Heimdal Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Heimdal and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Heimdal is ranked #41 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.4. Heimdal holds a 0.7% mindshare in EDR, compared to Microsoft’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Heimdal users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Heimdal Endpoint Security and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft and others in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR).

To learn more, read our detailed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Report (Updated: October 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

October 2026

Download the complete report

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 Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Heimdal Endpoint Security is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.0%, down from 2.9% 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	3.8%
Microsoft Defender XDR	2.0%
Heimdal Endpoint Security	0.7%
Other	93.5%

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.

Read full review

DEEPAK KUMAR PACHDEO DUBEY

Senior IT Support Specialist at PXGEO

Delivers efficiency and agility with USB control limitations

One area where we lag is that, since we use everything from Heimdal, including XDR and other features, we also use the privilege manager feature called Elevation. What we lack is granular USB control. We have an issue where we can only switch USB on or off. I want to whitelist specific devices in the network, which I currently cannot do.

Read full review

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

"The solution's most valuable feature is its ability to rapidly detect certain hardware files."

"There has been a significant reduction of approximately 70% to 80% in our internal MTTR and MTTD metrics, now around five to eight minutes whereas previously it was hours, which has helped tremendously."

"I've found the solution to be highly scalable for enterprises."

"The correlation with the firewall and the creation of policies by areas have facilitated security management in my company by allowing me to create more fine-tuned policies that take into account multiple aspects of the operation, multiple effects, multiple sources, and multiple destinations."

"It's a perfect solution. It integrates well into the environment."

"Since they've done their most recent update, the ease to isolate endpoints is valuable. If we find one where there is a virus on it, we can easily isolate it. We don't even have to contact the user. We don't have to manually take them off the network. We can easily isolate them."

"These days it's machine-learning technology and behavior-based analytics features that make us more secure."

"We've had a significant increase in blocking with a decrease in false positives, because it's looking at how the files work, not just a list of files that it's been told to look for."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"As compared to multiple solutions I have used in the past, Heimdal is a very agile and lightweight solution."

"The most valuable feature of all is the full integration with the rest of the software in the operating system and Office 365, as well as Microsoft SCCM. It is quite easy for us to work with the whole instance of Microsoft products. This integration improves the benefits of the whole suite of products."

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

"Defender XDR can stop advanced attacks, like ransomware or business email compromise."

"The portal is quite user-friendly. There is integration with Office, Intune, and other products from the same portal. From there, we can see which policies are installed on a particular machine. We also can manage devices, groups, and tagging."

"I like that it's fully integrated with Windows, Microsoft 365 Exchange Online, and Outlook. It is better than other antivirus solutions because it's fully integrated with all Microsoft products. It's easy to integrate them and onboard all Windows devices from SCCM."

"The 'Incidents and Alerts' tab is a valuable feature where we can find triggered alerts."

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

"We can use Defender to block and monitor for security purposes without needing multiple other products to do different tasks."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

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

"It is not very strong in terms of endpoint management. It should have additional features like DLP, encryption, or advanced device control. Currently, Cortex is good in terms of the security of the endpoints, but it is not as good as other vendors in terms of the management of the endpoint."

"Currently, if you use Palo Alto endpoint protection as the only solution it's very complicated to remove pre-existing threats."

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

"Basically, they don't provide customer support tools just to investigate the logs."

"There are some limitations on the Traps agents."

"In general, the price could be more competitive."

"This is a very costly product."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"What we lack is granular USB control. We have an issue where we can only switch USB on or off."

"What could be improved in Microsoft 365 Defender is its licensing, e.g. it should be more consolidated and would be good if it has some optimizations. Improving the alerts and notifications, in terms of adding more details, would also be good for this solution."

"For Microsoft Defender XDR, there is currently no ability to reset passwords for on-premises accounts, which is a key challenge."

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

"There are still some components, such as vulnerability management within the vendor product, where improved integration would be beneficial."

"The onboarding and offboarding need improvement."

"The advanced threat-hunting capabilities are phenomenal, and the security copilot enhances that, but some data elements could be better or have more context inside of the advanced tables themselves. The schemas feel a little limited to what they're building into the product. It's probably just a maturity thing. I imagine we'll see the features I want in the next year."

"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."

"Because of the training model, Defender XDR's automatic response sometimes blocks legitimate users and activities. Also, the UI sometimes responds slowly."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't like that they have different types of licenses."

"Every customer has to pay for a license because it doesn't work with what you get from a managed services provider."

"Cortex XDR’s pricing is very reasonable."

"It has reasonable pricing for the use cases it provides to the company."

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

"In terms of the cost Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is very expensive because we are a Mexican company and when you translate dollars to pesos the cost is very high. The solution is very expensive for Mexican companies. I understand that they have international prices, but I do not think it offsets the price enough for many companies in countries, such as Mexico. The amount it is reduced is not a massive percentage."

"Our customers have expressed that the price is high."

"It is cost-effective compared to similar solutions. It fits for the small businesses through to the big businesses."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

Information not available

"There are no issues with pricing, but sometimes, the clarity in licensing is a concern."

"It is fairly priced because we get complete integrated services with the E5 license."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is included in our license."

"It is 15 dollars per server per month. It is worth it, but it can be costly. It depends on the company's size."

"Microsoft 365 Defender offers competitive pricing."

"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."

"Its licensing and pricing are handled by someone else. My role is limited to incidents or issues with the portal, but you get what you pay for. It is worth the cost."

"The licensing fee for Microsoft 365 Defender is fair."

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.

See recommendations

920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

17%

Construction Company

16%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software 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. ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Heimdal Endpoint Security?

Pricing, compared to what we had before, was quite economical. There was a difference of about twenty percent or some...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Heimdal Endpoint Security?

One area where we lag is that, since we use everything from Heimdal, including XDR and other features, we also use th...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Heimdal Endpoint Security?

My company colleagues and I use this antivirus solution. I am part of a company where I deploy solutions, and I also ...

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

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

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 8% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 6% of the time

VirusTotal vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 4% of the time

Guardz vs Heimdal Endpoint Security

Compared 4% of the time

More Heimdal Endpoint Security 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

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

October 2026

Download Heimdal Endpoint Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

October 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

Heimdal Next-Gent Endpoint Antivirus, Thor Vigilance Enterprise, Heimdal Endpoint Detection and Response, Heimdal DNS Security - Endpoint, Heimdal Threat Prevention, Heimdal Ransomware Encryption Protection

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

Heimdal Endpoint Security offers leading protection with advanced threat intelligence, enhancing cyber resilience for businesses. Its seamless integration elevates security postures efficiently.

Heimdal Endpoint Security provides comprehensive defense against sophisticated cyber threats, combining innovative technologies with a user-centric approach. Enterprises benefit from its intelligent threat detection, streamlined management, and adaptive security measures, ensuring robust protection.

What are the key features of Heimdal Endpoint Security?

Threat Prevention: Proactive defense strategies identify and block potential threats before they infiltrate systems.
Patch Management: Automated patch updates ensure vulnerabilities are addressed swiftly, reducing risk exposure.
Next-Gen Antivirus: Advanced malware detection and removal tools keep endpoints secure from evolving threats.
Ransomware Encryption Protection: Real-time monitoring prevents unauthorized encryption attempts, safeguarding data.
DarkLayer Guard: Filters malicious web traffic, maintaining safe browsing environments.

What should users consider in terms of ROI and benefits?

Increased Security Efficiency: Reduces manual effort in threat detection and response, allowing teams to focus on strategic tasks.
Cost-effective Protection: Minimizes financial impact of security breaches through preventive measures.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing business requirements without compromising performance.
Compliance Support: Helps meet regulatory standards, mitigating risks of non-compliance penalties.

Companies across industries implement Heimdal Endpoint Security to safeguard sensitive data and maintain operational integrity. Finance sectors benefit from its capability to secure transactional data, while healthcare providers use it to protect patient information, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. Its adaptability makes it a choice for organizations facing diverse cybersecurity challenges.

Heimdal

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

Brother, Symbion, CPH West

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

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

October 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft and others in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). Updated: October 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vendors.

We monitor all Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.