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Cybereason XDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

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

Cybereason XDR
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
23rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender XDR
Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Cybereason XDR is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 6.2%, down from 8.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Peter Nowak - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration of multiple firewalls enables advanced threat detection
The integration of data from firewalls and Active Directory is most valuable. Cybereason XDR facilitates two-way communication, where the firewall sends data to the Cybereason system, and it can communicate with the firewall to stop unwanted communication. Customers can deal with multiple types of firewalls with ease. The behavioral analytics help detect advanced threats when attackers use existing software. The multilayered protection approach, including NGAV, integrates XDR detection with antivirus to assess and counter threats effectively.
Gabor Nyerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot
We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration of data from firewalls and Active Directory is most valuable."
"The integration of data from firewalls and Active Directory is most valuable."
"The solution has an investigation feature, which is useful for building storylines."
"Cybereason XDR's most useful feature is the investigation."
"The email protection feature is the most valuable because our risks primarily lie there, and it seems to be the most popular target."
"The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability"
"The best feature is probably the alert generation. When I do a security reset, the other session triggers instantly from the Defender console, and I can work on it. The policies are three times, but they are also ready to install it."
"Microsoft Defender XDR's capability to automatically disrupt advanced cyber attacks is very effective."
"Vulnerability assessment and just-in-time access are some valuable features of Defender for server plans."
"Having a single pane of glass for all Microsoft security services makes everything much easier. A security analyst can go to a single portal and see everything in one view. The integration of everything into one portal is a huge benefit."
"The Endpoint Manager is incredible; it has a very straightforward interface and is exceedingly easy to use. Pulling out and deploying different tags or resources is a simple task across various departments with different levels of security. The notifications are also simple and satisfying; it's great to see the bubble informing us which devices are compliant and which are waiting to update."
"The product integrates security into one tool instead of having third-party security tools."
 

Cons

"Customer service is rated as a five out of ten. When they work and reach the right level, they are helpful, but getting to the right person can be time-consuming."
"There could be more integrations with other data sources like NDR systems."
"The one thing we sometimes have issues with is its integration with other security applications like antiviruses."
"Cybereason's customer support could be better."
"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."
"The documentation on their website is somewhat outdated and doesn't show properly. I wanted to try a query in Microsoft Defender 365. When I opened the related documentation from the security blog on the Microsoft website, the figures were not showing. It was difficult to understand the article without having the figures. The figures were there in the article, but they were not getting loaded, which made the article obsolete."
"Stability could be improved by avoiding frequent changes to the interface."
"The improvements to Microsoft Defender XDR would probably go on the Linux side. There's still some more work to be done there."
"At times, when we have an incident email and we click on the link for that incident, it opens a pop-up, but there is nothing. It has happened a couple of times."
"In the future, it would be beneficial for Microsoft to consider making the product more user-friendly or simplified for those who are interested in using it. Currently, it requires a high level of technical expertise, making it challenging for beginners or less experienced individuals."
"There is definitely scope for improvement in the automation area. Because the solution is a SaaS platform, we don't have the overall ability to automate stuff.... There is no direct way to go ahead because it's a SaaS platform."
"Sometimes, digging into the information and knowing where to go can be difficult. It would be better if much of that information were immediately visible, especially when looking at endpoints or users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is cheaper than Microsoft Defender. It has a subscription and no standard license."
"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."
"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."
"It is 15 dollars per server per month. It is worth it, but it can be costly. It depends on the company's size."
"The solution is too expensive."
"Microsoft Defender falls within a mid-tier price range compared to other security solutions."
"The functionality is fantastic, but for medium and small-sized companies it's overpriced. It would be better if it were a little bit cheaper."
"Microsoft should provide lower-level licensing options. They should do it in such a way that even an individual could purchase a license, and it should be entirely flexible."
"Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cybereason XDR?
The solution has an investigation feature, which is useful for building storylines.
What needs improvement with Cybereason XDR?
There could be more integrations with other data sources like NDR systems. Additionally, technical support has been slow in recent times. Enabling multifactor authentication has been problematic fo...
What is your primary use case for Cybereason XDR?
I use Cybereason XDR for customers who don't have a SOC or managed SOC yet and want to be protected on more than their desktops. It is especially used in the manufacturing industry, yet not exclusi...
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?
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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?
For Microsoft Defender XDR ( /categories/extended-detection-and-response-xdr ), there is currently no ability to reset passwords for on-premises accounts, which is a key challenge. Incident managem...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MOTOROLA MOBILITY
Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cybereason XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.