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Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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

Huntress Managed EDR
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
1st
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th)
Microsoft Defender Experts ...
Ranking in Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
18th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) category, the mindshare of Huntress Managed EDR is 6.5%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting is 1.7%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Huntress Managed EDR6.5%
Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting1.7%
Other91.8%
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
 

Featured Reviews

JefferyGiddens - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, Information Technology & Cybersecurity at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Improving alert visibility and reporting has reduced workload and strengthened security posture
Huntress Managed EDR could be improved by providing more visibility into each alert that comes in and what action was taken on it. There have been times when an alert was received through Microsoft Defender indicating an account was accessed, when in reality it was blocked by a conditional access policy, yet when checking the Huntress portal, that event does not appear at all, lacking indication that it was raised and investigated as not a threat. The reporting in Huntress Managed EDR is fairly basic, as the only available report is effectively an executive summary. Although it contains useful information, other platforms have reporting engines that are much more robust and customizable, functionality that appears to be missing in Huntress.
Mondher-Smii - PeerSpot reviewer
Cybersecurity Manager at Insomea
Has supported clients in managing incidents through clear pricing and hybrid deployment options
What really stands out about Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting is that it's easy to use. The cost is clear, and the pricing is transparent. The onboarding of the product on the customer's environment is straightforward. We can use it in a hybrid environment, in the cloud, or on-premise environment. This is the main advantage regarding this product. If it's configured correctly, everything will be good, resilient, and secure, which supports threat mitigation efforts depending on the configuration on the tenant and the parameters on Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting. Threat intelligence updates have some impact on our overall security posture. They give us external eyes regarding threat actors, which is good. It's very helpful to enrich the SIEM, which is Microsoft Sentinel. It's a good feature that we can include threat intel on the product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Huntress Managed EDR is a spectacular solution for the SMB space."
"I think it is honestly the best because of the price point and the value it's giving."
"The customer support provided by Huntress is impeccable. Their product is easy to deploy and manage, and the portal setup for Managed Service Providers is excellent. A lot of companies do not do that very well."
"Huntress' best feature is the threat-hunting expertise that is part of their 24/7 SOC."
"The automatic remediation feature of Huntress Managed EDR is very effective because at midnight, around 2:00 AM, if there is an alert while I am sleeping, I know my organization remains safe."
"The most valuable aspect of Huntress is its 24/7 SOC service."
"Their SOC is super responsive and does a great job of catching incidences and being on top of any issues that arise."
"I would absolutely recommend Huntress to other users. If you are considering it, go for it."
"Easy to use is what my customers say is the biggest benefit of Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting for them."
"What really stands out about Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting is that it's easy to use, the cost is clear, and the pricing is transparent, with straightforward onboarding in hybrid, cloud, or on-premise environments."
"The solution helps to detect some suspicious items for us and our clients."
"What really stands out about Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting is that it's easy to use, the cost is clear, and the pricing is transparent, with straightforward onboarding in hybrid, cloud, or on-premise environments."
"The best feature of this solution is that it is an integrated and comprehensive solution for the entire Microsoft ecosystem."
 

Cons

"Regarding Huntress Managed EDR, they could add more features when compared to another EDR platform, SentinelOne."
"Customer support for Huntress Managed EDR could have been better. Although there is a dedicated representative, after the initial onboarding conversation, there was not much follow-up until renewal came up."
"There are some drawbacks in Huntress Managed EDR, particularly with the security awareness training aspect which is more manual than expected compared to something like KnowBe4."
"Some of Huntress' reporting could be improved."
"I'd like it if Huntress could scan for software that's out of date or has open vulnerabilities. That would be useful for us. Scanning for vulnerable software would be helpful. Also, we've set it up to create a ticket in our ticketing system when there's an alert. It would be nice if closing that ticket would also close the Huntress alert. It doesn't do that right now, but they're working on adding that feature."
"I'd like Huntress to implement a component that can analyze network traffic for specific sites."
"We need an API to automatically retrieve metrics and data about backend activity so we can generate client reports."
"The reporting could be improved by providing a more simplified report that can be easily understood by clients. A way to present the data to the client so they understand its importance would be beneficial."
"There is a lot of change in a small period. This might not be helpful for IT administrators and users."
"The solution’s user interface could be improved."
"There is a lot of change in a small period. This might not be helpful for IT administrators and users."
"We tried the proactive threat hunting feature, but it was not a good experience with Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting. It created more trouble than expected with false positives and non-expected answers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product pricing six out of ten for the Malaysian market. However, I would rate it a three out of ten for the Australian, New Zealand, or Singapore markets."
"The pricing is competitive, in line with Huntress's offerings, and aligns well with our business model."
"Huntress is an easy sell to clients because it does all the heavy lifting. Sometimes, they will buck a little at the price because they want a free antivirus or EDR. We tell them that we use Huntress on all our machines. That is our standard process for all the machines we roll out. When we give that advice, people are pretty willing to say okay."
"The solution is cheap compared to other alternatives. It offers good value for money. For the whole solution, it's up to about five pounds per device per month. Considering what it does, I think that's very good value."
"It works well for an MSP."
"Huntress has a favourable pricing structure, and I appreciate the cost-effectiveness compared to previous solutions."
"The tool’s price is very good. You just need to pay for the standard license. However, you need to pay the additional cost for Microsoft Defender."
"It is fair. They provide good value for the product that they deliver. I have had one price increase in the entire time I have used them. They added a bunch of features and then said that they have to increase our price a little bit. That is a fair way to handle it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
23%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business55
Midsize Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Huntress?
It is very easy to use. It is a great solution. They are one of the better vendors that I have ever worked with since I have been in the industry.
What needs improvement with Huntress?
One downside of Huntress Managed EDR, compared to the CrowdStrike agent, is that it takes a longer time to push it out to all of our endpoints and ensure everything is configured correctly. My team...
What is your primary use case for Huntress?
Our current use cases for Huntress Managed EDR involve replacing CrowdStrike as our endpoint protection in our K-12 school. We use it to ensure that our devices are secure, compliant, and that any ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting?
Microsoft now changes a lot in products, which might be a disadvantage right now. There is a lot of change in a small period. This might not be helpful for IT administrators and users. New features...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting?
Right now we manage some firewalls using Microsoft products. In regard to Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting, I have been working with this product so far. Mainly and basically for incident han...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting?
The pricing, engineers behind Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting, changes, and support services make the difference compared to other products. In terms of pricing, the solution is good, and th...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Huntress Managed EDR vs. Microsoft Defender Experts for Hunting and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.