

Microsoft Defender XDR and Huntress Managed EDR compete in the threat protection segment. Microsoft Defender stands out for its extensive integration across Microsoft tools, suitable for the Microsoft ecosystem, while Huntress offers a proactive managed service with 24/7 SOC support, making it beneficial for SMBs with layered security needs.
Features: Microsoft Defender XDR integrates seamlessly with Microsoft tools, providing centralized management and threat protection. It offers a stable, user-friendly experience within Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Huntress Managed EDR is valued for its simplicity and automation in threat remediation, focusing on proactive threat hunting and complementing existing antivirus solutions with comprehensive analysis and managed SOC support.
Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender XDR could enhance its user interface, improve integration with non-Microsoft systems, and provide clearer documentation. It also needs better automated remediation features and licensing clarity. Huntress Managed EDR should focus on improving API availability for reporting, expanding antivirus capabilities, and developing more intuitive dashboards with better integration.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender XDR offers diverse deployment options for complex IT infrastructures but experiences inconsistent customer support. Huntress Managed EDR boasts seamless, minimal-overhead deployment, making it ideal for SMBs, and is noted for proactive and responsive customer support, though it could improve dashboard visibility into alerts.
Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender XDR’s pricing is high, especially with premium services, but is justified by its capabilities within the Microsoft ecosystem. It faces challenges with licensing complexity, though users report substantial ROI through operational efficiencies. Huntress Managed EDR is cost-effective, slightly more expensive than some competitors, but offers ROI through its managed EDR features and proactive threat remediation improving security postures.
We have to provide endpoint security as a core part of our service as an MSP and using Huntress Managed EDR has saved us approximately a thousand dollars a month over using other more expensive, less effective solutions.
My advice to others looking into using Huntress Managed EDR is that if they're looking for an easy-to-use and manage solution, Huntress Managed EDR is a good fit for a small to medium company.
I have seen a return on investment mainly through time savings, as we know all the endpoints are protected 24/7, and we understand the value of the SOC team, with the human SOC team being very valuable.
We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.
Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.
It helped stop multiple intrusion points where we would have had millions in lost revenue if the attackers got in.
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.
For technical support, I would rate Huntress a ten out of ten, and in truth, they are better than that.
You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.
It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.
Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.
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.
My concern is about the scale of events and alerts being generated, and the product is doing a very good job of only surfacing the important items for us.
Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.
Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.
About stability, we have not seen any lagging, crashing, downtime, or any sort of instability with Huntress Managed EDR.
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.
The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.
The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.
It provides high-fidelity signals.
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.
Huntress Managed EDR indicated this is a normal behavior, but I would prefer to be alerted whenever there is any incident involving Windows Defender on any machines, regardless of the status of the incident.
Since we support customers in different countries, expanding the language options for their training would be beneficial.
The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.
Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.
Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.
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.
There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.
I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.
Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.
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.
With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.
This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.
Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender XDR | 2.7% |
| Huntress Managed EDR | 3.0% |
| Other | 94.3% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 53 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 47 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 25 |
| Large Enterprise | 38 |
Huntress Managed EDR provides round-the-clock threat detection, incident response, and remediation services. It offers a cost-effective security solution tailored for small to medium businesses, integrating seamlessly with Microsoft Defender to bolster cybersecurity without needing extensive security personnel.
Huntress Managed EDR specializes in comprehensive threat-hunting and proactive defense, designed to operate alongside existing antivirus tools like Microsoft Defender. It delivers continuous monitoring and advanced threat detection to protect endpoints from threats beyond traditional antivirus capabilities. The platform features a user-oriented interface enabling efficient endpoint management and security. While valued for its 24/7 security operations and threat response, Huntress faces certain challenges such as enhancing reporting capabilities, expanding integration with third-party systems, and advancing its XDR functionalities. Users seek improved API capabilities, streamlined report generation, and broader Macintosh support to elevate their experience with the tool.
What are the key features?Industries leverage Huntress Managed EDR to enhance security frameworks and integrate with existing security measures, like Microsoft Defender. Its deployment spans financial, healthcare, and SMB sectors, where the need for robust endpoint protection and threat-hunting capabilities is paramount. Organizations benefit from its flexible deployment options, adapting Huntress to their specific cybersecurity strategies.
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.
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