MSSP vs MDR vs SOCaaS

Service names overlap. Compare what the provider does after an alert.

Compare	MSSP	MDR	SOCaaS
Main job	Manage security monitoring, tools or controls.	Detect, investigate and respond to threats.	Run a broader SOC function, including tuning and reporting.
After an alert	May enrich and escalate alerts to your team.	Investigates and may contain threats within agreed permissions.	Owns more of the workflow through response coordination.
Useful when	You need monitoring or help managing security tools.	You need investigation and response capacity.	You want a provider to run much of the daily SOC work.
Check first	Whether investigation and response stay with your team.	Whether response means advice, remote containment or incident support.	Which tools, operating tasks and response actions are included.

Before you choose