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Microsoft Defender for Business vs Microsoft Entra Workload ID comparison

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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

Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (12th)
Microsoft Entra Workload ID
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
29th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (21st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 2.5%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra Workload ID is 1.2%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Business2.5%
Microsoft Entra Workload ID1.2%
Other96.3%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

YusufBuhari - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of IT Security at Dangote Industries Limited
Unified defenses have strengthened threat hunting and automated incident disruption
I see room for improvement in Microsoft Defender for Business, particularly regarding the consolidation of all security solutions in one place and the integration of AI and data security into the same platform. I want to see more organized asset inventory, including identities, cloud resources, and various network devices. While there has been innovation from Microsoft, I am concerned about the lack of risk quantification across all major security solutions, including Microsoft's. Risk quantification is essential for CISOs to assess, communicate, and translate security risks into financial impacts, which is a challenge for many security leaders today. I would like to see a clear path for prioritization of risks within Microsoft Defender for Business, especially around vulnerability management. Even though there are features to prioritize remediation of risks based on exploitability, it could be more organized. A clearer structure for prioritizing remediation of risks would help manage them more effectively, as it is impractical to address all risks simultaneously.
reviewer2772159 - PeerSpot reviewer
Postdoctoral Researcher at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Have experienced ongoing challenges integrating with existing workflows despite strong foundational capabilities
I don't know how I would assess the impact of AI-powered threat detection for us. It has helped with security operations in general; I'm being very cagey here, Damian. You can understand why. Where I work, there is a directory services team. There is a security team. The security team may have several different departments in there. I think they are behind the times. That's about as far as what I would say. We may have the modern firewalls and detections and all the rest of it, but I think from a modern way of working, which the identity is a user which is any device, any place, anywhere, from anything, okay, securely, they're not quite up with that concept, in my opinion. The review rating is 8.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I haven't had any problems with the tool's stability."
"Everything is stable. There have been no technical errors or stability issues."
"The security features in Microsoft Defender for Business that have been most effective for our company include the way it's built-in and intertwined into all the operating systems, giving us a good opportunity to holistically block things for the organization using that tenant."
"The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks."
"Microsoft Defender for Business stands out due to its ease of use, particularly due to the fact that many of my customers already use Microsoft and Azure."
"Microsoft Defender for Business is good for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers solid security flexibility and integration with tools like Microsoft Lighthouse and some other software. It takes some of the features of Defender for Endpoint EDR and provides those services for small and medium-sized business environments."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its central console."
"Defender's main strength is its integration with Microsoft Sentinel, offering valuable insights."
"The product enables organizations to synchronize users to Microsoft 365 products."
"I would evaluate the customer service or technical support with Microsoft for Entra products as well; we are a strategic partner, so we're one of 500 companies that can talk to them directly."
"We have various options available with Microsoft Entra, such as B2B cross-tenant guest member accesses, and we can invite users and perform activities from that area, while we are also dealing with Azure IaaS, infrastructure as a service, which has different IAM platforms existing with resources or subscriptions."
 

Cons

"I am not satisfied with Microsoft's technical support. There are challenges with the knowledge and experience of the support staff, frequent redirection between departments, and slow response times."
"Threat protection could be improved even though it is already a built-in feature."
"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"Technical support could be faster to respond."
"The security could always be improved."
"The biggest one is that Defender needs to be more proactive to the emerging threats. There can be tighter integration with email, especially how it integrates with our email system, which is the Microsoft Outlook suite. There should be the ability to react a lot quicker to emerging threats because sometimes, it takes a few days before some of these new threats are fully identified, and we need that to be a few hours."
"The technical support from Microsoft is very poor. I would rate it a one, as their technical staff are very junior and take a long time to respond to simple questions."
"The user interface has a lot of features which can make it complex and hard to adapt to for some users."
"Integration with existing IAM solutions has not helped our identity management processes; it's all of the things that are in front of Directory and Entra, such as SalePoint and other toolsets, give us one of the worst identity experiences I think I've ever come across, which is why I'm trying to change it."
"Integration with other products must be made easier."
"In my opinion, Microsoft Entra Workload ID can be improved in several ways."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."
"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."
"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."
"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."
"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
I see room for improvement in Microsoft Defender for Business, particularly regarding the consolidation of all security solutions in one place and the integration of AI and data security into the s...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
In my opinion, Microsoft Entra Workload ID can be improved in several ways.Particularly about Microsoft Entra Workload ID, I think they still could improve categorization, which still has some room...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
I'm a consultant and not using the products myself, but rather in a capacity more as a consultant or reseller.I am not familiar with remote access products by ManageEngine. I do not use ManageEngin...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra Workload ID?
I'm working on that area while still looking for a new solution or already using ManageEngine Password Manager or Microsoft Entra ID.I've been dealing both with ManageEngine and Microsoft. I am mos...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Microsoft Entra Workload ID and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.