CrowdStrike Falcon Go vs Palo Alto Cortex XDR (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 Palo Alto Cortex XDR if

• Fits if you want endpoint prevention and detection across several data sources in one console
• Works for teams that want Palo Alto's own analysts to run response for them

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a published price, because the page offers a demo request only
• Pricey if you need NG-SIEM, data loss prevention or Unit 42 managed services, which are paid extensions
• Skip it if you have no security staff to run an XDR console
• Watch out: supported operating systems are not listed on the page
• Too light for a free try: no trial or free plan is on record

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.

Palo Alto Cortex XDR

• No prices or plans are published on the product page, which offers a demo request.
• NG-SIEM, data loss prevention and the managed Unit 42 services are listed as extensions to the base product.
• Supported operating systems are not listed on the page read, so platforms show only the web console.

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.

Palo Alto Cortex XDR

Endpoint prevention

Behavioral analytics aimed at zero-day exploits and fileless malware, with third-party test results cited on the page.

XDR across data sources

Joins endpoint, network, cloud, agentic endpoint, identity and email data and applies AI to prioritize attacks.

Agentic Endpoint Security

Aims to secure AI agents and unmanaged AI tools running on endpoints, a newer addition to the product.

Single sensor with extensions

One sensor can be extended with NG-SIEM, endpoint data loss prevention, exposure management, email security and cloud security.

Unit 42 managed services

MDR, managed threat hunting and incident response run from inside the customer's Cortex XDR tenant.

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.

Palo Alto Cortex XDR

Pricing could not be confirmed. See paloaltonetworks.com.

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.

Palo Alto Cortex XDR

No public discounts listed.