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Cybersecurity · head to head

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Teleport

CrowdStrike Falcon logo

CrowdStrike Falcon

Cybersecurity

Stop breaches with AI-native cybersecurity

From
Free
Rated
-
Teleport logo

Teleport

Cybersecurity

Certificate-based access to servers, Kubernetes, databases and apps, replacing shared credentials and VPNs

From
On request
Rated
-

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; Teleport pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • They diverge on capability: CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Teleport covers Short-lived certificates.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 2 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where CrowdStrike Falcon and Teleport differ
AttributeCrowdStrike FalconTeleport
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxLinux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud
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 Teleport

  • Short-lived certificates
  • Protocol coverage
  • Session recording and replay
  • Access Requests
  • Device Trust
  • Identity provider integration
  • Machine identity
  • FIPS and FedRAMP builds

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 Teleport
  • Malware prevention and threat huntingnot Teleport
  • Managed detection and response (MDR) servicesnot Teleport

Teleport

  • Removing long-lived SSH keys and shared database passwords so that offboarding an engineer takes one action in the identity providernot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Producing session recordings and per-user database audit trails as direct evidence for SOC 2 or FedRAMPnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Giving contractors or on-call engineers time-boxed, approved access to production instead of standing admin rightsnot CrowdStrike Falcon
  • Replacing a flat VPN with per-resource authorisation across servers, Kubernetes and internal web appsnot 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

Teleport

  • Pricing is not published and is described as active users plus protected resources, so an autoscaling estate cannot forecast the bill and finance teams discover the true cost only after the first true-up.
  • The proxy is a hard dependency on reaching production, so it needs its own high availability deployment and a tested break-glass path or an outage in Teleport becomes an outage in your ability to respond to outages.
  • The open source Community Edition omits Access Requests, Device Trust and the FIPS builds, which are exactly the controls an auditor asks about, so the free tier rarely survives a compliance review.
  • Self-hosting means running and upgrading a certificate authority and its backing store, and Teleport releases frequently enough that upgrade work becomes a standing operational commitment.
  • Coverage across protocols is uneven in depth, so teams with legacy systems, unusual databases or bespoke network appliances find gaps that still require the old VPN to remain in place alongside it.

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

Teleport

On request
  • Teleport Community Edition$undefined/year
    • Open source, self-hosted
    • SSH, Kubernetes, database and app access
    • Session recording
  • Teleport Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Cloud-hosted or self-hosted
    • Access Requests and approval workflow
    • Device Trust and hardware key enforcement

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.

Choose Teleport if

  • You need short-lived certificates.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
  • You also want protocol coverage.

Questions people ask

Is CrowdStrike Falcon or Teleport better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdStrike Falcon starts at Free and Teleport at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CrowdStrike Falcon or Teleport?
CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for CrowdStrike Falcon and On request for Teleport.
Does CrowdStrike Falcon or Teleport run on more platforms?
CrowdStrike Falcon runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. Teleport runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Kubernetes, Cloud.
Can I use CrowdStrike Falcon for free?
Yes. CrowdStrike Falcon has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Teleport 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 Teleport is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdStrike Falcon do that Teleport cannot?
CrowdStrike Falcon covers Next-gen antivirus, Endpoint detection and response, Threat intelligence, IT hygiene. Teleport covers Short-lived certificates, Protocol coverage, Session recording and replay, Access Requests.

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
Teleport: Is the open source edition usable in production?

Yes, but it lacks Access Requests, Device Trust and FIPS builds, which most compliance programmes end up requiring.

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
Teleport: How is it priced?

Not publicly. The vendor prices on active users and protected resources and provides a quote after a sales conversation.

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
Teleport: What happens if Teleport goes down?

Nobody reaches the resources behind it, so you need a highly available deployment and a documented break-glass procedure.

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
Teleport: Does it replace our VPN?

For anything you put behind it, yes. Legacy systems and appliances it does not support will keep the VPN alive.

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