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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Tanium comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

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

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
1st
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
190
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
Tanium
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
35th
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
26th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (9th), Vulnerability Management (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 11.3%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tanium is 2.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Q&A Highlights

 

Featured Reviews

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.
Mo Vermeiren - PeerSpot reviewer
Is able to make several campaigns work in parallel, but the user interface needs improvement
It's mainly used by the cybersecurity team for Windows patching and deployment of some software solutions I like the fact that you can create patching campaigns depending on the area of your network that you want to address first. I like the ability it has to make several campaigns that work in…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is different from other security tools because we can configure it to use multiple types of scanning or archiving."
"Auto-remediation: When the product sees malware, it resolves the issue immediately. This protects the machine."
"Defender is stable enough and is competitive with the other products in the market."
"The EDR feature is most valuable."
"I enjoy using the live response feature, which allows me to remotely access different endpoints and investigate malicious files, such as malware that people may have downloaded, and other related issues."
"I find the vulnerability management section of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to be very useful for organizations."
"I like Defender's reporting and logging features. The email alerts are also helpful. It's hard sometimes to sift through the email, especially if you're an IT firm managing hundreds if not thousands of endpoints, but we find email reporting useful. For example, last Tuesday, we learned of new vulnerabilities that were discovered as a result of the previous patches. The endpoints without those patches triggered alerts in Defender."
"It's an enterprise solution that provides a centralized console and it supports all the platforms that we use, including Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android."
"I like the tool's incident response and security patching."
"Threat hunting is a very good feature on Tanium. We have just started using it and have not used it extensively."
"Tanium's most valuable features are patch management, inventory, and distribution software."
"Tanium has made the process of detecting threats more proactive with its detection. So, the process is easier and more efficient."
"For incident response tasks, all these tasks can get done in minutes with minimal disruption to the end-user."
"The interrogation piece was the most valuable feature because it was very detailed."
"Tanium's most valuable feature is its instant discovery aspect."
"Tanium’s linear-chain architecture is valuable."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, there are different skews. In a basic skew, they should have basic log analysis without the need to integrate with any third-party or SIEM solutions, like Sentinel. This would make it so much easier for users who don't have log collection or log analysis."
"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."
"If a threat actor comes in, and creates a global administrative account, they can gain access to everything and whitelist then block everything else. Having everything, including Defender, under one brand is like having all of your eggs in one basket."
"Defender for Endpoint is complex, and the documentation is detailed. At the same time, it's hard to navigate sometimes. You have to go through tons of documentation to find what you want."
"There is no behavior analytics for devices and endpoints. There is no behavior-based protection."
"There are likely some technical improvements or features that could be added, however, I cannot say, off the top of my head, what they would be."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is effective for validating work, but not ideal for investigations."
"The onboarding and deployment could be more user-friendly, and there is room to grow in some of the reports. I don't want them to be oversimplified or overly complex, but there is room for improvement in the reporting it can do. It's relatively minor."
"Any movement into a SaaS solution has challenges since the processes and data flows are not well defined. Hence, you need to build it at the same time."
"The solution needs to improve the reporting and tracking capabilities."
"The most painful thing is the interface. It's a bit unclear sometimes."
"The reporting could be improved."
"The main issues are the network connection because different customers have issues with their networks. It's difficult implementing this type of solution because the network is the main feature in the architecture for these types of solutions. Tanium could improve by creating some network optimization."
"Most of the time, agent-relative issues have to be more equipped with self-healing features. At times, the agent is there, but for some reason, it doesn't report a status. It gives certain problems that are obviously agent-based."
"They could improve the UI."
"Tanium's limitations should be improved because although it is a great tool, it is limited to only a few classes during a session."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free with Windows."
"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."
"AV solutions are pretty expensive because they are necessary, not just for protection, but many businesses need them to comply with regulatory bodies and receive accreditation. We recently purchased an E5 license, which gives us access to the entire Microsoft suite. I would say the pricing is competitive; most tools of this kind are similarly priced. There are minor differences between the competitors, but they aren't spectacularly different. Defender for Endpoint makes sense because all our solutions are in the same place, paid for with a single license. The subscription price is around £50 per user per month, though it may have increased slightly."
"Microsoft Defender ATP is expensive."
"The license cost is around $35 per machine, which is not expensive compared to other products."
"I got it with the Microsoft Windows license."
"This is an expensive product and licensing for all Microsoft products is a big issue."
"It is affordable and comes in the Office 365 bundle."
"It's an expensive solution. It would be nice if the cost were lower."
"The solution offers value for money."
"Tanium is a more expensive solution in Latin America than some of the competitors, such as BigFix."
"It is higher than some competitors in the market."
"The solution is expensive but it's a good investment."
"The product's pricing differs from region to region depending on negotiations and the number of endpoints."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about Tanium?
Tanium’s linear-chain architecture is valuable.
What is your primary use case for Tanium?
We collect end-point data. We use it to make AI models and provide it to customers. I use Tanium’s sensors, collect data, and develop dashboards. The sensors have many data types. If we need differ...
 

Also Known As

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

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Interactive Demo

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
JPMorgan Chase, eBay, Amazon, US Bank, MetLife, pwc, Cerner, Delphi, MGM Grand, New York Life
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Tanium and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.