Jamf Protect vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

JAMF and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category. JAMF is ranked #29 with an average rating of 9.4, while Microsoft is ranked #21 with an average rating of 7.6. JAMF holds a 0.9% mindshare in EPP, compared to Microsoft’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of JAMF users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 87% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Jamf Protect

Read 9 Jamf Protect reviews

1,303 Views
1,290 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Read 18 Microsoft Defender for Business reviews

4,781 Views
3,490 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Jamf Protect

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Microsoft Defender for Business and Jamf Protect are competing security solutions in business-integrated and Apple-centric environments, respectively. Microsoft Defender offers broader compatibility and integration within diverse IT systems, giving it an edge for those invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, while Jamf Protect holds strengths for businesses focused on macOS security.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Business delivers advanced threat detection, automated investigation, and a unified platform for device security management. Jamf Protect excels with custom macOS security, real-time monitoring, and endpoint protection tailored for Apple devices, making it particularly appealing for businesses using Apple technologies.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender could enhance integration with non-Microsoft systems, reduce resource consumption, and improve mobile device management features. Jamf Protect can work on expanding beyond macOS, lowering costs, and introducing more features for non-Apple environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender offers straightforward integration with Microsoft ecosystems and readily available customer service. Jamf Protect provides a seamless deployment experience for macOS with strong support tailored to Apple environments.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender offers competitive pricing and a favorable ROI, especially for businesses using Microsoft products. Jamf Protect may require a higher initial investment but offers significant ROI for organizations dedicated to macOS, due to its specialized features.

To learn more, read our detailed Jamf Protect vs. Microsoft Defender for Business Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Jamf Protect vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 867,676 peers since 2012

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

Jamf Protect

Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

29th

Average Rating

9.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (16th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Jamf Protect is 0.9%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 2.1%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Business	2.1%
Jamf Protect	0.9%
Other	97.0%

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

Featured Reviews

Amit-Sarkar

Apple Mobility Service Manager at ZONES PVT LTD

Allows users to easily monitor miscellaneous activities occurring in their environments

The product's price is an area of concern where improvements are required. It would be good if Jamf Protect could be integrated with Jamf Pro and used as a single solution. There are a couple of improvements where there is a need to change a few things. There are also a couple of things that need to be removed and merged into the main tool, Jamf Pro. The solution's technical team needs to improve because somewhere I felt from my personal experience that unless Jamf's team puts in an effort to understand the requirements of its customers, help can't be provided. The help provided by Jamf's team is on the basis of what they know, so I feel that they need to put a bit of effort into understanding what customers expect from the product.

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Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

Product deployment protects assets but needs improvement in system support

I am doing maintenance for Microsoft Defender for Business, and I'm currently working with it. We don't need to use the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Business. We still use the latest virus definition file that Microsoft Defender for Business has automatically updated. We implement a basic update mechanism. Our compliance division manages how many servers and PCs we have and whether those servers have antivirus solutions. I am not certain about how Microsoft Defender for Business helps with AI-driven security strategies. I just use it normally and don't know if it uses AI technology. I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a six out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We mainly use Jamf Protect to protect staff computers from malware and antivirus."

"Jamf Protect searches incoming and outgoing traffic for malware to monitor the network for security."

"Jamf Protect is a security product that helps us with CIS benchmarks and threat prevention."

"The tool's tech support is helpful and efficient. It also has an active community."

"The behavioral detection is valuable."

"The product's initial setup phase has very simple steps."

"Jamf Protect's most effective features for threat detection include managing devices and applications, deploying and upgrading the OS, and its overall security features."

"The quick updates are really good. If a new OS update drops today, I'll have the Jamf Protect update within a few hours. It's also compatible with all Mac OS versions, and there's zero lag or performance impact."

More Jamf Protect pros

"A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity."

"Microsoft Defender for Business stands out due to its ease of use, particularly due to the fact that many of my customers already use Microsoft and Azure."

"The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks."

"It is scalable."

"The solution is effective, continuously improving, and highly regarded, especially with Microsoft's leadership in the industry."

"Defender's main strength is its integration with Microsoft Sentinel, offering valuable insights."

"The security features in Microsoft Defender for Business that have been most effective for our company include the way it's built-in and intertwined into all the operating systems, giving us a good opportunity to holistically block things for the organization using that tenant."

"Microsoft Defender for Business offers the best pricing option in the market and is very cost-effective."

More Microsoft Defender for Business pros

Cons

"The solution's integration with other tools is slow."

"I'd really like to see some data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities. More visibility into user activity on laptops would be helpful."

"The dependency on Jamf Pro or SIEM or SOAR for some automations and integrations could be reduced."

"The solution’s stability could be improved."

"Jamf Protect protects just Mac devices, and we would love to have one solution for other platforms and not just Mac devices."

"Jamf Protect needs to improve its pricing."

"Beginners need initial training."

"The scope of improvement will fall under the support hierarchy that the tool offers to the latest version that Apple derives for any of the latest operating systems to launch."

More Jamf Protect cons

"I am not satisfied with Microsoft's technical support. There are challenges with the knowledge and experience of the support staff, frequent redirection between departments, and slow response times."

"The user interface has a lot of features which can make it complex and hard to adapt to for some users."

"Talking with the tool's technician about any problem is very complicated."

"The technical support from Microsoft is very poor. I would rate it a one, as their technical staff are very junior and take a long time to respond to simple questions."

"The threat detection capabilities require significant customization for multistage threat detection."

"If I need logs and don't have local storage bundled with Defender, I need to add workspace and log analytics, which is costly for storing logs of 2 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB."

"The security could always be improved."

"Additionally, the pricing policy poses a challenge, particularly in multi-year contracts, where other solutions like Trend Micro offer more affordable options."

More Microsoft Defender for Business cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Jamf Protect costs double the price that we were paying before."

"I rate the product price as a five on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."

"It's significantly cheaper than other options like ApexOne."

"The licensing costs are yearly and expensive."

"Jamf Protect is an expensive solution."

"The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."

"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."

"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."

"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."

"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

University

11%

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Jamf Protect?

Jamf Protect searches incoming and outgoing traffic for malware to monitor the network for security.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jamf Protect?

Jamf Protect is an expensive solution. Customers need to pay additional costs for Jamf Protect's on-ground support. On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the s...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Jamf Protect?

The dependency on Jamf Pro or SIEM or SOAR for some automations and integrations could be reduced. In-built automation and remediation of behavior-based threats would be beneficial enhancements.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?

A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?

Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?

Microsoft Defender for Business could improve by offering more of their offerings available in the basic tenants since not everyone has a budget for higher-level licenses, but everyone needs securi...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 49% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Jamf Protect

Compared 18% of the time

Tanium vs Jamf Protect

Compared 7% of the time

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Jamf Protect

Compared 5% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Jamf Protect

Compared 5% of the time

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HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 14% of the time

Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Suites vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 6% of the time

Norton Small Business vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Business Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Jamf Protect

September 2025

Download Jamf Protect product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Business

August 2025

Download Microsoft Defender for Business product report

Overview

Jamf Protect provides comprehensive security for Apple devices, aiding in malware protection, threat prevention, CIS benchmarks, and USB blockages while supporting local accounts and password sync.

Designed for managing Apple devices, Jamf Protect offers robust security features, such as malware detection and prevention, unauthorized data transfer blocks, and enhanced security profiles. It allows seamless deployment and upgrades of applications, coupled with efficient endpoint management. The tool ensures zero performance impact while providing real-time notifications for password updates and comprehensive data protection across all Mac OS versions.

What are Jamf Protect's most notable features?

Quick OS Updates: Ensures devices are always up-to-date with the latest OS releases.
Zero Performance Impact: Doesn’t strain CPU resources, ensuring smooth laptop performance.
Real-time Notifications: Delivers timely alerts about password updates and security threats.
Comprehensive Data Protection: Guards against malware, data transfers, and external drive threats.
Zero-touch Integration: Simplifies deployment and device management without manual intervention.

What benefits do users see in reviews?

Enhanced Security: Significant reduction in malware and unauthorized data transfer incidents.
Efficiency: Streamlined device management and application deployment save time.
Performance: Lightweight design ensures devices run smoothly without slowing down.
Proactive Threat Detection: Early detection and prevention of potential threats safeguard data integrity.

Industries such as education, healthcare, and finance leverage Jamf Protect to maintain stringent security standards, streamline application deployment, and ensure devices meet compliance requirements. They benefit from real-time threat alerts, comprehensive data protection, and zero-touch integration, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

JAMF

Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

Jamf Protect vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

September 2025

Free Report: Jamf Protect vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

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