CrowdStrike Falcon Go vs Elastic Security (2026): which should you pick?

Pick CrowdStrike Falcon Go if

• Fits if you run a small business with no IT staff and want protection on by default
• Works for offices that want company computers, phones and USB sticks managed from one console

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you're protecting a family's devices, at $59.99 a device a year, or $599.90 for five over two years
• Not for you if you want a VPN, password manager or identity monitoring in the bundle
• Too light for firms that need firewall management or threat hunting, which take Falcon Pro at $99.99 or Enterprise at $184.99
• Watch out: monthly plans get no refund, renewals are at the then-standard price, and purchases stop at 100 devices
• Tight if you want a long look first, as there's no free plan and the trial lasts 15 days

Pick Elastic Security if

• Fits if you have a security team that wants SIEM and endpoint data in one place
• Works for teams that want detection rules published openly on GitHub

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a flat price per device, because the bill follows GB ingested and retained
• Pricey if you send a lot of data, since ingest and retention charges still apply
• Skip it if you want a simple antivirus: this is a platform to run
• Tight if you need response actions or Device Control, which are Complete tier only
• Watch out: AI triage comes with the higher Complete tier and the trial length is not stated

CrowdStrike Falcon Go

• Purchases of Falcon Go are capped at 100 devices.
• Firewall management needs Falcon Pro ($99.99 per device a year); EDR and threat hunting need Falcon Enterprise ($184.99).
• Annual plans can be refunded within 30 days; month-to-month plans get no refund, and renewals are at the then-standard price.
• The bundle covers antivirus, device control and mobile protection only; there is no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring.

Elastic Security

• Serverless pricing has two tiers, Essentials and Complete, billed per GB ingested and retained; the page says as low as $0.09 and $0.11 per GB ingested, with no plan price to list.
• Per-endpoint fees no longer apply as of March 23, 2026; ingest and retention charges still do.
• Advanced endpoint features such as response actions, tamper protection and Device Control are in the Complete tier only.
• This is a platform for a security team, not a consumer antivirus; the cost follows how much data is sent in.

CrowdStrike Falcon Go

Next-gen antivirus

Falcon Prevent uses machine learning and behavior-based detection to block known and unknown malware and ransomware on Windows, macOS and Linux.

USB device control

See which USB storage devices are plugged into company machines and set what they may do, to stop data being copied off.

Mobile device protection

Falcon for Mobile watches for malicious activity on company phones and tablets running iOS 16 or later and Android 9 or later.

Pre-configured policies

Protection comes set up by default, with a step-by-step onboarding guide and one home screen showing devices, threat activity and blocked attacks.

Express Support

A support line for small and medium businesses that helps with installation and day-to-day management questions.

Elastic Security

Endpoint protection with Elastic Defend

The agent applies behavioral protections on Linux, macOS and Windows, and the vendor says they work offline. Ransomware, memory and behavior prevention are in the entry tier.

SIEM and detection rules

Prebuilt detection rules, triage, investigation and hunting. Elastic Security Labs writes the rules and publishes them openly on GitHub.

AI-assisted triage

Attack Discovery correlates alerts into attack chains, and an AI Assistant helps analysts; both come with the higher Complete tier.

Workflow automation

Scripted automation and AI agents run together in Elastic Workflows, so a playbook can call an agent when a step needs judgment.

Long-term data retention

Data is kept in a searchable store billed per gigabyte retained, so older logs can be queried without restoring an archive first.

CrowdStrike Falcon Go

• Falcon Go$59.99

  per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly)

  Next-gen antivirus, USB device control, mobile device protection and Express Support, for up to 100 devices.

Elastic Security

Pricing could not be confirmed. See elastic.co.

CrowdStrike Falcon Go

• Annual discount

  About 37% off with annual billing

  CrowdStrike's pricing page shows Falcon Go at $59.99 per device billed annually against $7.99 per device billed monthly, or $95.88 over 12 months.

Elastic Security

No public discounts listed.