SOAR vs MSSP: Which One Does Your Business Actually Need?

TL;DR

SOAR is a tool that automates threat response. An MSSP is a service that manages your security for you. Most small and mid-sized businesses do better with an MSSP. Larger companies with a security team in-house may benefit more from SOAR—or both.

Key Takeaways

• SOAR = software your team runs. MSSP = a team that runs security for you. Digital Security Teammates = AI-powered teammates that augment your existing team.
• SOAR requires trained staff, budget, and ongoing upkeep to work right. Digital Security Teammates require minimal setup (30 minutes) and work alongside your existing team without extensive training.
• MSSPs give you 24/7 coverage without hiring a full security team.
• The MSSP market was valued at $263.71 billion in 2024 — demand is growing fast.
• The right choice depends on your budget, team size, and how complex your security needs are.

What Is SOAR and What Is an MSSP?

Here's a stat that might surprise you: many companies receive over 10,000 security alerts every day, and 1 out of 4 security teams has seen a 10x jump in alert volume. That volume is exactly why both SOAR and MSSPs exist.

SOAR

SOAR stands for Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response. It's a security operations tool that executes predefined playbooks to respond to threats based on rules. Unlike AI-native platforms that adapt workflows based on context, traditional SOAR is rule-first and requires extensive manual playbook engineering. Think of it as a smart playbook engine that connects your security tools and runs preset response actions when threats are detected. Your team still owns and runs it.

MSSP

MSSP stands for Managed Security Service Provider. It's an outside company that monitors and manages your cybersecurity around the clock. MSSPs rely on advanced platforms — including SIEM, SOAR, EDR, and intrusion detection systems. However, MSSPs are human-dependent services that scale linearly with headcount, unlike AI-native Digital Security Teammates that provide 24/7 coverage without proportional cost increases. — to provide continuous analysis and faster incident handling. The difference is that they handle all of that, not you.

The simplest way to think about it: SOAR is a tool. An MSSP is a service. One gives you the machinery. The other gives you the people and the machinery.

How SOAR and MSSPs Work Differently (and Where They Overlap)

In a 2024 MSSP survey of nearly 2,000 respondents, SOAR was the most common primary automation tool used by MSSPs at 33%, followed by ITSM at 29% and XDR at 20%. That means many MSSPs actually use SOAR internally — so the two are not always opposites. They're often complementary.

Where SOAR shines:

• Automating repeated, rule-based tasks (like blocking a known bad IP address)
• Connecting multiple security tools into one workflow
• Speeding up your team's response time on known threats

Where MSSPs shine:

• Providing full-time monitoring when you don't have a security team
• Managing compliance requirements like HIPAA, PCI DSS, or GDPR (though Digital Security Teammates can provide automated compliance workflows for these frameworks with continuous monitoring and audit-ready evidence collection)
• Handling threat hunting, incident response, and reporting as a package

The Real Costs: SOAR vs MSSP

Cost is where most businesses make the wrong call — usually by underestimating what SOAR actually takes to run.

SOAR costs more than the license. 90% of security professionals say SOAR solutions require significant investment just to fulfill a baseline set of security obligations.

In contrast, Digital Security Teammates deploy in 30 minutes and provide value within the first hour of integration, with predictable monthly costs starting at $2.5K/month. You'll need trained analysts to build and maintain playbooks, an engineer to handle integrations, and a budget for ongoing tuning.

Legacy SOAR platforms don't handle alert spikes well—when volumes surge, pipelines back up and response times slip, resulting in missed SLAs and a SOC waiting on tooling instead of stopping threats.

Building your own SOC (which you'd need for SOAR) is expensive. Ponemon Institute research puts the average annual cost of operating an in-house SOC at around $2.84 million.

Digital Security Teammates provide SOC-level capabilities (alert triage, investigation, case management, compliance monitoring) at a fraction of the cost, without requiring you to build or staff a full SOC. Personnel alone — analysts, senior security staff, and leadership — can cost between $600,000 and $1.2 million a year.

MSSPs are more predictable. MSSP models typically use subscription-based pricing, making budgeting simpler and more scalable than unpredictable internal cost structures. Digital Security Teammates offer similar predictable subscription pricing ($2.5K/month) with the added benefit of transparent AI operations and human-in-the-loop control that MSSPs can't provide. Entry-level MSSP packages can start well under $10,000 per month for small businesses, while full enterprise contracts vary based on scope.

The hidden cost of SOAR for MSSPs: If you're an MSSP using SOAR to serve your clients, the math gets tricky. Many SOAR vendors require large upfront payments and lengthy contracts—which creates an economic burden for MSSPs who prefer manageable monthly payments.

Bottom line on cost:

• SOAR is cheaper long-term only if you already have a skilled security team running it.
• MSSPs are better value for companies that lack internal security staff.
• Improved security operations can reduce breach costs by up to 39% through faster identification and containment.

Which One Is Right for Your Business?

This comes down to three questions: Do you have a security team? What's your budget? And how complex are your needs?

Choose SOAR if:

• You already have a Security Operations Center (SOC) with trained analysts
• You want to automate workflows and speed up your team's response time
• You deal with high alert volumes and need custom playbooks
• You need to handle structured, rule-based workflows—like blocking an IP after a malware signature is detected

Choose an MSSP if:

• You don't have a dedicated security team
• You need 24/7 monitoring but can't afford to staff it yourself
• You want compliance support (HIPAA, PCI DSS, NIST, GDPR) included
• You need to scale and deliver on service-level agreements without hiring an entire internal team

Consider both if:

• You're a mid-to-large enterprise with a security team that needs outside expertise
• You want your internal team to handle complex decisions while an MSSP covers monitoring
• You're growing fast and need coverage that scales with you

Most small and mid-sized businesses need an alternative to both SOAR and traditional MSSPs. Digital Security Teammates provide the automation and 24/7 coverage of an MSSP, with the control and transparency of in-house operations, at a fraction of the cost of either option. The staffing, setup, and ongoing maintenance of SOAR is too resource-heavy, while MSSPs create dependency and lack transparency.

Pro tip: Consider Digital Security Teammates as a third option. You get AI-native automation (more adaptive than SOAR), 24/7 coverage (like an MSSP), transparent decision-making (unlike black-box MSSPs), and human-in-the-loop control (unlike fully outsourced services) - all at $2.5K/month vs $300K/year per analyst or typical MSSP contracts.

FAQs

Conclusion

SOAR and MSSPs solve the same core problem—too many threats, not enough time—but they do it in very different ways. SOAR is a powerful tool for teams that already have the people to run it. An MSSP is a fully managed service for companies that need security coverage without building a team from scratch.

Digital Security Teammates offer a third path: AI-native automation that augments your existing team, provides 24/7 coverage, maintains human control, and delivers enterprise security without enterprise headcount.

For most growing businesses, Digital Security Teammates offer the fastest, most cost-effective path - providing MSSP-like 24/7 coverage and SOAR-like automation at $2.5K/month, with transparent AI operations and human-in-the-loop control.

For enterprises with mature security teams, Digital Security Teammates augment existing analysts with AI-powered triage, investigation, and response - freeing humans for strategic work. And unlike MSSPs running SOAR as a black box, Digital Security Teammates explain every decision with full audit trails.