Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business

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Helped 868,759 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

6.8

Microsoft Defender boosts productivity and security, integrating seamlessly with Office tools for significant budget savings despite ROI challenges.

Sentiment score

6.7

Microsoft Defender XDR provides high ROI by consolidating security tools, streamlining operations, and enhancing security, despite licensing costs.

Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.

Amit-Granot

Works

We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

Ever since we turned on the M5 feature set back in June, we have seen a reduced number of potentially malicious clicks and faster alerting when incidents occur.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.5

Users have mixed reviews of Microsoft Defender's support, noting contact difficulties and inconsistent technical assistance despite good onboarding.

Sentiment score

6.2

Microsoft Defender XDR's support is timely and responsive, yet smaller organizations experience slower, less effective assistance than larger ones.

It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.

Anat Garty

Chief Cybersecurity Architect at cytek-security

Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.

Amit-Granot

Works

You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.

Darrell Carr

Enterprise Application Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.

Ankit-Joshi

Cyber Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

8.3

Microsoft Defender for Business is scalable and effective across diverse environments, though special configurations might impact growth speed.

Sentiment score

7.6

Microsoft Defender XDR scales well for various organizations, efficiently supporting growth and flexibility despite some network deployment challenges.

The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

It is suitable for enterprise-level deployment but has room for improvement.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Security manager at Accenture

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Microsoft Defender for Business is stable and reliable, with minimal crashes, but some report occasional bugs impacting stability.

Sentiment score

8.0

Microsoft Defender XDR is praised for high stability, reliable performance, minimal issues, frequent updates, and prompt issue resolution.

No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.

Amit-Granot

Works

I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

It provides high-fidelity signals.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Business needs better reporting, integration, simplified interface, and enhanced features to address various limitations and concerns.

Microsoft Defender XDR requires enhancements in speed, integration, automation, AI, ease-of-use, and industry-specific threat intelligence.

Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.

KiranKumar17

CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.

Wondimu Almu

Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security

The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.

reviewer2595324

Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.

Security manager at Accenture

Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Business offers competitive pricing with enterprise value, though some users find costs high compared to competitors.

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is seen as complex but fair, with high costs alleviated in bundled Microsoft 365 packages.

Single-year pricing remains good.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.

KiranKumar17

CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.

Clay Bowlin

Director, Sales at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Security manager at Accenture

Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Business integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, offering comprehensive security, scalability, and user-friendly features for effective threat management.

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates tools for comprehensive security, offering threat detection, automation, identity protection, and enhanced efficiency.

The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.

Wondimu Almu

Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security

Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.

Security manager at Accenture

This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.

A Roy

Works at Hometrack

Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

15th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (18th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 3.5%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 6.6%, up from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	6.6%
Microsoft Defender for Business	3.5%
Other	89.9%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

Product deployment protects assets but needs improvement in system support

I am doing maintenance for Microsoft Defender for Business, and I'm currently working with it. We don't need to use the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Business. We still use the latest virus definition file that Microsoft Defender for Business has automatically updated. We implement a basic update mechanism. Our compliance division manages how many servers and PCs we have and whether those servers have antivirus solutions. I am not certain about how Microsoft Defender for Business helps with AI-driven security strategies. I just use it normally and don't know if it uses AI technology. I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a six out of ten.

Read full review

MohtesanShaikh

Business Development Executive at TechnoFirrm

Experience improves security management and simplifies threat protection

I have created automated investigations, and while they work, they operate rather slowly in the Microsoft portal. If I automate something, it takes considerable time; if I do it manually, I can complete it in a quarter of the time. The automation response being slow is the main concern; when an incident occurs or if I run a remediation, it takes significant time to complete the remediation. There are some limitations regarding the scalability of Microsoft Defender XDR with specific licensing. For SMB customers, there is only Microsoft Defender for Business, and if they want more features such as XDR features and automation investigation or incident response, they need to purchase Defender for Endpoint. We are currently using the EDR.

Read full review

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868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Retailer

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	37

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?

A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...

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

Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?

Microsoft Defender for Business could improve by offering more of their offerings available in the basic tenants since not everyone has a budget for higher-level licenses, but everyone needs securi...

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

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

The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Comparisons

Compared 19% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 15% of the time

Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Suites vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 7% of the time

Norton Small Business vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 5% of the time

ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Business Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Business

Download Microsoft Defender for Business product report

Microsoft Defender XDR

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.

Microsoft

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

Information Not Available

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

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Business