Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Purview Audit 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 XDR
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th)
Microsoft Purview Audit
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
30th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (45th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 5.1%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Audit is 0.4%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Gabor Nyerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot
We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.
Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables us to create a user in the cloud and give them access to resources through a single workflow
The PAM for Active Directory is good. ActiveOps is quite useful as a feature. The One Identity active role enables us to create a user in the cloud and give them access to resources through a single workflow. We can create rules-based access. It helps us control audit management and IT access management. We can decide what people can access and detect job functions. It enables zero trust security with hybrid AD, find delegation, and role-based access control. It provides all certificates and provides secure authentication, call-based access control, et cetera. It's really important for my critical applications. We can see who's using what, whether they are authorized, and other information to decide what access to offer. With the active role console, I can find out the obvious issues and also perform a decent setup. The One Identity active roles enable us to reduce password reset times. We can handle tasks in a matter of a minute. It simplifies AD and Azure AD management, efficiency, and security overall. The password manager is very secure and is a self-service password manager solution. It is considerably decreasing my help desk tasks. Our engineering users can reset forgotten passwords, and it can implement a stronger password. The management around access to enterprise resources keeps my data and systems secure. We're easily saving at least one hour per day using this solution. The migration from AD to Azure AD is very easy. There are simple configurations, and the migration goes rather smoothly. We use the solution support for SaaS apps through Cloud Delivered SCIM connectors. There are controls that can be configured and we can add and set permissions easily.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like how Microsoft XDR and the other Microsoft products are integrated into a single unified security stack covering identity access management, endpoint protection, email, cloud applications, etc."
"Defender XDR has a feature called the timeline that lets you track all activities. It helps a lot with investigations."
"Defender XDR offers richer insights into Defender XDR. It's a better overall experience."
"The EDR and the way it automatically responds to ransomware and other attacks are valuable features."
"There is also one dashboard that shows us the status of many controls at once and the details I can get... It gives a great overview of many areas, such as files, emails, chats, and links. Even with the apps, it gives you a great overview. In one place you can see where you should look into things more deeply..."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft 365 Defender are the combination of all the capabilities and centralized management."
"You can configure the product very easily."
"The most valuable features are machine learning, AI, and auto-remediation of none malicious alerts."
"We're easily saving at least one hour per day using this solution."
"The platform has significantly enhanced our operational insight into the overall Microsoft 365 environment."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Defender is slow to adapt to evolving threats."
"When we do investigations, it would be better if Microsoft could populate the host dashboard more. When we open any host for investigation, we want the entire timeline of what is happening on the host, including all the users logging in, their hardware, Windows version, etc."
"The price should be adjustable by region."
"The tool gives inconsistent answers and crashes a lot."
"The solution does not offer a unified response and standard data."
"Some of our older hardware experienced a slight bump in CPU and memory usage. Although I don't have empirical data to back that up, I would suggest possibly more streamlining in the software."
"The licensing process needs improvement and clarification, as it is currently difficult to understand which features are licensed to which users."
"The AI could be improved. As an analyst, I want to be able to interact more with AI. The AI simply sends summaries. I can't ask it, for example, if it has seen any suspicious activity with device two. I have to go and check device two for myself."
"Areas for product improvement include enhancing customization options and integrating more comprehensive compliance features."
"We do have a Denial of Access happening."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."
"Its licensing and pricing are handled by someone else. My role is limited to incidents or issues with the portal, but you get what you pay for. It is worth the cost."
"While the standalone price of Defender XDR might seem high, its value becomes clear when considering the ease of implementation and smooth integration with our existing Microsoft infrastructure, especially when bundled with other Microsoft products."
"While Microsoft Defender XDR carries a higher cost, its ease of use compared to Defender may justify the investment."
"365 Defender can get expensive because you pay per gigabyte of data ingested. On the other hand, much of the data available in the other Microsoft security solutions are made available relatively cheaply—sometimes at cost or for free. Integrating only a limited set of third-party solutions with Sentinel would be cost-effective. It's much more affordable if companies only have Microsoft stuff."
"The most valuable licensing option is expensive, so pricing could be improved. Licensing options for this solution also need to be consolidated, because they frequently change."
"Microsoft 365 Defender offers competitive pricing."
"The solution is too expensive."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?
Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?
Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?
It would be beneficial to reduce the number of clicks required to navigate between blades, as the current navigation and breadcrumb system can be a bit confusing. Some inconsistencies exist between...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Audit?
Areas for product improvement include enhancing customization options and integrating more comprehensive compliance features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Audit?
We utilize Microsoft Purview Audit for monitoring security and compliance aspects.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Purview Audit and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.