Microsoft Defender XDR vs Tanium comparison

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Microsoft Defender XDR

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Tanium and Microsoft Defender XDR compete in the enterprise cybersecurity category. Microsoft Defender XDR seems to have the upper hand due to its superior integration and comprehensive security coverage.

Features: Tanium is known for asset discovery, real-time data, and scalability. Microsoft Defender XDR is recognized for threat detection capabilities, integration with other Microsoft tools, and advanced analytics.

Room for Improvement: Users find Tanium complex with a steep learning curve. For Microsoft Defender XDR, users desire more straightforward configuration options and better support for non-Microsoft environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Tanium's deployment is complex and time-consuming, often requiring specialized training. Microsoft Defender XDR benefits from easier deployment within Microsoft environments and accessible customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Tanium has higher setup costs but offers good long-term ROI through scalability and detailed asset management. Microsoft Defender XDR is more cost-effective, particularly for organizations already using Microsoft products, providing significant ROI through comprehensive security features and lower initial costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Tanium Report (Updated: September 2025).

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Tanium

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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

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)

Tanium

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

31st

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (6th), Vulnerability Management (24th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (34th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.9%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tanium is 2.3%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	2.9%
Tanium	2.3%
Other	94.8%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

MohtesanShaikh

Business Development Executive at TechnoFirrm

Experience improves security management and simplifies threat protection

I have created automated investigations, and while they work, they operate rather slowly in the Microsoft portal. If I automate something, it takes considerable time; if I do it manually, I can complete it in a quarter of the time. The automation response being slow is the main concern; when an incident occurs or if I run a remediation, it takes significant time to complete the remediation. There are some limitations regarding the scalability of Microsoft Defender XDR with specific licensing. For SMB customers, there is only Microsoft Defender for Business, and if they want more features such as XDR features and automation investigation or incident response, they need to purchase Defender for Endpoint. We are currently using the EDR.

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NitinKushwaha

Product Manager at OakNorth

Stable product with an ability to build complex roles

We use Tanium as an EDR solution for managing end-user devices and servers The product is granular and can build complex roles compared to other EDR vendors. Tanium's dashboard UI could be similar to CrowdStrike. We have been using Tanium for two and a half years. The product is stable. I rate…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is well integrated with applications. It is easy to maintain and administer."

"The most valuable feature depends on the scenario. For compliance, I like Microsoft Purview Information Protection and Data Loss Prevention. Sentinel is the most helpful feature for security. 365 Defender helps us prioritize threats across an enterprise. It's a crucial feature for the managed services team."

"Advanced hunting is good. I like that. We can drill down to lots of details."

"Microsoft Defender XDR's capability to automatically disrupt advanced cyber attacks is very effective."

"The ability to isolate and address viruses is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender XDR."

"The incident-level visibility across the cyber attack chain when using Microsoft Defender XDR is great."

"It gives a lot of flexibility in terms of configuration and customization as per the business requirements."

"Defender XDR enables you to scan a system remotely and get a complete inventory of its assets. You can gather more information from the asset inventory and apply threat intelligence using Office 365 or something."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

"The product is granular and can build complex roles compared to other EDR vendors."

"Tanium is a very good product and I would rate it eight or nine out of ten."

"The interrogation piece was the most valuable feature because it was very detailed."

"I would say Tanium is the best tool for vulnerability management."

"Tanium's most valuable feature is its instant discovery aspect."

"When I push a quick update, it's done right away, and I can rescan immediately to confirm completion within minutes."

"For incident response tasks, all these tasks can get done in minutes with minimal disruption to the end-user."

"I like the tool's incident response and security patching."

More Tanium pros

Cons

"The dashboard should be easier to use. There is also improvement needed in the reporting when it comes to exporting or scheduling reports."

"The logs could be better."

"The only problem I find is that the use cases are built-in. There is no template available that you can modify according to your organization's standards. What they give is very generic, the market standard, but that might not be applicable to every organization."

"In the future, it would be beneficial for Microsoft to consider making the product more user-friendly or simplified for those who are interested in using it. Currently, it requires a high level of technical expertise, making it challenging for beginners or less experienced individuals."

"Customers say they want absolutely seamless integration between other Microsoft solutions and Defender XDR, including the ability to change device settings within the Defender portal. They need to contact the IT team responsible for the device management tools to change some settings. They would prefer that those changes be initiated directly from the Defender portal or applied from Intune without involving the IT operations team."

"Generally, antivirus products provide a central control to manage every device in terms of who is installing it or who is trying to disable it, but Microsoft doesn't have such a control center for the antivirus product it provides."

"It would be highly beneficial if CoPilot could identify anomalies within the network and notify the IT team."

"Microsoft support is not very good. You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

"The performance could improve in future releases. We have had performance issues in specialized web environments, but overall I think the problems are less than 2% of the computer systems being used."

"I would like to have more integrations and custom plugins to input. Integration is always a big deal in a lot of different environments."

"Tanium’s scalability could be improved."

"Tanium required local admin or root rights on Mac devices, which did not comply with our security policies. This made the solution less suitable for our restrictive environment."

"We had some issues with the solution's OS upgrade."

"When working with Tanium, there are some older devices that haven't been patched for a long time, and certain patches are not included in Tanium."

"The solution lacks mobility."

"When working with Tanium, there are some older devices that haven't been patched for a long time, and certain patches are not included in Tanium. I have to search outside to download patches, create bundles, and then perform the task."

More Tanium cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"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."

"On average, we pay around 55 euros per user for the services and features we receive."

"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."

"I would like to have more security features in the lower licenses because not every customer is able to buy E5 licenses. The bundling isn't always easy for our customers to understand. Compared to other tools, it's a good price."

"The pricing of Microsoft 365 Defender is definitely on the costly side, but with the features and services that Microsoft provides, such as the seamless integration of all the Defender tools, while the price is on the higher side, there is no alternative."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is priced high."

"While Microsoft Defender XDR carries a higher cost, its ease of use compared to Defender may justify the investment."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

"Tanium is a more expensive solution in Latin America than some of the competitors, such as BigFix."

"The product's pricing differs from region to region depending on negotiations and the number of endpoints."

"The solution offers value for money."

"There is an annual license required to use this solution."

"The solution is expensive but it's a good investment."

"It is higher than some competitors in the market."

"It's an expensive solution. It would be nice if the cost were lower."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

16%

Government

12%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	37

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	10

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?

The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

What do you like most about Tanium?

The product is granular and can build complex roles compared to other EDR vendors.

What needs improvement with Tanium?

While there is always room for improvement, I am pleased with Tanium.

What is your primary use case for Tanium?

The primary use case for Tanium ( /products/tanium-reviews ) is compliance, patching, and inventory as part of the core functions.

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

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Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Trend Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Tanium

Compared 11% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Tanium

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Tanium

Compared 7% of the time

ServiceNow Discovery vs Tanium

Compared 6% of the time

BigFix vs Tanium

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender XDR

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Download Tanium product report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

No data available

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

Tanium Endpoint Platform reduces security risk, improves agility & increases efficiency, a fundamentally new approach to endpoint security's threat detection, indicent response, vulnerability assessment and configuration compliance & with management's software distribution, asset utilization, asset inventory and patch management.

Sample Customers

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

JPMorgan Chase, eBay, Amazon, US Bank, MetLife, pwc, Cerner, Delphi, MGM Grand, New York Life

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Tanium