Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance comparison

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance

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Helped 879,455 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score

7.1

Microsoft Defender XDR provides high ROI by consolidating security tools, streamlining operations, and enhancing security, despite licensing costs.

Sentiment score

6.8

Microsoft Purview improves efficiency, security, and compliance, offering significant long-term ROI despite initial setup efforts.

We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

It helped stop multiple intrusion points where we would have had millions in lost revenue if the attackers got in.

Joshua Hart

Network Technician at T. Baker Smith, LLC

Clients benefit from using a one-stop-shop solution, increasing their visibility across different platforms.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Mcafee Epo Administrator at Consultant/Converge Technology Solutions

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.1

Microsoft Defender XDR's support is timely and responsive, yet smaller organizations experience slower, less effective assistance than larger ones.

Sentiment score

5.5

Microsoft Purview's customer service is mixed, with quick, knowledgeable support but delays and insufficient expertise for complex issues.

You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.

Darrell Carr

Enterprise Application Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.

Ankit-Joshi

Cyber Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

Overall, it doesn't meet our expectations.

AmrNaeem

Manager, Service Delivery & Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

They're skillful people who know what they're doing in their space.

reviewer2596413

Dex engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

I have a dedicated team as a government agency, and Microsoft assists us promptly.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Data Governance Advisor at a government with 501-1,000 employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.9

Microsoft Defender XDR scales well for various organizations, efficiently supporting growth and flexibility despite some network deployment challenges.

Sentiment score

7.6

Microsoft Purview Data Governance offers scalable performance, adaptable for diverse environments, with flexible architecture and ongoing scalability updates.

My concern is about the scale of events and alerts being generated, and the product is doing a very good job of only surfacing the important items for us.

reviewer2315544

Vice President, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees

Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

With automation, you can label five documents or 50,000 with the same amount of clicks.

reviewer2596413

Dex engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

It allows for one-to-one connections with different types of servers, either cloud-based like AWS, or physical servers.

Data Governance Advisor at a government with 501-1,000 employees

The product is scalable and works across multi-cloud and multi-platform environments.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Mcafee Epo Administrator at Consultant/Converge Technology Solutions

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.1

Microsoft Defender XDR is praised for high stability, reliable performance, minimal issues, frequent updates, and prompt issue resolution.

Sentiment score

7.5

Microsoft Purview is highly stable, evolving consistently, with users appreciating its reliability despite occasional bugs and network issues.

The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

It provides high-fidelity signals.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

It can take seven days to 24 hours to determine whether a policy is effective.

Mcafee Epo Administrator at Consultant/Converge Technology Solutions

Microsoft Purview Data Governance is absolutely fine in terms of stability.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Data Governance Advisor at a government with 501-1,000 employees

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender XDR requires enhancements in speed, integration, automation, AI, ease-of-use, and industry-specific threat intelligence.

Microsoft Purview struggles with non-Azure data lineage, integration issues, limited macOS features, and requires better support and documentation.

The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.

reviewer2595324

Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

It's essential to know if a feature isn't working due to missing licenses.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Mcafee Epo Administrator at Consultant/Converge Technology Solutions

There are some problems with DLP rules, and it would be great if the security around DLP could be expanded.

reviewer2596326

Cloud Security Specialist at a aerospace/defense firm with 10,001+ employees

A watermark feature or similar tools to help enhance security for end users could be added.

AmrNaeem

Manager, Service Delivery & Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is seen as complex but fair, with high costs alleviated in bundled Microsoft 365 packages.

Microsoft Purview Data Governance is generally viewed as reasonably priced but has varied opinions on its cost-effectiveness.

There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.

Clay Bowlin

Director, Sales at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

The feature might be available in the console, but it won't work without the proper license, creating confusion.

Mcafee Epo Administrator at Consultant/Converge Technology Solutions

Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Data Governance Advisor at a government with 501-1,000 employees

I'm not exactly sure how much our license costs, but it is very expensive.

reviewer2700351

Senior IT Security Risk & Compliance Analyst at a government with 501-1,000 employees

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates tools for comprehensive security, offering threat detection, automation, identity protection, and enhanced efficiency.

Microsoft Purview excels in data governance with Azure integration, compliance support, multi-cloud protection, and AI-driven data management.

With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.

A Roy

Works at Hometrack

Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

It provides a comprehensive view of the entire ecosystem's threats and compliance in real time.

AmrNaeem

Manager, Service Delivery & Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The sensitivity labeling is the most valuable feature because it is the foundation for automating the encryption process and ensuring proper data handling across the organization.

reviewer2596413

Dex engineer at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

Microsoft Purview Data Governance has helped my company by finding insider risks, ensuring data loss prevention, and achieving compliance to make sure everybody is compliant.

reviewer2700351

Senior IT Security Risk & Compliance Analyst at a government with 501-1,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th)

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

8th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Governance (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 6.3%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 4.5%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	6.3%
Microsoft Purview Data Governance	4.5%
Other	89.2%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

Advanced threat hunting saves significant time in tracking and responding to incidents

Microsoft Defender XDR could be improved with a lower price. My main suggestion would essentially be what Copilot is providing, which is a single pane of glass, so I don't have to go to different windows. That's just a workflow consideration for me. It would be great to have all the information centralized into one particular data app. If I need to open up extra ones, I can, however, I would appreciate a future where everything I need is right there on one single pane of glass. Beyond that, there's really nothing else I see that I would want Microsoft to improve.

Read full review

Ayinampudi Srikanth

Tech lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Automated data discovery has streamlined management while configuration remains complex

Compared to Big-ID, Microsoft Purview Data Governance looks complicated to me. I do not feel it has a good user-level UI. The interface feels a little complicated compared to Big-ID. I did not appreciate the configuration part. It felt complex, whereas when I went for a Big-ID demo, the interface looked better and was easier to understand for any user.

Read full review

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879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	38

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	20
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	31

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?

My experience with pricing, setup, costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender XDR is tied to our E5 subscription, which is very straightforward for us. We also purchase the uplift for our mobile us...

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

I am not aware of a mobile app that would be available for my team. With a single analyst, if she is ever away, it would be beneficial to have easier access. While she can use the web portal, the e...

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Purview?

It is designed to seamlessly connect to various data sources, which is particularly beneficial for our customers who primarily use Microsoft technologies.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?

Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs. It allows for a cost-effective start with negligible initial cost. However, ...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender XDR

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Microsoft Purview Data Governance

Download Microsoft Purview Data Governance product report

Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview

Overview

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Microsoft

The new Microsoft Purview portal offers an enhanced governance experience, serving as a unified platform for managing and governing data across various sources, including Azure, Microsoft 365, on-premises, and multicloud environments. Designed to streamline governance, compliance, risk, and security efforts, the new portal provides a user-friendly interface and unlocks advanced features like live view and preset scans. Existing users of Microsoft Purview can upgrade to this enhanced experience, gaining access to improved user interface, enhanced capabilities, and consolidated management of data assets. Additionally, the upgrade sets the stage for future developments, including account consolidation and fine-grained access control.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Information Not Available

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Purview Data Governance