins Gartner Magic Quadrant placements.

Does SentinelOne Singularity include ransomware rollback?

Yes. SentinelOne's rollback engine is technically available starting at the Core tier ($69.99/endpoint/yr), though most SMBs should choose Control ($79.99/endpoint/yr). Control adds Firewall Control and USB Device Management that replace legacy antivirus functions, making it the more complete suite for small businesses. Complete ($159.99+/endpoint/yr) delivers full EDR with 14-day data retention, advanced Storyline forensics, and threat hunting.

The autonomous response features — where the agent detects, contains, and remediates threats without waiting for a human analyst — work across all tiers. For SMBs without a security operations center, that autonomous capability matters more than EDR telemetry you'd never have time to analyze.

Does Bitdefender GravityZone include ransomware protection?

Yes. GravityZone Business Security delivers multi-layered protection including machine learning, behavioral analysis, exploit prevention, network attack defense, and ransomware mitigation with file rollback — all without requiring the Enterprise tier. Full EDR telemetry (GravityZone Business Security Enterprise) is a separate, higher-priced product.

For most SMBs, the base Business Security tier provides substantially more built-in capability than its price suggests. Bitdefender consistently ranks first in independent AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives evaluations for detection rate and performance, with near-zero false positives — a relevant factor when your IT team doesn't have bandwidth to chase phantom alerts. For a broader look at how Bitdefender fits into a complete security stack, see our cybersecurity software guide for small businesses.

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What happens when an alert fires and you don't have a SOC?

Every endpoint security product generates alerts. The question most comparisons ignore — and the most important variable for small businesses — is who investigates and responds to those alerts at 2 AM on a Saturday? Understanding what actually happens when a business gets breached makes it clear why response capacity matters as much as detection capability.

Scenario A: Solo IT Manager (Overwhelmed)

You manage IT, purchasing, and everything in between. Security is one of many responsibilities, not a dedicated role.

Recommendation: Bitdefender GravityZone or SentinelOne Control. Both are designed to act autonomously — detect, contain, and remediate without requiring manual investigation for most threats. Bitdefender's console is the simplest to operate day-to-day. SentinelOne's rollback feature provides a safety net for ransomware scenarios where automated containment alone isn't enough.

If you realize you can't handle any alerts, consider adding a managed detection and response (MDR) service. Bitdefender MDR Foundations starts at around $7–10/endpoint/month as an add-on to GravityZone, and SentinelOne's Vigilance service provides 24/7 analyst coverage at a similar price point. Both effectively outsource the "2 AM alert" problem for a predictable monthly fee.

Scenario B: Small IT Team (2–5 People)

Your team covers infrastructure, support, and security. At least one member has security training, but nobody does it full-time.

Recommendation: SentinelOne Control or Complete. The autonomous response reduces alert fatigue so your team can focus on the incidents that actually need human judgment. Storyline's visual attack timeline helps less-experienced analysts understand what happened without deep forensics training. You get meaningful protection on autopilot with the ability to investigate when needed.

Scenario C: Dedicated Security Person or MSSP

You have a security-focused team member or an MSSP handling alert triage and incident response.

Recommendation: CrowdStrike Falcon becomes the strongest contender here. Its threat intelligence depth — drawing from telemetry across millions of global endpoints — rewards operators who have the skills and time to investigate. Falcon OverWatch (managed threat hunting add-on) pairs CrowdStrike's detection with proactive human hunting that catches what automated tools miss. This combination is highly effective, but it requires the operational maturity to use it.

Decision Matrix

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How do CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Bitdefender compare on detection?

CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike's core strength is threat intelligence at scale. The Falcon platform aggregates telemetry from millions of endpoints globally, feeding one of the industry's largest threat intelligence networks. When a new attack technique appears anywhere in that network, detection updates propagate to all customers in near real-time.

Falcon OverWatch is the managed threat hunting add-on that makes CrowdStrike genuinely differentiated for organizations willing to pay for it. Human analysts proactively hunt across your environment for threats that automated detection misses. For businesses that can afford it and have the IT maturity to act on OverWatch findings, it adds meaningful value to the overall security posture.

The cloud-native architecture means zero signature file downloads and minimal endpoint resource usage. Updates happen silently through the cloud.

Where it falls short for SMBs: Detection generates alerts and telemetry. Responding effectively requires either skilled in-house analysts or an MSSP. Without that operational layer, CrowdStrike's detection depth can generate more alerts than a lean team can realistically act on.

Is CrowdStrike safe to use after the July 2024 outage?

Yes. CrowdStrike remains a top-tier security provider, having overhauled its content update procedures following the July 19, 2024, incident.

The outage was caused by a logic error in "Channel File 291" — not a cyberattack — and triggered Windows BSOD crashes across hosts running the Falcon sensor. CrowdStrike now utilizes a staged deployment strategy for configuration updates, preventing a recurrence of simultaneous global fleet failures. Approximately 99% of affected sensors were back online by July 29, and Mac and Linux systems were never affected.

For most SMBs, the platform's detection efficacy outweighs this historical risk. That said, businesses where even hours of endpoint downtime carry significant cost should factor this incident into their evaluation alongside CrowdStrike's otherwise strong track record.

SentinelOne Singularity

SentinelOne's defining characteristic is autonomous, on-device AI. The behavioral engine runs entirely at the endpoint, meaning it can detect and respond to threats without cloud connectivity. For businesses with manufacturing floors, medical facilities, legal offices, or remote sites with unreliable internet, this offline capability is a genuine operational advantage.

Ransomware Rollback via Storyline is the headline feature that influences buying decisions at the SMB level. The rollback engine is available from the Core tier, with the full suite experience (including Firewall Control and Device Management) at Control ($79.99/endpoint/yr). Storyline uses Windows Volume Shadow Copy snapshots taken every four hours to restore encrypted or deleted files to their pre-attack state. If ransomware begins encrypting files, SentinelOne can roll the affected system back automatically. This is a notable differentiator among entry-to-mid-tier products in this category. Important: Rollback is Windows-only — macOS and Linux endpoints get strong prevention but not the file-recovery safety net.

Purple AI (available as an add-on) brings generative AI-powered threat analysis that lets lean teams ask natural-language questions about their environment — useful for investigation without a trained analyst.

Limitations: On-device AI processing can use more system resources than cloud-only approaches on older hardware. Console complexity sits between Bitdefender (simpler) and CrowdStrike (more complex).

Bitdefender GravityZone

Bitdefender's philosophy is prevention-first, low-noise protection. Rather than emphasizing post-breach investigation, GravityZone focuses on stopping threats before they execute, and its independent test results support that approach.

Independent test results tell the story: Bitdefender consistently holds top placements in AV-Comparatives 2025 enterprise tests for real-world protection, malware protection, and advanced threat protection. CrowdStrike achieved a perfect 100% detection and 100% protection score in the 2025 MITRE Enterprise Evaluations. Bitdefender did not participate in the 2025 MITRE round, though their track record in previous evaluations (2022–2024, where they scored 100% detection) and current AV-TEST results confirms both vendors are top-tier — they simply validate through different testing methodologies.

Network Attack Defense detects lateral movement and network-based attacks (brute force, port scanning, credential theft) without requiring full EDR capability. This catches a category of threats that endpoint-only tools miss entirely.

Sandbox Analyzer (Premium tier) detonates suspicious files in an isolated cloud environment before they reach the endpoint. HyperDetect (Premium tier) provides tunable machine learning sensitivity to reduce false positives in specific environments.

The practical advantage: Bitdefender has the lowest system resource footprint of the three — measurably less CPU and memory usage during scans. For businesses running aging hardware or resource-intensive applications, that performance gap matters daily. Endpoint protection is one layer of defense; for how it fits into a broader security architecture, see our VPN vs Zero Trust guide.

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Which EDR platform is easiest to deploy and manage?

All three use lightweight agent installers (MSI for Windows, PKG for macOS) and cloud-based management consoles, so day-one deployment is comparable. The real difference shows up at day ninety, when your team is living in the console daily.

CrowdStrike Falcon: The console is powerful, dense with data, and built for security analysts. Policy management, alert triage, and threat investigation all require familiarity with the platform. CrowdStrike offers extensive documentation and training resources, but the learning curve is real. For IT generalists who manage security as one of many responsibilities, expect 2–4 weeks before the console feels comfortable.

SentinelOne Singularity: The management console is cleaner and more approachable than CrowdStrike's for less-experienced operators. The Storyline visual timeline — showing attack chains as connected events rather than isolated alerts — significantly reduces the time needed to understand what happened during an incident. Junior analysts and IT generalists consistently rate it as more intuitive for day-to-day operations.

Bitdefender GravityZone: The simplest console of the three, designed explicitly for MSPs and lean IT teams who need clarity over depth. The dashboard surfaces risk scores, patch status, and active threats without requiring drill-down investigation for routine management. Some tiers include integrated patch management, reducing the number of separate tools your team needs to operate. If your goal is "manage endpoint security in 15 minutes a day," GravityZone is the most realistic path to that. One expectation to set: support on the lower GravityZone tiers is primarily email/ticket-based, so response times can lag behind CrowdStrike's Express Support or SentinelOne's direct chat. For urgent issues, the community knowledge base and MSP channel tend to be faster paths to resolution.

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Which EDR meets HIPAA, SOC 2, and cyber insurance requirements?

All three platforms support HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR compliance requirements at their relevant tiers. The differences emerge in specific regulatory contexts.

Healthcare (HIPAA): All three vendors provide BAAs or compliance documentation supporting HIPAA deployments. Bitdefender's lower cost per endpoint makes it particularly viable for small medical practices, dental offices, and specialty clinics where margins are tight and the endpoint count is modest.

Finance and Legal: CrowdStrike's forensic investigation depth and threat intelligence are strongest where incident documentation and evidence preservation are critical for regulatory reporting or litigation support. If your compliance framework requires detailed incident timelines and chain-of-custody evidence, CrowdStrike's higher tiers deliver that most thoroughly.

Government and Defense: CrowdStrike holds FedRAMP authorization for Falcon Pro and above. If your business serves government clients, handles CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information), or needs to demonstrate supply chain security compliance, that authorization carries weight that the other two platforms currently don't match.

Cyber Insurance: All three platforms are recognized by major cyber insurance carriers. Having any of these deployed typically satisfies endpoint security requirements on insurance applications and renewals. The specific platform rarely matters for insurance qualification — what matters is that you have a recognized, managed endpoint security tool in place and can demonstrate it. See our security compliance guide for a broader view of compliance requirements.

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Which EDR should you choose based on your team and budget?

Choose CrowdStrike Falcon If:

• You have at least one person who can regularly review and investigate security alerts
• You're working with an MSSP that already supports the Falcon platform
• You want the most recognized brand name for compliance conversations and vendor security questionnaires
• Your budget supports $60+/device/year and you want enterprise-grade threat intelligence
• You plan to add Falcon OverWatch managed hunting as your security program matures
• FedRAMP authorization matters for your client base

Be aware of the 100-device cap on Falcon Go. If your business plans to scale past 100 endpoints, start with Falcon Pro to avoid a forced migration later.

Choose SentinelOne Singularity If:

• Your IT team cannot monitor security alerts in real-time
• Ransomware is your top risk concern — Storyline rollback is the key differentiator
• You operate environments with limited or unreliable internet connectivity
• You want autonomous threat containment that reduces analyst workload
• Your budget supports $70–80/device/year (Control tier recommended for rollback)
• You value visual attack timelines that make investigations accessible to non-specialists

Choose Bitdefender GravityZone If:

• You need proven, independently top-rated protection at the lowest cost
• Your IT team is small, non-specialist, or responsible for much more than just security
• Simplicity of management is as important to you as detection capability
• You're protecting a mixed environment (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Your budget targets $27–39/device/year depending on fleet size and promotions
• You prefer buying directly online without going through a sales process

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So which EDR wins for small businesses in 2026?

Best for most SMBs without a dedicated security team: Bitdefender GravityZone. The protection is independently verified as best-in-class, the cost is the lowest of the three, the console is the easiest to manage, and you can buy it directly without a single sales call. For the majority of small businesses — the ones where IT handles security as one responsibility among many — Bitdefender delivers the best outcome per dollar and per hour of management time invested.

Best for autonomous threat response and ransomware protection: SentinelOne Singularity Control. If ransomware is your primary risk scenario and your team needs a tool that can detect, contain, and roll back an attack without waiting for human intervention, SentinelOne's Control tier at $79.99/endpoint/year justifies the premium. The Storyline rollback capability remains a notable differentiator at this price point.

Best for SMBs with MSSP support or a security-skilled IT team: CrowdStrike Falcon. The threat intelligence depth, the Falcon OverWatch managed hunting option, and the forensic investigation capabilities reward organizations that have the operational maturity to use them. For businesses that lack that capacity, a simpler tool used effectively will deliver better outcomes.

The right endpoint security platform is the one your team will actually operate well. In practice, a well-configured Bitdefender deployment managed by an attentive IT generalist is likely to deliver better outcomes than an underutilized CrowdStrike instance that nobody has time to monitor.

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Further Reading

• EDR vs Antivirus: Do You Need to Upgrade? — If you're still deciding whether EDR is worth the investment over traditional antivirus, start here.
• Best Cybersecurity Software for Small Business — A full-stack view of security tools beyond just endpoint protection.
• What Happens When Your Business Gets Hacked — The real-world timeline of a breach — and why detection speed is the variable that matters most.
• Malwarebytes Business Review — If these three platforms are over-budget, Malwarebytes Teams is a credible, lower-cost alternative worth evaluating.
• VPN vs Zero Trust for Small Business — EDR is one layer of defense. Here's how endpoint security fits into a broader zero-trust architecture.
• Small Business Security Compliance Guide — Understanding the compliance frameworks that may require specific endpoint security capabilities.