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Expel vs Field Effect MDR comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Expel
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
SOC as a Service (4th)
Field Effect MDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
7th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Expel is 2.5%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Field Effect MDR is 1.4%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Field Effect MDR1.4%
Expel2.5%
Other96.1%
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2917971 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder And Principal Technical Consultant at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Expel has transformed MDR workflows and now streamlines phishing response and SOC 2 audits
Some of the best features Expel offers is the ease of use. Ease of use is top of mind. It also provides an opportunity for me to replace my SOC. Not necessarily replace my SOC because I utilize contractors on an as-needed basis, but it allows me to stay lean. I do get 24/7 monitoring, although they recently shortened up on the 24/7 monitoring offering. It also allows me to augment the existing SOC that I have for larger companies or larger enterprises that rely on me for that. It then extends the use of the tools I already have, as I mentioned with SentinelOne. Octa is another that comes to mind, and then for larger organizations that use CrowdStrike.
reviewer2753850 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Customer security is enhanced with software and update detection while licensing process needs improvement
A quick specific example of how I use Field Effect MDR to keep my customers secure is that it helps me identify computers that need updates, even when I believe they are already updated. Field Effect MDR finds software and Windows updates that aren't being completed, which I find very valuable.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Expel's customer support is great."
"Their threat hunting protocol and process with AI and machine learning are strong, allowing for active and rapid responses."
"The solution's advanced detection behaviors, automated notifications and responses, and automated remediation behaviors are valuable features."
"The most valuable aspects of Covalence for me are the exceptional customer service and the support from the dedicated team."
"The most valuable feature is the network traffic monitoring function."
"The most valuable features are Action Recommendations of Observations, which keep us informed about existing vulnerabilities so we can proactively update our endpoints and those of our customers against potential threats."
"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."
"It is very user-friendly. We have regular reports to see what is going on."
"One of the most useful and impressive features of the system is its detailed notification mechanism."
"The alerts that we get are valuable. It notifies us if there is any attempted access and if there are any areas where we need to create more security for clients. It is stopping anything from happening before there is even an issue."
 

Cons

"I think the 24/7 SOC could be improved."
"The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solution. There's a gap there, and solutions might require third-party assistance for management."
"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."
"The tagging of ARO closure has room for improvement."
"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."
"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."
"Covalence's SEAS feature wasn't very user-friendly."
"I'd suggest that Field Effect focus more on including things like phishing simulation and cybersecurity training."
"Some resources lack experience, but issues can be escalated to more knowledgeable contacts."
"They put too much detail into the emails."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The licensing model itself is solid, but we're ironing out some inconsistencies in how customer profiles are configured."
"We were particularly impressed with their pricing model, which charges per user rather than per system."
"Covalence is cost-effective."
"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."
"We're currently enrolled in the volume package, which offers tiered pricing based on usage."
"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."
"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."
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919,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Expel?
Expel's pricing has adapted as the market evolved and has become competitive over the past twelve months.
What needs improvement with Expel?
The one area where Expel may not measure up is if a customer requires a managed SIEM as part of their overall solution. There's a gap there, and solutions might require third-party assistance for m...
What is your primary use case for Expel?
I have experience reselling Expel. Customers often come to me wanting to evaluate multiple providers to make a choice based on their specific use cases, requirements, technology investments, and so...
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?
One way Field Effect MDR can be improved is through its licensing process, which is not ideal. The licensing process is difficult because I have to access a separate website to complete it.
What is your primary use case for Field Effect Covalence?
My main use case for Field Effect MDR is keeping my customers secure.
 

Also Known As

Workbench, Expel SOC-as-a-Service
Field Effect Covalence
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amanda Fennell CSO
Field Effect MDR is widely adopted by managed service providers (MSPs) and organizations with lean IT teams. It is used to monitor, detect, and respond to threats across distributed environments, helping businesses strengthen their cybersecurity posture while maintaining operational efficiency. Organizations rely on Field Effect MDR to protect hybrid infrastructures, secure cloud applications, and defend against modern threats, including increasingly automated and AI-driven attacks, while maintaining compliance and resilience in a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
Find out what your peers are saying about Huntress, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and others in Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Updated: October 2026.
919,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.