EDR is a proactive solutionthat applies advanced threat detection and prevention to your endpoints.

EDR primarily focuses on securing and protecting individual devices—e.g., laptops, servers, etc.—by detecting and investigating suspicious activity at the endpoint level. This powerful tool continuously monitors devices for potential threats, like unauthorized access attempts or the execution of harmful code. 

When something malicious is found, EDR alerts you that something’s wrong and needs further investigation, giving you the insights it found

On the other hand, MDR uses the expertise of humans and 24/7 monitoring on top of EDR. It includes a team of “threat hunters” who leverage EDR as a tool to monitor your systems and respond to incidents. This fully managed service combines EDR tech with human expertise to create a more comprehensive security approach.

• 24/7 threat monitoring: Keeps an ever-vigilant eye on endpoints to detect real-time cyber threats. 

• Behavioral analytics and machine learning: Pinpoints complex threats by analyzing patterns and spotlighting suspicious activity. 

• Automated threat response: Quickly neutralizes risks by isolating compromised endpoints, blocking harmful processes, and mitigating potential damage. 

• In-depth forensic reporting: Provides detailed data for incident investigations and assists with industry-specific compliance instances. 

• 24/7 threat monitoring and management: Security experts continually watch over your environments to detect and neutralize threats in real time.

• Proactive threat hunting: Threat hunters identify hidden or emerging threats that automated systems might overlook.

• Incident response expertise: Skilled cyber “detectives” analyze forensics,  respond to attacks, and neutralize them before they hit.

• Custom security strategies: Experts act as cybersecurity consultants who tailor solutions to unique business needs and risks.

EDR and MDR are both cybersecurity solutions that aim to neutralize cyberattacks before they cause serious damage. EDR is like a sophisticated security system that alerts and deters threats as they happen. MDR takes it a step further and pairs EDR with human protectors who patrol the grounds and use their expertise to respond to threats. 

The combination of EDR and MDR gives you an overarching approach to investigating, detecting, and neutralizing cyber threats. EDR gives you automated surveillance and threat mitigation, while MDR builds on this with human expertise to tackle more sophisticated threats and ever-changing risks. 

The human element is one of the biggest core differences between EDR and MDR.

At-a-glance EDR vs MDR

EDR relies on sophisticated tech to precisely monitor, detect, and respond to threats. It scans your endpoints for anomalies and can neutralize threats as they appear.

Still, EDR can only operate within its programmed parameters. In other words, EDR’s effectiveness can be limited without expert oversight.

Meanwhile, MDR combines the tech of EDR with human expertise and instinct. These cybersecurity experts can interpret data, make real-time strategic decisions, and use their skills to adapt to unexpected challenges quickly.

Here’s how: 

Let’s say a cybercriminal launches a phishing attack, tricking an employee to download a malicious file. An EDR solution would detect this activity, and using AI and playbooks, the infected endpoint would be isolated to stop the malware from spreading. From there, EDR would analyze the incident and generate a post-event report for your team to review. While this effective and automated process contains and neutralizes threats, your team still needs to interpret data, identify root causes, and follow up on the next steps. 

That’s all assuming it was set up correctly in the first place. Otherwise, it will just alert you to the fact, and you'll still have to do the work outlined above—manually.

With MDR, the response goes a step further. The security team monitors endpoints with EDR, but when the same phishing attack happens, not only does the team detect the activity, isolate the endpoint, and neutralize the threat, it also launches an in-depth investigation. The human experts analyze, assess the potential impact, and decide on your next steps in real time. 

So, while EDR automates threat detection and containment, MDR adds expert oversight to address threats with intelligence, adaptability, and strategic precision.

Choosing between EDR or MDR largely depends on a business’s security needs, resources, and priorities. Generally speaking, a business will choose standard EDR because:

• They want the most cost-effective option.

• They have an in-house security team that can be responsible for deploying it.

• They primarily focus on endpoint protection versus coverage of an entire system.

• They want automated responses to detected threats.

A business might go with MDR over EDR because:

• They want a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity with 24/7 monitoring and protection across their entire digital infrastructure, including clouds, endpoints servers, etc.

• They don’t have the in-house expertise to manage their own security operations.

• They’re concerned with complex and evolving threats such as zero day vulnerabilities, insider threats, recurring threats, etc.

• They value hyper-proactivity when it comes to threat hunting.

Many MDR solutions can become pretty expensive, especially when add-on services like advanced threat hunting or incident response retainers are included. Depending on the provider, coverage may focus on only certain environments, leaving gaps that require multiple services. Plus, offloading security to a third party can also reduce internal visibility and control, and reliance on strict SLAs doesn’t guarantee the speed or thoroughness you may need in a crisis during a cyberattack.

If you want powerful, expert-led endpoint detection and accessible pricing without the trade-offs, Huntress Managed EDR has you covered. You get the advantages of EDR and MDR without sacrificing flexibility, user-friendliness, or cost-effectiveness. Our platform gives you deep endpoint security backed by a 24/7 Security Operations Center (SOC) with a team of threat hunters who actively detect, investigate, and respond to incidents on your behalf—so you can rest easier and focus on running your business.

Plus, Huntress’ intuitive, user-friendly, and easy-to-deploy platform gives you the scalability to make cybersecurity simple and effective, all with transparent pricing (with no hidden fees). 

Ready to take cybersecurity to the next level? Learn more and schedule a demo to see Huntress Managed EDR up close.

Watch The Use-Case for EDR and Introducing Process Insights on our YouTube Channel.