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ESET EDR/XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ESET EDR/XDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
56th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Authentication Systems (44th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (37th)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
197
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of ESET EDR/XDR is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.3%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

PB
Achieves robust data protection and reliable security with the help of advanced automation features
We promote customers to purchase our ESET EDR_XDR and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions. In our office, with about one hundred and fifty people, we use ESET EDR_XDR personally to protect data from unauthorized threats and gain early awareness to protect against cyber attacks The cost and basic…
John Rallo - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers excellent visibility into vulnerabilities and the attack surface itself
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features. It's helpful to isolate specific devices and get super granular with the features they offer. The visibility into the attack surface is good. It gets highly granular. I don't work on that side, but the people who do tell me they get more visibility.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup of ESET EDR_XDR is very simple, easy to deploy, and manage."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The EDR feature is most valuable."
"It shows us the risky sign-ins, and if a user's password has been compromised."
"This software is easy to use."
"The virus scanning capability is excellent, and it feeds all the logs into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, making them easy to search for."
"Defender works in the background monitoring the traffic for viruses."
"Coming from an organization where the EDR wasn't strong, it has always been a case of basically searching through the information you already have and looking for something. It was basically trying to find the needle in a haystack. What the Defender platform does is that it reduces the size of the haystack, and it'll say that the needle is over here. Minutes matter, and it certainly zeros you in on the events that are concerning. It also simplifies the effort of trying to get some kind of correlation of behaviors or actions you see in the environment and confirming if something is benign or a threat."
"It's pretty easy to use, works with compliance issues, and is reliable."
"Its simplicity is the most valuable. It also has very good integration. We like it."
 

Cons

"ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks."
"The solution could improve how it scours each website."
"Phishing and Malware detection could be better."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by adding more security features."
"The integration and effectiveness of email security could be better. It's already built-in to the solution and checks emails, scans the links they contain etc."
"The scanning is slow when it is working with incoming emails."
"I would like to see better integration with their other security products to give better visibility from a higher level."
"I don't think it's scalable at this moment. It is doing what it's supposed to do, but Microsoft Defender for Endpoint isn't there yet."
"With increase of cyber threats and cybersecurity issues, I would recommend that the product be developed like an AI product with more features which can counter any threat in the coming eras."
"Other vendors provide a lot of customization when it comes to integration, which every big organization requires. No big organization depends on one particular tool. Defender lacks that at this point."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the solution’s pricing a six or seven out of ten.."
"We have a bundle where the price includes all Microsoft products."
"Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is an expensive solution."
"If we are acquiring everything in a single place, the front end becomes cost-effective."
"We have seen ROI. Most of the other competing alternatives will cost up to around $30 per user device. We average 400 devices. Therefore, the amount that we save each year is 400 times $30."
"I recently switched from education to private business, and all I can say is that private business licensing from Microsoft is not cheap until you hit certain quantities or scale. That does not mean that it is not comparable to other industries. It is similar pricing, but it is still crazy to me how much you pay for a client. I feel it is high, but it is in line with other vendors."
"There is not a license required for this particular solution."
"The subscription is part of Windows, so we don't have to pay anything extra for this product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with ESET EDR/XDR?
ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks. Improvements in preventive maintenance and early detection of cyber attacks are necessary ...
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, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

ESET Secure Authentication
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitsubishi Motors, Canon
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.