Microsoft Defender XDR vs Rapid7 InsightIDR comparison

Microsoft and Rapid7 are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Microsoft is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4, while Rapid7 is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.8. Microsoft holds a 2.6% mindshare in EDR, compared to Rapid7’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,762 Views
5,704 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Rapid7 InsightIDR

Read 32 Rapid7 InsightIDR reviews

6,954 Views
2,017 Comparison Views

96% 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: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Rapid7 InsightIDR

December 2025

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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)

7th

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (5th)

Rapid7 InsightIDR

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

23rd

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

18th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (14th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (8th), Threat Deception Platforms (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.6%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rapid7 InsightIDR is 1.2%, up from 1.0% 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	2.6%
Rapid7 InsightIDR	1.2%
Other	96.2%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

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

SohailHyder

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.

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

"We are able to consolidate licences and make use of many Microsoft products using this solution. If we have any Microsoft customers, we encourage them to use this solution for enterprise defence."

"It has been great for us. Previously, we didn't have a solution to protect us, especially from malware, whereas now, we are getting protection up front, especially from the malware attacks coming through emails or endpoints."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is scalable."

"The most valuable feature is the network security."

"Microsoft 365 Defender is a good solution and easy to use."

"The common and advanced security policies for threat hunting and blocking attacks are valuable."

"The incident-level visibility across the cyber attack chain when using Microsoft Defender XDR is great."

"The 'Incidents and Alerts' tab is a valuable feature where we can find triggered alerts."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

"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."

"The alerting to drive investigations and remediation has been its most valuable feature."

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

"The platform offers unlimited storage and agent-based solutions."

"It is a very stable solution."

"It improved my organization by building a security alerting program."

"Integration with threat modeling from the Metasploit and InsightIDR repositories."

"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."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR pros

Cons

"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."

"The improvements to Microsoft Defender XDR would probably go on the Linux side. There's still some more work to be done there."

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

"365 Defender has multiple subsets, including Defender for Cloud Apps. When integrating Defender for Cloud Apps with apps on third-party cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, there are limitations on our ability to control user activities. If Microsoft added more control over third-party products, that would be a game-changer and help us quite a lot."

"Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected."

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

"The onboarding and offboarding need improvement. I work with other vendors as well, and they have an option to add a device or remove a device from the portal, whereas with Microsoft 365 Defender, we need to do that manually. However, once you do that, everything can be controlled through the portal, but getting the device onboarded and offboarded is currently manual. If we have an option to simply remove a device from the portal or get a device added from the portal, it would be more convenient. The rest of the features are similar. This is the only area where I found it different from others. I would also like to be able to simply filter with a few of the queries that are already there."

"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."

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."

"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."

"Sometimes, it is hard to get the right queries to use. Currently, the tool lacks a pre-made set of queries."

"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."

"The dashboard is an area that could be simplified."

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

"Currently, it lacks the functionalities provided by Rapid7's User Behavior Analytics (UBA)."

"There are certain limitations with Rapid7 that I am working on."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solutions price is fair for what they offer."

"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."

"365 Defender is billed per account. I don't know the exact price, but my supervisor told me that Microsoft Defender is cheaper than the alternatives. It's bundled, so you get all the features in one place."

"For Defender, they have Endpoint Plan 1 and Endpoint Plan 2, but I don't know on what basis they have classified Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2, but it has given me enough pain to pick and design Endpoint Plan 1 or Endpoint Plan 2 for my organization. In fact, we are still struggling with it. Too many SKUs are confusing. There should not be too many SKUs, and they shouldn't charge for every new feature."

"It can be complex to navigate since customers have varying licensing agreements across Microsoft. If they go straightforward with E5 for all users, it's simple, but combinations based on budget constraints can complicate things."

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

"Microsoft 365 Defender offers competitive pricing."

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

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

"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."

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

"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."

"Rapid7 InsightIDR charges us based on the endpoints we connect to."

"The pricing is good, and it is not very expensive."

"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."

More Rapid7 InsightIDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

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	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?

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...

See all answers

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...

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

Comparisons

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Compared 4% of the time

TrendAI Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

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Rapid7 InsightVM vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Sentinel vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 5% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 4% of the time

Darktrace vs Rapid7 InsightIDR

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 InsightIDR

January 2026

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

December 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: December 2025.

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