CrowdStrike vs. Huntress: Which Endpoint Security Platform Is Right for Your SMB?

The SMB Security Reality: Why Traditional Solutions Fall Short

Small and medium businesses face a perfect storm of security challenges that make them attractive targets for cybercriminals:

• Limited IT staff: Most SMBs have 1-2 IT personnel wearing multiple hats
• Budget constraints: Security often competes with growth investments
• Compliance requirements: HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR don’t scale down for smaller businesses
• Sophisticated threats: Ransomware-as-a-Service makes enterprise-grade attacks accessible to any criminal
• Alert fatigue: Traditional tools generate thousands of false positives, overwhelming small teams

Quick Decision Guide: SMB-Focused Platform Selection

Understanding the fundamental difference: CrowdStrike replaces your entire security stack, while Huntress supplements your existing antivirus. Here’s how to choose based on your current infrastructure and needs.

Why SMBs Can No Longer Rely on Basic Antivirus

The cybersecurity landscape has fundamentally changed for small businesses. Modern threats like living-off-the-land attacks, fileless malware, and supply chain compromises bypass traditional antivirus completely. Meanwhile, compliance frameworks now require businesses of all sizes to demonstrate active threat detection and response capabilities.

Whether you’re proactively strengthening your security posture or responding to emerging threats in your industry, this guide provides a detailed comparison of two leading platforms: CrowdStrike Falcon with its new SMB pricing tiers and managed services, and Huntress with its purpose-built SMB and MSP focus. Both can protect your business, but the right choice depends on your industry, growth trajectory, and internal capabilities.

CrowdStrike Falcon: Enterprise Security Made SMB-Accessible

CrowdStrike has recognized that SMBs need enterprise-grade protection without enterprise complexity. Their Falcon Go platform delivers the same AI-powered prevention that protects Fortune 500 companies, packaged for smaller businesses with simplified pricing and optional managed services. With proven 100% ransomware prevention in independent SE Labs testing and FedRAMP authorization for government compliance, Falcon brings credentialed protection to businesses of all sizes.

SMB-Focused Features

• Falcon Go: SMB-specific bundle at $60/device/year with core EDR and prevention
• Falcon Complete: Fully managed MDR service—no internal SOC required
• Compliance Dashboards: Built-in reporting for HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, SOX requirements
• Endpoint Consolidation: Combines NGAV, EDR, and threat intelligence in a single agent
• Zero-Touch Deployment: Cloud-native with 20MB agent, no infrastructure needed
• 24/7 Protection: AI prevention works around the clock, even offline

Proven Ransomware Protection

SMB Use Cases

CrowdStrike is increasingly the choice for SMBs in regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), growing companies planning to scale, and businesses that need to demonstrate enterprise-grade security to customers and partners. With Falcon Complete MDR, even the smallest IT teams can access 24/7 expert monitoring and response.

Huntress: Advanced Threat Detection Layer That Supplements Your Existing Antivirus

Critical: Huntress is NOT a replacement for antivirus—it requires Windows Defender or another antivirus to be running alongside it. Huntress is a supplementary security layer designed to catch what your antivirus misses. It adds human-led threat hunting, persistent foothold detection, and expert response capabilities on top of your existing antivirus solution. This layered approach means you maintain your current antivirus (typically the free Windows Defender) while adding Huntress’s advanced detection and response capabilities. Think of it as having security experts watching over your existing defenses 24/7. If you’re considering Windows Defender as your base antivirus, see our detailed comparison of CrowdStrike vs. Microsoft Defender to understand the trade-offs.

How Huntress Supplements Your Existing Security

• Agent on All Platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux agents with platform-specific approaches
• Requires Existing AV: Windows/Mac agents work WITH Defender/XProtect, not instead of them
• 24/7 Human SOC: Real analysts investigate threats that bypass your antivirus
• Managed Defense: On Windows, can manage Microsoft Defender configurations
• Post-Compromise Detection: Catches persistent footholds and lateral movement
• Layered Approach: Supplements rather than replaces existing security tools

Platform-Specific Agent Architecture

Huntress takes a fundamentally different approach than CrowdStrike when it comes to endpoint agents:

• Windows: Huntress agent integrates with and manages Microsoft Defender, providing enhanced visibility and threat hunting. The agent itself doesn’t replace AV—it leverages Defender’s protection while adding SOC oversight.
• macOS: Huntress deploys a native agent that works alongside Apple XProtect, providing deep visibility and threat detection that the SOC requires. The agent monitors XProtect activity while conducting its own threat hunting.
• Linux: Huntress agent provides standalone EDR capabilities since Linux lacks a universal built-in security tool to integrate with. This is a full threat detection solution.

In contrast, CrowdStrike Falcon deploys its own comprehensive security agent on ALL platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux), providing consistent, standalone protection without dependency on built-in tools.

SMB Use Cases

Huntress excels for SMBs with lean IT teams, MSP-managed environments, and businesses that prioritize operational simplicity. It’s particularly valuable for companies in less regulated industries that need solid protection without extensive compliance reporting requirements.

SMB-Focused Feature Comparison

Here’s how CrowdStrike Falcon and Huntress compare across the capabilities that matter most to small and medium businesses: ease of use, compliance support, ransomware protection, and resource requirements.

Agent Architecture: A Critical Difference

Understanding how each solution deploys agents across platforms reveals the fundamental architectural difference between CrowdStrike and Huntress:

Understanding the Business Models: Why Direct Pricing Comparison Is Misleading

The pricing on the surface can be misleading. While CrowdStrike’s Falcon Go looks similar in cost to Huntress, a direct comparison is not fair. The reason lies in the fundamental business model of each product:

• CrowdStrike Falcon Go is a powerful, AI-driven tool that you manage yourself
• Huntress is a managed service that includes a team of human security experts

This distinction is crucial because it changes the entire value proposition and who the ideal customer is.

The Correct Comparison: Aligning Service Models

To compare Huntress’s managed service fairly, you must compare it to CrowdStrike’s managed service – Falcon Complete MDR. This is where pricing and value propositions truly align:

SMB-Friendly Pricing and ROI Analysis

Both platforms now offer SMB-specific pricing models designed to deliver enterprise-grade protection at accessible price points. The key difference lies in what’s included and how the solutions deliver value for resource-constrained businesses.

Compliance Requirements: SMB Considerations

Compliance frameworks don’t scale down for smaller businesses. Whether you handle healthcare data (HIPAA), payment cards (PCI DSS), or serve government clients, demonstrating adequate cybersecurity controls is now table stakes for most SMB industries.

SMB Decision Framework: Which Platform Fits Your Business?

The choice between CrowdStrike and Huntress increasingly depends on your industry, growth trajectory, and internal capabilities. Both platforms now serve SMBs effectively, but they excel in different business scenarios.

SMB-Specific Frequently Asked Questions

Is CrowdStrike too complex for small IT teams?

It depends on which product you choose. Falcon Go ($59.99/device/year) is self-managed and requires IT team oversight. If you want fully managed service, you need Falcon Complete MDR, which costs significantly more. Huntress includes SOC management in its base offering, making it simpler for teams without security expertise.

Can Huntress handle advanced persistent threats?

Yes, but remember Huntress works alongside your existing antivirus, not instead of it. Huntress + Windows Defender together can handle APTs—your AV provides prevention while Huntress’s 24/7 human analysts detect and respond to threats that bypass traditional defenses. This layered approach is effective but architecturally different from CrowdStrike’s all-in-one platform.

Which platform is better for HIPAA compliance?

CrowdStrike offers more comprehensive HIPAA support with built-in Business Associate Agreements, audit trail reporting, and compliance dashboards. Huntress can support HIPAA environments but requires additional documentation and partner assistance for full compliance reporting.

Can either platform prevent ransomware completely?

CrowdStrike achieved 100% ransomware prevention in independent SE Labs testing, blocking attacks before they encrypt files. Huntress + your existing antivirus provides layered protection: your AV (like Windows Defender) blocks known ransomware, while Huntress detects and responds to novel variants that bypass AV. Remember: Huntress alone is NOT sufficient—you need both Huntress AND antivirus working together.