# Sophos MDR vs Expel MDR: which do AI models recommend for MDR, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Managed detection and response. Two of fourteen models named Sophos MDR first on the direct prompt; zero named Expel MDR. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/security/managed-detection-and-response/sophos-mdr-vs-expel-mdr/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophos MDR | 13% | #3 of 10 | 0% | 47 | 14 of 14 |
| Expel MDR | 4% | #4 of 10 | 0% | 17 | 9 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Kimi K2: sophos mdr first (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Sophos MDR) (alternatives: Rapid7 MDR, eSentire MDR)
- GPT-6 Luna: sophos mdr first (first choices: Sophos MDR) (alternatives: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Expel MDR, Falcon Complete, Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Rapid7 MDR, Sophos MDR)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Expel MDR, Red Canary, Sophos MDR)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Rapid7 MDR, Sophos MDR, eSentire MDR)
- Mistral Small: neither first, one named (first choices: ESET PROTECT MDR) (alternatives: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Expel MDR, Sophos MDR)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Complete, Sophos MDR, eSentire MDR)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Daylight Security, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity MDR, Sophos MDR)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos MDR)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Huntress Managed EDR) (alternatives: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Sophos MDR)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither first, one named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon MDR, Rapid7 MDR, SentinelOne Singularity MDR, Sophos MDR, eSentire MDR)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: CrowdStrike Falcon Complete) (alternatives: Cyderes MDR, Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Complete, Red Canary)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response) (alternatives: Rapid7 MDR, eSentire MDR)

## What the models said about Sophos MDR

- "Start with Arctic Wolf if you want a partnership approach with dedicated support, or Sophos MDR if you prioritize cost-effectiveness" (Kimi K2, direct prompt, first choice)
- "My default pick: Sophos MDR for a mid-market B2B company that wants a managed SOC without replacing its whole security stack." (GPT-6 Luna, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Choose Sophos or Arctic Wolf if you want to simplify your stack and consolidate vendors." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, comparative prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Expel MDR

- "Best Overall for Transparent, "Bring Your Own Tech" (BYOT) Security: Expel ... Expel is the top choice." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "the most cited MDR leaders in 2025-2026 are CrowdStrike, Expel and Red Canary" (Muse Glimmer 30B, comparative prompt, first choice)
- "Sophos MDR and Expel are frequently highlighted as top choices" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.