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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Wiz comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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
5.5
Qualys TotalCloud boosts efficiency, reduces manual effort, decreases risk, and offers significant cost savings with a notable ROI.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhances ROI by improving security, productivity, and cost efficiency, despite perceived licensing costs.
Sentiment score
5.2
Wiz delivers significant ROI with streamlined security management, reduced costs, and improved operations, despite high cost challenges in some regions.
It has saved about 90% of our time.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
TotalCloud has generated overall savings of 30 to 40 percent across various departments.
Security Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
CallStream helps us integrate and automate tasks.
Senior Security Consultant at CyberNxt Solutions LLP
Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.
Manager at CBTS
Compared to not having Microsoft Defender for Cloud in place, we definitely saw an advantage by not having downtime due to a security threat.
Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge
We have seen ROI from Wiz and we continued to see value in Wiz.
CyberSecurity Sr Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
I think we're reaching the point where we'll see a return on investment, and we'll be there by the end of the year.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
We estimate a cost reduction of around 35% to 50%, or even more, due to consolidating our security management into one platform.
CISO at a retailer with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Qualys TotalCloud support is praised for efficiency and staff knowledge but criticized for delays and inconsistent quality.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Defender for Cloud support is knowledgeable with effective documentation, but first-tier delays impact overall satisfaction.
Sentiment score
7.4
Wiz customer service is praised for quick, effective support, responsive onboarding, swift issue resolution, and accessible communication.
They are helpful, respond to my queries, and can answer any question.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Qualys's tech support is highly responsive, providing multiple ways to interact with them.
Service Manager, Security Operations at CDA IT SOLUTIONS
Qualys' customer service provides quality answers, but the response time is long, even though it is within the SLA.
Works at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.
Manager at CBTS
The support team was very responsive to queries.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give Wiz's support a 10.
Specialist - Information Security at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The vendor was readily available to assist us over calls, clarifying both technical aspects and theoretical insights.
Cyber Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
If I were to put Wiz support on a scale from one to ten, I would give them a ten.
CISO at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Qualys TotalCloud excels in scalability, efficiently supporting diverse environments and business sizes, though it may require skilled management.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is highly scalable, seamlessly integrates across platforms, and efficiently handles growth, with room for feature improvement.
Sentiment score
7.7
Wiz excels in scalability and integration, efficiently handling large workloads, though some users face cost management challenges.
We started our organization about nine months back. We started with about 30 users, and we now have more than 100 users.
CIO at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Our organization currently uses it to manage over 1200 web applications.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
It is absolutely scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine out of ten.
retired at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
As we have reduced our on-premises infrastructure, it is about how we can migrate workloads to the cloud to make it easier, and then having everything fully encompassed and secured within that area makes it much easier for us to scale as needed and grow.
Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge
We are using infrastructure as a code, so we do not have any scalability issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation because our cloud automatically does it.
Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at Deutsche Börse
It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
We have deployed Wiz in three organizations on AWS, each with approximately 70 to 80 accounts, totaling more than 120 accounts.
AWS Cloud Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
Business Line Manager at S2E
Our environment quadrupled in size. We didn’t have to make any adjustments or configuration changes; it just accommodated the growth.
Principal Engineer at Aviatrix
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Qualys TotalCloud is highly stable with reliable support, 99.9% uptime, minimal bugs, and effective maintenance communication.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is stable and reliable, though minor update issues occur with older systems and internet latency.
Sentiment score
7.8
Wiz is highly reliable, with minimal downtime, effective support, and consistently high user ratings for performance stability.
Overall, the support provided has been excellent.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
It is a stable solution, which is why we chose it.
CIO at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Continuous monitoring is crucial to ensure system stability and avoid vulnerabilities or threats.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Defender's stability has been flawless for us.
Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
I have not experienced any crashes or downtime.
Head Of IT at Cirrus Response
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.
Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The stability of Wiz has been good, with no downtime, bugs, or glitches.
Senior Engineering Manager, Data & AI at Omnissa
The services were stable, and we did not experience any downtime.
Senior Cloud Infrastructure Engineer at Self-Employed
Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight to nine out of ten.
Business Line Manager at S2E
 

Room For Improvement

Users suggest enhancing Qualys TotalCloud with clearer reports, better integration, intuitive UI, AI risk assessments, and improved documentation.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud needs improved customization, automation, UI performance, policy management, integration, AI functions, and reduced licensing complexities.
Wiz users seek enhanced reporting, integrations, security, real-time detection, automation, reduced false positives, cost efficiency, and AI integration.
Ideally, the scanner should automatically detect and scan all subdomains, even if not explicitly defined, ensuring comprehensive vulnerability assessment.
Analyst, Information Security at Infosys
Ideally, updates should be more immediate, enabling quicker implementation of solutions.
Project Lead at Persistent Systems
Our goal is to integrate all these functions into Qualys, creating a single dashboard for comprehensive security monitoring and management.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.
Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees
It would be beneficial to streamline recommendations to avoid unnecessary alerts and to refine the severity of alerts based on specific environments or environmental attributes.
Works at Coca-Cola HBC
The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.
Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG
We would like to see preventive controls that can be applied through Wiz to protect against vulnerabilities that we're not going to be able to remediate immediately.
CyberSecurity Sr Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
One significant area for improvement would be increasing automation. While they excel at identifying issues, we need assistance in minimizing the human hours required for tasks.
Principal Engineer at Aviatrix
Adding AI-driven features could significantly assist developers in addressing vulnerabilities more efficiently, thereby improving deployment times and adherence to deadlines.
Senior Engineer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is high yet justified by comprehensive features and flexibility, benefiting larger enterprises seeking robust security.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers flexible pricing but gets complex and costly, requiring careful evaluation, especially for advanced plans.
Wiz's pricing is fair yet potentially costly, with concerns over transparency despite its value from comprehensive features.
Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Pricing is managed by our finance team; however, Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility.
IT Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches.
Vice President at Inspira Enterprise
Security has essentially no cost when compared to the cost of a breach.
Director, Cloud and Modern Workplace at Informanix Technology Group
Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.
Manager, Microsoft Technology Alliance at Silverfort
We are paying 250k per year.
Project Manager at Hilti
In some cases, it has a very aggressive price, so very cheap.
Business Line Manager at S2E
I don’t think there’s anyone else out there offering the same level, scale, or efficiency.
Principal Engineer at Aviatrix
 

Valuable Features

Qualys TotalCloud offers comprehensive vulnerability detection, cloud security management, and automation with insightful dashboards for efficient threat management.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhances security and compliance with AI-powered threat intelligence, automation, and multi-cloud integration for improved protection.
Wiz offers comprehensive cloud security visibility with agentless scanning, AI analytics, automation, and seamless multi-cloud integration for robust protection.
This view of risk helps reduce the work we would have to do to combine multiple sources to prioritize risk.
Works at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
It will help cybersecurity professionals monitor the cloud and find vulnerabilities.
Developer at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We are enjoying the new feature, FlexScan, which is valuable for Internet-facing VMs.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.
Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.
Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG
The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.
Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The ability to scan every layer without agents is a huge selling point because we're multi-agent.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The feature leads to minimal false positives and a low volume of alerts, which is highly valuable for our operations.
Cloud Security Lead at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees
It's highly customizable, allowing us to manage many custom features effectively.
Project Manager at Hilti
 

Categories and Ranking

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
11th
Ranking in Container Security
13th
Ranking in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)
9th
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
8th
Ranking in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (1st)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
5th
Ranking in Container Security
5th
Ranking in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)
1st
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
4th
Ranking in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Container Management (6th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (4th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (3rd)
Wiz
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
1st
Ranking in Container Security
1st
Ranking in Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)
2nd
Ranking in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)
1st
Ranking in Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (1st), Compliance Management (2nd), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.8%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 8.1%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wiz is 13.8%, down from 26.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Wiz13.8%
Microsoft Defender for Cloud8.1%
Qualys TotalCloud1.8%
Other76.3%
Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP)
 

Featured Reviews

RO
IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.
Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities
Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.
RW
Head Of IT at Cirrus Response
Cloud security has cut investigation time and now reveals threats faster but needs simpler oversight
When deploying AI applications, my key security concerns with Microsoft Defender for Cloud are data loss, leakage of data, and guardrails around the actual AI, and I am hoping that this is going to help me put those guardrails in place and identify data exfiltration. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not helped me manage and secure multi-cloud environments, as we are 100 percent Microsoft and have not really got it in any other environment at all. I am not yet using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet using the integrated XDR feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet utilizing the GenAI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. That is also coming and a lot of that will come from learning it here. I have enabled the agentless scanning in my cloud environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Assessing the impact on my workload protection without needing to install agents with Microsoft Defender for Cloud makes it a lot easier, but it also identifies a lot more, which puts more load on me sometimes. I would advise another organization considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud that it is the most logical route to follow if their whole ecosystem is Microsoft. It is easy to implement and it is very self-explanatory when doing it, making sense to just follow the steps as it is too simple, really. I would rate this review a 7.5 out of 10.
Peter Whelan - PeerSpot reviewer
CISO at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Improved our security posture thanks to comprehensive visibility
I have contacted Wiz technical support frequently. The support is excellent. We contact via an in-application portal. We can see the support cases we personally open, and also the cases that other people have opened from our company. I appreciate that feature. Generally, support gets back to us within a few days with a good answer. There was one fellow in particular who has been knocking it out of the park. He is a great support person to deal with. We are happy with the support experience. If I were to put Wiz support on a scale from one to ten, I would give them a ten.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) solutions are best for your needs.
896,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise28
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise49
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
Our use case involves the assets that we have under cloud, the assets exposed to the internet, and the internal appli...
How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?
Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening acros...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was that the license cost was the only consideration. Setup an...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
To improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud, I think pricing-wise, the license price is a little bit higher from an inges...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Wiz?
I do not have detailed information about pricing, setup costs, or licensing as I am just a user. However, I have hear...
What needs improvement with Wiz?
During the initial setup, obtaining support was not easy initially. When assistance was needed, response times were l...
What is your primary use case for Wiz?
The product was implemented for AWS monitoring and cloud infrastructure monitoring. Our goal was to conduct security ...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
Wiz is the fastest growing software company ever - $100M ARR in 18 months: Wiz becomes the fastest-growing software company ever | Wiz Blog  Discover why companies, including Salesforce, Morgan Stanley, Fox, and Bridgewater choose Wiz as their cloud security partner. Read their success stories here: Customers | Wiz
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Wiz and other solutions. Updated: May 2026.
896,099 professionals have used our research since 2012.