Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

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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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.4%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is 1.5%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.6%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.4%
Microsoft Defender XDR	2.6%
Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)	1.5%
Other	92.5%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk

Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration

Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.

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reviewer2406663

Director at a computer software company with 11-50 employees

Effective risk response, easy deployment, and enhanced security

They use Datto EDR as part of the solutions that we supply Datto EDR has helped reduce overall security incident costs by fifteen percent. The ease of deployment has been good, and the responsiveness of the application to risks has been quite effective. The inclusion of web filtering would be…

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase is very easy."

"The stability of this product is very good."

"The initial setup is pretty easy."

"The initial setup isn't too bad."

"The most valuable feature is that you can select remote access of any machine for sandboxing."

"It collects and caches and the knowledge of machine learning from different customers to take to the cloud, it makes it better to use for everybody, it allows for quick learning and updates and can, therefore, offer zero-day malware security, and this sharing of metadata helps make the solution very safe."

"The information the dashboard provides is very clear."

"What I like about Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is that it is a comprehensive solution that contains everything the organization may need when using endpoints."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"The ease of deployment has been good."

"The insight that the solution provides is the most valuable aspect. The security scanning they do is excellent."

"The most valuable feature of Datto EDR is the visibility of the endpoints."

"Datto Endpoint Detection and Response is a perfect product for endpoint security."

"The insight that the solution provides is the most valuable aspect."

"I like that Defender is easy to use and the alerts are all in one central location."

"The most valuable features are spam filtering, attachment filtering, and antivirus protection."

"I like that it's stable. It's been stable for a long time, and Microsoft Defender has done a good job there."

"The attack simulation is excellent; initially, this feature wasn't very robust, but Microsoft improved what we could achieve with it. We can now customize our practice phishing emails and include our company logo, for example. Attack simulation also helps integrate with third-party solutions where applicable and provides an overview of our security architecture through testing. The summary includes areas for improvement in our protection and what steps we need to take to get there."

"The best feature is threat hunting. There are a lot of other features I like, such as the alert mechanism. The chain alert mechanism has a huge impact. It combines all the alerts into one incident and automatically correlates them with AI."

"I like the easy integration and advanced possibilities. We can implement it at customer sites in a few clicks, but we can also dive deep and drill down to extended features. There's a very good starting point to get into this product and all the features from Defender."

"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."

"What I appreciate most about Microsoft Defender XDR is the ability to drill down to the process level, the visibility of processes, and the file-level details of what processes are accessing, including the IP addresses for outbound connections."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"A better pricing plan would make this product more competitive."

"The solution lacks real-time, on-demand antivirus."

"I would like to see them include NDR (Network Detection Response). Then it would work well with SIEM Response."

"The complexity and confusion regarding product variants, such as XDR, Forexiant, and Forexon, must be addressed."

"In reporting they should have a customizable dashboard due to the fact that C-level people don't like reporting to the IT department. They prefer to have a real-time dashboard. That kind of dashboard needs to have various customizations."

"It should support more mobile operating systems. That is one of the cons of their infrastructure right now."

"We would also like to have advanced tech protection and email scanning."

"Additionally, I think the price is very high, and if it can be adjusted, I believe it will be a very good solution."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"The deployment of the solution right now is terrible. We find it to be very bad."

"The solution could improve by having more deployment methods."

"The inclusion of web filtering would be good."

"The deployment of the solution right now is terrible. We find it to be very bad. It could be improved enormously."

"The solution should allow the automation of playbooks."

"The support team is not competent or responsive."

"A simple dashboard without having to use MS Sentinel would be a welcome improvement."

"The solution does not offer a unified response and standard data."

"The data recovery and backup could be improved."

"Microsoft frequently changes the names of its products, sometimes even renaming entire portals or features."

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

"From an integration standpoint, it is always improving overall. With Security Copilot coming out, as partners, we are waiting for the GDAP support so that we can actually see Security Copilot on behalf of customers if they subscribe to it."

"The logs could be better."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's way too expensive, but security is expensive. You pay for your licensing, and then you pay for someone to monitor the stuff."

"The price was fine."

"The cost depends on your chosen license type, like Pro or other licenses."

"Very costly product."

"When we first bought it, it was a bit expensive, but it was worth it. The licensing was straightforward."

"It has a yearly renewal."

"Cortex XDR is a costly solution."

"Traps pays for itself within the first 16 months of a three-year subscription. This is attributed to OPEX savings, as security teams spent less time trying to identify and isolate malware for analysis as a result of a reduction in malware incidents, false positives, and breach avoidance."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"Datto Endpoint Detection and Response is not an expensive solution."

"There is an annual license to use this solution. The price of the solution can be expensive depending on the company."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The product is fairly priced for what we get from it."

"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."

"While the standalone price of Defender XDR might seem high, its value becomes clear when considering the ease of implementation and smooth integration with our existing Microsoft infrastructure, especially when bundled with other Microsoft products."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is included in our license."

"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."

"Purchasing Microsoft Defender XDR as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle can be cost-effective, but acquiring it as a standalone product may be more expensive."

"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."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Retailer

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	44
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	47

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	39

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...

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 th...

How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface,...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Infocyte HUNT?

The price is quite low. On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it a four, meaning it is quite cheap.

What needs improvement with Infocyte HUNT?

The inclusion of web filtering would be good.

What is your primary use case for Infocyte HUNT?

They use Datto EDR as part of the solutions that we supply.

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and p...

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, whi...

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 wo...

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Comparisons

Compared 9% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 6% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

TrendAI Vision One vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 2% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Compared 16% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Compared 9% of the time

Intercept X Endpoint vs Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Compared 7% of the time

More Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Download Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) product report

Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) report

Microsoft Defender XDR

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

Infocyte HUNT

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

With Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) you can detect and respond to advanced threats. Datto EDR is an easy to use cloud based EDR solution that's designed for Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

datto

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

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Check Point Software, PwC, Grant Thornton, AT&T, DHL, U.S. Department of Defense

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Datto Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vs. Microsoft Defender XDR