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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Active Directory comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
CrowdStrike Falcon improves ROI by cutting costs and increasing productivity through efficient threat management and strong security measures.
Sentiment score
8.8
Microsoft Active Directory offers value by streamlining user management, justifying investment despite limited direct financial calculations.
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Customers generally praise CrowdStrike Falcon's responsive, knowledgeable support, despite occasional slow responses and limited expertise concerns.
Sentiment score
5.9
Active Directory support receives mixed reviews, with delays and quality varying; premium service improves assistance but adds cost.
The CrowdStrike team is very efficient; I would rate them ten out of ten.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
CrowdStrike Falcon excels in scalable, seamless deployment across various organizations, with flexible licensing and minimal disruption during expansion.
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Active Directory is scalable for thousands but faces challenges in large infrastructures, with cloud migration as a solution.
It has adequate coverage and is easy to deploy.
When it comes to scalability, it is entirely based on premium models according to demand.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
CrowdStrike Falcon offers stable, reliable performance with minor update issues and high user satisfaction ratings for protection.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Active Directory is stable and reliable, highly rated by users, effectively scalable, with minimal downtime or performance issues.
I have never seen instability in the CrowdStrike tool.
We are following N-1 versions across our environment, which is stable.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
 

Room For Improvement

Users desire improved dashboard functionality, integration, machine learning, and interface enhancements with cost-effective options for better threat management.
Microsoft Active Directory needs interface, security, integration, and scalability improvements, focusing on user experience, migration, and reporting features.
Another concern is CrowdStrike's GUI. It changes annually, making it hard to work and find options.
Threat prevention should be their first priority.
Simplifying the querying process, such as using double quote queries or directly obtaining logs based on IP addresses or usernames, would be beneficial.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
There are some features that need improvements in terms of ease of use and frequency of updates.
AI is offering solutions.
 

Setup Cost

CrowdStrike Falcon is pricier than competitors but valued for strong security, flexible features, and excellent support.
Microsoft Active Directory offers moderate pricing, often packaged with Windows OS, with cloud services like Azure being more cost-effective.
It is expensive compared to SentinelOne, but as the market leader, it is worth it.
 

Valuable Features

CrowdStrike Falcon excels with real-time threat detection, cloud-native flexibility, and seamless integration, enhancing endpoint security and management.
Microsoft Active Directory offers robust user management, security, and seamless integration with Microsoft products, ideal for large network management.
I can investigate by accessing the customer's host based on the RTR environment and utilize host search to know details for the past seven days, including logins, processes, file installations, malicious processes, and network connections.
CrowdStrike provides a lot of visibility in their tool.
The moment the user clicked on the file, it was quarantined thanks to CrowdStrike.
I can control all the devices in my domain by just changing the group policies in one place.
One valuable feature is the centralized creation of IDs.
Having active deployment and well-configured systems helps me manage tasks and easily oversee thousands of users.
 

Categories and Ranking

CrowdStrike Falcon
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
126
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Threat Intelligence Platforms (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (1st), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (1st), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (1st), Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) (2nd)
Microsoft Active Directory
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Single Sign-On (SSO) (7th), Active Directory Management (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. CrowdStrike Falcon is designed for Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and holds a mindshare of 16.1%, down 18.5% compared to last year.
Microsoft Active Directory, on the other hand, focuses on Single Sign-On (SSO), holds 2.9% mindshare, up 2.2% since last year.
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
Single Sign-On (SSO)
 

Featured Reviews

Chintan-Vyas - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up with good behavior-based analysis but needs a single-click recovery option
Most organizations are currently looking for a scheduled scan to meet their compliance needs. Other players like Symantec and Trend Micro, FireEye, et cetera, are still providing the signature-based regular scheduled scans also, which is not available in CrowdStrike. That is one parameter that we feel should be there in CrowdStrike. CrowdStrike is only working on the dynamic or the files under execution. CrowdStrike is not scanning the static files. The product could be more accurate in terms of performance. We'd like to have a single-click recovery option. With some machines getting corrupted by malware, we need an easy way to start with a blank slate if things happen. That one feature should be there in the EDR.
Rajitha Abhisheka - PeerSpot reviewer
A solution that easily merges with cloud-based ADs and provides superior data security
The interface for logs should be user-friendly and allow for enhanced filtering to drill down to incidents. It is time consuming to get a clear picture and review deviations in conditional policies because you have to check each and every log to find information on malicious attacks, a compromised end-user's account, or phishing emails. The logs for sign-ins and auditing should be available for more than a 30-90 day window. Most logs are displayed in UTC but it would be helpful to include time conversions for tenant regions. Currently, we must do time conversions manually before we contact users to share information and troubleshoot issues.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Active Directory?
The solution is easy to install and has good reliability.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Active Directory?
Technology is evolving. AI is offering solutions. However, short-term fixes are like band-aids.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Active Directory?
I utilize it in almost every scenario. I use the Hazer database and meet daily needs across every industry, every time.
 

Also Known As

CrowdStrike Falcon, CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Threat Intelligence, CrowdStrike Identity Protection, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Active Directory and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,600 professionals have used our research since 2012.