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Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Rapid7 InsightIDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 Iden...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Microsoft Security Suite (5th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)
Rapid7 InsightIDR
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (21st), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (10th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (34th), Threat Deception Platforms (8th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (20th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Security Systems solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Defender for Identity is designed for Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) and holds a mindshare of 11.4%, down 18.8% compared to last year.
Rapid7 InsightIDR, on the other hand, focuses on Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), holds 2.1% mindshare, down 2.6% since last year.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity11.4%
CrowdStrike Falcon14.0%
Microsoft Entra ID Protection7.1%
Other67.5%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rapid7 InsightIDR2.1%
Splunk Enterprise Security7.2%
Wazuh5.8%
Other84.9%
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

RK
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Protect on-premises and hybrid environments with advanced threat detection and seamless integration
Our Active Directory implementation is a hybrid one. The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks. It identifies lateral movements, privilege escalations, and alerts on potential attacks. The tool is also used for security posture assessment. The seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions within our Microsoft-centric environment is also a major advantage.
SohailHyder - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Cyber Security at Super Secure
Has supported compliance needs for mid-sized organizations but lacks customization and advanced integration
If we pitch Rapid7 InsightIDR against solutions such as SIEMs from Splunk or LogRhythm, it is not as customizable as a SIEM solution is. This is where it can improve if we keep in front the feature sets of a complete SIEM solution. Most common in the market is QRadar, but it is depleting now. It has been taken over by some other products such as Splunk and LogRhythm. If we compare these things with Rapid7 InsightIDR, then there are definitely some gaps that need to be filled. Data retention is also one concern because Rapid7 InsightIDR is cloud-based and operates on a subscription model. Whatever data you want to retain, it has to be paid for separately or it has a cost. Other solutions that are on-premises can have their own infrastructure or they provide some data retention for a month or in some capacity-wise, they provide that solution to them which makes them more attractive.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of our users had the same password for every personal and company account. That was a problem because she started receiving phishing emails that could compromise all of her accounts. Defender told us that the user was not changing their password."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity provides excellent visibility into threats by leveraging real-time analytics and data intelligence."
"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Identity at nine out of ten."
"It automates routine testing and helps automate the finding of high-value alerts."
"The basic security monitoring at its core feature is the most valuable aspect. But also the investigative parts, the historical logging of events over the network are extremely interesting because it gives an in-depth insight into the history of account activity that is really easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to export."
"The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks."
"The feature I like most is that you can create your own customized detection rules. It has a lot of default alerts and rules, but you can customize them according to your business needs."
"The solution offers excellent visibility into threats."
"InsightIDR has allowed us to find potential security issues that we did not know existed, and get remediation quickly."
"I rate Rapid7 nine out of 10 for affordability"
"​​User behavioral analytics allows us to pinpoint abnormal or suspicious behavior among millions of events every day."
"The product works well. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. As a cloud tool, the product is highly scalable."
"We were able to identify criminals attempting to login from China and put a stop on their IP locations."
"Rapid7 is easy to use and deploy. It is a simple solution and has easy data pulling."
"Dashboards, including the main screen, provide much-needed information at a glance, without hours of coding and sifting through logs to find it. In case of an actual security incident, I have faith that insightIDR has retained all logs in a secure manner that prevents log tampering as well."
 

Cons

"Feedback on sync issues with the Microsoft portal highlighted its slow nature, with syncs sometimes taking eight hours."
"An area for improvement is the administrative interface. It's basic compared to other administrative centers. They could make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate."
"I can't say that I've seen a return on investment since we have Microsoft Defender for Identity because we also have another security solution in place."
"When the data leaves the cloud, there are security issues."
"The solution should provide more detailed data regarding anomaly detections."
"The documentation provided by Microsoft is often seen as a waste of time."
"The solution could improve how it handles on-premises Android-related attacks."
"We observe a lot of false positives. Sometimes, when we go for a coffee break, we lock our screens. Locking the screen has a separate Windows event ID and sometimes I see it is detected as a failed login."
"It would be useful to import threat intelligence in YARA format along with known incorrect email addresses.​"
"One thing that springs to mind is easier API integration with ITSMs. We are evaluating a new ITSM and I would like to have InsightIDR create a ticket when an attack is identified, and the ticket would be closed in InsightIDR when the ITSM resolution is completed. This would take out the "single point of failure" we currently have, if the email recipient is somehow absent, in recording the risk appetite for the incident and the actions taken to mitigate or not."
"The searching feature in Rapid7 InsightIDR needs to evolve"
"The main problem lies in the processes within the client's operating systems."
"Sometimes, it is hard to get the right queries to use. Currently, the tool lacks a pre-made set of queries."
"The dashboard is an area that could be simplified."
"Inability to get access to compliance reports within the solution."
"The solution needs improvement in threat intelligence. Increasing the depth of intelligence to help users understand more about threats is a possibility. My suggestion is to expand access to other websites or resources."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."
"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."
"You won't be able to change your tenants from where you deploy them. For example, if you select Canada, they will charge you based on Canadian pricing. If you are also in London, when you deploy in Canada, the pound is higher than Canadian dollars, but your platform resources are billable in Canadian dollars. Using your pounds to pay for any of these things will be cheaper. Or, if you deploy in London, they will charge you based on your local currency."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."
"The product is costly, and we had multiple discussions with accounting to receive a discounted rate. However, on the open market, the tool is expensive."
"​I am sure that there are cheaper products out there, but none that meet so many of our needs whilst maintaining stability and usability.​"
"The team is very willing to work with companies. My suggestion is to call the Rapid7 sales department and see how they can help.​"
"Rapid7 InsightIDR is a cheaply priced product. On a scale of one to ten, where one is very expensive, and ten is very cheap, I rate the product's price at seven or eight."
"The pricing of the solution depends on the user. But there is a yearly licensing cost."
"Licensing is straightforward. If, for some reason, you don’t meet the minimum licensing requirements, there is a third-party managed service that can help."
"Rapid7 InsightIDR charges us based on the endpoints we connect to."
"Licensing is by endpoint and amount of retention time (at least ours is). Default retention was one year, but we are able to push the retention further if needed. There's also a provide-your-own-S3 option for longer retention if you don't want to pay for the additional retention years in your Rapid7 agreement."
"It is a reasonably priced solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I really would have to sit down to think about how Microsoft Defender for Identity can be improved. I didn't take stock in what needs to be improved because I appreciated having the tools right the...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Identity include Conditional Access, checking risky users, remediating risky users, and user sign-ins. I can easily remediate or determine what the user...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I don't really use Microsoft Defender for Identity a lot because my new role doesn't allow me to take time to do so. I don't really use the threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender for Ide...
What SOC product do you recommend?
For tools I’d recommend: -SIEM- LogRhythm -SOAR- Palo Alto XSOAR Doing commercial w/o both (or at least an XDR) is asking to miss details that are critical, and ending up a statistic. Also, rememb...
What do you like most about Rapid7 InsightIDR?
During simulations or demonstrations, the tool generates alerts, providing details such as the specific application, its origin, and potential threats. For instance, it can identify if an applicati...
 

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
InsightIDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Liberty Wines, Pioneer Telephone, Visier
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR and other solutions. Updated: July 2023.
883,619 professionals have used our research since 2012.