Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Vectra AI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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
4.4
Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective and efficient, offering incident prevention and resolution without complex hardware setups.
Sentiment score
6.9
Vectra AI enhances security efficiency, offers cost savings, improves incident response, and is valued despite challenges in quantifying ROI.
The payback period is roughly six months.
Strategic RAN Lead | Network Transformation & Optimization | Philippines & South Africa at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Opinions on Microsoft Defender for Identity support vary, highlighting responsiveness, but issues include delays, contact challenges, and false positives.
Sentiment score
8.0
Users highly praise Vectra AI's customer service for its knowledgeable, responsive, and proactive support, with effective issue resolution.
Generally, the support is more effective than other providers like Oracle.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
The quality of support is very good, but troubleshooting can take time due to complex setups and the need to provide many logs.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The people I normally use for support are very knowledgeable, especially when they help remote in and get to where I need to go and show me much faster and help me understand what I should be doing.
Technology Coordinator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The support is quite reliable depending on the service engineer assigned.
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
When I create tickets, the response is fast, and issues are solved promptly.
Planning& Performance Analyst at National Information Center, Ministry of Interior, Saudi Arabia
Customer support receives a rating of nine out of ten due to being very supportive and responding quite efficiently.
Strategic RAN Lead | Network Transformation & Optimization | Philippines & South Africa at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Identity efficiently integrates and scales globally, supporting diverse organizational needs within Microsoft’s ecosystem effectively.
Sentiment score
7.3
Vectra AI efficiently scales across large networks with planning, handling vast data traffic and numerous endpoints smoothly with proper infrastructure.
In a Microsoft-centric organization, especially with Azure infrastructure and Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Identity is scalable.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Vectra AI is scalable because it can work through different kinds of solutions and is compatible with all kinds of cloud solutions.
Strategic RAN Lead | Network Transformation & Optimization | Philippines & South Africa at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Defender for Identity is highly reliable, with minimal incidents, seamless operation, and consistent ratings between seven and nine.
Sentiment score
8.0
Vectra AI is stable with rare downtime, quick bug fixes, and easy monitoring despite occasional throughput-related slowness.
Microsoft Defender for Identity is quite robust and built on Azure hyperscale infrastructure, with a 99% availability.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity.
Deputy Manager at Servion Global Solutions
Having recently started using it, reliability is affirmed, but manual investigation is often performed to verify if alerts identified by auto-remediation are accurate.
Instrumentation Engineer at Toyo Engineering Corp
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Identity users seek improved cloud integration, user-friendly features, better support, and streamlined processes for enhanced threat management.
Vectra AI should improve integration, reporting, orchestration, reduce false positives, enhance accuracy, flexibility, and refine pricing and documentation.
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.
CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed
One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
Reducing false positives is something we've been working on with Microsoft.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
ExtraHop's ability to decrypt encrypted data is a feature that Vectra AI lacks.
Planning& Performance Analyst at National Information Center, Ministry of Interior, Saudi Arabia
You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end.
Owner at Fortibits
All threats, including hacking attempts, should be comprehensively addressed.
Consultant at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective with E5 licenses despite complex pricing and competitive against other security solutions.
Vectra AI pricing is seen as high but justified by its robust features, though expensive for some, like schools.
If they can reduce the costs, organizations will be happy, and it will compensate for using the Azure environment, which is more expensive on the infrastructure as a service side.
CyberSecurity Engineer | Information Security Management at Self Employed
Ensuring a fair price according to market standards.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
From an organization perspective, using E5 licenses is value for money, especially if Azure and Office 365 are already in use.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Vectra is cheaper in terms of pricing and features compared to Darktrace.
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
Owner at Fortibits
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Identity integrates with Azure to offer comprehensive threat detection, identity protection, and advanced real-time security insights.
Vectra AI excels in AI-driven threat detection, risk scoring, and seamless integration while enhancing visibility and handling high-risk behaviors.
We receive an advance report of risky users, allowing us to take preemptive action before an attack causes damage to organization details.
Instrumentation Engineer at Toyo Engineering Corp
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.
Owner at Alopex ONE UG
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.
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Our company used Vectra AI to detect the malicious threats and viruses before they could cause more damage, and we successfully stopped the threats.
Consultant at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Alert noise was dramatically reduced by nearly 80%, allowing SOC analysts to focus more on true threats, which made them more productive and resulted in higher operational efficiency.
Strategic RAN Lead | Network Transformation & Optimization | Philippines & South Africa at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
There are extensive out-of-box detection capabilities.
Owner at Fortibits
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Iden...
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
Vectra AI
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 11.1%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Vectra AI is 2.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity11.1%
Vectra AI2.7%
Other86.2%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
 

Featured Reviews

RK
Cloud Security & Governance at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Protect on-premises and hybrid environments with advanced threat detection and seamless integration
Our Active Directory implementation is a hybrid one. 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 identifies lateral movements, privilege escalations, and alerts on potential attacks. The tool is also used for security posture assessment. The seamless integration with other Microsoft solutions within our Microsoft-centric environment is also a major advantage.
RR
Consultant at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
Threat detection has improved and malicious emails are now identified quickly
Vectra AI offers artificial intelligence capabilities with visibility that can be integrated into our day-to-day operations and other tools, including malware detection tools and cyber threat tools. Vectra AI has positively impacted my organization. Last year while using it, we received many malicious email threats and virus incidents, including a trojan virus that had reportedly been deployed by someone. Our company used Vectra AI to detect the malicious threats and viruses before they could cause more damage, and we successfully stopped the threats. Using Vectra AI, I notice that server downtime has decreased significantly. We now experience only two to three hours of downtime, whereas without Vectra AI and other tools, our downtime would exceed 48 to 72 hours.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise29
 

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 is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Vectra AI?
The solution is currently used as a central threat detection and response system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vectra AI?
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
Vectra Networks, Vectra AI NDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Tribune Media Group, Barry University, Aruba Networks, Good Technology, Riverbed, Santa Clara University, Securities Exchange, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Vectra AI and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.