Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management comparison

Microsoft Defender for Identity and Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Microsoft Defender for Identity is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.7, while Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft Defender for Identity holds a 5.5% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft Defender for Identity users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender for Iden...

Read 28 Microsoft Defender for Identity reviews

6,602 Views
3,169 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Purview Insider R...

Read 5 Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management reviews

2,315 Views
602 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender for Iden...

Microsoft Purview Insider R...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender for Identity and Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Microsoft Security Suite solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

February 2026

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Helped 884,933 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

Microsoft Defender for Iden...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

5th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)

Microsoft Purview Insider R...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

28th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Insider Risk Management (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 5.5%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management is 2.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity	5.5%
Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management	2.5%
Other	92.0%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Oluwa Adetunji

CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed

Automation and threat intelligence streamline threat response and user management

In Microsoft Defender for Identity, I would appreciate improvements in providing information on conditional access. They have added more control that can be put in place, which was not present years ago. They have also integrated Azure Information Protection where policies can be configured. The Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) allows users to reset their passwords, which is a valuable tool for remote workers. They have added more features into conditional access that integrate with other components, including SSPR and Identity Information Protection, trusted IPs, and locations. These configurations in trusted IP addresses are integrated into conditional access and control the applications I want to secure. Regarding impossible travel scenarios, I can either block the user or grant access while requesting multi-factor authentication. They should improve the automation for impossible travel detection. When connected to Wi-Fi and then to VPN, the system sometimes interprets the IP address change as impossible travel. If Microsoft could develop a feature that indicates when impossible travel is caused by VPN connections, it would prevent unnecessary password resets and session disruptions, especially for VIP users in organizations.

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Karthik Ekambaram

Director at Scybers

Have consistently built secure internal environments while implementing compliance tools for diverse customer needs

The customizable alerts system needs improvement. The detection rules are not extensive enough. There should be more possibilities for creating alerts based on additional criteria. While rules can be customized, the available criteria for creating detection rules should be expanded. Microsoft's pricing is very expensive. The Business Premium offering should be extended to enterprise customers, as it's currently limited to 300 users. There should be a tier below E5 that includes Microsoft Purview and other features. Currently, E5 licensing costs approximately 6,000 INR per user per month including taxes. Competitive solutions offer similar functionality at about 50% of Microsoft's cost. Email DLP is included in Business Premium or P1 licenses, while P2 licenses cover endpoint DLP and additional channels. Microsoft should introduce an intermediate tier below E5 that covers all P1 licenses, as customers often need coverage across the entire M365 suite.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender for Identity provides excellent visibility into threats by leveraging real-time analytics and data intelligence."

"The best feature is security monitoring, which detects and investigates suspicious user activities. It can easily detect advanced attacks based on the behavior. The credentials are securely stored, so it reduces the risk of compromise. It will monitor user behavior based on artificial intelligence to protect the identities in your organization. It will even help secure the on-premise Active Directory. It syncs from the cloud to on-premise, and on-premise modifications will be reflected in the cloud."

"The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks."

"It automates routine testing and helps automate the finding of high-value alerts."

"The most valuable feature is its hybrid artificial intelligence, which gathers forensic data to track and counteract security threats, much like the CSI series in effect."

"The solution offers excellent visibility into threats."

"I recommend Microsoft Defender for Identity because it is easy to implement."

"I would rate Microsoft Defender for Identity at nine out of ten."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity pros

"Insider Risk Management's graphing is highly specific and useful. You can see the last six months of data for the Microsoft tenant. You can easily find what you need. For example, you can filter for alerts about devices, emails, etc."

"The best thing about Purview is that it's easy to integrate with our day-to-day environment. We have Active Directory, and Word and Excel. Using a third-party vendor and trying to integrate with our existing environment would be much more challenging."

"An example of how these features from Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management have benefited my organization is that we recently discovered a foreign actor, someone from North Korea took a job at our company and was pretending to be an employee, and with Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management, they notified us of that problem and we were able to remediate the fact that we had a North Korean spy working for us."

"Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management was helpful in performing investigations after alerts were received."

"The scoring mechanism is exceptional because it eliminates the need to reinvent criteria for identifying risks, misconfigurations, or vulnerabilities."

Cons

"An area for improvement is the administrative interface. It's basic compared to other administrative centers. They could make it more user-friendly and easier to navigate."

"One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform to promptly alert affected users and their friends."

"Microsoft should look at what competing vendors like CrowdStrike and Broadcom are doing and incorporate those features into Sentinel and Defender. At the same time, I think the intelligence inside the product is improving fast. They should incorporate more zero-trust and hybrid trust approaches. They need to build up threat intelligence based on threats and methods used in attacks on other companies."

"Fixing the solution isn't very seamless."

"They should improve the automation for impossible travel detection. When connected to Wi-Fi and then to VPN, the system sometimes interprets the IP address change as impossible travel."

"We observe a lot of false positives. Sometimes, when we go for a coffee break, we lock our screens. Locking the screen has a separate Windows event ID and sometimes I see it is detected as a failed login."

"The solution should provide more detailed data regarding anomaly detections."

"The documentation provided by Microsoft is often seen as a waste of time."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity cons

"My experience with the deployment of Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management was a fifty-fifty situation because we have a very diverse network, and not all of it is on Microsoft products."

"For certain things, you need to install an agent. I understand it's for integrity, but if there could be a clientless solution for certain aspects, it would make life easier."

"Microsoft's pricing is very expensive. The Business Premium offering should be extended to enterprise customers, as it's currently limited to 300 users."

"The reporting capabilities sometimes leave a little to be desired. It could be improved in terms of producing reports to provide information to the C-suite or others."

"The user interface also isn't user-friendly. When we introduce Insider Risk Management to our clients, they often find it difficult to understand. There is too much information, and the UI is not scalable. Also, entry-level IT technicians are not always interested in learning something new. It should be clearer and easier to understand."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."

"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."

"You won't be able to change your tenants from where you deploy them. For example, if you select Canada, they will charge you based on Canadian pricing. If you are also in London, when you deploy in Canada, the pound is higher than Canadian dollars, but your platform resources are billable in Canadian dollars. Using your pounds to pay for any of these things will be cheaper. Or, if you deploy in London, they will charge you based on your local currency."

"The product is costly, and we had multiple discussions with accounting to receive a discounted rate. However, on the open market, the tool is expensive."

"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	14

No data available

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?

I really would have to sit down to think about how Microsoft Defender for Identity can be improved. I didn't take stock in what needs to be improved because I appreciated having the tools right the...

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What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Identity include Conditional Access, checking risky users, remediating risky users, and user sign-ins. I can easily remediate or determine what the user...

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What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Identity?

I don't really use Microsoft Defender for Identity a lot because my new role doesn't allow me to take time to do so. I don't really use the threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender for Ide...

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What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management?

I feel Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management can be improved by being able to identify patterns and practices of users to determine whether or not they fit the normal use case of a developer, a...

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What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management?

My main use cases involve identifying issues related to problems with the current software deployments and whether or not it is being utilized correctly.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management?

My advice to another organization that is considering using Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management is to make sure they plan out their deployment very carefully because the biggest sticking poin...

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Comparisons

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 7% of the time

BloodHound Enterprise vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 5% of the time

Huntress Managed ITDR vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Identity Competitors

Splunk User Behavior Analytics vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Compared 17% of the time

Dtex Systems vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Compared 12% of the time

Netskope Advanced Analytics vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Compared 7% of the time

Varonis Platform vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Compared 7% of the time

Anzenna vs Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Identity

March 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Identity product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

March 2026

Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management report

Download Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management product report

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity

Microsoft Insider Risk Management

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Identity offers real-time threat detection and protection for hybrid Active Directory environments. It integrates with Microsoft 365 components for seamless security and monitors advanced behaviors, enhancing identity protection across cloud and on-premises environments.

Microsoft Defender for Identity provides detailed threat insights and user behavior analytics to detect unauthorized access and notify anomalies. It allows setting custom detection rules, enhancing threat response automation. While it needs improvements in cloud security, SIEM integration, and access controls, users leverage its ability to mitigate identity threats like suspicious logins and ransomware. Enhanced integration with Microsoft security products ensures a coordinated threat response for identity control and privilege management.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Active Directory Federation: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365 for comprehensive security.
Real-time Security Monitoring: Provides immediate insights into advanced user behaviors and potential threats.
Threat Insights: Delivers detailed analysis of threats with the ability to customize detection rules.
User Behavior Analytics: Analyzes user activities to detect anomalies and potential risks.
Identity Protection: Offers comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments.

What benefits should users expect from reviews of Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Unauthorized Access Prevention: Identifies potential unauthorized activities with advanced detection mechanisms.
Anomaly Notification: Alerts users to unexpected activities within their environments.
Threat Response Automation: Facilitates rapid response to threats with automated solutions.
Enhanced Cloud Security: Strengthens identity management across hybrid and cloud frameworks.

In specific industries, organizations implement Microsoft Defender for Identity to secure on-premises and hybrid Active Directory environments through user and entity behavior analytics, malicious activity detection, and integration with Microsoft security tools. This approach enhances security posture assessment and helps mitigate identity threats like identity harvesting and unauthorized access.

Microsoft

Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management helps organizations identify and manage potential internal threats by utilizing advanced analytics and insights to minimize risk.

With a focus on addressing internal threats, Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management employs sophisticated analytics to proactively detect and manage risks. It offers context-rich insights to protect data, helping businesses maintain compliance and safeguard their information. By implementing mechanisms to predict potential risks, it aids in preventing data loss and ensures that sensitive information remains secure.

What are the most important features of Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management?

Advanced Analytics: Provides in-depth analysis to detect suspicious activities within the organization.
Data Protection: Ensures sensitive data security with robust preventive measures.
Risk Insights: Delivers actionable insights to help mitigate potential insider threats.
Compliance Support: Assists organizations in maintaining compliance with industry regulations.

What benefits should businesses expect from Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management?

Efficient Risk Mitigation: Streamlines identifying and addressing insider threats, saving time and resources.
Enhanced Data Security: Protects sensitive data, reducing the likelihood of data breaches.
Better Decision Making: Offers insights that help organizations make informed decisions about security protocols.

In industries like finance and healthcare, where data sensitivity is critical, adopting Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management can be crucial. For example, financial institutions utilize this tool to detect and mitigate fraudulent activities, while healthcare providers leverage its capabilities to protect patient data, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations. Its implementation varies across industries but consistently focuses on securing valuable information and reducing risk exposure.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

February 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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