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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

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

CrowdStrike Falcon
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
140
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (5th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (1st), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (1st), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
Microsoft Defender External...
Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (33rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of CrowdStrike Falcon is 6.0%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 3.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Attack Surface Management (ASM) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
CrowdStrike Falcon6.0%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management3.2%
Other90.8%
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
 

Featured Reviews

Chetan Bhati - PeerSpot reviewer
Human Toxicology Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Cloud-native security has improved real-time threat detection and streamlined daily operations
While CrowdStrike Falcon is strong overall, there are a few areas where it could be improved. First, the user interface can be a bit complex for new users. Sometimes, navigating through different sections and understanding detailed alerts takes time, especially for teams without deep security expertise. The cost is also something to consider, as the features and additional modules can increase pricing, which may be a challenge for smaller teams. Additionally, some integrations with simpler reporting would be helpful. The onboarding process for new users is a bit challenging for beginners to understand all features and workflows in the product. More simplified documentation, step-by-step guides, and real-world examples could help new users get comfortable faster. A structured onboarding or basic training module would be very useful for teams who are new to endpoint security tools. In addition, having more in-product guidance and tooltips within the dashboard could make navigation easier and reduce the learning curve. Overall, improving training resources and onboarding support would make the platform more user-friendly, especially for new users.
AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The ability to remote into other devices for investigation and the way it presents a graphical representation of the detection, like the parent-child process, are valuable features."
"In general, we feel more secure knowing that we are not relying on multiple different technologies to provide a different kind of protection."
"It seems to do a pretty good job of protecting the host. It offers good insights that it gives you when it has a detection. It's pretty incredible."
"The most valuable features of CrowdStrike Falcon are the AI in detecting and real-time detections."
"From a security perspective, it has significantly improved our ability to detect threats in real-time and respond quickly before they affect multiple systems."
"The most valuable feature of CrowdStrike Falcon for me is its unified sensor, applicable across all models."
"We use it to monitor everything related to the activity and to block any malicious activity."
"It improves a lot of our security operations for threat management, and it provides a lot for our day-to-day operations too."
"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
 

Cons

"One thing that is not yet available is attack simulation."
"The portal can be clunky to navigate at times and has room for improvement."
"CrowdStrike Falcon could improve by adding manual scanning or serverless scanning. It is not available at this time."
"There are some aspects of the UI that could use some improvement, e.g., working in groups. I build a group, then I have to manually assign prevention policies, update policies, etc., but there is no function to copy that group. So, if I wanted to make a subgroup for troubleshooting or divide workstations into groups of laptops and desktops, then I have to manually build a brand new group. I can't just copy a build from one to another. Additionally, in order to do any work within a group, I have to first do the work on the respective prevention policy page or individual policy page, then remove the group if the group is assigned to a different prevention policy, remove the prevention policy, and then add the new one in. So, it can get a little hectic. It would be easier if I could add and remove things from the group page rather than having to go into the policy pages to do it."
"If CrowdStrike can further expand its support for XDR compatibility, that would give it an edge over all the other competing new products."
"The dashboard area must be improved. We have integration with Splunk, and we are creating a dashboard there. Their dashboard area must be up to date. It should have more details and more options to create the reports and things like that."
"There are a few features that could be added, as mentioned."
"Falcon could include more integrative features."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are three to four licensing models available to choose from for CrowdStrike Falcon. The price of CrowdStrike Falcon depends on the distributor and the reseller partner. The price we received was good."
"The other administrator and I can log in to check the exact details of what happened, what was running, and what caused the detection. We know exactly what was happening on the end users PC and we can tell if it's something that we actually need or something that's malicious."
"We have a yearly subscription and find the price to be good. I'd give it a rating of four out of five for price, we got a good discount."
"The cost of CrowdStrike Falcon could be reduced. It is quite expensive if you compare it to other solutions, such as Blue Coat, Symantec, McAfee, or Kaspersky."
"We pay 40,000 dirhams per 100 users."
"The cost is usually a challenge in the industry. I think we pay around sixty-eight dollars."
"The price is high in comparison to similar brands."
"CrowdStrike Falcon is more expensive than other EDR solutions with similar features."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise63
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will ...
 

Also Known As

CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Threat Intelligence, CrowdStrike Identity Protection, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CrowdStrike Falcon Platform
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.