Binary Defense MDR vs Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response comparison

Binary Defense and Palo Alto Networks are both solutions in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category. Binary Defense is ranked #8 with an average rating of 9.4, while Palo Alto Networks is ranked #42. Binary Defense holds a 0.6% mindshare in MDR, compared to Palo Alto Networks’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Binary Defense users are willing to recommend the solution.

Binary Defense MDR

Read 16 Binary Defense MDR reviews

5,910 Views
2,423 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Unit 42 Managed Detection a...

Read 1 Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response review

257 Views
211 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Binary Defense MDR

Unit 42 Managed Detection a...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Binary Defense MDR and Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, Huntress, Field Effect and others in Managed Detection and Response (MDR).

To learn more, read our detailed Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

June 2025

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Helped 861,803 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Unit 42 Managed Detection a...

Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

42nd

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP) (60th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Binary Defense MDR is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response is 0.7%. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Featured Reviews

Rich Ullom

AVP, IT Security Compliance and Audit/Information Security Officer at The Western Reserve Group

Worth the money, fantastic communication, and fast service with an average response time of about four minutes on an alert

This is my third SOC. I have never had anybody react as well. So, it's hard for me to provide something that they could do better because I'm really happy with them. I just signed another three-year contract with them. 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. Consistent staffing is the only challenge they have because when you're hiring level-one analysts, you go through them pretty quickly. You'll probably hire them at 50K or 55K, and after they do it for a year, they find out they can make 85K somewhere else, and they bounce. So, their turnover is a little high, but that's it.

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MohammedSirajuddin

Lead Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Flexible and reduces IT operations but requires local data sovereignty and competitive pricing

I prefer having local data sovereignty. It would be advantageous for Palo Alto to have local data centers across different countries to adhere to this requirement. I also have a concern regarding pricing, which is perceived as high compared to competitors. Improvements should focus on response times and reducing the time taken to reach solutions.

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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 best part about Binary Defense MDR is that it runs on everything, and they keep an eye on things 24/7."

"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 speed at which their services are reactive is valuable. Nowadays, when a threat hits an endpoint, you've got minutes, not hours or days. Their average response time is about four minutes on an alert. For anything that needs to be sent to us, it's about fourteen minutes, which is pretty good. They're the third SOC that I've used in fifteen years. By far, they are the quickest ones to act. When you're looking at prevention, that's a key factor."

"The most valuable features are the SIEM and the ticketing function; the latter is very smooth and easy to read and understand. We don't have any issues looking at the ticketing information when we're trying to identify what's going on."

"The case interface is Binary Defense MDR's most valuable feature."

"With Binary Defense, we don't just get an alert, but also a detailed rundown of why they're alerting us on it. They tell us what was executed, or the username, script, or IP. That way, we're not wasting time investigating."

More Binary Defense MDR pros

"Unit 42 MDR provides us with managed detection and response functionalities, eliminating the need for capital expenditure since it is an operational expenditure-based service."

Cons

"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."

"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."

"The only area for improvement that I can think of relates to statistical analysis for SLAs. They are in the middle of moving to a new product called D3 which is going to do some backend work for them. I know they are working to improve some of the help desk statistics, such as the time the tickets open and the time they are closed."

"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."

"Binary Defense MDR could be even better with additional features, like automatic scans and file quarantine."

"I would like to see more frequent check-ins with our security status."

"We found a couple of bugs in the user interface."

"The only area I see for improvement with Binary Defense is their service portal. It could benefit from some enhancements."

More Binary Defense MDR cons

"I have a concern regarding pricing, which is perceived as high compared to competitors."

"I also have a concern regarding pricing, which is perceived as high compared to competitors."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"From the initial cost that Binary Defense came in with, we pared it down quite a bit over the course of 30 or 60 days. My leadership would say that their cost was high, but realistically, they were in line with the market."

"It has been good. We have saved money, and we have a better product."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"The pricing is very good. They are definitely competitive and they were lower at the time that we went with them."

"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."

More Binary Defense MDR pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response?

I find the pricing to be expensive, especially when compared with competitors who offer significant discounts. Palo Alto has room to become more competitive in its pricing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response?

Unit 42 is a Managed Detection and Response solution with MDR capabilities. I use it in a managed service context where my organization's security needs are catered to by Palo Alto. Generally, it i...

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Compared 12% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Binary Defense MDR

July 2025

Download Binary Defense MDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Managed Security Services Providers (MSSP)

January 2025

Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response report

Download Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response product report

Also Known As

Binary Defense Vision, Binary Defense Managed Detection and Response, Binary Defense Managed Detection & Response

No data available

Overview

Binary Defense provides a Managed Detection and Response service using an Open XDR strategy that detects and isolates threats early in the attack lifecycle. Expert security analysts in the Binary Defense Security Operations Center leverage an attacker’s mindset, monitoring your environments for security events 24x7x365 and acting as an extension of your security teams. When a security event occurs, Binary Defense analysts triage, disposition, and prioritize the event. Analysts conduct full kill chain analysis and supply tactical and strategic mitigation recommendations to your security team with the goal of increasing your organization’s security posture against the latest adversary threats.

Visit us online at https://www.binarydefense.com

Binary Defense

Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response provides advanced threat detection and response services, leveraging AI and expert analysis to enhance cybersecurity for organizations. It focuses on real-time incident detection, thorough investigation, and effective remediation strategies.

Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response addresses cybersecurity challenges with a comprehensive approach that combines threat intelligence, AI technologies, and human expertise. It offers rapid incident response capabilities, ensuring threats are identified and neutralized swiftly to minimize impact. Its architecture is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing security frameworks, providing a tailored security experience. The adaptability and real-time features cater to dynamic threat landscapes, offering both proactive and reactive security measures tailored to industry needs.

What are the key features of Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response?

Real-Time Threat Detection: Uses AI and threat intelligence to identify threats as they occur.
Advanced Investigation Tools: Provides in-depth analysis to trace the source and impact of security incidents.
Expert Incident Response: Rapid deployment of response strategies by cybersecurity experts.
Seamless Integration: Works with existing systems for a cohesive security solution.
Customized Security Strategies: Tailored solutions addressing specific industry-related threats.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Enhanced Security Posture: Improved cyber threat defense through expert-led detection and response.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces costs related to security breaches and system downtimes.
Time-Saving: Automated processes accelerate threat response and resolution times.
Risk Mitigation: Decreases potential business risks associated with cyber attacks.

Implementation of Unit 42 Managed Detection and Response in sectors like finance and healthcare addresses prevalent challenges with industry-specific solutions. For financial institutions, it ensures security compliance and data protection against fraud. In healthcare, it safeguards patient data and complies with regulatory requirements. Its tailored implementation enhances the security framework, effectively managing complex threats in these sensitive environments.

Palo Alto Networks

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

Buyer's Guide

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

June 2025

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