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Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Rapid7 InsightIDR comparison

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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) (7th), Microsoft Security Suite (6th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (1st)
Rapid7 InsightIDR
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (23rd), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (11th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (32nd), Threat Deception Platforms (4th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (18th)
 

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 9.6%, down 19.6% compared to last year.
Rapid7 InsightIDR, on the other hand, focuses on Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), holds 2.3% mindshare, down 2.4% since last year.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity9.6%
SentinelOne Singularity Identity6.0%
Varonis Platform5.9%
Other78.5%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rapid7 InsightIDR2.3%
Splunk Enterprise Security7.8%
IBM Security QRadar5.6%
Other84.3%
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

Featured Reviews

CM
Technology Coordinator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Helps detect threats faster and prioritize critical security tasks with increased visibility
The feature I value most about Microsoft Defender for Identity is the ability to see where people are attempting to log in from. Microsoft Defender for Identity helps me automate routine tasks and find alerts that I set up to receive, so it helps me get where I'm trying to go easier and faster. I can see where everything is at. Microsoft Defender for Identity helps me prioritize important tasks. If I get an alert for a user who downloaded an application that is not sanctioned, I normally go straight to that user's computer device to find the device name and the user. Now I can get to them much faster. Microsoft Defender for Identity saves me time overall. I can quantify the time saved by Microsoft Defender for Identity as maybe 25 minutes, or if expressed as a percentage, maybe 20 to 25%. Some of the learning curve and actually learning what these products do takes time to figure out. Microsoft Defender for Identity definitely helps decrease the time of detection and response.
Prajwal Chougale - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC L2 Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Centralized threat hunting has improved alert accuracy and simplifies incident investigations
I would say there are two areas for improvement: the reporting dashboard that provides insights or reports weekly or monthly lacks detailed information about how logs are being ingested. While the details are there, they could be more concise and easier to understand for any level of authority. The second area is alert tuning; compared to Microsoft Sentinel, Rapid7 InsightIDR provides fewer alerts with more static alert functionality and lacks dynamic alerting exposures. There could be improvements to learn from past alert activities for more dynamic alert configurations. These two areas are the main areas for improvement; everything else is good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Identity at nine out of ten."
"I recommend Microsoft Defender for Identity because it is easy to implement."
"In the security portfolio that we manage, Microsoft Defender for Identity is very important because it is the professional service that we sell the most."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Defender for Identity are the simulations; whenever something happens, it provides complete step-by-step process details, including the hierarchy, how it happens in the environment, and the lateral movement, which is amazing."
"We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity. I can say it is 100% stable."
"I think that for a defensive view, it can give most administrators absolutely amazing insight into what's happening in the network that they probably never had before."
"We use AD Connect to sync on-premises AD to Azure AD, and so far, it has been effective."
"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 technical support is a solid 10 out of 10 as they take the time to answer any questions or problems which may arise in a reasonable time frame."
"Intelligent alerting to avoid the common problem of alert fatigue associated with traditional SIEMs."
"​​User behavioral analytics allows us to pinpoint abnormal or suspicious behavior among millions of events every day."
"InsightIDR helps us investigate an environment to discover information about incidents."
"They can subscribe to Rapid7 because it is more valuable and delivers a greater return on investment."
"Great coverage of all systems within our network from endpoint to firewall."
"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 application belongs to a known ransomware group. The system rates the threat, offering a clear detection ratio, such as 97 out of 100. It not only identifies threats but also illustrates the associated behaviors, helping us understand the potential risk to a particular endpoint."
"The solution is very intuitive, it's easy to set up, is absolutely stable, and has a lot of integration with other security products."
 

Cons

"The configuration process is time-consuming, with installation taking two minutes but prerequisites requiring two hours."
"I would like to be able to do remediation from the platform because it is just a scanner right now. If you onboard a device, it shows you what is happening, but you can't use it to fix things. You need to go into the system to fix it instead."
"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."
"There are issues with the alerts in Microsoft Defender for identity-related intra-protection detection anomalies. The alerts are missing some data, which makes it difficult to determine the exact sign-in event associated with the alert."
"The solution could be better at using group-managed access and they could replace it with broad-based access controls."
"The tracking instance needs to be configured appropriately."
"One area that needs improvement is the number of alerts generated, leading to alert fatigue."
"The impact of the sensors on the domain controllers can be quite high depending on your loads. I don't know if there's any room for improvement there, but that's one of the things that might be improved."
"InsightIDR is only available in a cloud version. Some of our customers prefer an on-prem solution because they want to manage the security within their environment."
"The APIs can be further improved in Rapid7."
"The main problem lies in the processes within the client's operating systems."
"The dashboard is an area that could be simplified. For management, it should be clear and the files should be there."
"Rapid7 InsightIDR is not intuitive to search for logs. It should be more user-friendly and improve the dashboards. We should be able to use ready-made templates instead of having to build one."
"Personally, I feel it would greatly benefit from more supported log sources."
"If we pitch Rapid7 InsightIDR against solutions such as SIEMs from Splunk or LogRhythm, it is not as customizable as a SIEM solution is."
"The ability to tune the collector for custom logs would greatly help."
 

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."
"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."
"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."
"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."
"The team is very willing to work with companies. My suggestion is to call the Rapid7 sales department and see how they can help.​"
"It is more reasonably priced than other vendors."
"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 on a yearly basis. For our own company, for about 250 users, it was 16,000 euros a year."
"Rapid7 InsightIDR charges us based on the endpoints we connect to."
"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."
"​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 pricing and licensing are competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 InsightIDR?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing has been very positive; it is cost-effective and offers great value for the money. We bought the licensing through an agent, and the setup was...
What needs improvement with Rapid7 InsightIDR?
I would say there are two areas for improvement: the reporting dashboard that provides insights or reports weekly or monthly lacks detailed information about how logs are being ingested. While the ...
 

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, Huntress, SentinelOne and others in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR). Updated: August 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.