CRITICALSTART vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator comparison

Critical Start and McAfee are both solutions in the Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) category. Critical Start is ranked #25, while McAfee is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.0. Critical Start holds a 1.3% mindshare in SOAR, compared to McAfee’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Critical Start users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of McAfee users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator and CRITICALSTART are two strong contenders in the security management sector. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator has an edge in terms of pricing and ROI, while CRITICALSTART's advanced features make it attractive despite its higher cost.

Features: McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator centralizes management of security policies, boosts scalability, and integrates with a wide range of security products. CRITICALSTART, on the other hand, focuses on advanced threat detection, intuitive incident response, and versatile security analytics.

Room for Improvement: McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator could enhance its threat intelligence and incident response capabilities, provide more personalized customer support, and improve its user interface for better usability. CRITICALSTART may benefit from more competitive pricing, simplified deployment for smaller enterprises, and enhancements to its mobile app's performance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator has a streamlined deployment process supported by extensive documentation. CRITICALSTART distinguishes itself with a personalized customer service experience and knowledgeable support, offering a more tailored deployment approach.

Pricing and ROI: McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator offers a cost-effective solution known for solid ROI through efficient policy management. In contrast, CRITICALSTART, priced higher, justifies this with robust threat detection and response capabilities, providing significant returns for those valuing security efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed CRITICALSTART vs. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

CRITICALSTART vs. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

June 2026

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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

Torq

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) category, the mindshare of Torq is 3.6%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of CRITICALSTART is 1.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is 1.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Torq	3.6%
McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator	1.7%
CRITICALSTART	1.3%
Other	93.4%

Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR)

Featured Reviews

AdityaDesai

Solutions Architect at ProArch

Automation has streamlined multi-tenant SOC workflows and improves alert handling efficiency

Although the reporting within Torq is not that great, we did ask for many features regarding reporting in Torq, but due to some platform constraints, they could not make the whole dataset available for us to be used in reporting. Except for that, we used some basic reporting. When I used Torq, it was indeed in the early stages of AI capabilities. Only a few customers were allowed to use it, and we were among them. It functioned well as long as we summarized the data properly. If you input garbage, you would get garbage out. Thus, we had to do significant fine-tuning regarding what data context we provided to the AI orchestrator to get meaningful results. In terms of Torq's unified platform approach to AI SOC automation and case management compared to managing multiple point solutions across my security stack, I find it case-centric. The unified view in case management is good since it provides clarity, although there are limitations regarding how many items in case management can be modified at once. Bulk operations are very limited, potentially due to their back-end database or data retrieval processes that can be improved. Regarding improvements for Torq, when we were onboarded, there were aspects we were uncertain about, such as the number of cases that could be generated, what data we could bring in, how many clients we could onboard, and similar concerns. Initially, we also lacked clarity about the number of playbooks or workflows we could build. Different triggers like system triggers, case-based triggers, and others can be employed without restrictions, but when it comes to on-demand and scheduled jobs, there is a limitation based on the subscription and pricing tier that notably caps the number of workflows we can create. No bulk editing across cases was one issue, along with limited filtering related to single grouping constraints. Additionally, the out-of-the-box case templates provided require substantial modifications before they become usable. There is also a feature in the cases for notes that cannot be searched. They are only visible through the UI, which is another area for improvement. The workflow and execution-based charges seem misleading as this was not discussed initially. I am not sure if new customers are made aware of this. It seems that workflows revolving around cases hinder functionality outside of case management, as we have many use cases needing on-demand triggers and schedules for functions like reporting or polling devices. Creating additional workflows to achieve basic functionalities raises costs significantly, which disadvantages customers. While they facilitate optimization and scaling, the support received tends to be very basic. Improvements can be made in that area as well.

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Justin Hadley

Sr. Manager, Security Engineering at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

The transparency of data in the platform is perfect: You see everything as they are seeing it

Their Zero Trust Analytics Platform (ZTAP) engine, which is kind of their correlation engine, is by far and away one of the best in the business. We can filter and utilize different lists to build out different alerts, such as, what to alert on and when not to alert. This engine helps reduce our number of alerts and false positives. The service's Trusted Behavior Registry helps the provider solve every alert. The way that they have it built out is very intelligent. The way every alert comes in, it gets triaged one direction or another. If it is already a false positive, then it is still getting addressed and reviewed on a regular cadence. Also, true positive alerts get escalated to the appropriate personnel. Its mobile app is great. The ability just to be able to quick reference and see what's coming in when you're on the move or go. You don't always need to have your computer or laptop handy, because you can operate it just from the mobile app. It can communicate with analysts, which is great. The mobile app is great at affecting the efficiency of our security operations. Those guys are using it throughout the day, whether that be at the office, home, or off hours. Typically, they triage from the mobile app. Then, if an escalation needs to be done on a computer, they will pull out a computer. We were on the original UI for a few years, so the updated UI has been a refreshing change. It has significantly more ability to filter and translate data, then load that data. It is rather intuitive to click through for some of our junior analysts or interns, especially as we are starting to onboard and teach them different aspects of the security operations team.

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Binu Haneef

System Administrator at Sky News Arabia

Comprehensive security management enabled through efficient integration and automation

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator helps automate routine security tasks. We created customized automation. For example, when we did not have an EDR or XDR solution, we created tasks exclusively for detection and response automation and automatic segregation of infected PCs. The ability to customize the dashboard in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator helps us significantly. The main feature is automation for auto-segmentation and segregation. As we are in an AI era, McAfee can focus on AI tools. Instead of putting manual effort into each security-related task, it can implement more advanced automation using AI. This enhancement could improve cybersecurity significantly. Regarding the reporting area in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator, we are satisfied with what we currently have. Our cybersecurity team needs customized reports beyond the default ones. We have more than 20 separate reports for identifying threats, managing, and understanding the security posture of our company and assets.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Torq offers the best feature through integration with AI."

"Torq has exceeded expectations by delivering workflows in a timely and lower effort manner than XSOAR, and it meets all my needs while saving a ton of time and targeting $600,000 saved this year, which is a substantial amount of money."

"Any request that comes in, regardless of how complex it is, I can accomplish it with Torq."

"Once I started to use the system and I saw the potential, it changed all of our work in IT."

"Almost four or five hours of work is now completed in four or five minutes."

"Under one SOC tool in Torq, analysts get to know everything within the context of an alert or incident they are working on, and this ability to view the whole picture within Torq is one of the major breakthroughs and best offerings of Torq."

"Torq has helped a lot regarding SOC analyst efficiency."

"If I review about 100 vendors that I might work with, Torq is definitely in the top five that gave me personally investment back, just because every bit of effort I put into Torq eventually became a workflow that gave it back to me."

More Torq pros

"From where we were prior to going into them, the service has increased our analysts’ efficiency to the point that they can focus on other areas of the business. It gives me the ability to allow analysts to do Level 3 and 4 work and stay out of the weeds of the alerts, where you tend to get alert fatigue. The service takes care of much of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 triage. It is more effective than what we had been used to, because it allows the filtering of Level 1 and Level 2 type alerts to be taken care of. This leaves less for us to handle, which is a good thing."

"My impression of the transparency of the data is that it has good detail. It allows you to see how many events have come in, how many of those events have made it down to their analysts to review, and then however many from their analysts to be able to close out, have been able to been escalated to us. It's a good metric that we can share with my management. They see the value of what the SOC is bringing on top of what my team is already doing."

"I also use their mobile app. It's very easy to use and very convenient to be able to respond to alerts wherever you are. I love the app. You can respond and communicate, per ticket, with their SOC in near real-time. The response is very quick."

"There is a team of people who monitor our traffic and processes 24/7, so if anything raises a flag or alert, it will escalate back to me right away. That's the most incredible part: Humans working behind the scenes 24/7 to monitor our networks."

"This has been a positive experience and money well spent."

"There are two parts of CRITICALSTART's services that are most valuable to us. The MDR solution where they monitor our computers, laptops, and users across the board; and their knowledge of Palo Alto firewalls."

"The main difference between the other options and this one is the quality of the personnel within the SOC. It's their knowledge and depth and the way they handle customers."

"When I start thinking about if I were to try to light up a SOC, which I've done before and I have no interest in doing, it could be a million dollars a year or more to do that, and for what I am paying them for the managed fees, it's a steal."

More CRITICALSTART pros

"In this cyberworld, McAfee is the best software to protect our machines."

"The automation alert for the ticketing tool is one of the vital features"

"McAfee is helping us to clean all of the viruses from the machines, protecting our desktops from the latest threats."

"The feature that I have found most valuable is its general purpose of protecting our endpoints from infections, malicious files, and all those kinds of things. The fact that there are organized policies and policy inheritance. The general management."

"We get fewer false positives than with other solutions."

"The installation process is straightforward."

"The general endpoint protection is valuable, and it is easy to manage."

"We previously used Symantec, and if we compare it to McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator, McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is better."

More McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator pros

Cons

"Additionally, the documentation for Torq is not very clear. Most of the information is presented in videos, which are not ideal for reading; there are mostly paragraphs and other text-based content."

"If Torq could enhance its AI features, it would benefit customers significantly by making the platform even more user-friendly."

"It was able to capture data but was unable to differentiate between the agent hostname we are using and the hostname that resides on the back end of the Internet."

"Regarding the pricing of Torq, I would say it is expensive."

"The initial deployment of Torq was not easy."

"Even now, we have workflows that are in production that use AI steps and I get different results, making it unusable to some degree."

"Regarding stability, I have noticed some lagging, crashing, and downtime, which is one of my largest gripes."

"The workflow and execution-based charges seem misleading as this was not discussed initially, and creating additional workflows to achieve basic functionalities raises costs significantly, which disadvantages customers."

More Torq cons

"They could dig a little bit deeper into the Splunk alerts when they feel like they need to be escalated to us. For example, if a locked account shows up, they could do a little extra digging to verify that the locked account was due to a bad password on the local system. They could just do a little extra digging within the Splunk environment instead of pushing it onto us to go do that extra little digging."

"They could dig a little bit deeper into the Splunk alerts when they feel like they need to be escalated to us."

"It has frustrated us that they don't have a native Slack integration, because most things do now. That's something we've asked for, for years, and it just doesn't really seem like it's a priority."

"It costs a lot for what we felt comfortable to spend."

"The updated UI is actually pretty bad. Regarding the intuitiveness, it is fairly easy to use, but the responsiveness, on a scale of one to 10, is a one. It's really poor performance."

"They just did a user interface overhaul to the website portal that you use for troubleshooting tickets. The old one was fine. The new one is not intuitive and I hate it."

"There is room for improvement with the new UI, and that's about it. I would like to see a more intuitive design."

"The biggest room for improvement is not necessarily in their service or offering, but in the products that they support."

More CRITICALSTART cons

"There is a problem when it comes to agent communication and duplicate records, where the rebooting of a machine leads to the installation of a new agent and you get a lot of duplicate records that ultimately affect your compliance monitoring."

"The technical support is pretty poor."

"We need to consolidate multiple features into one console. It would be beneficial to have all the important features on a single platform."

"One thing that I don't like is that McAfee products change very often and upgrade very often."

"The solution could improve the EDR component in many areas, such as the zero-day and persistent threats. The implementation is also complex for this feature."

"Although it has the ability to auto create service tickets, it needs to expand to allow more products this ability."

"It would be highly beneficial if the metrics or dashboards could be customized"

"I would like to see McAfee reduce the amount of manual work required."

More McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"As far as the expense goes, it's very competitive pricing and the services you get are almost like you have a person on your team."

"There are contractual penalties if their SLAs are not met. This commitment was very important in our decision to go with this service, because not having downtime is extremely important to us. The providers has not missed an SLA in the 18 months that I have worked with them."

"It costs a lot for what we felt comfortable to spend."

"The pricing of other services was so insane that they weren't even an option."

"I've told CRITICALSTART that I think the managed service they provide is cheaper than it should be. It's a really good deal."

"The pricing has always been competitive. They have always been good to us. They will make it a fight. They don't try to hide anything; it's always been fully transparent and well-worth what we pay for it."

"Overall, for what I'm paying for it, and the benefit I'm getting out of it, it is right where it needs to be, if not a little bit in my favor. For what it costs me to actually have this service, I could afford one internal person to do that job, but now I have a team of 10 or more who are doing that job, and they don't sleep because they work shifts."

"There is a license required to use this solution. If we use the additional components, such as DLP encryption, there is an additional cost. However, it is similar to a separate product altogether. If you want to use that or not, it is optional, but when you use it, it will cost you additional pricing."

"$The price of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is expensive, it is approximately $6,000 to $9,000 per license annually."

"For large enterprise companies, the price should be alright, but for small businesses, the uptake might be slow because, for these clients, the price doesn't look very attractive."

"It's an expensive solution"

"McAfee tries to package different things into different products, then sell them as different products with different licenses. They just split everything up into multiple things. That's just their sales pitch and how they do it."

"It is attractively priced. It is a fraction of what we're going to pay for CrowdStrike or SentinelOne, but it only has a fraction of the capabilities as well."

"McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is a cheaply priced product, meaning it is not expensive since McAfee provides a free version of ePO, which includes phone support as well."

"Compared to other Antivirus products, the cost of this solution is a bit high."

More McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Construction Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	19

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Torq?

The only thing is more out-of-the-box integrations. Torq already has a lot of supported integrations and adding new o...

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What is your primary use case for Torq?

For Torq, first of all, it's a hyperautomation and AI assistant usage. Our EDR SentinelOne is integrated in Torq and ...

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What advice do you have for others considering Torq?

I think I have told everything about Torq that I can share at this stage, but I am still in the process of learning t...

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Earn 20 points

Which is better - Mcafee's MVision ePO or ePolicy Orchestrator?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Mcafee's MVision ePO or ePolicy Orchestrator network secur...

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What needs improvement with McAfee MVISION ePO?

There is a question regarding suggestions for additional tools or functions for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator, and whet...

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What is your primary use case for McAfee MVISION ePO?

The question pertains to describing the use case and process for which people utilize McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator.

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Comparisons

Tines vs Torq

Compared 25% of the time

Splunk SOAR vs Torq

Compared 15% of the time

Blink Ops vs Torq

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs Torq

Compared 10% of the time

Dropzone AI vs Torq

Compared 8% of the time

More Torq Competitors

ServiceNow Security Operations vs CRITICALSTART

Compared 12% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs CRITICALSTART

Compared 10% of the time

Expel vs CRITICALSTART

Compared 9% of the time

Binary Defense MDR vs CRITICALSTART

Compared 8% of the time

Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response vs CRITICALSTART

Compared 4% of the time

More CRITICALSTART Competitors

Splunk SOAR vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Compared 17% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Compared 16% of the time

GTB Technologies Inspector vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Compared 7% of the time

Elastic Security vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Compared 6% of the time

Symantec Data Loss Prevention vs McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Compared 5% of the time

More McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Torq

July 2026

Download Torq product report

Buyer's Guide

CRITICALSTART

August 2026

Download CRITICALSTART product report

Buyer's Guide

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

July 2026

Download McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator product report

Also Known As

No data available

Critical Start, CriticalStart

McAfee ePO, ePolicy Orchestrator, Intel Security ePolicy Orchestrator, McAfee MVISION ePO

Overview

Torq is the enterprise AI SOC solution that effectively combines adaptive insights and automation to handle critical threats efficiently. It manages threat lifecycles, swiftly moving from triage to response, ensuring effective risk management.

Torq is designed to streamline security operations by aggregating telemetry across your security stack. It investigates significant risks and manages threats from triage to containment and remediation. This AI-driven tool enhances the capabilities of your SecOps team, allowing them to achieve more impactful results without introducing complicated processes.

What are the key features of Torq?

Adaptive Agentic Insights: Provides real-time threat intelligence tailored to specific security challenges.
Automation: Automates responses to security incidents, minimizing manual intervention requirements.
Threat Lifecycle Management: Comprehensive handling of threats from detection to remediation.
Telemetry Aggregation: Integrates data across platforms for a unified security overview.

Why consider Torq based on reviews?

Efficiency: Users notice significant reductions in time spent managing threats.
Risk Reduction: Enhanced ability to identify and address critical threats promptly.
Resource Optimization: Allows teams to allocate effort to other critical tasks by reducing manual security operations.
Scalability: Adaptable to meet the demands of growing or changing infrastructures.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Torq shows effectiveness by adapting to specific risk scenarios often encountered in these fields. Its integration with existing infrastructures makes it a valuable asset for maintaining stringent security standards, essential for protecting critical data and operations in diverse high-stakes environments.

Torq

CRITICALSTART enhances cybersecurity through advanced alert management, expert guidance, and a user-friendly interface. It promotes efficient monitoring and response to alerts, utilizing a Zero Trust model for heightened security.

CRITICALSTART is designed for organizations seeking to manage security alerts and streamline monitoring processes. Known for its quick response times and efficient alert filtering, it integrates tools like Cylance and Carbon Black to offer managed detection and response services. Users experience enhanced security by focusing on critical threats while the platform's easy navigation aids in efficiently responding to alerts. Improvement areas include better alert prioritization, enhanced compliance disclosure, and smoother integration with third-party communication tools.

What are the key features of CRITICALSTART?

Alert Management: Efficient handling and filtering of alerts to minimize noise.
Expert Guidance: Insights for integrating SIEM and optimizing response strategies.
Mobile Access: Easy access through a mobile app to manage alerts on the go.
Zero Trust Model: Enhances security by minimizing unnecessary access and noise.
User-Friendly Interface: Seamless navigation enhances user interaction and response times.

What advantages and ROI should users consider?

Improved Security Confidence: Advanced alert handling promotes a secure environment.
Increased Efficiency: Streamlined monitoring allows focus on critical threats.
Expert Insight: Professional guidance enhances security strategies and operations.
Quick Response Times: Rapid handling of threats reduces potential impacts.

In industry applications, organizations use CRITICALSTART to bolster cybersecurity measures across finance, healthcare, and technology sectors. Managed detection services and third-party integration make it suitable for enterprises looking to optimize security operations and minimize alert fatigue while ensuring 24/7 monitoring and protection.

Critical Start

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator centralizes cybersecurity management, providing a unified platform for antivirus and data loss prevention with integrated analytics and reporting capabilities. It enhances policy oversight and threat detection across diverse IT environments.

McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator offers centralized management for robust network and endpoint security. Its scalable platform includes advanced threat prevention, encryption, and application control. With its intuitive console, it simplifies management of policies across devices. Challenges include improvements in automation, reporting, licensing clarity, and compatibility with modern technologies, often impacting system performance. Despite this, its centralized interface efficiently manages device control, antivirus, data loss prevention, and threat intelligence, offering custom insights for better compliance visibility.

What are the key features of McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator?

Centralized Management: Streamlines security across endpoints from a single platform.
Intuitive Console: Simplifies navigation and administration for users.
Robust Antivirus and DLP: Provides comprehensive threats and data protection.
Advanced Analytics: Enhances insights into security data for proactive measures.
Scalability: Accommodates growing security needs of IT environments.
Extensive Automation: Facilitates efficient reporting and segmentation tasks.

What benefits should users expect from McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator?

Enhanced Compliance: Customized reporting improves visibility into regulatory adherence.
Threat Detection: Advanced analytics aid in identifying potential threats.
Centralized Policy Management: Simplifies control over security policies.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with existing IT systems.

In industries requiring meticulous data protection and compliance, such as finance and healthcare, McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is implemented to manage endpoint security, alleviate data security risks, and ensure adherence to strict regulatory standards. Users benefit from its powerful capabilities in managing network logs and automating security tasks.

McAfee

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Brelje & Race, Cognizant, Sutherland Global Services, Eagle Rock Energy, Arab National Bank, Bank Central Asia, Kleberg Bank, Leading Mexican Bank, SF Police Credit Union, Macquarie Telecom, Seagate Technology, Blackburn & Darwen Council, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, IRCEP, Major U.S. State Government, State of Alaska, State of Colorado, Cemex, Deutsche Edelstahlwerke

Buyer's Guide

CRITICALSTART vs. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

June 2026

Free Report: CRITICALSTART vs. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator

Find out what your peers are saying about CRITICALSTART vs. McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

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