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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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
7.3
Organizations achieve financial gains and efficiency by using Microsoft Defender, eliminating third-party solutions, and enhancing security management.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers effective email security, proactive recommendations, affordability, and value, enhancing ROI for US users.
Without detection and protection measures, organizations would face substantial payments and reputational damage, including the necessity to inform customers about data breaches, potentially leading to loss of business.
We have seen a return on investment when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it saves labor by reducing the need for staff to focus on it.
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft's Defender for Endpoint support is generally effective but experiences vary; premium options offer swift, knowledgeable assistance.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection support is generally effective, with 24/7 availability, but response speed and expertise can vary.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Due to our size, we don't have access to direct technical support, but the knowledge base, Microsoft Learn, and the articles available are really good.
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint efficiently scales with diverse enterprises, integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, supporting growth effectively.
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection efficiently scales for various organizational sizes, offering seamless migration and integration with minimal limitations.
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Compatibility is its main feature.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is praised for stability, efficiency, and low resource impact, despite minor occasional bugs.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is stable, rated 7-10, though some use additional services for enhanced reliability.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint struggles with support, integration, UI, performance issues, and lacks essential features and platform support.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs enhancements in security, usability, integration, automation, and cost-effectiveness to improve user experience.
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
Providing more detailed information on how Microsoft Defender for Endpoint detects vulnerabilities.
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers cost-effective, flexible pricing options integrated with Microsoft services, including discounts for education and volume.
Enterprise users find Microsoft Exchange Online Protection costly but justified due to features and reputation, with some billing concerns.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
The pricing, setup, and licensing were very easy and simple.
The pricing is reasonable.
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers seamless integration, real-time protection, and automated response, ensuring robust security with minimal impact.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers seamless integration, advanced threat management, and robust security features for efficient email protection and administration.
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
The security features provided by Microsoft are robust.
It offers more features and better security, making it the best option for corporate environments.
In the last three years, has resulted in no antivirus problems.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
197
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 15.6%, down from 21.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 1.3%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

John Rallo - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers excellent visibility into vulnerabilities and the attack surface itself
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features. It's helpful to isolate specific devices and get super granular with the features they offer. The visibility into the attack surface is good. It gets highly granular. I don't work on that side, but the people who do tell me they get more visibility.
Amber Worth - PeerSpot reviewer
Retrieves data from quarantines and easy to read logs with robust security features
Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious. Although eventually the information is located, it can be difficult if detailed information is lacking. Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous. Simplifying interfaces would also be appreciated.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
I would like to improve the setting of rules in Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) as it is currently working fine but has room for enhancements.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
I am using Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) ( /products/microsoft-exchange-online-protection-eop-reviews ) for word processing, spreadsheet management, Power BI, checking my meetings, usi...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.