CrowdStrike vs Datto EDR: Which Fits MSPs and IT Teams

CrowdStrike and Datto EDR both put a detection agent on the endpoint, but they reach the MSP from opposite directions. CrowdStrike sells a security platform that MSPs resell or run on top of their own tools, while Datto EDR arrives inside Kaseya's RMM and the Kaseya 365 Endpoint bundle. This comparison covers how each one detects and responds, what each costs per endpoint, how the MSP programs differ, and who each one fits.

TL;DR

• Short answer. CrowdStrike Falcon is a detection-first platform with modules on one sensor. Datto EDR is an EDR built into the Kaseya stack, switched on from Datto RMM and sold with antivirus, patching, backup and a managed SOC.
• Price. CrowdStrike lists Falcon Go, Pro and Enterprise at $59.99, $99.99 and $184.99 per device a year. Kaseya quotes Kaseya 365 Endpoint, which it announced in 2024 at $5.25 per endpoint a month for Pro and $2.25 for Express.
• MSPs. CrowdStrike runs through partner licences and the Flight Control console. Datto EDR runs from the Datto RMM agent, with RocketCyber's SOC in the Kaseya 365 Pro tier.
• Fit. Pick by stack first: a Datto RMM shop gets Datto EDR with little extra work, while a team that needs detection depth on any RMM points to CrowdStrike.

Two Starting Points: a Sensor and a Bundle

CrowdStrike starts with the Falcon sensor. One agent on Windows, macOS and Linux blocks threats on the device and streams process, file and network activity to CrowdStrike's cloud, where the Threat Graph correlates it across customers. Exposure management, SIEM, identity protection and IT operations are added as modules that read from the same sensor. Our Falcon EDR and XDR guide covers the detection side in depth.

Datto EDR starts with the RMM. Datto's product page describes it as activated with one click and managed through Datto RMM, with agents for Windows, macOS and Linux and behavioural detection that works alongside Datto AV, the separate next-gen antivirus. Ransomware Detection, with a rollback that Datto says does not depend on Windows shadow copies, comes included with Datto EDR on Windows endpoints. Since September 2025 the console also carries Smart Investigate, an AI assistant that summarises suspicious command lines and processes in a behavioural alert.

The practical difference is what you buy alongside the agent. A Falcon deployment is a security purchase that sits next to whatever RMM and backup you already run, priced per tier and module as our CrowdStrike pricing guide explains. A Datto EDR deployment usually rides on a Kaseya relationship that already includes the RMM, and the decision is about switching on more of the same stack.

Detection, Response and Rollback on the Endpoint

Both products do the core EDR job: record endpoint behaviour, raise alerts on suspicious activity, isolate a host and remove the threat. Where they differ is in what sits around that core. Falcon adds threat intelligence on named adversaries, managed threat hunting in its higher tiers and an AI analyst in Charlotte AI. Datto EDR leans on automation, with automated responses to common detections and the file rollback that restores encrypted data after a ransomware event.

The rollback is the feature Datto EDR buyers mention most, and it has scope limits worth reading. Datto's help documentation says the ransomware monitor supports Windows only and needs the rollback agent installed on each protected endpoint, and that if ransomware detection runs in Datto EDR it must be turned off in Datto RMM. Kaseya added Windows ARM64 support in April 2026. Falcon's answer to the same event is prevention first, with blocking and quarantine on the sensor and recovery left to your backup.

The short video below, recorded by an MSP, runs a ransomware simulation and shows Datto EDR isolating the infected machine.

Pricing: a Published List Against a Bundle Quote

CrowdStrike publishes three self-serve tiers on its pricing page, read in November 2026. Falcon Go is $59.99 per device a year and capped at 100 devices, Falcon Pro is $99.99 and Falcon Enterprise, the tier with Insight XDR, is $184.99. Each comes with a 15-day free trial. Falcon Complete, CrowdStrike's managed detection and response, and all partner bundles are quoted.

Kaseya quotes Kaseya 365 Endpoint rather than publishing a rate card. At the April 2024 launch, Channel Futures reported a list price of $5.25 per endpoint a month for the full bundle, with Express, which drops the managed SOC, at $2.25. For that money the bundle covers Datto RMM or VSA, Datto AV, third-party patching, Datto EDR with ransomware detection, endpoint backup and, in Pro, RocketCyber's SOC.

Datto EDR is also sold on its own. Invenio IT, a Datto reseller, lists Datto EDR from $2.99 per endpoint a month and RocketCyber MDR at $7.99, with the exact rate set by quote. Treat these as reseller starting points, not Kaseya prices.

The comparison only works on the same scope. Fifty endpoints on Kaseya 365 Pro at the 2024 list come to $262.50 a month and include the RMM, backup and a SOC. Fifty endpoints on Falcon Enterprise come to about $771 a month for the EDR alone, before an RMM, backup or a managed service. If you already pay for those elsewhere, set Falcon against Datto EDR alone, or against Express, rather than the full bundle.

The MSP View: Consoles, Licences and the SOC

CrowdStrike sells to MSPs under two partner models in its public terms: the MSP Partner, who manages the client's own Falcon instance, and the CrowdStrike Powered Service Provider, who buys licences and packages them into its own service. Multi-tenancy comes from Flight Control, a parent-and-child console included with Falcon Insight XDR. Our CrowdStrike for MSPs guide covers the routes, distributors and margins.

Kaseya builds its MSP terms around the bundle. Its Kaseya 365 Endpoint page says new customers start at 50 endpoints, existing customers license at the count of their largest component, and each subscription covers one customer's endpoints. The RMM integration is the main draw for MSPs already on Datto RMM: EDR deploys from the agent they already run, and alerts can flow to RocketCyber's SOC without a second vendor.

MSPs comparing the two on r/msp tend to split along the same line. In the October 2025 thread below, an MSP moving off Datto EDR and AV asked whether to go to Bitdefender or CrowdStrike, and the replies weighed detection depth and multi-tenant setup against cost per seat.

Who It Fits: MSPs and In-House IT Teams

For an MSP. Datto EDR fits an MSP already standardised on Datto RMM or VSA that wants EDR, antivirus, backup and a SOC on one Kaseya invoice, and our Kaseya pricing guide covers the contract terms behind it. CrowdStrike fits an MSP whose clients ask for a named security platform, that wants to sell Falcon Complete under its own service, or that runs an RMM outside the Kaseya stack.

For an in-house IT team. Kaseya sells mostly through MSPs and its bundle starts at 50 endpoints, so a small internal team usually meets Datto EDR through a co-managed provider. CrowdStrike sells Falcon Go and Pro directly with a card, which suits a team under 100 devices that wants to start this week. A team that already runs Falcon can add Falcon for IT for endpoint operations on the same sensor.

For the rest of the stack. Neither choice settles the RMM question for a team that is not on Kaseya. An open RMM such as OpenFrame lists $1 per device a month with 10 million AI tokens included on its pricing page, and runs alongside Falcon or any other EDR. Flamingo builds OpenFrame, which competes with some of the tools covered here.

The short answer: choose Datto EDR when Kaseya already runs your endpoints and you want security on the same agent and invoice, and choose CrowdStrike when detection depth comes first and the RMM is your own choice. Compare the quotes on the same scope, line by line, and if neither fits, the CrowdStrike alternatives guide lists other options sorted by buyer.