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Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs Tenable Security Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 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
4.9
Determining ROI for Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is challenging due to service bundling and mixed-use of other products.
Sentiment score
6.5
Tenable Security Center boosts ROI by minimizing costs, enhancing security, reducing manpower needs, and preventing costly data breaches.
Organizations typically do not rely solely on Microsoft products to avoid putting all eggs in one basket, which presents a challenge for maximizing ROI.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
As a Microsoft partner, we receive significant discounts, making the solution affordable for us.
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
If we cannot adjust how to operate the solution, then it becomes very difficult, so hearing and initial tuning are very important.
Marketing Expert at J's communication
Through the use of Tenable Security Center, my clients achieve more efficient patching and gain visibility and understanding of security operations, leading to improved resilience and infrastructure insight.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender's support is praised for expertise but criticized for communication delays and varying service quality.
Sentiment score
7.4
Tenable Security Center customer support is responsive and knowledgeable, with U.S. support rated higher than the European counterpart.
They are sometimes responsive, however, often issues cannot be reproduced on their end, making it challenging.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
The support we receive from Microsoft is declining, and for example, after taking advanced support, we have not received satisfactory answers.
Microsoft Solutions Manager at Self-Employed
They are familiar with Microsoft products but are not direct Microsoft staff, which is an area needing improvement.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Longer response times and less thorough assistance.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
They are helpful and were very helpful to us, coordinating with us on several issues.
Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender excels in scalability and integration but faces documentation and on-premise infrastructure challenges across industries.
Sentiment score
8.0
Tenable Security Center is praised for its seamless scalability, adaptability, and integration, accommodating diverse organizational needs and sizes effectively.
The integration is straightforward for those who understand it, though documentation needs improvement.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
It is scalable; I evaluated the product and decided to use Defender on over 700 of our company servers.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
I can scale it extensively with the use of agents, allowing scanning in restrictive environments and loosely connected devices.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
Scalability is a bit limited with Tenable Security Center.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime, despite minor resource-related and compatibility issues.
Sentiment score
8.0
Tenable Security Center is highly stable and reliable, handling large tasks efficiently with users rating its stability highly.
There are compatibility issues occasionally arising with false positives when other security tools are not whitelisted in Microsoft Defender.
information Security and IT Manager at Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd.
It is very resource-intensive, consuming a lot of memory and CPU.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
If Microsoft experiences downtime, this solution goes down as it is a SaaS-based solution where we have no control.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The stability of the solution is outstanding.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender needs better false positive reduction, integration, cost management, risk scoring, and documentation for small enterprises.
Users desire improved reporting, third-party integration, interface design, vulnerability handling, web scanning, pricing, support, and user-friendly features.
This scoring should be for specific industries as well. If I belong to the healthcare industry using Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, it should provide me with a risk score and show how I fare against the risk score of my industry.
DGM. Technical Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
A vulnerability I patch within 15 minutes takes 24 additional hours for an update.
information Security and IT Manager at Discover Dollar Technologies Pvt Ltd.
The product is not stable; it often uses excessive memory and CPU, which makes it slow.
Security Specialist at Prudential Systems Japan
It's important for Tenable to catch up on testing capabilities that are present in solutions like Qualys.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
The reports and plugins for reports and scans could benefit from enhancements.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Translating reports into European languages is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management provides economical tiered pricing with P1 and P2 options, often included in existing bundles.
Tenable Security Center is costly per asset, with options including subscription and perpetual licenses, generally pricier than competitors.
Overall, every organization wishes for cheaper options, but we look at the security side as well, so we are good for now.
Senior Cloud Security Consultant at MetLife
For non-partners, however, the cost could be seen as higher, between seven to ten.
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
The pricing is reasonable, and it's included in the whole Microsoft E5 bundle, so it's all-inclusive.
Corporate Planner at MISC Berhad
The product is somewhat pricey, reflecting its valuable features and status as a high-quality solution in the vulnerability management market.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Tenable Security Center is quite expensive, particularly for the CEE region, causing us to lose cases due to its pricing.
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.
Marketing Expert at J's communication
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender excels in compliance, real-time assessments, risk prioritization, integration, asset discovery, and continuous monitoring for enhanced security management.
Tenable Security Center offers comprehensive vulnerability management with intuitive tools, strong integration, and flexible compliance for effective threat detection.
The main advantage of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is that it can locate and prevent most threats even when the endpoints are not connected to the corporate network, as long as the internet is available.
DGM. Technical Security at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
The feature for customizing to region-specific and domain-specific requirements in healthcare is particularly beneficial.
Cloud Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
The most valuable aspect is the kind of assessment results I get, and the recommendations provided in Microsoft products really help in taking care of the resources.
Senior Cloud Security Consultant at MetLife
We obtained good reports showing when patches were closed and the details of each patch, including who executed it and everything related to the patching process until it was closed.
Head of Information Security at a consultancy with 1,001-5,000 employees
Tenable Security Center provides an overall score of vulnerabilities, comparing an organization with others in the same industry.
IT Helpdesk at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
The most effective feature of Tenable Security Center for detecting vulnerabilities is its capability for critical mapping.
Cyber Security Consultant at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender Vulnerab...
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
12th
Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (18th), Microsoft Security Suite (19th)
Tenable Security Center
Ranking in Vulnerability Management
6th
Ranking in Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Risk-Based Vulnerability Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management is 7.1%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tenable Security Center is 9.0%, down from 17.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Tenable Security Center9.0%
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management7.1%
Other83.9%
Risk-Based Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

OB
Microsoft Solutions Manager at Self-Employed
Ensures strong threat and vulnerability management with continuous risk assessment
The major priority is identity, which is crucial; we have lots of companies in manufacturing, energy, or various sectors, and it varies from one to another. I assess Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management as very effective in continuously assessing vulnerabilities without requiring scans. We use automatic investigation and remediation features, safe attachments, safe links, and real-time reports, which are also very effective. For Active Directory, Defender has threat intelligence, and we are using that. The risk-based prioritization within Vulnerability Management affects my ability to manage vulnerabilities, particularly in relation to the Zero Trust Model utilized by our customers. The end-users often do as they please in their systems.
OndrejKOVAC - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution engineer at EXPERTience
Empower clients with risk-based vulnerability management through continuous workflow and valuable insights
Tenable Security Center could improve by implementing more dynamic data displays and translating reports into European languages. This is especially relevant in Central Eastern Europe, where clients often require reports in local languages. Additionally, the licensing model could be more flexible for managed security providers, similar to a pay-as-you-go model.
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881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management?
The documentation from Microsoft needs significant improvement. The documents are disorganized, with one document linking to another, making the steps unclear and difficult to follow. Regarding upd...
What do you like most about Tenable SC?
The tool's dashboard and reporting capabilities match our company's needs since we are able to modify the basic view to create a new dashboard, and it works out very well for our needs.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Tenable SC?
The price of Tenable Security Center is not so high; it's relatively a cheaper solution.
What needs improvement with Tenable SC?
We did conduct a long implementation which relates to what I think can be improved about Tenable Security Center. In some cases, we needed to refer back to Tenable itself, and in other cases, we ne...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Tenable.sc, Tenable Unified Security, Tenable SecurityCenter
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
IBM, Sempra Energy, Microsoft, Apple, Adidas, Union Pacific
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management vs. Tenable Security Center and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.