Cisco XDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Cisco and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. Cisco is ranked #20 with an average rating of 8.8, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 2.0% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 5.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Cisco XDR

Read 6 Cisco XDR reviews

1,151 Views
1,070 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 102 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,986 Views
6,152 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Cisco XDR

Microsoft Defender XDR

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 22, 2024

Microsoft 365 Defender and Cisco XDR are powerful security solutions that excel in different areas. Microsoft 365 Defender is preferred for its seamless integration with other Microsoft products, while Cisco XDR stands out with comprehensive threat intelligence. Cisco XDR has an edge due to its broader scope of features.

Features: Microsoft 365 Defender offers robust threat protection, integration within the Microsoft ecosystem, and effective incident response capabilities. Cisco XDR provides extensive threat intelligence, advanced analytics, and cross-domain visibility features.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft 365 Defender could enhance threat detection accuracy, reduce false positives, and improve its non-Microsoft product compatibility. Cisco XDR needs to improve user-friendliness, provide better documentation, and streamline complex deployment processes.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft 365 Defender deployment is straightforward within Microsoft environments, with responsive customer service. Cisco XDR has a more complex deployment process but offers comprehensive support post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft 365 Defender is favored for its competitive pricing and value within Microsoft-centric organizations. Cisco XDR's cost is higher, reflecting its extensive features and threat intelligence. Microsoft 365 Defender delivers better ROI in Microsoft setups, while Cisco XDR justifies its higher cost for broader-spectrum security needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

Download the complete report

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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

Cisco XDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

20th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Cisco XDR is 2.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 5.9%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	5.9%
Cisco XDR	2.0%
Other	92.1%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

Joseph Houghes

Cloud Architect at Pure Storage

flexible reporting and analytics boost data-driven security responses

The feature I appreciate the most about Cisco XDR is the flexibility for a user to be able to create their own reporting and dashboards. I would say I got to stop beta testing myself. I am testing what can be customized the most with it. Being able to ingest all the analytics and make it something that's either meaningful to them or to their own leadership is a big plus. It's not just what the product is at launch; you have the ability to customize and make it useful to your business to actually get real, purposeful information out of just a swamp of data. The features of Cisco XDR have actually benefited the organization significantly by allowing us to do the outputs of specific data and even filtered subsets of the data. We can do the same reporting but only deliver in either reports or dashboards the information about the systems that a specific team is responsible for, or the larger teams that multiple departments or IT silos roll up into. We're basically able to just modify the filters and have the same reports in the same dashboards where it's all the same; 99% of the work is the same.

Read full review

MohtesanShaikh

Business Development Executive at TechnoFirrm

Experience improves security management and simplifies threat protection

I have created automated investigations, and while they work, they operate rather slowly in the Microsoft portal. If I automate something, it takes considerable time; if I do it manually, I can complete it in a quarter of the time. The automation response being slow is the main concern; when an incident occurs or if I run a remediation, it takes significant time to complete the remediation. There are some limitations regarding the scalability of Microsoft Defender XDR with specific licensing. For SMB customers, there is only Microsoft Defender for Business, and if they want more features such as XDR features and automation investigation or incident response, they need to purchase Defender for Endpoint. We are currently using the EDR.

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

"The feature I appreciate the most about Cisco XDR is the reliability."

"Technical support from Cisco is good and very helpful."

"The feature I appreciate the most about Cisco XDR is the flexibility for a user to be able to create their own reporting and dashboards, ingest all the analytics, and make it something meaningful to their business to actually get real, purposeful information out of just a swamp of data."

"Cisco XDR offers threat intelligence and links with the Firewall."

"One of my favorite features of Cisco XDR is the automation tool, which saves a lot of time because we can craft these automations and workflows."

"I appreciate the granularity of what I get from Cisco XDR the most."

"One of my favorite features of Cisco XDR is the automation tool, which saves a lot of time because we can craft these automations and workflows."

"The feature I appreciate the most about Cisco XDR is the reliability."

More Cisco XDR pros

"Defender XDR offers richer insights into Defender XDR. It's a better overall experience."

"I like 365 Defender's advanced threat hunting. The dashboard is user-friendly with templates for site policies, etc. The most important use case is evaluating the risk links and applications."

"Microsoft 365 Defender is a stable solution."

"The ability to hunt that IM data set or the identity data set at the same time is valuable. As incident response professionals, we are very used to EDRs and having device process registry telemetry, but a lot of times, we do not have that identity data right there with us, so we have to go search for it in some other silo. Being able to cross-correlate via both datasets at the same time is something that we can only do in Def"

"We are able to consolidate licences and make use of many Microsoft products using this solution. If we have any Microsoft customers, we encourage them to use this solution for enterprise defence."

"It's a great threat intelligence source for us, providing alerts for things it detects on the network and on the machines. We've used it often when there is a potential incident to see what was done on a computer. That works quite nicely because you can see everything that the user has done..."

"The biggest return on investment when using Microsoft Defender XDR for me is saving time for the most part."

"The threat intelligence is excellent."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"The licensing of Cisco XDR is a bit complicated. The cost can depend on what it is, and the process can be a little complicated."

"I would say I got to stop beta testing myself."

"Cisco XDR can be improved by addressing the upfront cost."

"They need to provide better pricing and bundle XDR licenses with products like Meraki solutions or Firepower Threat Defense."

"My only complaint about Cisco XDR is related to licensing, which is complicated."

"When we first started with Cisco XDR in August, everybody was having issues. There were three people in our organization, including me, who couldn't even log in to Cisco XDR."

"They need to provide better pricing and bundle XDR licenses with products like Meraki solutions or Firepower Threat Defense."

"Cisco XDR can be improved by addressing the upfront cost. Everything matters for us since we're small, mom and pop, so every dollar counts."

More Cisco XDR cons

"The customer support aspect can be better because it's the biggest complaint I hear about Microsoft. They can improve the ease of support and licensing processes."

"The tool gives inconsistent answers and crashes a lot."

"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."

"The licensing process needs improvement and clarification, as it is currently difficult to understand which features are licensed to which users."

"My client would like the solution to be more customizable without using code. You can only build on the default console, but we're not allowed to change it."

"Microsoft frequently changes the names of its products, sometimes even renaming entire portals or features."

"Some of our older hardware experienced a slight bump in CPU and memory usage. Although I don't have empirical data to back that up, I would suggest possibly more streamlining in the software."

"Microsoft could improve on threat hunting and build more on threat detection and handling."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing of Cisco XDR is a bit complicated. The cost can depend on what it is, and the process can be a little complicated."

"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."

"Microsoft is not competitive with the pricing of the solution. The competitors are able to offer lower discounts. The price of the solution is higher."

"The solution is too expensive."

"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."

"The price of the solution is high compared to others and we have lost some customers because of it."

"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."

"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."

"It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

University

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	37

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco XDR?

The licensing of Cisco XDR is a bit complicated. The cost can depend on what it is, and the process can be a little complicated.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco XDR?

My only complaint about Cisco XDR is related to licensing, which is complicated.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cisco XDR?

We use Cisco XDR for our network devices and data centers, as we are an internet provider. We deliver the internet to customers.

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?

The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

See all answers

Comparisons

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cisco XDR

Compared 23% of the time

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Cisco XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Darktrace vs Cisco XDR

Compared 10% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Cisco XDR

Compared 10% of the time

Wazuh vs Cisco XDR

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco XDR Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 10% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

September 2025

Download Cisco XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

October 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Interactive Demo

Cisco

Demo not available

Microsoft

Overview

Cisco XDR delivers an advanced threat detection and response experience through integration with Cisco's security suite, offering enhanced visibility, intelligence, and automation for network protection and system evaluations.

Cisco XDR integrates with Cisco Meraki and Splunk, excelling in threat intelligence and zero-day attack detection. Its automated response features provide crucial support in managing extensive networks, while the comprehensive log management facilitates detailed troubleshooting. Dashboards assist in system evaluation for effective gap mitigation. Despite its licensing complexity and upfront costs, it remains a key tool for Security Operations Center analysts and internet service providers, helping isolate threats and ensuring consistent security monitoring.

What features make Cisco XDR stand out?

Threat Intelligence: Offers robust insights to identify and manage threats.
Integration: Seamlessly works with Cisco Meraki and Splunk.
Zero-Day Detection: Protects against unknown threats with innovative technology.
Automated Response: Automates tasks such as phishing email handling.
Comprehensive Log Management: Supports detailed troubleshooting and network visibility.

Which benefits should users look for?

Enhanced Network Visibility: Allows for better monitoring and protection.
Reduced Downtime: Reliable performance ensures minimal interruptions.
Ease of Training: Intuitive tools facilitate rapid adoption.
Gap Mitigation: Dashboards provide insights to strengthen system security.

Cisco XDR is widely implemented in sectors requiring robust network management and monitoring. Organizations use it alongside Cisco Firepower Threat Defense and Meraki for comprehensive security measures, benefiting global customers and internet service providers for traffic and routing insights across devices and data centers.

Cisco

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.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

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