Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense comparison

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

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Helped 868,787 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 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

5th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (3rd), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)

Trellix Advanced Threat Def...

Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

21st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 6.4%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Advanced Threat Defense is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity	6.4%
Trellix Advanced Threat Defense	2.0%
Other	91.6%

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

Featured Reviews

Peter Arabomen

Security Engineer at Fidelity Bank Plc

Has supported hybrid identity management while integrating well with cloud directory services

The only challenge I have with Microsoft Defender for Identity is the latency. I may not put that entirely on Microsoft, because latency could be network related. At times when trying to authenticate, the prompt is delayed. We tried implementing passwordless authentication, especially for on-premises workloads, but we haven't been able to achieve that. Passwordless authentication is part of the identity functionalities, particularly when it comes to enforcing passwordless for on-premises workloads. In terms of improvements, you can't create OUs on Azure AD. Regarding giving users privileges on what they can do across different OUs, I haven't seen that feature on Microsoft Defender for Identity. Microsoft Defender for Identity needs to be able to plug into third-party applications that are not Microsoft. For instance, with a human resource application used to manage users and leave requests, when staff leaves the organization, they are first exited from that application before AD. Integration between Azure AD and third-party applications would allow automatic syncing when removing staff. The initial setup of Microsoft Defender for Identity is not hard. However, setup is one thing, and getting value from the application end-to-end is another. It can be set up and running from the first day but not functioning optimally. Initially, when we did the setup, it wasn't optimal. Over time, with continuous improvement, which we're still doing, we've gotten to a comfortable level, but there's still room for improvement.

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Philippe Panardie

RSSI at SDIS49

Ensuring long-term reliability while seeking internal email management enhancements

Prisma is a commercial name of the firewall now, but we don't work with the cloud product. Only our company is using it and we do not recommend it to customers. For us, it's transparent because it's a cloud product, so we don't really know the version as it's always updated. We have not had any problem, but it's difficult to report on what's going on because some days they can wash out perhaps 100 mails, and then it's difficult to say how many attacks you have reached. The right email has been washed out and then nobody has complained. We do not use the Threat Visualization feature; as we are in MX, the mail is washed out before it is in the mail inbox of the user, thus avoiding any problem requiring a reservation. In fact, there is no integration with existing security frameworks. The only problem we can have is that as we have no API interface, there is no inspection of internal mail. I rate Trellix Advanced Threat Defense a nine out of ten.

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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

"The most valuable features of Microsoft Defender for Identity include real-time information for threat detection, its inclusion of behavioral analytics, and vulnerability management."

"One of our users had the same password for every personal and company account. That was a problem because she started receiving phishing emails that could compromise all of her accounts. Defender told us that the user was not changing their password."

"The basic security monitoring at its core feature is the most valuable aspect. But also the investigative parts, the historical logging of events over the network are extremely interesting because it gives an in-depth insight into the history of account activity that is really easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to export."

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

"All the integration it has with different Microsoft packages, like Teams and Office, is good."

"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."

"We use AD Connect to sync on-premises AD to Azure AD, and so far, it has been effective."

"This solution has advanced a lot over the last few years."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity pros

"It is stable and reliable."

"The most valuable features are the administration console and its detection and response module."

"Its greatest strength is the DXL client which can rapidly disseminate attack information to all clients via the McAfee Agent instead of going through the ePO server."

"The fact that in 10 years, we have had no problem is the most valuable feature for us; it's really a washing machine, but the only problem we face is that it's difficult to report on this product."

"I recommend this solution because of its ease of use."

"Provides good exfiltration, and is an all-in-one product."

"It is very scalable."

"It stops in excess of twenty-five malware events per month, all of which could be critical to the business."

Cons

"Defender for Identity gives us visibility, but we often get false positives from Azure that take us down the garden path. We go through 30 incidents each day and most of those are false positives or benign positive alerts. Occasionally, we get true positive alerts."

"There is no option to remedy an issue directly from the console. If we see an alert, we can't fix it from the console. Instead, we must depend on other Microsoft products, such as MDE. That is a significant drawback. It simply works as a scanner, which can sometimes put enough load on the sensors. Immediate actions should be possible from the dashboard because. It can prevent issues from spreading further."

"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 could improve how it handles on-premises Android-related attacks."

"The solution could be better at using group-managed access and they could replace it with broad-based access controls."

"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."

"One area that needs improvement is the number of alerts generated, leading to alert fatigue."

"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."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity cons

"We'd like them to be better at dealing with script threats."

"The initial setup was industry standard complex. It takes awhile and has a lot of planning involved. It could be simplified with product redesign."

"This solution needs to be made "cloud ready"."

"There could be a tool that automatically updates all-new Microsoft IPs, which are available for free to connect to the client."

"The only problem we can have is that as we have no API interface, there is no inspection of internal mail."

"Lacks remote capabilities not dependent on the internet."

"I would like to see future versions of the solution incorporate artificial intelligence technology."

"Make the ATD system a part of the whole product and take the whole thing onto the cloud. While it is there already, it is not to the same level as the on-premise version."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

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

"The product is expensive, but it is better than the rest of them in the industry."

"Our licensing fees for this solution are approximately one million dollars per year."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Government

16%

Comms Service Provider

14%

Performing Arts

11%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Identity?

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

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?

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

I've used Microsoft Defender for Identity primarily for provisioning users on Azure AD and Microsoft authentication. For hybrid scenarios, I integrate on-premises AD to Azure AD. We use AD Connect ...

What do you like most about McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

I recommend this solution because of its ease of use.

What needs improvement with McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

I would like to see an API interface for internal email and control of outgoing email to make it closer to 10. It's necessary; today we have an MX interface, and it would be interesting to have an ...

What is your primary use case for McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

We are working with Palo Alto products, specifically firewalls. We are only using Palo Alto Firewalls and not Cortex. With FireEye and Trellix, we only work with ETP now because the NDR function wh...

Microsoft Entra ID Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Identity

Download Microsoft Defender for Identity product report

Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Download Trellix Advanced Threat Defense product report

Also Known As

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

McAfee Advanced Threat Defense

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Identity integrates with Microsoft tools to monitor user activity, providing advanced threat detection and analysis using AI. It enhances proactive threat response and security visibility, making it essential for securing on-premises and cloud environments like Active Directory.

Microsoft Defender for Identity offers comprehensive monitoring and AI-driven user behavior analysis. It detects threats through real-time alerts and identifies lateral movements and entity tagging, ensuring robust security management. With excellent visibility via its dashboard, it supports customized detection rules and seamlessly integrates with SIEM platforms. While SecureScore and SecureScan provide robust environment security, there is room for improvement in cloud security, on-premises application integration, and remediation capabilities. Azure integration is limited, and the administrative interface could be more user-friendly. Users experience frequent false positives, affecting threat detection efficiency.

What key features stand out in Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Integration with Microsoft Tools: Ensures comprehensive protection across environments.
AI-driven Behavior Analysis: Uses artificial intelligence to analyze user actions.
Real-time Threat Detection: Provides immediate alerts to potential threats.
Lateral Movement Identification: Detects unusual lateral access among users.
Dashboards with Visibility: Offers insights into security issues with customization options.
SIEM Integration: Works seamlessly with security information and event management systems.

What benefits should users look for when reviewing Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Enhanced Threat Prioritization: Helps in effective identification and tackling of threats.
Improved Proactive Responses: Facilitates a prompt and efficient response mechanism.
Security Across Environments: Protects both on-premises and cloud-based infrastructures.
Optimized Conditional Access: Manages policies to enhance security protocol efficacy.

In specific industries such as education and finance, Microsoft Defender for Identity is crucial for securing on-premises Active Directory and Azure Active Directory environments. It effectively detects suspicious activities and manages conditional access policies, offering user and entity behavior analytics, endpoint detection and response capabilities. This helps prevent unauthorized access and strengthens overall security, making it an invaluable asset for organizations aiming to safeguard their digital infrastructure.

Microsoft

Powerful advanced threat detection

Uncover Hidden Threats

Combine in-depth static code analysis, dynamic analysis (malware sandboxing), and machine learning to increase zero-day threat and ransomware detection.

Threat Intelligence Sharing

Immediately share threat intelligence across your entire infrastructure—including multi-vendor ecosystems—to reduce time from threat encounter to containment.

Enable Investigation

Validate threats and access critical indicators of compromise (IoCs) needed for investigation and threat hunting.

Trellix

Sample Customers

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

The Radicati Group, Florida International University, MGM Resorts International, County Durham andDarlington NHS Foundation Trust

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Trellix Advanced Threat Defense