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Cybersecurity · head to head

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Semperis

CrowdStrike Falcon logo

CrowdStrike Falcon

Cybersecurity

Stop breaches with AI-native cybersecurity

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Semperis logo

Semperis

Cybersecurity

Identity threat detection and Active Directory forest recovery for AD, Entra ID and Okta, from a privately held US vendor.

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CrowdStrike Falcon falcon Go device limit: capped at 100 devices maximum, forcing mid-market/enterprise customers to upgrade despite lower cost; Semperis scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • They diverge on capability: CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrowdStrike Falcon and Semperis actually diverge.

Attributes where CrowdStrike Falcon and Semperis differ
AttributeCrowdStrike FalconSemperis
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWeb
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Next-gen antivirus
  • Endpoint detection and response
  • Threat intelligence
  • IT hygiene
  • USB device control
  • Firewall management
  • Threat graph
  • Real-time response

Only in Semperis

  • Active Directory Forest Recovery
  • Malware-free restore
  • Replication-stream monitoring
  • Automated rollback
  • Attack indicator scoring
  • Entra ID and Okta coverage
  • Purple Knight
  • Forest Druid

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecuritynot Semperis
  • Malware prevention and threat huntingnot Semperis
  • Managed detection and response (MDR) servicesnot Semperis

Semperis

  • An organisation that cannot answer an auditor or insurer asking how long it would take to rebuild Active Directory after a destructive attacknot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Post-incident recovery where domain controllers are compromised and restoring from system-state backup would reintroduce the attacker's footholdnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Continuous detection of privileged group changes and directory-level tampering that domain controller security logs missnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Hybrid estates where AD, Entra ID and Okta all matter and no single tool currently shows changes across the threenot CrowdStrike Falcon

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CrowdStrike Falcon

  • Falcon Go device limit: capped at 100 devices maximum, forcing mid-market/enterprise customers to upgrade despite lower cost
  • EDR locked behind Enterprise tier: endpoint detection and response available only at $19.99/device/month tier; not available in Pro
  • Managed service pricing opaque: Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR requires contacting sales; no pricing range for 24/7 MDR services published
  • Annual discount modest: 17-24% savings on annual vs. monthly create minimal incentive to prepay

Semperis

  • Scope is limited to Active Directory, Entra ID and Okta, so an organisation whose critical identity lives elsewhere gets little from it, and the recovery value declines in direct proportion to how much has already moved off on-premises AD.
  • The licence buys tooling, not a proven runbook: forest recovery is only worth what your last rehearsal demonstrated, and a plan that has never been executed end to end in a lab is an untested assumption regardless of what was purchased.
  • It overlaps with backup and directory management products from Quest, Veeam, Commvault and others, so the buyer must argue internally why a dedicated product is needed alongside a backup contract that already claims to protect Active Directory.
  • Running Directory Services Protector well requires someone who understands AD internals, replication metadata and Tier 0 attack paths, and without that person the alerts on privileged changes are either ignored or auto-reverted in ways that break legitimate administration.
  • Licensing is driven by identity object counts, so directories carrying years of stale user accounts and service principals pay for objects that should have been deleted, and the cleanup project that would reduce the bill is the one nobody has time for.

Pricing, plan by plan

CrowdStrike Falcon

Free
  • Falcon Go$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Pro$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Enterprise$undefined/mo
  • Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR$undefined/mo

Semperis

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Semperis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CrowdStrike Falcon if

  • You need next-gen antivirus.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
  • You also want endpoint detection and response.
CrowdStrike Falcon review

Choose Semperis if

  • You need active directory forest recovery.
  • You also want malware-free restore.
Semperis review

Questions people ask

Is CrowdStrike Falcon or Semperis better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdStrike Falcon starts at Free and Semperis at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CrowdStrike Falcon or Semperis?
CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CrowdStrike Falcon and On request for Semperis.
Does CrowdStrike Falcon or Semperis run on more platforms?
CrowdStrike Falcon runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Semperis runs on Web.
Can I use CrowdStrike Falcon for free?
Yes. CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Semperis starts at On request.
What is CrowdStrike Falcon best used for?
CrowdStrike Falcon is most often used for endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecurity, malware prevention and threat hunting, managed detection and response (mdr) services. Of those, endpoint detection and response for enterprise cybersecurity and malware prevention and threat hunting are not what Semperis is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdStrike Falcon do that Semperis cannot?
CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Endpoint detection and response, Threat intelligence, IT hygiene. Semperis covers Active Directory Forest Recovery, Malware-free restore, Replication-stream monitoring, Automated rollback.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CrowdStrike Falcon: How much does CrowdStrike Falcon cost per device?

Falcon Go costs $7.99/device/month ($59.99/year), Falcon Pro costs $14.99/device/month ($99.99/year), and Falcon Enterprise costs $19.99/device/month ($184.99/year).

Source
Semperis: Does this replace my backups?

No. It replaces the Active Directory recovery procedure specifically. You still need backups for everything else, and the point of Semperis is that a generic system-state backup of a domain controller is a poor way to recover a forest because it restores the operating system along with whatever compromised it.

CrowdStrike Falcon: What is the device limit for Falcon Go?

Falcon Go is limited to a maximum of 100 devices. Organizations with more than 100 devices must upgrade to Pro or Enterprise tiers.

Source
Semperis: Is it useful if we are cloud-only on Entra ID?

Partly. Directory Services Protector covers Entra ID and Okta for change tracking and posture, but the forest recovery product, which is the strongest reason to buy, applies to on-premises Active Directory. A genuinely cloud-only organisation should weigh it against Microsoft's own tooling.

CrowdStrike Falcon: What is the difference between Falcon Pro and Enterprise?

Falcon Pro ($14.99/device/month) includes firewall management and advanced device control. Falcon Enterprise ($19.99/device/month) adds endpoint detection and response (EDR), threat hunting services, and expert threat intelligence.

Source
Semperis: Are Purple Knight and Forest Druid really free?

Yes, both are free downloads with no licence requirement, and they are widely used by organisations that are not Semperis customers. They are also, transparently, the top of the sales funnel.

CrowdStrike Falcon: How much does the managed detection and response service cost?

Falcon Complete Next-Gen MDR pricing is custom. It provides 24/7 expert-led detection and response with AI acceleration and continuous investigations by expert threat teams. Contact CrowdStrike sales for a quote.

Source
Semperis: How long does forest recovery actually take?

The honest answer is whatever your rehearsal took. The vendor's case is hours instead of days, and automation genuinely removes most manual steps, but the number that matters for your board is the one from a test in your own environment.

Semperis: Does it require agents on domain controllers?

It collects directory changes from the AD replication stream, which is what lets it see changes that bypass the security log. Deployment details vary by product and version, so confirm the exact architecture against your domain controller change-control rules.

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