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Gurucul UEBA vs Microsoft Defender for Identity 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

Gurucul UEBA
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (8th)
Microsoft Defender for Iden...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Microsoft Security Suite (5th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Gurucul UEBA is designed for User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) and holds a mindshare of 3.4%, up 3.4% compared to last year.
Microsoft Defender for Identity, on the other hand, focuses on Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), holds 9.7% mindshare, down 18.0% since last year.
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Gurucul UEBA3.4%
Exabeam8.7%
IBM Security QRadar7.0%
Other80.9%
User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA)
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity9.7%
CrowdStrike Falcon12.8%
Huntress Managed ITDR6.9%
Other70.6%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2506872 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Specialist - UEBA SIEM Admin at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Smooth and fast search capabilities with customizable dashboards enhance user experience
For improvement, I have requested three enhancement tickets, which are already lodged with the Gurucul support team. The first request is to add a visualization option in reports for charts or graphs. I have also requested new dashboard features. In the query box, there's a bug where taking an attribute at the end does not return data, but placing it elsewhere does. The support system could be more equipped.
OA
CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed
Automation and threat intelligence streamline threat response and user management
In Microsoft Defender for Identity, I would appreciate improvements in providing information on conditional access. They have added more control that can be put in place, which was not present years ago. They have also integrated Azure Information Protection where policies can be configured. The Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) allows users to reset their passwords, which is a valuable tool for remote workers. They have added more features into conditional access that integrate with other components, including SSPR and Identity Information Protection, trusted IPs, and locations. These configurations in trusted IP addresses are integrated into conditional access and control the applications I want to secure. Regarding impossible travel scenarios, I can either block the user or grant access while requesting multi-factor authentication. They should improve the automation for impossible travel detection. When connected to Wi-Fi and then to VPN, the system sometimes interprets the IP address change as impossible travel. If Microsoft could develop a feature that indicates when impossible travel is caused by VPN connections, it would prevent unnecessary password resets and session disruptions, especially for VIP users in organizations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Gurucul is the ability to customize and it is on the Hadoop platform that has a lot of flexibility."
"The reporting feature was the key differentiator, and I also liked the ability to create dynamic rules in the environment."
"The most valuable feature of Gurucul is the ability to customize and it is on the Hadoop platform that has a lot of flexibility."
"I appreciate the comprehensive categorization of devices based on their intended use, such as those for DNS."
"If you are genuinely looking for a UEBA solution, you should choose Gurucul confidently if your need is strictly UEBA."
"The reporting feature was the key differentiator. I also liked the ability to create dynamic rules in the environment."
"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Identity at nine out of ten."
"This solution has advanced a lot over the last few years."
"We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity. I can say it is 100% stable."
"All the integration it has with different Microsoft packages, like Teams and Office, is good."
"The integration into the Microsoft Defender ecosystem is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Identity."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Defender for Identity are the simulations; whenever something happens, it provides complete step-by-step process details, including the hierarchy, how it happens in the environment, and the lateral movement, which is amazing."
"Microsoft is a big company."
"We use AD Connect to sync on-premises AD to Azure AD, and so far, it has been effective."
 

Cons

"It could be more stable. Sometimes when working in multiple customer environments, there were some issues with features."
"Technical support is good but can improve. I would rate it six to seven out of ten. The main issue is response time, which can take three to four hours even for simple queries."
"Regarding the prioritization of threats, Gurucul UEBA needs to enhance its alert severity assignment process within the system."
"It could be more stable."
"The support could improve. I would rate the support from Gurucul a two out of five."
"Gurucul can improve on the online documentation. They should educate the end users more to allow them to do everything themselves."
"There is no option to remedy an issue directly from the console. If we see an alert, we can't fix it from the console. Instead, we must depend on other Microsoft products, such as MDE. That is a significant drawback. It simply works as a scanner, which can sometimes put enough load on the sensors. Immediate actions should be possible from the dashboard because. It can prevent issues from spreading further."
"We observe a lot of false positives. Sometimes, when we go for a coffee break, we lock our screens. Locking the screen has a separate Windows event ID and sometimes I see it is detected as a failed login."
"I would like to be able to do remediation from the platform because it is just a scanner right now. If you onboard a device, it shows you what is happening, but you can't use it to fix things."
"The documentation provided by Microsoft is often seen as a waste of time."
"The areas of Microsoft Defender for Identity that can be improved include its cost, which is quite expensive when integrated into Sentinel. Additionally, there is room for improvement in its integration with non-Microsoft applications and systems."
"The solution could improve how it handles on-premises Android-related attacks."
"And when you are working in a priority IP address, Identity is not able to know that those IPs are from the company. It sees that the IPs are from Taiwan or from Hong Kong or from India, even though they are internal IPs, resulting in a lot of false positives."
"One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform to promptly alert affected users and their friends."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Gurucul is competitive."
"The price is fair. In fact, I believe it was on the cheaper side when compared to the competition."
"The product is costly, and we had multiple discussions with accounting to receive a discounted rate. However, on the open market, the tool is expensive."
"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."
"You won't be able to change your tenants from where you deploy them. For example, if you select Canada, they will charge you based on Canadian pricing. If you are also in London, when you deploy in Canada, the pound is higher than Canadian dollars, but your platform resources are billable in Canadian dollars. Using your pounds to pay for any of these things will be cheaper. Or, if you deploy in London, they will charge you based on your local currency."
"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."
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893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
7%
Photography Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Gurucul?
For improvement, I have requested three enhancement tickets, which are already lodged with the Gurucul support team. The first request is to add a visualization option in reports for charts or grap...
What is your primary use case for Gurucul?
Regarding the use cases, I have created many use cases in Gurucul UEBA. It's easy to create use cases based on behaviors.
What advice do you have for others considering Gurucul?
If you are genuinely looking for a UEBA solution, you should choose Gurucul confidently if your need is strictly UEBA. If you're looking for both theme and UEBA, you might consider other vendors. F...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I really would have to sit down to think about how Microsoft Defender for Identity can be improved. I didn't take stock in what needs to be improved because I appreciated having the tools right the...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Identity include Conditional Access, checking risky users, remediating risky users, and user sign-ins. I can easily remediate or determine what the user...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I don't really use Microsoft Defender for Identity a lot because my new role doesn't allow me to take time to do so. I don't really use the threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender for Ide...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Global semi-conductor company
Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Exabeam, IBM, One Identity and others in User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA). Updated: May 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.