CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management comparison

CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

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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

CrowdStrike Falcon

Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

132

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Threat Intelligence Platforms (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (1st), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (1st)

Microsoft Defender External...

Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)

13th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (33rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of CrowdStrike Falcon is 14.7%, down from 28.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 3.2%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

Featured Reviews

Waleed Omar

Information Security Specialist at Arab Open University

Provides effective real-time threat detection with potential for cost optimization

Some features such as device control, firewall management, and file analysis are standalone products that we need to purchase separately. If these features came out of the box within the product, it would be much more beneficial for us. Other providers such as SentinelOne include these features in their base product. We attended a CrowdStrike Falcon event where they discussed some shallow AI features, but we cannot see these in our panel yet. We work with different solutions such as Darktrace and SocRadar, where AI features are automatically displayed in our dashboards after release. However, for CrowdStrike Falcon, we cannot see these features.

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AndyChan3

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…

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

"One of the most valuable features of CrowdStrike Falcon is when there are upgrades there are no additional fees."

"The feature I like the most is the solution's detection."

"The solution's reporting console is phenomenal, and I can get a lot of data out of it."

"The CrowdStrike Falcon agent is very lightweight. Users never complain about their PCs getting stuck and things like that."

"As long as the machine is connected to the Internet, and CrowdStrike is running, then it will be on and we will have visibility; no VPNing in or making some type of network connection. CrowdStrike always there and running in the background; for us, that is big. We wanted something that could give us data as long as the machines connected to the Internet and be almost invisible to the employees."

"The detection and response console is the most valuable feature."

"The machine learning behavior for anomaly detection is a valuable feature. It helps identify any suspicious or unusual activities within the system."

"There are two things which customers really like about CrowdStrike. If they buy managed services from CrowdStrike, it offers them detection of security issues in one minute. If you buy their professional services, they offer insurance where you can claim up to $5 million if there's a breach. This is a huge upsell for customers."

More CrowdStrike Falcon pros

"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."

"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."

Cons

"The skillsets needed to run CrowdStrike Falcon are extensive if you want to get the most value out of the tool."

"The dashboard does not have the facility to export the reports in a PDF format, which I can quickly share with internal stakeholders."

"CrowdStrike Falcon could improve if it became an XDR. When we look only to an end-point, we lost the context of the environment. I know it's another line of design of the product. However, if CrowdStrike becomes an XDR, it could be very good."

"The management reporting functionality needs to be improved."

"I would like CrowdStrike to provide some correlation in the threat analysis, so we can visualize things better."

"The technical support could improve because I am in India and the support I receive is from the UK or Australia. It is difficult to manage the time difference. The service could be faster. However, when we do have the support they are knowledgeable."

"Any kind of integration that you want to do, such as using the API to connect to a SIEM, is complex and it will be expensive to do."

"The solution should have included remote wipe capability out of the box."

More CrowdStrike Falcon cons

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."

"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."

"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not aware of the price, but I believe that it is among the most expensive XDRs out there. Of course, this is dependent on the features you choose. Depending on the features, the price might increase."

"Purchasing the product through the AWS Marketplace is just a click away. Since we were using the on-premise version of the product, we continued on the cloud by purchasing it through the AWS Marketplace."

"The price of CrowdStrike Falcon is expensive."

"We are on an annual subscription for the solution. There are not any additional costs."

"In my opinion, the pricing of CrowdStrike Falcon seems aggressive."

"We are at about $60,000 per year."

"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."

"The cost is usually a challenge in the industry. I think we pay around sixty-eight dollars."

More CrowdStrike Falcon pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

I rate the pricing of the solution as eight out of ten.

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?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon

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Product Reports

CrowdStrike Falcon

Download CrowdStrike Falcon product report

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

Download Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management product report

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management report

Also Known As

CrowdStrike Falcon, CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Threat Intelligence, CrowdStrike Identity Protection, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface

No data available

Overview

CrowdStrike Falcon provides endpoint protection and threat intelligence using a cloud-based platform for real-time detection and response. Its minimal impact on system performance and ease of deployment are key benefits along with advanced logging and reporting for compliance and forensic analysis.

CrowdStrike Falcon is known for its efficacy in identifying malware, ransomware, and sophisticated cyber threats. The platform's cloud-native architecture and advanced AI capabilities ensure comprehensive endpoint visibility and rapid response times. Users appreciate the lightweight agent and seamless deployment process, along with detailed reporting features. Integration with security tools and efficient customer support are essential features.

What are the key features of CrowdStrike Falcon?

Real-time Threat Detection: Provides immediate threat identification and response.
Lightweight Agent: Minimal impact on system performance.
Cloud-native Architecture: Ensures flexibility and scalability.
Advanced AI Capabilities: Enhances threat detection and prevention.
Comprehensive Endpoint Visibility: Complete insight into endpoint activities.
Detailed Reporting: Facilitates compliance and forensic analysis.
Security Tool Integration: Seamless integration with other tools.
Efficient Customer Support: Robust support services.

What are the benefits or ROI of CrowdStrike Falcon?

Improved Threat Detection: Identifies sophisticated threats, reducing risk.
Enhanced System Performance: Lightweight agent ensures minimal disruption.
Faster Response Times: Swift reaction to incidents minimizes damage.
Better Compliance: Detailed logs meet regulatory requirements.
Streamlined Deployment: Easy to implement with minimal downtime.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, CrowdStrike Falcon is often used for critical security due to its robust threat detection capabilities. Financial firms value its rapid response and detailed reporting for compliance, while healthcare providers appreciate the minimal system performance impact. Retailers benefit from its comprehensive endpoint visibility and integration with other security tools.

CrowdStrike

In this era of hybrid work, shadow IT creates an increasingly serious security risk. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management helps cloud security teams see unknown and unmanaged resources outside the firewall.

Microsoft

CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management