Microsoft Defender for Business vs Microsoft Sentinel comparison

Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Microsoft Sentinel

December 2025

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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

6.1

Microsoft Defender for Business improves security, enhances productivity, and reduces costs but may have delays in financial returns.

Sentiment score

6.7

Microsoft Sentinel enhances ROI with automation, boosts productivity, lowers costs, and improves security through efficient integration and faster responses.

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

If a customer is already using Microsoft’s ecosystem, the ROI can be positive due to seamless integration.

Reviewer 911

senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Our MTTR, mean time to response, improved by forty to fifty percent. Earlier, medium-severity incidents took two to three hours to resolve. Now, after Microsoft Sentinel, it is forty to fifty-five minutes.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

We attribute our growth to Sentinel.

Jack Deehan

Chief Commercial Officer at defend

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.2

Microsoft Defender for Business support is efficient but inconsistent, with variable responsiveness and differing opinions on staff knowledge and resolution times.

Sentiment score

6.5

Microsoft Sentinel support is praised for quick, knowledgeable responses, with higher satisfaction in premium plans despite some documentation challenges.

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

Their solutions' integration simplifies resolving issues compared to those caused by third-party products.

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IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE

Microsoft invests significantly in support, which is crucial for companies.

Juan Panas

Director de Microsoft y Transformación Digital at Compucad

Working with a Sentinel engineer helped us tune settings effectively.

Jonathan Melara

Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.6

Microsoft Defender for Business offers scalable, cloud-driven security for diverse organizations, adaptable to various configurations and endpoint quantities.

Sentiment score

7.7

Microsoft Sentinel offers scalable, cloud-based operations with seamless Azure integration, emphasizing elasticity and cost considerations for effective data management.

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

Office 365 and Exchange are running on it, covering about 35,000 users efficiently.

IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE

There is no need to add hardware or redesign infrastructure because it is cloud-native.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

As our organization uses Microsoft Azure and Defender, everything grows together, and we can integrate various features seamlessly.

Jonathan Melara

Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Microsoft Defender for Business is highly rated for stability, despite minor errors and complexity issues not significantly impacting confidence.

Sentiment score

7.8

Microsoft Sentinel is reliable with 99.9% uptime, minor glitches, and minimal maintenance thanks to its managed service aspect.

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

So far, we have not experienced any issues, and it has been stable from the beginning.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE

In the past two years, our team hasn't encountered any issues with the stability of Microsoft Sentinel from an operations perspective.

Ivan Angelov

Project Executive at synergyc

I need to be aware of deprecated connectors as they may disconnect, but the data continues to be sent with a need for quick adaptation.

Reviewer 911

senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Business needs improved reporting, threat protection, support, and integration, with attention to pricing and update communication.

Users seek better integration, documentation, user-friendliness, AI, automation, and transparency in Microsoft Sentinel for improved threat management.

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

Log ingestion and retention costs can grow quickly, and understanding which data source is driving cost is not always straightforward.

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

We have some tools, such as our off-site Meraki firewalls, that have not fully integrated with Sentinel.

Jonathan Melara

Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees

Currently, we are happy to have a way in the middle with not so much cost, but it would be nice to have the ability to enhance the automation of workflows based on learned incidents.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Business offers integrated security in Office 365, with competitive pricing but some note higher costs than competitors.

Microsoft Sentinel's pricing is flexible yet costly, requiring optimization and integration to maximize cost-effectiveness for data management.

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

It has been beneficial that Microsoft Sentinel is included as part of the Microsoft package, making it more cost-effective.

reviewer2778465

Senior System Administrator at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees

Microsoft Sentinel is not a low-cost SIEM.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

Microsoft Sentinel offers more capabilities than Bastion, with a more intuitive experience.

Ivan Angelov

Project Executive at synergyc

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Business provides robust, scalable security with seamless Azure integration and effective threat management at a cost-effective price.

Microsoft Sentinel excels in integration, AI, scalability, automation, and user experience, with powerful threat detection and response features.

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

Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources and its detection capabilities are essential.

reviewer2700180

Cost Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Sentinel has improved cost efficiency, which is one of the key areas we're able to win business against the ability to have threat intelligence.

Jack Deehan

Chief Commercial Officer at defend

Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources enhances our threat detection capabilities beyond what is a simple data lake solution by filtering out the noise and consolidating the signal down to a meaningful level that is easier to investigate and see.

Rob Wille

Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Sentinel report

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (18th)

Microsoft Sentinel

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

104

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (4th), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (1st), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 3.5%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Sentinel is 4.7%, down 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 Sentinel	4.7%
Microsoft Defender for Business	3.5%
Other	91.8%

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

Centralized monitoring has improved threat response but cost control still needs refinement

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

Based on real operations used in our corporate IT environment, the key features include log correlation and incident view. Microsoft Sentinel's biggest strength is how it correlates multiple related alerts into a single incident. This significantly reduces alert noise and helps the SOC focus on real threats instead of isolated events. Another valuable feature is KQL-based threat hunting with Kusto Query Language. The flexibility of this language allows us to build custom hunting queries based on our environment's behavior. This is extremely useful for detecting low and slow threats or hidden threats that default rules may miss. Cloud-native scalability and stability is another important feature. Being cloud-native, Microsoft Sentinel scales well for medium to large corporate environments without infrastructure management. Stability has been solid in day-to-day production. SOAR automation using playbooks is a feature we highly recommend. Microsoft Sentinel's SOAR functionality helps automate repetitive SOC tasks like alert enrichment and notification. This saves analyst time and improves response consistency.

Read full review

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881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

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	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	38
Midsize Enterprise	22
Large Enterprise	45

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 advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Business?

I would rate this product an eight out of ten.

Is there a common threat intelligence tool that aggregates multiple threat intelligence sources?

Yes, Azure Sentinel is a SIEM on the Cloud. Multiple data sources can be uploaded and analyzed with Azure Sentinel and its Threat Hunting functionality with AI available as templates or customized ...

What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?

It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingestion of anything, but the charge per GB/Day Indexed and it gets expensive as log ...

Which is better - Azure Sentinel or AWS Security Hub?

We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel is auto-scaling - you will not have to worry about performance impact, you will...

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business

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Compared 17% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Microsoft Sentinel

Compared 6% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs Microsoft Sentinel

Compared 5% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Sentinel

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Sentinel

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Business

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Business product report

Download Microsoft Sentinel product report

Microsoft Sentinel

January 2026

Also Known As

No data available

Azure Sentinel

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 Sentinel is a scalable, cloud-native, security information event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automated response (SOAR) solution that lets you see and stop threats before they cause harm. Microsoft Sentinel delivers intelligent security analytics and threat intelligence across the enterprise, providing a single solution for alert detection, threat visibility, proactive hunting, and threat response. Eliminate security infrastructure setup and maintenance, and elastically scale to meet your security needs—while reducing IT costs. With Microsoft Sentinel, you can:

- Collect data at cloud scale—across all users, devices, applications, and infrastructure, both on-premises and in multiple clouds

- Detect previously uncovered threats and minimize false positives using analytics and unparalleled threat intelligence from Microsoft

- Investigate threats with AI and hunt suspicious activities at scale, tapping into decades of cybersecurity work at Microsoft

- Respond to incidents rapidly with built-in orchestration and automation of common tasks

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Microsoft Sentinel is trusted by companies of all sizes including ABM, ASOS, Uniper, First West Credit Union, Avanade, and more.