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Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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)
8th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (5th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)
Trellix Advanced Threat Def...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
23rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 3.6%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Advanced Threat Defense is 2.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity3.6%
Trellix Advanced Threat Defense2.1%
Other94.3%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

OA
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.
PP
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"All the integration it has with different Microsoft packages, like Teams and Office, is good."
"We use AD Connect to sync on-premises AD to Azure AD, and so far, it has been effective."
"It is easy to set up. Based on the number of devices you would like to set up, you can use scripts, Group Policy, etc. It takes five minutes to set up."
"It gives companies a lot of insights that they didn't have before and has increased the security posture significantly."
"The most valuable aspect is its connection to Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Endpoint, and giving exact timelines for incidents and when certain events occured during an incident."
"We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity. I can say it is 100% stable."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity provides excellent visibility into threats by leveraging real-time analytics and data intelligence."
"The solution’s alerting is fairly efficient."
"I recommend this solution because of its ease of use."
"The most valuable features are the administration console and its detection and response module."
"The features I find most valuable are: the management, the ability for automatic remediation of threats and it can successfully detect a threat, and to act upon it."
"It is stable and reliable."
"It is very scalable."
"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."
"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."
"Provides good exfiltration, and is an all-in-one product."
 

Cons

"One area that needs improvement is the number of alerts generated, leading to alert fatigue."
"The documentation provided by Microsoft is often seen as a waste of time."
"One potential area for improvement could be exploring flexibility in the installation of Microsoft Defender for Identity agents."
"The technical support needs significant improvement. Documentation for more minor issues in the form of guides or walkthroughs could help to resolve this issue. The number of tickets raised would decrease, removing some pressure from the support team and making it easier to clear the remaining tickets."
"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."
"When the data leaves the cloud, there are security issues."
"The solution should provide more detailed data regarding anomaly detections."
"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 only problem we can have is that as we have no API interface, there is no inspection of internal mail."
"Make the ATD appliance a part of the whole product offering and take the whole thing onto the cloud."
"This product does the job, but it is not flexible enough to do new environments yet."
"We'd like them to be better at dealing with script threats."
"Some of our customers have mentioned the lack of a tool that would allow for remote capabilities without being attached to the internet."
"This solution needs to be made "cloud ready"."
"We'd like them to be better at dealing with script threats."
"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

"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."
"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."
"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."
"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."
"Our licensing fees for this solution are approximately one million dollars per year."
"The product is expensive, but it is better than the rest of them in the industry."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise5
 

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...
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...
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...
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...
What advice do you have for others considering McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?
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'...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Trellix Advanced Threat Defense and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.