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Binary Defense MDR vs Field Effect MDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Binary Defense MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
8th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Field Effect MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
3rd
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Binary Defense MDR is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Field Effect MDR is 3.3%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Christopher-Anderson - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables us to save by not hiring a team or relying on one person for security
We began seeing benefits as soon as MDR was in place, and activity started returning on the endpoints. However, I don't think we realized the full value. We added some other things and refined the configuration to ensure we got all the reports and caught everything. Binary Defense helped reduce the volume of security alerts, which varies significantly. There were about 4,000 to 15,000 attempts to log into 365 accounts. We isolated five user accounts that threat actors were exploiting. If they choose another user to mask, we can mitigate those on the spot without returning to them. We've hardened our security posture. Instead of observing the things that come through our network, we can actually act on them. We have a team behind us to notice what they're doing. We save money by not hiring a team or relying on one person for security. With MDR, we have a team behind us, enabling us to respond more efficiently instead of just watching things happen. While Binary Defense doesn't necessarily reduce the daily workload, it reduces our stress because we had to bootstrap solutions to prevent some things from happening. Now, we have Binary Defense protecting us. Binary Defense helps identify real threats instead of flagging activity that might be construed as negative. Their team takes much of the stress and guesswork out of how we execute our security program.
Rob Schenk - PeerSpot reviewer
The most valuable aspect of the solution is the comprehensive visibility it offers
The most valuable aspect of Field MDR is the comprehensive visibility the solution offers. Most solutions cover the traditional threat landscape for endpoints, including computers, endpoints, servers, etc. However, there are also risk within the network environment, such as WiFi, mobile, the Internet of Things, smart TVs, video surveillance systems, etc., that have associated vulnerabilities. These devices may not be actively managed or protected in most environments. Field Effect MDR gives you visibility across the entire ecosystem. With this broad visibility, you can significantly lower your operational risk. Field Effect has a team of high-quality security analysts reviewing the initial triage to determine whether an alert is actionable. They clear out the false positives and feed our security operation center actionable alerts. It lets us save time because we're only dealing with real issues instead of weeding out the false positives and wasting time. Managing Field Effect is straightforward. We have a good internal process to manage this. It's mainly about having some automation in place to streamline things and having some processes for keeping my software and third-party patching up to date. A lot of security alerts fall in those areas. It helps us identify issues quickly and lower the overall risk for our client rate. It groups alerts by risk levels. The nomenclature is straightforward and easy to understand. Our engineers and technicians are well-versed in the topic.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Binary Defense has a human service department that provides live monitoring for our systems."
"The case interface is Binary Defense MDR's most valuable feature."
"The biggest aspect for us is that they are able to conform to our environment and utilize our tools. That way, we still maintain ownership of all the data and access to the applications, and we never lose control of the ability to run the solution ourselves if we need to."
"Binary Defense is comprehensive. We see most of the questionable activity. Once you see things a couple of times and are familiar with the processes, you know what those are. The level of activity is definitely favorable."
"The customization has been the most valuable aspect and was really the reason we ended up selecting Binary Defense. They worked with us to provide exactly the level of support, features, response, and collaboration we needed."
"The most valuable feature is reviewing tickets and the notes added by technicians."
"One of the main benefits of Binary Defense MDR is the ability to easily meet with their support team to discuss any issues we encounter."
"In the six months we have been with Binary Defense on this, they run with the ball. They take care of our problems. When we get a ticket, they do not just give us a report."
"The solution's advanced detection behaviors, automated notifications and responses, and automated remediation behaviors are valuable features."
"The most valuable aspect of Field Effect Covalence is its ability to continuously monitor for and identify potential threats."
"There are user notifications about our cloud solutions and access, meaning authentication and possible breaches. Overall, the notifications and alerts are valuable. There are also new features like the DNS protection, which is quite good."
"I appreciate the "set it and forget it" nature of Field Effect Covalence."
"We are getting visibility over the network, not just for those hosts that have a Field Effect EDR agent but also things like the Internet of Things, guest networks, or rogue devices. We definitely have visibility into all network traffic, which is very cool."
"The automated response feature is incredibly effective."
"I get alerts if there's malicious activity or restrictions, should they any suspicious activity emerge."
"We now have a single cybersecurity product that protects all of our threat services, and all the endpoints."
 

Cons

"The only area I see for improvement with Binary Defense is their service portal. It could benefit from some enhancements."
"While my understanding is that they're working on this, I would like to see some more of the quantification or reporting."
"The most significant area for improvement is in support for non-English speakers; we're a global organization, so many of our users are not English speakers, which can make interacting with them a challenge. There's no Chinese language support, so we must rely on what we can do with the internet. We don't expect Binary Defense to build a language staff, but details can get lost in translation when we assume the whole world speaks English."
"It's sometimes difficult to know when to engage Binary Defense or TrustedSec, their sister company. TrustedSec is more focused on offensive security, as opposed to the defensive security that the MDR solution provides. It would be awesome if there were a better bridge between that relationship for when we need to get more proactive services or when we need to do a penetration test."
"If I were shopping for an MDR solution today, I would not only look for a company that has the ability to alert, detect, and remediate, but also the ability to integrate vulnerability management. That's a big thing that they're lacking today."
"We found a couple of bugs in the user interface."
"I don't find any downside to them, but if I have to put one, it would be consistent manpower or staffing. The only area where the solution can be improved is going to be with people. As they grow, they are struggling with the same thing that every other company is, which is getting talent and getting that talent to stay, but they've just revised their tiering system to go from a flat analyst and manager to a three-tier solution where it goes through two or three before it gets elevated. That seems to have worked out well, so if one level misses it, the next one picks it up, and it works out fine."
"I would like to see more frequent check-ins with our security status."
"In the AROs tab, if we encounter multiple duplicate recommendations, it would be helpful to be able to select and resolve or dismiss them all at once."
"I would like Covalence to implement patch management as well."
"The area where they can make it better is by giving responses to the end-user. For example, when there is an alert to the administrator, I get it. I have to copy and paste everything to everyone... And then I have to follow up with them, and it's a real pain."
"It would be incredibly valuable to have the Field Effect team handle some of the third-party application patching they're currently identifying."
"It would be more effective if it could surgically isolate the specific malicious process instead of deleting the entire machine."
"Covalence should provide a live view of the endpoint because the endpoint view in the portal is 5 to 15 minutes behind the actual status of the endpoint and its vulnerabilities. When it doesn't update with the actual status, it makes managing those things harder because sometimes something gets updated, and one of those vulnerabilities has gone away, but that doesn't appear in the ARO."
"While it's essential to stay informed about potential issues, the recurring notifications about past vulnerabilities can lead to confusion and may detract from our focus on current threats."
"The interface is perhaps the weakest part of the entire platform, and that does not mean that it is deficient. It is just not as optimized and as efficient as other aspects of the platform."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's price is spot on; if anything, it's slightly below the norm for most services. Compared to building the same team internally, it would cost more to create the same amount of capability than what we get from an external team. Price-wise, Binary Defense is in a great spot."
"Binary Defense MDR is priced competitively and may be slightly lower than CrowdStrike."
"It's valued at the right price. Even with the number of endpoints we have, we don't feel that it's a lot more than any competitor. In fact, it might be less expensive when you look at the fact that you're getting a full flex SOC out of it along with the tools."
"After we acquired this platform, we met with a number of different vendors. Binary Defense came in with a proposal that was surprisingly affordable. In fact, we were able to recoup the cost of their services within a short period of time. This is because Binary Defense is able to provide the same level of security as a team of two or three in-house analysts but at a fraction of the cost. As a result, Binary Defense is saving us an estimated $250,000 to $300,000 per year."
"It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product."
"The pricing isn't that bad, it's very competitive. I don't feel that it's over-priced and I don't feel that it's under-priced."
"Binary Defense has changed its pricing model from being primarily based on the volume of data to one based on escalations and incidents they handle."
"The pricing is on target. Working with their sales team on pricing negotiations was a pleasant process. They were very respectful of the constraints we had and I feel that we're paying a fair price."
"The pricing is comparable to what else is out there."
"The pricing isn't sized, so Field Effect doesn't make it easy for anything under 25 users. I'm not crazy about that."
"The licensing model itself is solid, but we're ironing out some inconsistencies in how customer profiles are configured."
"Field Effect is fairly priced from my perspective. You get a lot of bang for the buck with this and a level of visibility that provides you with greater peace of mind knowing that the system is carefully monitored. You also have automated responses for known malicious behavior at any time of the day. Someone could have their Office 365 mailbox compromised at 2 in the morning on a Saturday when most people are asleep or not paying attention, and the system can prevent an issue in an automated way."
"It is on the high end, but it is worth it for the service that you get from them."
"While Field Effect Covalence's pricing seems competitive for the market, the biggest hurdle lies in the lack of dedicated security budgets within many organizations."
"A top-tier competitor to Field Effect in Magic Quadrant that we had been using until our switch to Field Effect was a great product, but each capability had an additional charge. We had to license modules separately, and each of those add-ons had to be added onto its own consumption and agreement. It was a nightmare from a billing perspective because we had multiple agreements, and each one had a jagged anniversary or a renewal anniversary. It was a nightmare, whereas Field Effect MDR is one product."
"Covalence is cost-effective."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
54%
Government
4%
Retailer
4%
Non Profit
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Binary Defense MDR?
The most valuable feature is reviewing tickets and the notes added by technicians.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Binary Defense MDR?
It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product. We are a company that has become an enterprise from a small medium business in two years. Our company passed a certain dollar ma...
What needs improvement with Binary Defense MDR?
We are going to have a meeting with them the following Monday. It will be our first quarterly business review. Half of it is going to be looking at new products and new functions that they are brin...
What do you like most about Field Effect Covalence?
It is very user-friendly. We have regular reports to see what is going on.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Field Effect Covalence?
Pricing was initially a concern, but the recent updates have resolved that by offering a more accessible buying cost.
What needs improvement with Field Effect Covalence?
Some resources lack experience, but issues can be escalated to more knowledgeable contacts. Pricing needed improvement, which was addressed by reducing the buying cost recently. Like any product, s...
 

Also Known As

Binary Defense Vision, Binary Defense Managed Detection and Response, Binary Defense Managed Detection & Response
Field Effect Covalence
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Securitas USA, Black Hills Energy, Lincoln Electric,The J.M. Smuckers Company, New York Community Bank, State of Connecticut, NCR
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Binary Defense MDR vs. Field Effect MDR and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.