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Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 28, 2024

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
8.2
Huntress Managed EDR delivers high ROI, cuts costs, requires less staff, and enhances security with ease of deployment.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users report positive ROI from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, citing cost savings, improved security, and effective system integration.
The return on investment is primarily in time savings and better observability of what's happening.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.4
Huntress Managed EDR's customer service is praised for responsiveness, expertise, and effective issue resolution, especially during emergencies.
Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's support is generally reliable, with mixed reviews on response time and resolution quality.
I felt it was important to raise awareness about this new technique where attackers use legitimate applications to gain remote access and control of computers.
They are thorough and ensure the problem is addressed without pushing responsibilities onto me unnecessarily.
Our team on the security side has contacted Huntress support, and they have been pleased.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Due to our size, we don't have access to direct technical support, but the knowledge base, Microsoft Learn, and the articles available are really good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Huntress Managed EDR is lauded for its efficient, scalable deployment, supporting diverse companies with seamless cloud-based endpoint management.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers scalable integration and cloud-based management, but customization may need extra tools in complex settings.
I know other techs with thousands deployed, so scalability isn't an issue.
Scaling Huntress is simple; I can manage up to a thousand devices without issue.
I can easily scale from one machine to thousands without any fuss.
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
It's pretty easy to scale with Microsoft, as they make it easy if you look into the documentation.
Defender's scalability is phenomenal, and it's going to be one of the keys to resolving issues for the SOC.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Huntress Managed EDR is praised for stability and reliability, despite occasional minor issues and compatibility challenges with some OS.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, integrates well with Windows, but occasionally has configuration and memory issues.
We have not experienced any issues with lagging, crashing, or downtime.
I never experienced issues, but once there was an instance with false positives with their Rio service, which was quickly resolved by customer service.
It barely takes up resources on the computer, and I have had no issues with lagging or crashing.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Huntress Managed EDR needs better report customization, UI, Mac coverage, API functions, automated remediation, and enhanced security features.
Users criticize Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's complex interface, limited integration, and request enhancements in analytics, protection, and support.
A more transparent way for the support team at Huntress and our IT team to collaborate to make it faster and easier would be beneficial.
Since we support customers in different countries, expanding the language options for their training would be beneficial.
Their EDR is pretty mature in terms of what it does.
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
You have to go through tons of documentation to find what you want.
 

Setup Cost

Huntress Managed EDR offers competitive, flexible pricing per endpoint, delivering good value and performance for both small and large businesses.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers flexible, cost-effective pricing, especially in E5 bundles, adapting to various enterprise licensing needs.
The savings from utilizing the included Windows Defender offset the cost of Huntress Managed EDR, making it an affordable solution overall.
It is not too expensive or too cheap. It is just right.
It can get expensive for small to medium businesses if large license quantities are not purchased.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
The pricing, setup, and licensing were very easy and simple.
 

Valuable Features

Huntress Managed EDR offers 24/7 SOC, proactive threat management, seamless Microsoft Defender integration, and personalized support for efficient protection.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides comprehensive cybersecurity with seamless integration, robust threat analytics, and efficient management across platforms without performance impact.
What stands out most is their human element: when faced with an unknown threat, real people, not just automated processes, are investigating it, and they're people we trust.
They provide detailed remediation steps, explaining why an issue is a problem and what steps to take.
Previously, I could not modify it unless I had special Microsoft licensing, so it was beneficial to control Windows Defender through a central console to add policies and things like that.
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Web filtering is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because it effectively maintains security for website access.
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features.
 

Categories and Ranking

Huntress Managed EDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
7th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (2nd)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
190
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Huntress Managed EDR is 1.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.7%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Anto Baharian - PeerSpot reviewer
Never misses anything and has an attractive price point and a simple interface
One thing they could improve is evolving from an EDR to an MDR, like Blackpoint. This transition would enable automatic remediation of anything that looks dangerous, including within Microsoft 365. For instance, when one of my clients' Microsoft 365 account was breached, Blackpoint identified suspicious activity and disabled the account. It was in Dallas, and we are in California. Blackpoint knew something was wrong there, and they went in and disabled the account. Developing more automated remediation features would elevate them to an MDR level, but I understand that it might affect pricing. They are trying to keep it at a good price point because once they go to MDR, it is probably going to double the price. For now, I find the current features satisfactory, as they continue to add improvements. They have added security awareness training and then log collectors. They are adding pillars as they move along, and I assume they are going to have an option for MDR.
AnuragSrivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement
One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Retailer
6%
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Huntress?
It is very easy to use. It is a great solution. They are one of the better vendors that I have ever worked with since I have been in the industry.
What needs improvement with Huntress?
There should be more engagement with the MSP group or their largest clients. They should have focus group discussions on what they can do to improve the product. A more transparent way for the supp...
What is your primary use case for Huntress?
We use it for our clients and ourselves. Huntress is a pretty comprehensive platform. Recently, they acquired the security awareness training platform, which helps us to fulfill our clients' needs ...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Huntress Managed EDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.