CrowdStrike Falcon Go vs Carbon Black (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CrowdStrike Falcon Go grades higher than Carbon Black: 2.2 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
CrowdStrike Falcon Go grades higher on the free plan, ease of use and platforms. Carbon Black grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CrowdStrike Falcon Go
Small-business antivirus with USB device control and mobile protection
Carbon Black
Endpoint and workload security from Broadcom, bought via partners
Which one is for you
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 Carbon Black if
- Fits if you run a security team that wants detailed endpoint activity data
- Works for public-sector and larger organisations that already buy through partners
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a published price, since the page offers only Buy via Partner and Contact Us
- Skip it if you are one person or a small shop, as it is aimed at security staff
- Watch out: the product was VMware Carbon Black before Broadcom's acquisition and the name has changed
- Watch out: plan tiers and supported operating systems are not listed on the page
- Too light for a free try: there is no trial or free plan on record
How we grade them
| 2.2GPACrowdStrike Falcon GoFair | 1.6GPACarbon BlackWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D$59.99 a device a year, or $7.99 a month. We judge antivirus on five devices over two years, and that's $599.90, about $25 a month, several times what home suites here cost. The business kit, one console, USB control and Express Support, explains some of it. Renewals are at the then-standard price. | CNo price is published, so there is nothing to set against this category's $2.58 to $6.50 a month; the listing says it is by quote. Buying goes through a partner. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but there's a 15-day free trial, and nothing on record says it wants a card. After that, annual plans can be refunded within 30 days and monthly ones can't. | FNothing free on record: no free plan and no trial, and a demo request is not a trial. |
| Features | CIt does the core job fully: machine-learning antivirus on Windows, Mac and Linux, USB device control, and threat protection on iPhone and Android. But it's narrower than the suites here. Firewall management needs Falcon Pro, and there's no VPN, password manager or identity monitoring. | CPrevention policies, detection and response and a workload product are named, but plan tiers and supported operating systems are not on the page, so the listing cannot show the whole job. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Protection comes switched on with pre-set policies, there's a step-by-step onboarding guide, and one home screen shows your devices and what was blocked. You do still put the agent on each machine. | CBusiness product with a console and agents to roll out; no store rating is on record and the listing shows setup work, so it sits at the ordinary grade. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, all run from one console, so every device a small office has is covered. No integrations or API are on record, which keeps it at B. | COnly a cloud console is on record. No operating systems, phone apps or integrations are listed. |
| Best for | small businesses with no IT person | large teams with a security staff |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: CrowdStrike Falcon Go and Carbon Black. How we grade
Where they differ
- Carbon Black also covers log file analysis.
At a glance
| CrowdStrike Falcon Go | Carbon Black | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $59.99 per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 15-day free trial | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | CrowdStrike | Broadcom |
| Price read from | crowdstrike.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Carbon Black
- No prices or plans are published; the page offers Buy via Partner and Contact Us.
- The product was VMware Carbon Black before Broadcom's acquisition; the page now uses the name Carbon Black.
- Supported operating systems and the plan tiers are not listed on the page read, so platforms show only the cloud console.
Key features
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.
Carbon Black
- Threat prevention
- Policy-based controls aimed at stopping targeted attacks and preventing repeat attacks, with room to customize.
- Threat detection and response
- Collects detailed activity data across endpoints, networks and workloads so analysts can see an attack and contain its impact.
- Workload protection
- A Carbon Black Cloud Workload product is named on the page for protecting servers and cloud workloads.
- Cloud-managed agents
- Customers quoted on the page describe agent deployment and a cloud-managed model.
Plans
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.
Carbon Black
Pricing could not be confirmed. See broadcom.com.
Ways to pay less
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.
Carbon Black
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CrowdStrike Falcon Go or Carbon Black?
As of Nov 13, 2026, CrowdStrike Falcon Go starts at $59.99 per device / year, billed annually ($7.99 per device billed monthly), and Carbon Black has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, CrowdStrike Falcon Go or Carbon Black?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither CrowdStrike Falcon Go nor Carbon Black has a free plan. CrowdStrike Falcon Go has a free trial.
Which platforms do CrowdStrike Falcon Go and Carbon Black run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only CrowdStrike Falcon Go lists macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android apps and only Carbon Black lists a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.