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Microsoft Defender XDR vs Wazuh comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 30, 2025

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
3.7
Wazuh offers cost-effective security, reducing detection to an hour and response to two days, benefiting small businesses.
We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.
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.
Network Technician at T. Baker Smith, LLC
I have seen value in security cost savings with Wazuh, as using proprietary EDR versions could save us substantial money.
Security Consultant at ebenezer.okoh@agorasecurity.it
 

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
3.5
Users generally praise Wazuh's support, highlighting strong customer service and useful community resources, despite occasional delays in response times.
You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.
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.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.
Cyber Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
They responded quickly, which was crucial as I was on a time constraint.
Cyber Security Software Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We use the open-source version of Wazuh, which does not provide paid support.
Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
The documentation is good and provides clear instructions, though it's targeted at those with technical backgrounds.
Student at Dakota State University
 

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
6.7
Wazuh is scalable and flexible, but deployment complexity and technical expertise are needed for handling large data sets.
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.
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.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
It can accommodate thousands of endpoints on one instance, and multiple instances can run for different clients.
Security Operations Center Analyst at mailbox.org
Currently, I don't see any limitations in terms of scalability as Wazuh can still connect many endpoints.
Security Consultant at ebenezer.okoh@agorasecurity.it
Scalability depends on the configuration and the infrastructure resources like compute and memory we allocate.
Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
 

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
6.2
Wazuh is generally stable, though updates may cause issues; proper maintenance and installation minimize potential disruptions.
The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.
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.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
The stability of Wazuh is strong, with no issues stemming from the solution itself.
Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
The stability of Wazuh is largely dependent on maintenance.
Security Operations Center Analyst at mailbox.org
The indexer frequently times out, requiring system restarts.
Cyber Security Software Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender XDR requires enhancements in speed, integration, automation, AI, ease-of-use, and industry-specific threat intelligence.
Wazuh needs user interface improvements, scalability, integration, enhanced cloud security, better documentation, and reduced resource consumption for effectiveness.
The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.
Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.
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.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
Machine learning is needed along with understanding user behavior and behavioral patterns.
Engineer - Information Security at N-Able (Pvt) Ltd
The integration modules are insufficiently developed, necessitating the creation of custom integration solutions using tools like Logstash and PubSub.
Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
I think Wazuh should improve by introducing AI functionalities, as it would be beneficial to see AI incorporated in the threat hunting and detection functionalities.
Security Consultant at ebenezer.okoh@agorasecurity.it
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is seen as complex but fair, with high costs alleviated in bundled Microsoft 365 packages.
Wazuh is a cost-effective open-source platform with optional managed services and support, emphasizing affordability for enterprises.
There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.
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.
Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.
Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Wazuh is completely free of charge.
Security Consultant at ebenezer.okoh@agorasecurity.it
I would definitely recommend Wazuh, especially considering Fortinet's licensing model which is confusing and overpriced in my opinion.
Engineer - Information Security at N-Able (Pvt) Ltd
Totaling around two lakh Indian rupees per month.
Tech Lead at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates tools for comprehensive security, offering threat detection, automation, identity protection, and enhanced efficiency.
Wazuh offers cost-effective, flexible security solutions with features like SIEM, EDR, and compliance management for diverse environments.
With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.
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.
Works at Hometrack
Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Wazuh is a SIEM tool that is highly customizable and versatile.
Security Operations Center Analyst at mailbox.org
The system allows us to monitor endpoints effectively and collect security data that can be utilized across other platforms such as SOAR.
Security Consultant at ebenezer.okoh@agorasecurity.it
With this open source tool, organizations can establish their own customized setup.
Cyber Security Software Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender XDR
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
Wazuh
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
5th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Log Management (1st), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 5.0%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wazuh is 8.1%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR5.0%
Wazuh8.1%
Other86.9%
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
 

Featured Reviews

KO
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.
RS
Engineer - Information Security at N-Able (Pvt) Ltd
Has faced limitations in AI capabilities and pricing flexibility
Pricing-wise, Wazuh stands out, along with deployment flexibility and its documentation which is extremely good in comparison to Forti. The community support is also incredible. They have helped quite a bit because previously, we had a separate tool and management dashboard to do our compliance. With Wazuh, we receive that information without having to do anything extra. We just set up the SIEM and all of that information was automatically populated. The dashboards are very easy to understand and very quick with no lag or delay. I have experienced delays on Forti's dashboards, but not with Wazuh. Wazuh is quite good. In comparison to Forti, they are quite similar. They are very good at detection.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions are best for your needs.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise8
 

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 Wazuh?
Wazuh is its flexibility and open-source nature, which allows us to tailor threat detection and response across diverse client environments. Its integration capabilities with SOAR, cloud platforms,...
What needs improvement with Wazuh?
The lack of AI features is an issue at the moment in the industry. Forti provides user behavior capabilities, which I would want to see in Wazuh. In FortiSIEM, they provide user behavior understand...
What is your primary use case for Wazuh?
At the moment, I'm working in software integration, so we are working with FortiGate. To research and get an idea, I did some investigation into Wazuh. They have already used Fortinet products. The...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
Wazuh All-In-One Deployment
 

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. Wazuh and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.