Microsoft Defender XDR vs Rapid7 InsightIDR comparison

Microsoft and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4, while Rapid7 is ranked #25 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 2.9% mindshare in EDR, compared to Rapid7’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 97% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 102 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,986 Views
5,932 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Rapid7 InsightIDR

Read 31 Rapid7 InsightIDR reviews

6,825 Views
1,911 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Rapid7 InsightIDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Rapid7 InsightIDR and Microsoft Defender XDR are leading security solutions. Users prefer Rapid7 InsightIDR for pricing and support, while Microsoft Defender XDR excels in features.

Features: Users praise Rapid7 InsightIDR for its robust incident detection and response capabilities, user-friendly setup, and automated workflows. Microsoft Defender XDR is highly rated for its comprehensive threat intelligence, integration with other Microsoft products, and advanced analytics.

Room for Improvement: Rapid7 InsightIDR needs better scalability, enhanced reporting, and faster query performance. Microsoft Defender XDR could improve interoperability with non-Microsoft environments, more intuitive alert management, and better integration with third-party tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Rapid7 InsightIDR is praised for straightforward deployment and responsive customer support, with quick setup times and helpful resources. Microsoft Defender XDR has mixed reviews on customer service, with some users experiencing slower response times but is also straightforward to deploy.

Pricing and ROI: Users find Rapid7 InsightIDR's pricing competitive with a higher perceived ROI due to effective threat detection and ease of use. Microsoft Defender XDR is seen as more costly but justified by its extensive features and integrations.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR

September 2025

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Helped 869,952 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:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

5th

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (4th)

Rapid7 InsightIDR

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

25th

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

17th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (14th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (5th), Threat Deception Platforms (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightIDR is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	2.9%
Rapid7 InsightIDR	1.2%
Other	95.9%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

MohtesanShaikh

Business Development Executive at TechnoFirrm

Experience improves security management and simplifies threat protection

I have created automated investigations, and while they work, they operate rather slowly in the Microsoft portal. If I automate something, it takes considerable time; if I do it manually, I can complete it in a quarter of the time. The automation response being slow is the main concern; when an incident occurs or if I run a remediation, it takes significant time to complete the remediation. There are some limitations regarding the scalability of Microsoft Defender XDR with specific licensing. For SMB customers, there is only Microsoft Defender for Business, and if they want more features such as XDR features and automation investigation or incident response, they need to purchase Defender for Endpoint. We are currently using the EDR.

Read full review

Asim Naeem

Principal IT Security & Compliance at IBEX Holdings Ltd

Providing comprehensive insight into alerts while working towards AI enhancement

I definitely recommend Rapid7 InsightIDR. It is becoming better, with improvements being continuously made to the product. Right now, I do not have any advice about Rapid7 for other users because every organization or user has different criteria or multiple use cases, so I refrain from commenting on that. I rate the overall solution seven out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Many people don't realize that Microsoft Azure, Exchange Online, and the security and compliance portal all sync together. For instance, within the Azure portal you can set security restrictions and policies to help secure your tenants... The good part of it is that these products have already been integrated. When you sign on as an admin you have global admin rights and that gives you access to all these features."

"The solution is well integrated with applications. It is easy to maintain and administer."

"The ability to integrate and observe a more cohesive narrative across the products is crucial."

"The most valuable feature depends on the scenario. For compliance, I like Microsoft Purview Information Protection and Data Loss Prevention. Sentinel is the most helpful feature for security. 365 Defender helps us prioritize threats across an enterprise. It's a crucial feature for the managed services team."

"From the perspective of Microsoft 365 XDR, the main benefit is a single, centralized dashboard offering the holistic visibility organizations crave."

"The comprehensiveness of Microsoft's threat detection is good."

"The most valuable feature is probably the aggregation and correlation of the different telemetry points with Defender for Identity, Defender for Endpoint, and Defender for Cloud Apps. All of these various things are part of that portal. We've wanted that single pane of glass for years."

"Defender XDR can stop advanced attacks, like ransomware or business email compromise."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

"I rate Rapid7 nine out of 10 for affordability"

"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."

"I am able to run automated actions based on the output of reports, leaving me extra time to focus on more pressing matters."

"Log search allows us to dive deep into aggregated logs and query all event types at once."

"The incident case management is the most valuable feature. Even though there's always something I find I would like to add to that feature, the ability to quickly sort through all the logs, network and endpoint data, etc., and add it to an incident case as part of the investigation, is nice. Having it automatically timeline that additional data into the original incident timeline, and correlate it to other notable events and activities on the network, results in a huge improvement in our overall confidence that we've quickly traced down the right source of an issue."

"The solution's initial setup is easy."

"InsightIDR helps us investigate an environment to discover information about incidents."

"I have seen that Rapid7 InsightIDR provides security to the networks and endpoints in the company."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR pros

Cons

"Microsoft 365 Defender does not have a unique package with emerging endpoint security technologies, such as EDR and XDR."

"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."

"I would like more of the features in Defender for 365 to be included in the smaller licenses. Even if I buy a small license and don't need everything, security shouldn't be a question. Security is one of the main aspects of all projects from our side, so it would be nice to have more features in the smaller licenses."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is not a full-fledged EDR or XDR."

"The dashboard should be easier to use. There is also improvement needed in the reporting when it comes to exporting or scheduling reports."

"Stability could be improved by avoiding frequent changes to the interface."

"Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected."

"The licensing is a nightmare and has room for improvement."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

"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."

"The searching feature in Rapid7 InsightIDR needs to evolve"

"There is a future in AI with Rapid7, however, it is not fully operated. There are certain limitations with Rapid7 that I am working on."

"I feel it would greatly benefit from more supported log sources."

"It takes time for the product's support team to resolve issues, making it an area of concern where improvements are required."

"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."

"Inability to get access to compliance reports within the solution."

"The main problem lies in the processes within the client's operating systems."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license cost for a year is approximately forty-four thousand, and this annual saving is a significant factor in our decision to switch."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is priced high."

"The price of the solution is high compared to others and we have lost some customers because of it."

"Microsoft purposely makes its license combinations complex and includes combinations like Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E3, Office 365 E5, and Office 365 E1, so you get confused. Microsoft tries to sell you a bundle of a lot of things together."

"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."

"Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive."

"All I can say again is the E5 gives you all the capabilities that it offers. It also gives Office 365 and one terabyte of storage. All in all, the E5 license model makes sense. There are some people who say it's quite costly, but rather than paying different vendors, it makes sense to go all in with Microsoft if you've got that licensing. From that perspective, it's cost-effective, but I can't comment much on that."

"The licensing fee for Microsoft 365 Defender is fair."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

"Rapid7 InsightIDR's pricing is reasonable but we have challenges with the Minimum Order Quantity. It is not reasonable for customers who have less than one hundred devices. If they can reduce Minimum Order Quantity, it is good. You have to pay around 5000-6000 dollars per year for the product. The pricing includes maintenance and support costs."

"It is more reasonably priced than other vendors."

"I am sure that there are cheaper products out there, but none that meet so many of our needs whilst maintaining stability and usability."

"Rapid7 InsightIDR is priced very well and is cost-effective."

"It is a reasonably priced solution."

"The team is very willing to work with companies. My suggestion is to call the Rapid7 sales department and see how they can help."

"The solution has a mid-range price point in the market"

"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."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	37

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	6

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 InsightIDR?

The product pricing is very cheap.

See all answers

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Compared 4% of the time

Trend Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

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Compared 8% of the time

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Microsoft Sentinel vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 7% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 6% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 InsightIDR

September 2025

Download Rapid7 InsightIDR product report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

InsightIDR

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

Parsing hundreds of trivial alerts. Managing a mountain of data. Manually forwarding info from your endpoints. Forget that. InsightIDR instantly arms you with the insight you need to make better decisions across the incident detection and response lifecycle, faster.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

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

Liberty Wines, Pioneer Telephone, Visier

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR

September 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

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See our Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR report.

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