ESET EDR/XDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Why PeerSpot?

ESET and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. ESET is ranked #22 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4. ESET holds a 1.5% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 3.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of ESET users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ESET EDR/XDR and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2026

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Helped 920,769 peers since 2012

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 November 2026, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 4.7%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ESET EDR/XDR is 1.5%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 3.5%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	4.7%
Microsoft Defender XDR	3.5%
ESET EDR/XDR	1.5%
Other	90.3%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

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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GirdharMishra

Program Manager at iONE IT Solutions

Centralized monitoring has improved threat visibility and reduced incident response time

In terms of valuable features in ESET EDR/XDR, we focus on endpoint device management as well as for the firewall team, including our log analysis and monitoring the firewall, which are three significant functions for us. ESET EDR/XDR has automated threat detection that gives us real-time incident alerts, and it helps us proactively receive and work on incidents that could have an impact. Regarding the usefulness of ESET EDR/XDR's behavior-based analysis in detecting potential breaches, we have identified some files or configuration files that should remain static, and if any changes occur without proper change management, we are able to identify those changes, including detecting zero-day attacks. The integration of threat intelligence feeds has helped our response strategies, as we are using Oracle OCA-based data analysis, and we have integrated it so that logs are forwarded to our SIEM, allowing us to analyze the data effectively. I evaluate the impact of centralized management on our security operations as very useful because it eliminates the need to log into individual systems to find sources, allowing us to identify all types of risks and vulnerabilities from a single desk.

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reviewer2812758

Infosec at a government with 10,001+ employees

Integrated defenses have unified threat hunting, phishing simulations, and identity investigations

I appreciate Microsoft Defender XDR's MDE, Microsoft Defender tool, which has Attack Simulator. Instead of doing a phishing campaign and getting a separate tool, Microsoft Defender XDR does it all. These features of Microsoft Defender XDR have helped us conduct a phishing campaign quarterly, which has been beneficial. I also appreciate the fact that it has Defender for Office integrated, Defender for Identity, and everything integrated together. I would describe the process of using Microsoft Defender XDR to prioritize incidents in my security operations as quite decent. I appreciate the automatic alerting system where any incidents or alerts we receive come directly to our email. From there, we can open the email, go directly to Microsoft Defender XDR, and start our investigations and remediations. I perceive the integration of security and identity access management in Microsoft Defender XDR as affecting my identity protection strategies very well because it is well integrated with Purview, integrated well with Entra ID, and integrated well with Exchange. I especially appreciate MDO, the Office product. If anything happens and I want to conduct an investigation, it takes me directly to Exchange, where I can also investigate any emails or phishing incidents. Instead of going to different portals, everything can be done from Microsoft Defender XDR. If necessary for further investigation, Microsoft Defender XDR then directs me to that environment. I would assess the integration of AI in guiding security actions within Microsoft Defender XDR as quite positive. Recently, Security Copilot went big, and it is beneficial that I can use that, especially to write KQL. I can do threat hunting features and intelligence all within using Microsoft's Security Copilot. It also has a nice AI feature for threat hunting. I know that all the Defender logs go to Sentinel, and I can pull it up from Microsoft Defender XDR or from Sentinel. The fact that I can actually do all that within Microsoft Defender XDR is a nice feature. In the top module, I can do threat lookups, and I can actually type KQLs in Microsoft Defender XDR and look up incidents. Predictive shielding has had a nice impact on my proactive security measures. It is beneficial that it has, similar to Entra ID, a secure score. For me to improve the product, the secure score helps me out. If I rate it from highest to lowest, I can see what things I can improve. Secure score helps me see what areas I can improve in Microsoft Defender XDR to increase my score and bring it to 80 or more. Knowing Microsoft Defender XDR from using it since 2019, before COVID days, I know that they have improved significantly. It is much more user-friendly and has a very nice vulnerability feature that I find handy and useful. The fact that this feature integrates into Intune is also very decent.

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

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks should be a stable solution."

"The initial setup is easy."

"It is easy to use."

"It blocks malicious files, prevents attacks, and doesn't require many updates because it is a very light application."

"Cortex is a very good total solution on the endpoints."

"Cortex XDR can integrate the firewalls and determine the tendencies of the attacks. It's a new generation antivirus, with protection endpoints and detection response. It is very easy to use and everybody can operate the solution."

"Palo Alto is the best security solution in the market."

"On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks a nine."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"It is pretty easy to install without any hassles, and ESET EDR_XDR has its own cloud portal where everything is available."

"ESET EDR/XDR has automated threat detection that gives us real-time incident alerts, and it helps us proactively receive and work on incidents that could have an impact."

"The initial setup of ESET EDR_XDR is very simple, easy to deploy, and manage."

"The solution is easy to use."

"The most valuable feature is probably the aggregation and correlation of the different telemetry points with Defender for Identity, Defender for Endpoint, and Defender for Cloud Apps. All of these various things are part of that portal. We've wanted that single pane of glass for years."

"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 proactive remediation aspects and the surfacing of suspicious activity for investigation and escalation are the key aspects we appreciate most."

"Overall, the comprehensiveness of the threat protection is at 95 percent."

"The visibility into threats is also very impressive because Microsoft helps you predict things and provides analytics to help you really improve your security. And all of this technology works across the domain, so it is pretty helpful in terms of threat analytics."

"The EDR features are valuable. By getting the EDR features, we have more control over the device. We have information about events in real-time and more protection against zero-day threats and zero-day vulnerabilities. We can monitor every event or action that a device is going through. We can get an idea if it is something malicious or if we have to take any actions."

"Overall, the solution has decreased our time to detect and respond."

"Microsoft XDR's system of analysis and investigation is super convenient for our customers. It integrates with other Microsoft solutions like Defender for 365 to protect email traffic from malicious external web links and phishing."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"Being able to filter the events to see those that are related to the actual alert would save time spent by the engineer."

"Managing the product should be easier."

"In the next release, I would like to see more UI improvements. Their UI is a bit basic. When we are speaking about Palo Alto Networks they are the big company, so they can improve the UI a little bit. The UI, the reports, the log system can all be improved."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks could improve its user interface, which is more complicated compared to competitors such as SentinelOne."

"Although I would say this product is highly-rated, it could probably do more because nothing does everything that you want."

"In an upcoming release, the solution could improve by proving hard disk encryption. If it could support this it would be a complete solution."

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

"It's more focused on network communication. If a customer wants to increase the level of protection and start working with documents, it's impossible to integrate these features into the system. It's more of a communication-oriented system than a content security-oriented system."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks."

"The memory and CPU footprint can affect performance. It sometimes slows down the CPU performance."

"The solution could improve how it scours each website."

"I would like more of the features in Defender for 365 to be included in the smaller licenses. Even if I buy a small license and don't need everything, security shouldn't be a question. Security is one of the main aspects of all projects from our side, so it would be nice to have more features in the smaller licenses."

"There are other SIEM solutions that are easier to use, mainly based on the creation of rules, use cases, and groups."

"There are a few technical issues with Defender XDR that can be improved. Sometimes, the endpoint devices are not reporting properly to the Defender 365 portal. When you're getting all the information from the Microsoft portal, the devices are sometimes not in sync. We have hundreds of endpoint devices, some needing to be onboarded again."

"Offboarding latency should be reduced. Even after a device has been successfully offboarded using a particular offboarding script, it still shows up as onboarded."

"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."

"Microsoft support is not very good. You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain."

"I'd like to see a wider solution that includes not only desktop devices but also other devices, such as servers, storage cabinets, switching equipment, et cetera."

"The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's about $55 per license on a yearly basis."

"The tool's price is moderate."

"The solution has one subscription for endpoint protection and one subscription for detection and response. The two licenses combined give you the BRO version."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is quite an expensive solution."

"It is present, but when compared to other competitive products, I would say it is not less expensive; however, when all of the other added values are considered, the price is reasonable."

"We didn't have to pay any additional fee for the cloud instance. It just came with the renewal, which was nice."

"The return on investment is from the user side because we have seen the performance of it increase the delivery time of the product if we are using too many web-based and on-premise applications. In indirect ways, we saw the return of investment in terms of performance and user satisfaction increase."

"I don't recall what the cost was, but it wasn't really that expensive."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"I rate the solution’s pricing a six or seven out of ten.."

"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."

"The pricing of Microsoft 365 Defender is definitely on the costly side, but with the features and services that Microsoft provides, such as the seamless integration of all the Defender tools, while the price is on the higher side, there is no alternative."

"We've managed to navigate it effectively through our enterprise agreement, and Microsoft's academic discounts have proven to be quite generous."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is already included in our Office 365 licensing. It is better because we're saving money by using it."

"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."

"While Microsoft Defender XDR carries a higher cost, its ease of use compared to Defender may justify the investment."

"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."

"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	50
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	57

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	41

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. ...

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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...

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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,...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ESET EDR/XDR?

I find the price of ESET EDR/XDR to be competitive to the market, which is a reasonable aspect for us.

See all answers

What needs improvement with ESET EDR/XDR?

I just deploy and forget it, so I don't get into much detail about improvements. The major setback we face with ESET ...

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What advice do you have for others considering ESET EDR/XDR?

We might get good pricing one year, and then the next year there could be significant pricing issues. Integration wit...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender XDR is that we are on an E5 license,...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

From my perspective, Microsoft Defender XDR can be improved with better visibility in certain areas where I can trigg...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender XDR are telemetry, advanced hunting, and the ability to perform host isolati...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 16% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Wazuh vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Kaspersky Next XDR Expert vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 7% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 5% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More ESET EDR/XDR Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 7% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 3% of the time

Secureworks Taegis XDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

October 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

October 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

October 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

ESET Secure Authentication

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

ESET EDR/XDR offers advanced endpoint detection and response capabilities, designed to enhance security posture with real-time threat intelligence and investigation features. It's tailored for comprehensive analysis and proactive measures against cyber threats.

ESET EDR/XDR stands out by providing a robust framework for threat detection, investigation, and response processes. It arms security teams with the tools needed to detect suspicious activities, reduce response times, and improve threat hunting. This efficient system leverages artificial intelligence to provide actionable insights and event correlation across the organization, ensuring swift adaptation to dynamic threat environments.

What are the key features of ESET EDR/XDR?

Threat Hunting: Conduct thorough searches for potential threats using detailed telemetry data and advanced querying capabilities.
Root Cause Analysis: Quickly pinpoint the source of security incidents to mitigate potential vulnerabilities and prevent recurrence.
Automated Response: Configure automatic countermeasures to neutralize detected threats, minimizing manual intervention.
Behavioral Rules: Implement machine learning algorithms to identify abnormal behaviors indicative of compromised systems.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated in reviews?

Improved Threat Visibility: Gain a holistic view of security events, allowing for informed decision-making and threat prioritization.
Cost Efficiency: Reducing manual monitoring and response efforts translates to significant savings on operational costs.
Reduced Incident Response Time: Accelerate the time it takes to detect and respond to threats, limiting potential damages.
Scalability: Easily integrates with existing security infrastructures, accommodating growth and increasing demands.

ESET EDR/XDR is versatile across industries, from finance to healthcare, providing tailored functionalities to meet sector-specific requirements. For instance, in finance, it meets stringent compliance standards, while in healthcare, it ensures patient data confidentiality and rapid threat mitigation.

ESET

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

Mitsubishi Motors, Canon

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

Buyer's Guide

ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2026

Free Report: ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

Find out what your peers are saying about ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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