Microsoft Defender XDR vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager comparison

The compared Microsoft and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. Microsoft is ranked #4 in XDR , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 4.8% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #34 in SIEM , with an average rating of 7.7, and holds a 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 82% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,762 Views
6,027 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

SolarWinds Security Event M...

Read 27 SolarWinds Security Event Manager reviews

1,612 Views
1,531 Comparison Views

82% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

SolarWinds Security Event M...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender XDR and SolarWinds Security Event Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager Report (Updated: May 2023).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

May 2023

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Helped 881,733 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 XDR

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)

SolarWinds Security Event M...

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (34th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Security Software solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Defender XDR is designed for Extended Detection and Response (XDR) and holds a mindshare of 4.8%, down 6.8% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Security Event Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), holds 0.9% mindshare, up 0.6% since last year.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	4.8%
CrowdStrike Falcon	10.1%
Wazuh	7.2%
Other	77.9%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
SolarWinds Security Event Manager	0.9%
Splunk Enterprise Security	7.1%
Wazuh	6.4%
Other	85.6%

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Featured Reviews

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

Advanced threat hunting saves significant time in tracking and responding to incidents

Microsoft Defender XDR could be improved with a lower price. My main suggestion would essentially be what Copilot is providing, which is a single pane of glass, so I don't have to go to different windows. That's just a workflow consideration for me. It would be great to have all the information centralized into one particular data app. If I need to open up extra ones, I can, however, I would appreciate a future where everything I need is right there on one single pane of glass. Beyond that, there's really nothing else I see that I would want Microsoft to improve.

Read full review

Yashokanth Partkunan

Managed Services Engineer at Loop1 Systems

Has supported client needs efficiently but requires deeper analysis features and faster support

The log analyzing capability of SolarWinds Security Event Manager should go into more depth than the current environment. More modification and enhancements are required on the dashboard side in order to make it closer to optimal performance. From observation and feedback from users, they need more functionality related to monitoring, and in-depth analyzing needs to be improved.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We can use Defender to block and monitor for security purposes without needing multiple other products to do different tasks."

"I like that it's stable. It's been stable for a long time, and Microsoft Defender has done a good job there."

"Vulnerability assessment and just-in-time access are some valuable features of Defender for server plans."

"We are able to consolidate licences and make use of many Microsoft products using this solution. If we have any Microsoft customers, we encourage them to use this solution for enterprise defence."

"The stability has been great."

"In Microsoft 365 vendor products, monitoring and connectivity across all Microsoft and third-party connectors enable viewing of all activity within those environments."

"Microsoft 365 Defender is simple to upgrade."

"The EDR features are valuable. By getting the EDR features, we have more control over the device. We have information about events in real-time and more protection against zero-day threats and zero-day vulnerabilities. We can monitor every event or action that a device is going through. We can get an idea if it is something malicious or if we have to take any actions."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

"We did previously use a different solution, but SolarWinds is much better. It's easy to interact with SolarWinds. It's easy to operate, easy to configure and is generally easier compared to what we were working with before."

"We had to integrate with other teams, and the infrastructure deployment didn't take long. The integration involves learning with different teams, networking, and configuring various network devices and servers. Infrastructure deployment only took one or two days."

"It supports high availability, which is very helpful."

"The most valuable feature is the ease of use for the end user."

"SolarWinds is easy to configure, and it provides timely alerts."

"The out of the box reports and dashboard. It was easy to trim down these windows to something we could quickly use."

"The most valuable feature of SolarWinds Security Event Manager is the analysis and the knowledge about the incidence that we trace."

"SolarWinds' stability is fine. I don't think we've had any software issues."

More SolarWinds Security Event Manager pros

Cons

"The support team is not competent or responsive."

"Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender."

"I haven't really come across the incident Q assistant helping improve the efficiency of my SOC workflow."

"The solution can improve the rules and privileges it offers."

"In the beginning, it's difficult to navigate the system because it is quite large. Just trying to find your way and understand how the system works can be hard. After spending quite a lot of time searching it's a lot easier, but I wish it were a bit more user-friendly when you're trying to find things."

"We struggle sometimes with tier one support agents who give canned responses."

"From a performance standpoint, improvements could be made."

"Advanced attacks could use an improvement."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

"The reporting could be more robust. It can be a lot more granular and that will make it a lot more useful in comparison to how it is incorporated at the moment."

"There are no multiple dashboards which would allow you to see information side-by-side."

"I would like to have a more customizable dashboard."

"There is no correlation made between log entries, so no threat information is presented."

"We'd like more customization capabilities."

"We have automated threat detection in the Alliance Security, Antoinette. However, if these features could be further enhanced, it would simplify my work, potentially allowing me to allocate more time to address complex issues."

"I think the customization area in the tool can be considered as an area of concern where improvements are required."

"I don't think SolarWinds is scalable enough. It is somewhat limited when I need to deploy it across multiple environments in a distributed architecture."

More SolarWinds Security Event Manager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft is not competitive with the pricing of the solution. The competitors are able to offer lower discounts. The price of the solution is higher."

"Defender plan 1 is tenant-wise, and Defender plan 2 is per-user, which makes it more expensive. To have certain features, you would need to purchase the E5 license. For all of the capabilities that the tool provides, the price, though it can be high, is fair."

"Microsoft should provide lower-level licensing options. They should do it in such a way that even an individual could purchase a license, and it should be entirely flexible."

"The bundling of software makes it easier to manage our setup, but Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is already included in our Office 365 licensing. It is better because we're saving money by using it."

"The price of the solution is high compared to others and we have lost some customers because of it."

"365 Defender is billed per account. I don't know the exact price, but my supervisor told me that Microsoft Defender is cheaper than the alternatives. It's bundled, so you get all the features in one place."

"The licensing fee for Microsoft 365 Defender is fair."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

"It is in the appropriate mid-range. It is not as expensive as some of the other solutions. It is also not cheap."

"The tool is available at a good price for customers compared to other solutions in the market. I rate the product's price as an eight out of ten."

"Licensing is on devices, so if you have many, then this may be high."

"Licenses can only be purchased in blocks of fifty at a time."

"The price of SolarWinds Security Event Manager is reasonable."

"The pricing model would benefit from having package deals with other SolarWinds products."

"We do a yearly license renewal. For a year, the solution costs roughly $500,000 USD. There are no costs beyond this yearly fee."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

11%

University

10%

Marketing Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	38

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My experience with pricing, setup, costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender XDR is tied to our E5 subscription, which is very straightforward for us. We also purchase the uplift for our mobile us...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

I am not aware of a mobile app that would be available for my team. With a single analyst, if she is ever away, it would be beneficial to have easier access. While she can use the web portal, the e...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

The tool is available at a good price for customers compared to other solutions in the market. I rate the product's price as an eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Security Event Manager ?

I work with all SolarWinds products mostly, including Network Configuration Manager and NPM. I am a reseller. I usually recommend SolarWinds products for Loop1. It's for the bigger ones; we are the...

See all answers

Comparisons

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

TrendAI Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Splunk Enterprise Security vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 15% of the time

Wazuh vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 13% of the time

ManageEngine Log360 vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiSIEM vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Compared 8% of the time

More SolarWinds Security Event Manager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

SolarWinds Security Event Manager

January 2026

SolarWinds Security Event Manager report

Download SolarWinds Security Event Manager product report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

SolarWinds LEM, Solarwinds SIEM, TriGeo, Log and Event Manager

Overview

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Microsoft

When TriGeo was acquired by SolarWinds, TriGeo SIM became known as SolarWinds Log & Event Manager. This product is a leading Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) product and log management solution, which provides log collection, analysis, and real-time correlation.

SolarWinds

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

NetSuite, EasyStreet, Legacy Texas Bank, and Energy Federal Credit Union, to name a few.

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

May 2023

Free Report: Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager and other solutions. Updated: May 2023.

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See our Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SolarWinds Security Event Manager report.

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