Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure comparison

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure

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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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.7%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 5.6%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor Endpoint Secure is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	5.6%
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.7%
Sangfor Endpoint Secure	0.7%
Other	90.0%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk

Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration

Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.

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Robert Arbuckle

Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time

Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.

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Ovais Abbas

Coordinator Associate at National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases

Quick threat response and behavior analysis while enhancing network security

The main use case is usually related to security. It deals with attacks that come day-to-day such as zero-day attacks and APT attacks. Our main task is to secure the network infrastructure in the hospital where I work It facilitates the departments of IT and other departments to procure and…

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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 can use Cortex XDR to get the entire graph of the incidents from source to destination, and we can take remedial action."

"The product's initial setup phase is very easy."

"Since they've done their most recent update, the ease to isolate endpoints is valuable. If we find one where there is a virus on it, we can easily isolate it. We don't even have to contact the user. We don't have to manually take them off the network. We can easily isolate them."

"The stability of the solution is very good. We have about 100 users on it right now, and we use it twice a week."

"The tool is easy to use."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the user interface."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks's ability to block sophisticated threats in real time is quite good and is on par with SentinelOne's."

"The policy configuration is great, the granularity of policies that are available is very helpful, it is straightforward to set up, and it has pretty much everything we need and works well within the Palo Alto ecosystem."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"The primary advantage is that you don't need to install it, because it's included in the Windows 10 delivery and is integrated as part of the Microsoft 365 suite."

"The most valuable features are that it is flexible, and it is integrated with Microsoft products."

"The best thing I like about it is its interaction with the other Defender products. It provides the ability to push telemetry up. It gives me endpoint visibility and allows me to take automated actions."

"Overall, this is a good product and I have never been disappointed with it."

"We had absolutely no issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."

"Microsoft Defender has helped me reduce mean time to remediation."

"Ensures that I'm working with a product that gets updated regularly without me having to remember to do it. Since it's a Microsoft product, I'm confident that it requires a low use of system resources. The benefit of that being that my computer isn't constantly being drained."

"Integration is my favorite feature because it is easy to have all insights and all alerts in one platform."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

"I like the tool's honeypot feature. Some features include having a honeypot to detect attacks in a certain area. Additionally, there is RDP protection, which means that when we remote into our server or any endpoint, we must enter a password as a second layer of security. It can also integrate with next-generation firewalls."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure has some good policy certificates."

"The tool's most valuable features are control access, endpoint security, and load balancing of ISPs."

"We use the product for network protection from any malicious threat."

"The most valuable feature I have found in the system is its comprehensive end-to-end protection."

"The real-time monitoring feature of Sangfor Endpoint Secure is truly real-time, with no delay compared to other solutions."

"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."

"What stands out to me is the dual-end user interface they provide."

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure pros

Cons

"In the next release, I would like to see more UI improvements. Their UI is a bit basic. When we are speaking about Palo Alto Networks they are the big company, so they can improve the UI a little bit. The UI, the reports, the log system can all be improved."

"One thing that was missing was the integration part. Currently, they don't have out-of-box integration with IBM QRadar, or if they have the integration, the integration doesn't work well."

"They have the worst support, as a company, that I have ever worked with, as they are difficult to get a hold of and keep on the phone. They don't know what they are talking about when you get them on the phone. They don't like to respond to messages when you send them to them. They like to "research problems" for weeks on end, then pass you off to somebody else."

"It takes time to scan the servers and devices."

"The downside to the solution is that there are a large number of false positives."

"In general, the price could be more competitive."

"They are charging for Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA) services, so if the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better."

"The GUI could be improved."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"The solution's price could be cheaper."

"We would like to see more tools for managing on-premises security... Sometimes, we have the tools, like Defender, to manage security in the cloud, but because we are so focused on the cloud, we forget the fact that we need to be sure about the security of the on-premises environment, specifically Active Directory."

"Sometimes, there are difficulties in downloading a file considered as malicious."

"There is a lot of information to take in, and the portals tend to change quickly due to the fast-paced nature of the industry."

"The solution needs to improve its ransomware. It's not so good."

"I would like to be able to set up any kind of protection I want in the firewall, any IP address or any number."

"It would be helpful if they included XDR features, on top of the EDR functionality."

"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."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

"Sometimes, the VPN is not secure and doesn't work properly in Sangfor Endpoint Secure."

"Currently, the tool lacks reporting functionalities."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure performs poorly."

"I believe Sangfor Endpoint Secure could improve in terms of its user interface and management capabilities."

"When an issue occurs, the response time for first-level support and the time taken for meetings could be improved."

"It would be much more convenient if the migration tool could be installed directly on the customer's VMs, enabling a smoother migration process to the new infrastructure, with potential restrictions addressed accordingly."

"It is complicated to establish a tunnel due to technical issues in the VPN system."

"The interface has too many buttons, making it cluttered."

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost depends on your chosen license type, like Pro or other licenses."

"Its pricing is kind of in line with its competitors and everybody else out there."

"Cortex XDR’s pricing is very reasonable."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is quite an expensive solution."

"The pricing is a little high. It is per user per year."

"It has a higher cost than other solutions, like CrowdStrike or Microsoft’s EDR tools, but it reduces the cost of our operations because it’s a new generation antivirus tool."

"Compared to CrowdStrike, Cortex XDR is an expensive solution."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. I have customers that have voiced that the solution is good for the value but if I want to sell more of the solution the price reduction would help."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is competitive."

"You just pay Windows 10 prices, then you have antivirus software. As a price comparison, Defender's costs are very low."

"The E5 license is the one that I recommend because it comes with Cloud App Security, which is a good thing to have on top of Microsoft Defender."

"For me, the pricing is very good, but for management it's very expensive. Other solutions are less expensive. But when I present all the information and all the reports they say, "Well, it's expensive, but the cost-benefit is very good.""

"The licensing fee is a function of your Office 365 license. The feature set you get is a function of the license as well. There is probably an E2 version, an E3 version, and an E5 version. There are several versions, and not all features are the same. So, you might want to check what features you're expecting because you might get shocked. If you only have an E3 license, the capability isn't the same."

"The price for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is about three euros, which is considered reasonably priced."

"I recently switched from education to private business, and all I can say is that private business licensing from Microsoft is not cheap until you hit certain quantities or scale. That does not mean that it is not comparable to other industries. It is similar pricing, but it is still crazy to me how much you pay for a client. I feel it is high, but it is in line with other vendors."

"Microsoft Defender ATP is expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

"The product is expensive compared to other vendors."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure's pricing is cheap. I rate it seven out of ten."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure is not a cheap solution."

"We were using Hyper-V. So, we switched to Sangfor because of the pricing."

"Its "pay as you grow" model offers cost-effectiveness compared to major cloud providers."

"The solution is cheap. It is cheaper than other products by 15-20 percent."

"Price-wise, Sangfor Endpoint Secure can be considered a competitively priced product in the market as it offers quite low prices compared to other solutions."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

19%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Media Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	54

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	82
Midsize Enterprise	44
Large Enterprise	97

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...

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 th...

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,...

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 sol...

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 pu...

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

We have been discussing pricing, setup cost, and licensing, and we are currently on an E3. We are discussing going to...

What needs improvement with Sangfor Endpoint Secure?

The interface has too many buttons, making it cluttered. It would be better if it were a simplified version with fewe...

What is your primary use case for Sangfor Endpoint Secure?

Sangfor Endpoint Secure is easy to handle with its user-friendly interface. The four engines it utilizes for endpoint...

What advice do you have for others considering Sangfor Endpoint Secure?

At first, people might not understand the interface, which is why it should be simplified. However, once they underst...

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Comparisons

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

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OpenText Core Endpoint Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 6% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

Kaspersky Next XDR Expert vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 10% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 9% of the time

TrendAI Vision One vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 4% of the time

Kaspersky Anti Targeted Attack vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 3% of the time

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure Competitors

Product Reports

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Download Sangfor Endpoint Secure product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Palo Alto Networks

Microsoft

Demo not available

Sangfor

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides comprehensive threat protection that integrates well with current systems, offering proactive threat detection and automatic updates while reducing manual efforts.

The platform is designed for seamless integration with Microsoft products, facilitating efficient management and use. It offers proactive ransomware protection and valuable threat intelligence, crucial for timely response and increased visibility across devices. Users highlight its ability to secure endpoints from viruses and malware, integrating with Windows and Office 365 to enhance real-time detection capabilities in diverse environments, including hybrid and on-premises setups. However, enhancements are needed in Linux integration, detection accuracy, and policy implementations.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Seamless Integration: Works smoothly with existing systems and Microsoft products for easy management.
Proactive Threat Detection: Advanced monitoring to identify and mitigate threats swiftly.
Ransomware Protection: Built-in features to protect against ransomware attacks automatically.
Centralized Management: Unified platform for better device visibility and collaboration.
Threat Intelligence: Provides critical data for rapid threat response.

What benefits should be evaluated in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Cost-Effectiveness: Part of Windows bundles, offering comprehensive security at competitive pricing.
Time Efficiency: Reduces manual oversight with automatic updates and management ease.
Real-Time Detection: Enhanced security through seamless Office 365 and Windows integration.
Device Coverage: Supports hybrid and on-premises environments for varied digital infrastructures.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is implemented across industries for securing endpoints, relying on its deep integration with Windows and Office 365 to protect against malware and viruses. Organizations benefit from its real-time detection and comprehensive management capabilities, particularly in hybrid environments where diverse digital infrastructures need safeguarding.

Microsoft

Organizations use Sangfor Endpoint Secure for endpoint protection and security management, managing devices, servers, and networks against malicious threats. It also assists in blocking websites, managing infrastructure, applications, antivirus needs, and aids in migrating to cloud environments.

Sangfor Endpoint Secure offers end-to-end protection, incorporating file protection, AI detection, behavior analysis, access control, and ISP load balancing. It facilitates VM migration with minimal downtime and includes a dual-end user interface for creating firewall rules, uploading images, and configuring VM settings. Enhancements such as Hyper-V capabilities, policy certificates, honeypot features, and next-generation firewall integrations are available. However, Sangfor Endpoint Secure could improve on console management, reporting functionalities, public cloud migration support, navigation, VPN system issues, licensing, update management, transitioning processes, and incorporating healing capabilities.

What are its most important features?

Comprehensive end-to-end protection including file protection
AI detection and behavior analysis
Access control and ISP load balancing
Ease of VM migration with minimal downtime
Streamlined dual-end user interface for firewall rules and VM settings
Hyper-V capabilities and policy certificates
Honeypot feature for attack detection and RDP protection
Integration with next-generation firewalls

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Enhanced device, server, and network security from malicious threats
Simplified migration from on-premises to cloud environments
User-friendly navigation and management capabilities
Advanced detection and behavior analysis reducing potential threats
Streamlined enforcement of robust security policies

Sangfor Endpoint Secure is implemented across various industries to ensure comprehensive security management and protection. IT departments leverage its VM migration capabilities for seamless transitions to cloud environments. Healthcare organizations use it to secure sensitive patient data, while educational institutions utilize it for safeguarding academic records and personal information. Financial services employ it to protect critical transactional data and adhere to stringent compliance requirements.

Sangfor

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Information Not Available

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure