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Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence vs VirusTotal comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 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 Threat I...
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th), Microsoft Security Suite (18th)
VirusTotal
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Threat Intelligence Platforms category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is 2.8%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 4.1%, down from 4.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Threat Intelligence Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

Nim Nadarajah - PeerSpot reviewer
A native Microsoft solution the provides great ROI and continuously improves its offering
We have Microsoft bias. We generally don't have any significant negative feedback or improvement points around Defender, EDR and CMDR platforms. It does a good job across the board. The price point is something they can improve slightly for those who don't have an M 365 E5. I believe it's a $2.80 cents add-on. In Canadian, that's expensive. If they can drop it to a dollar, for those who don't have M 365 E5, they're going to open up market share and increase affordability for an entire market segment in the medium business category. Other than that, we have no major negative feedback.
Chinmay Banerjee - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps businesses collect threat data while keeping privacy in mind and apable of detecting, blocking, and removing viruses and malware
There are two gray areas I still need to explore. I have worked with VirusTotal because it easily integrates with over seventy antivirus scanners and blacklisting services. In addition to those there is much scope to improve and add other services or integrations. The areas for improvement are that VirusTotal is not using much AI or generative AI models, while other competitors are starting to build them. For example, VirusTotal's work is based on the setup done by their engineers. If you want to do scanning or protection activities for a specific site, app, or device, that is the area VirusTotal is currently focused on. But other competitors are building AI models that can do things like left-side scanning and provide auto-generated reports. VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved. Secondly, the API is very limited if I want to integrate VirusTotal with other applications. They need to build more connectors and provide support for Webhook connectors for the API. If you can't build your own connector, it's always good to have provisions for Webhook setup connectors across platforms. Thirdly, Kaspersky, a competitor of VirusTotal, is using a methodology called "gatekeeper." A gatekeeper is a security system that protects the inside of a building from outside threats. This is the model Kaspersky is currently using. You have your website set up, but the entire army of VirusTotal or Kaspersky is standing guard, protecting you from the first gate itself. Right now, VirusTotal detects threats from your domain, but it is always better to verify inside the domain and protect it from the first level when people or malware are entering. This first level of protection is lacking in VirusTotal right now. The security bridge and protection gate are missing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product provides efficient email security for sending links and file attachments."
"Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence assesses machines for vulnerabilities and gives remediations."
"The tool can proactively detect potential incidents."
"Offers easy integration with a cloud-based infrastructure"
"The product is useful when the end user downloads malware files."
"Its user-friendliness is its most valuable aspect."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the insight it provides."
"The tool is managed from the cloud, because of which the maintenance is very low."
"It allows us to see if there have been previous reports on certain indicators of compromise, providing insights from other security professionals."
"The most valuable feature is the worldwide malware information database."
"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."
"With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean."
"VirusTotal provides 95% to 98% accurate information."
"It can scan the dark web and find if an email ID has been compromised. This is another area that we have not explored yet."
"VirusTotal provides 95% to 98% accurate information."
"It gives detailed information about suspicious IPs, which is one of its most valuable features."
 

Cons

"The software is expensive."
"I would like for there to be extra confirmation that there aren't viruses. Even if the virus detection software is always running there could be hidden applications that are using the computer."
"The price of the solution is an area of concern where improvements are required. In general, the solution's price needs to be reduced."
"I would like to see more frequent updates, which is always better for security because of daily threats."
"The price could be improved."
"I would like to see more AI features and capabilities."
"Some of the customization features could be improved by providing a portion of it as open source."
"One area where Microsoft Defender could be improved is in its support for non-Microsoft products, particularly for systems running Linux or other open-source platforms across ecosystems."
"VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved."
"I would like to see improved correlation with other threat intelligence sources, not just reliant on its own database, to enhance the database of threat intelligence that VirusTotal offers."
"I would like to see an improved user interface and some automation."
"The platform could improve in the areas of endpoints and networks."
"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."
"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."
"VirusTotal needs better advertisement and promotion, especially in the Middle East, since it is not yet widely recognized or popular in that region."
"VirusTotal has different versions, and sometimes the parameters of the API are not very clear."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is a part of my Microsoft 365 subscription, so there is no additional cost. It is cost-effective."
"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product."
"It's reasonably priced, though there's room for further improvement."
"Microsoft's pricing structure involves annual fees."
"The solution is relatively expensive; however, our status as a gold partner provides us with several complimentary licenses, which offsets the cost."
"I rate the product's price a six or seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap."
"The solution can be licensed, but most users would already have it in their Office 365 license."
"Considering Microsoft is constantly changing licensing, I would give it a seven out of ten. It can be difficult to get your head around it, especially for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."
"The pricing is very economical."
"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Educational Organization
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
8%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
It just runs in the background. I don't have to worry about, making sure it's Intelligence. So, you know, this kind of makes it very easy, have to worry about installing. It is easy to use.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
Some of the customization features could be improved by providing a portion of it as open source. This would allow integration with other solutions, enhancing Threat Intelligence. Providing code cu...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
We are using Microsoft Defender ATP specifically as an email security solution, as well as for our critical servers as a web security solution. We have almost eleven hundred users utilizing it for ...
What do you like most about VirusTotal?
With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VirusTotal?
I do not know about the pricing or licensing as our organization services VirusTotal for our clients.
What needs improvement with VirusTotal?
I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the categ...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence vs. VirusTotal and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.