SOC in a Box vs. the alternatives
Not sure whether you need a managed SOC, a managed antivirus, or whether you can do it yourself? Here is how the options compare for small and medium businesses in the UK.
Feature comparison
| Capability | SOC in a Box | Managed Antivirus | DIY / In-house SOC | Traditional MSSP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 human analyst monitoring | Requires 5+ FTEs | |||
| AI-augmented threat detection | EmilyAI | Depends on tooling | Varies | |
| Data Loss Prevention (DLP) | Extra cost | Often extra | ||
| Active Cyber Defence (deception) | DecoyPulse | Rarely | ||
| Cyber liability insurance included | ||||
| Cyber Essentials certification support | Self-managed | Sometimes | ||
| Named analyst (not a ticket queue) | Depends on hiring | Rarely | ||
| Monthly Confidence Score reporting | Varies | |||
| Typical monthly cost (25 assets) | £335/mo | £200–£400/mo | £15,000+/mo (FTEs + tools) | £2,000–£5,000/mo |
SOC in a Box vs. Managed Antivirus
Managed antivirus protects endpoints — it blocks known malware and sometimes provides basic alerting. But it does not monitor your network traffic, detect insider threats, prevent data exfiltration, or respond to incidents at 3 a.m. on a Saturday.
SOC in a Box includes endpoint protection and everything above: SIEM, network monitoring, DLP, deception technology, and a named human analyst watching your environment around the clock.
SOC in a Box vs. DIY / In-house SOC
Building your own SOC means hiring at least five analysts for 24/7 coverage, purchasing SIEM, SOAR, EDR, and threat intelligence feeds, and managing it all yourself. For a 25-person organisation, that is a six-figure annual commitment before you have even started.
SOC in a Box delivers the same capability — detection, response, reporting, compliance — without the headcount or tooling overhead.
SOC in a Box vs. Traditional MSSP
Traditional MSSPs are designed for enterprises. Their minimum contracts often start at hundreds of assets, their pricing runs into thousands per month, and their service model is built around ticket queues — not named analysts who know your business.
SOC in a Box is purpose-built for organisations with 10–100 assets. You get enterprise-grade monitoring at a fraction of the cost, with a named analyst who understands your environment.
See the savings for yourself
Use our savings calculator to see how much your organisation could save by consolidating multiple security tools and contracts into a single SOC in a Box subscription.
Ready to see how SOC in a Box compares for your organisation?
Book a free 30-minute scoping call. We will walk through your current security stack and show you exactly what changes — and what you save.
Book a Scoping Call