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Microsoft Defender XDR vs SonicWall Capture Client comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 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
7.1
Microsoft Defender XDR provides high ROI by consolidating security tools, streamlining operations, and enhancing security, despite licensing costs.
Sentiment score
1.0
SonicWall Capture Client offers cost savings, improved security, reduced manual work, lower infection rates, and easy deployment for better productivity.
We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.
House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables
It helped stop multiple intrusion points where we would have had millions in lost revenue if the attackers got in.
Network Technician at T. Baker Smith, LLC
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Defender XDR's support is timely and responsive, yet smaller organizations experience slower, less effective assistance than larger ones.
Sentiment score
4.9
SonicWall Capture Client support is mixed, with some satisfied but many seeking faster response and improved escalation processes.
You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.
Enterprise Application Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.
Cyber Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees
Partners can purchase single endpoints at prices equivalent to 1,000-endpoint deals, providing an advantage for managed security service provider partners.
Product Manager at wahana piranti teknologi
While their escalation process is understandable, it can be time-consuming as all logs need to be provided multiple times across different service levels.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Defender XDR scales well for various organizations, efficiently supporting growth and flexibility despite some network deployment challenges.
Sentiment score
8.5
SonicWall Capture Client delivers scalable licensing, easy installation, cloud management, and an accessible interface, favored by small to medium businesses.
My concern is about the scale of events and alerts being generated, and the product is doing a very good job of only surfacing the important items for us.
Vice President, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees
Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
There are no restrictions on the scalability of SonicWall Capture Client.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
SonicWall Capture Client is accessed via cloud-based management console.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The installation process is straightforward, requiring only five pilot installations to enable customers to complete the remaining installations independently.
Product Manager at wahana piranti teknologi
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender XDR is praised for high stability, reliable performance, minimal issues, frequent updates, and prompt issue resolution.
Sentiment score
8.6
SonicWall Capture Client's stability divides opinion, praised for threat prevention but critiqued for high resource consumption and slowdowns.
The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.
Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
It provides high-fidelity signals.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender XDR requires enhancements in speed, integration, automation, AI, ease-of-use, and industry-specific threat intelligence.
SonicWall Capture Client suffers from performance issues, outdated interface, high RAM use, and lacks robust threat detection and support.
The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.
Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.
Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.
Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group
One of the drawbacks is that I cannot use Advanced and Premier licenses within a single tenant, which can be problematic when users need to deploy different licenses.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
XDR cannot be used unless MDR services are purchased with SonicWall.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
A significant limitation is that SonicWall Capture Client cannot be installed on smartphones, as there is no mobile version available.
Product Manager at wahana piranti teknologi
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is seen as complex but fair, with high costs alleviated in bundled Microsoft 365 packages.
SonicWall Capture Client pricing receives mixed reviews for cost-effectiveness, varying by business size, region, and additional costs.
There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.
Director, Sales at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.
Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.
Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees
SonicWall Capture Client offers a cost-effective solution that's cheaper compared to other vendors like CrowdStrike.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates tools for comprehensive security, offering threat detection, automation, identity protection, and enhanced efficiency.
SonicWall Capture Client provides robust protection features, including rollback, machine learning, and dual-agent real-time threat detection.
With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.
Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.
Works at Hometrack
Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.
Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Machine learning is particularly effective due to SonicWall sandboxing's threat intelligence database of approximately 7.1 billion entries.
Product Manager at wahana piranti teknologi
One is that users can use the sandbox of SonicWall, which is called Capture ATP for free.
Product Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender XDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
SonicWall Capture Client
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
43rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (44th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.6%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Capture Client is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR2.6%
SonicWall Capture Client0.7%
Other96.7%
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

KO
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.
HT
Product Manager at wahana piranti teknologi
Has consistently delivered double-layer protection and simplified policy application while needing mobile compatibility and better MacOS support
A significant limitation is that SonicWall Capture Client cannot be installed on smartphones, as there is no mobile version available.Occasionally, the Sentinel engine becomes unresponsive, particularly when customers do not properly restart or shutdown their systems. This requires a hard restart after installation to resolve the issue. Installation on Mac OS can be challenging, requiring multiple attempts due to version compatibility requirements. We must ensure the SonicWall Capture Client version is stable for Mac OS. The RAM usage is higher compared to SentinelOne, utilizing approximately 150 megabytes of memory. This is a common concern from customers, and reducing RAM consumption would be beneficial.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

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

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business47
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise38
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
 

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.
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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SonicWall Capture Client?
SonicWall Capture Client offers a cost-effective solution that's cheaper compared to other vendors like CrowdStrike.
What needs improvement with SonicWall Capture Client?
A significant limitation is that SonicWall Capture Client cannot be installed on smartphones, as there is no mobile version available.Occasionally, the Sentinel engine becomes unresponsive, particu...
What is your primary use case for SonicWall Capture Client?
The solution is used primarily in hospitality, specifically hotels, and manufacturing sectors. Approximately 70% of usage comes from hospitality, with the remainder from manufacturing.In hotel case...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Luton College
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. SonicWall Capture Client and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.