Find out in this report how the two Microsoft Security Suite solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business Report (Updated: May 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

May 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 787,061 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

20th

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (45th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (5th)

Market share comparison

As of June 2024, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the market share of Microsoft Defender for Business is 1.7% and it decreased by 35.2% compared to the previous year. The market share of Microsoft Defender XDR is 4.9% and it decreased by 53.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite

Unique Categories:

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

1.5%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

8.4%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

23.3%

Featured Reviews

reviewer1728189

CIO at Alaska Air

Dec 6, 2023

Quicker response time, improved security posture, and reduced alerts

A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity. It provides alerts not only to the end users but also to my team to track that so that we can quickly isolate a security threat and lock the bad guys out.

Read full review

reviewer2399394

Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

May 9, 2024

Enables users to access any application and system within the organization

The best feature is probably the alert generation. When I do a security reset, the other session triggers instantly from the Defender console, and I can work on it. The policies are three times, but they are also ready to install it. The identity management feature is something we need for our use case. It wraps up the access management and XDR components, so it's not just Defender. It works well with Azure AD for access management. I didn't think I needed identity and access management in the past, but it's nice to have if you're performing a significant migration on a tight schedule. Defender XDR's coverage extends beyond Microsoft technologies. It covers all the endpoints of users in the organization. I can manage access to any application and system within the organization.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"If you're an Intune user, you can bring in certain capabilities like system-hardening policies, which further enhances the security."

"Microsoft Defender for Business is good for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers solid security flexibility and integration with tools like Microsoft Lighthouse and some other software. It takes some of the features of Defender for Endpoint EDR and provides those services for small and medium-sized business environments."

"The interface is quite user-friendly."

"It is scalable."

"A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity."

"Microsoft 365 Defender is a good solution and easy to use."

"The integration, visibility, vulnerability management, and device identification are valuable."

"Another noteworthy feature that I find appealing in Microsoft Defender is the credit-backed simulation. This feature enables organizations to train their users on effectively responding to phishing emails through a simulated training environment."

"In Microsoft 365 vendor products, monitoring and connectivity across all Microsoft and third-party connectors enable viewing of all activity within those environments."

"The 'Incidents and Alerts' tab is a valuable feature where we can find triggered alerts."

"The product integrates security into one tool instead of having third-party security tools."

"The threat intelligence is excellent."

"The advantage of Microsoft Defender XDR has over other XDRs in the market is that it's easy to use. You can quickly differentiate between alerts, incidents, devices, software, etc. It's easier to investigate an incident, and you have so many options. You can automate investigations and use playbooks. There's also the live response session, which is something you can't find in any other XDR."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"Defender's reporting is rather scattered, and its URL filtering mechanism doesn't really work."

"The biggest one is that Defender needs to be more proactive to the emerging threats. There can be tighter integration with email, especially how it integrates with our email system, which is the Microsoft Outlook suite. There should be the ability to react a lot quicker to emerging threats because sometimes, it takes a few days before some of these new threats are fully identified, and we need that to be a few hours."

"The security could always be improved."

"We faced some issues while running some applications on Mac."

"Defender's threat protection should be fine-tuned to reduce false positives. It could be more targeted, reflecting a continuous evolution in detecting. Also, it could be easier to integrate into other environments."

"Advanced attacks could use an improvement."

"Defender also lacks automated detection and response. You need to resolve issues manually. You can manage multiple Microsoft security products from a single portal, and all your security recommendations are in one place. It's easy to understand and manage. However, I wouldn't say Defender is a single pane of glass. You still need to switch between all of the available Microsoft tools. You can see all the alerts in one panel, but you can't automate remediation."

"It would be highly beneficial if CoPilot could identify anomalies within the network and notify the IT team."

"It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console."

"The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement."

"The cost can be high if you want to build custom license packages. Another area for improvement is the policies. In Azure, we need to implement policies in JSON format, but in 365 Defender 365, it would be helpful to use a different format so we can customize the platform."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is not a full-fledged EDR or XDR."

"The logs could be better."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."

"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."

"Microsoft purposely makes its license combinations complex and includes combinations like Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, and Office 365 E1, so you get confused. Microsoft tries to sell you a bundle of a lot of things together."

"Purchasing Microsoft Defender XDR as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle can be cost-effective, but acquiring it as a standalone product may be more expensive."

"Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive."

"The price could be better. Normally, the costs depend on the country you're located in for the license. When we were in the initial stage, we went with the E5 license they call premium standard. It cost us around $5.20 per month for four users."

"The functionality is fantastic, but for medium and small-sized companies it's overpriced. It would be better if it were a little bit cheaper."

"All I can say again is the E5 gives you all the capabilities that it offers. It also gives Office 365 and one terabyte of storage. All in all, the E5 license model makes sense. There are some people who say it's quite costly, but rather than paying different vendors, it makes sense to go all in with Microsoft if you've got that licensing. From that perspective, it's cost-effective, but I can't comment much on that."

"It is fairly priced because we get complete integrated services with the E5 license."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is included in our license."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.

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787,061 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?

It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is p...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?

The biggest one is that Defender needs to be more proactive to the emerging threats. There can be tighter integration with email, especially how it integrates with our email system, which is the Mi...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive, especially for the full suite functionality. However, when compared to buying multiple-point solutions separately, it may be comparable in price. Overall, it is...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

Improving scalability, especially for very large tenants, could be beneficial for Microsoft Defender XDR. Additionally, enhancing the privilege access management capability would make it a better s...

See all answers

Comparisons

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 21% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 10% of the time

Xprotect vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Business Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 45% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Trend Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

June 2024

Download Microsoft Defender for Business product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

May 2024

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Learn More

Microsoft

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

May 2024

Free Report: Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.

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See our Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business report.

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