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Bitdefender GravityZone EDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Bitdefender GravityZone EDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender XDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
97
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Bitdefender GravityZone EDR is 2.7%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 3.3%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

AMBARISH PATKAR - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized control effectively manages devices while updates require powered-on systems
I use Bitdefender GravityZone EDR for the grooming industry. It is primarily utilized for the office environment The features I find most effective for threat detection include centralized control policy distribution and the control of independent devices, such as printers, laptops, and desktops…
Gabor Nyerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot
We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a very stable solution."
"We have clients who are also migrating from other anti-virus solutions to GravityZone because of the ease of use, ease of installation and the fact that it can be deployed in the cloud and the same software; you can actually install on other server or workstation. It automatically knows what it's protecting."
"What I have found to be valuable is after every new release of the solution there are more features. At the time that we bought Bitdefender GravityZone, it was their top solution. We went from their Enterprise version to Elite, Elite HD, Ultra, and now there is an Ultra Plus available."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to use and simple, meaning it's not much complicated."
"I like that you can manage all the time and you can uninstall and install everything via the web console."
"It efficiently investigates security incidents."
"Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra has many features, such as VPN, web filtering, and email filtering. The product has many good reviews, and I like how straightforward it is to implement. It's also easy to access and use."
"The best feature for our customers is the ransomware feature. It is very fresh and powerful. Bitdefender also has a feature called Ransomware Vaccine. With this feature, when a file from the ransomware is encrypted Bitdefender can revert it back to the original file. It automatically decrypts the file and puts the ransom in quarantine."
"Having a single pane of glass for all Microsoft security services makes everything much easier. A security analyst can go to a single portal and see everything in one view. The integration of everything into one portal is a huge benefit."
"I like the easy integration and advanced possibilities. We can implement it at customer sites in a few clicks, but we can also dive deep and drill down to extended features. There's a very good starting point to get into this product and all the features from Defender."
"It's a very scalable tool that can be used in a very small environment or in a very large environment. Everything can be managed from a simple dashboard and can be scaled up or down depending on the customer's environment."
"Defender is easy to use. It has a nice console, and everything is all in one place."
"My clients like Defender's file integrity monitoring. They're monitoring Windows and Linux system files."
"The most valuable feature is probably the aggregation and correlation of the different telemetry points with Defender for Identity, Defender for Endpoint, and Defender for Cloud Apps. All of these various things are part of that portal. We've wanted that single pane of glass for years."
"All of the security components are valuable including, antiphishing, antispam, and stage three antivirus."
"The most valuable feature is the DLP because that's where we can have an added data protection layer and extend it not just to emails but to the documents that users are working on. We can make sure that sensitive data is tagged and flagged if unauthorized parties are using it."
 

Cons

"The areas of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Extended Detection and Response (XDR) could benefit from improvement in terms of how problems are reported and displayed. The way the problems are presented and the information provided could be improved."
"When patching devices for updates, if a device is not switched on, it does not provide information dynamically."
"The stability must be improved."
"I have not had used the EDR portion of the solution to do any custom scripting to allow further advanced operations on the endpoints. From what I understand from reading the comments on reviews is that it is not particularly flexible in this regard."
"There was a bit of a problem deploying."
"The installation is not straightforward and should be easier to do."
"In the future, maybe this will need to morph into AI threat intelligence."
"In terms of improvement of the solution, it could have better features. For example, having a firewall within. This way we would only need one solution."
"The solution could enhance the threat Intelligence feature by making it more relevant to specific industries. Much of the threat intelligence information isn't directly applicable to our environment. It would be beneficial if the threat intelligence were tailored to the industry, such as healthcare or fintech, where the solution is being used."
"Microsoft tends to provide too many features, which makes the solution prone to bugs."
"The mobile app support for Android and iOS is difficult and needs improvement."
"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."
"Troubleshooting in Microsoft 365 Defender can be inefficient."
"Microsoft Defender is slow to adapt to evolving threats."
"The abundance of sub-dashboards and sub-areas within the main dashboard can be confusing, even if it all technically makes sense."
"There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information. If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, we have a better licensing agreement with Bitdefender than we did with competing vendors."
"I have very good pricing for the solution, which is one of the reasons why I am not switching to other products. I rate the tool's pricing a two out of ten."
"If you look at the solution's price point, it's actually low market value, especially in comparison to other ones."
"There are some differences. It's more cost-effective, yet it provides the same functionalities as Defender. That's why I've been exploring the comparisons. We pay for it annually, and it's a per-seat payment."
"Each endpoint device we purchased came with its own license."
"It is not that expensive. Compared to its competitors, it is well-priced and well-placed."
"There is a fully functional trial that we used and we didn't have any issues."
"The solution is not expensive but there are cheaper options in the market. In terms of competitiveness, the price is reasonable with no other additional costs besides the licensing fees."
"Its licensing and pricing are handled by someone else. My role is limited to incidents or issues with the portal, but you get what you pay for. It is worth the cost."
"On average, we pay around 55 euros per user for the services and features we receive."
"While the standalone price of Defender XDR might seem high, its value becomes clear when considering the ease of implementation and smooth integration with our existing Microsoft infrastructure, especially when bundled with other Microsoft products."
"Microsoft Defender XDR is included in our license."
"Sometimes 365 Defender is expensive, but it can be moderate, depending on the organization's size and the license type. We're satisfied with the cost because it gives us a product that protects our entire environment with DLP. To compromise some cost, of course, we are to complete the most secure environment."
"Defender plan 1 is tenant-wise, and Defender plan 2 is per-user, which makes it more expensive. To have certain features, you would need to purchase the E5 license. For all of the capabilities that the tool provides, the price, though it can be high, is fair."
"The most valuable licensing option is expensive, so pricing could be improved. Licensing options for this solution also need to be consolidated, because they frequently change."
"For Defender, they have Endpoint Plan 1 and Endpoint Plan 2, but I don't know on what basis they have classified Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2, but it has given me enough pain to pick and design Endpoint Plan 1 or Endpoint Plan 2 for my organization. In fact, we are still struggling with it. Too many SKUs are confusing. There should not be too many SKUs, and they shouldn't charge for every new feature."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
5%
Educational Organization
5%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra?
The cost is reasonable, with the license costing approximately six to eight dollars per user.
What needs improvement with Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra?
When patching devices for updates, if a device is not switched on, it does not provide information dynamically.
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?
Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?
It would be beneficial to reduce the number of clicks required to navigate between blades, as the current navigation and breadcrumb system can be a bit confusing. Some inconsistencies exist between...
 

Also Known As

Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra, Bitdefender GravityZone
Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mentor Graphics, Rudersdal Kommune
Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about Bitdefender GravityZone EDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.