Lumu vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Lumu Technologies and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. Lumu Technologies is ranked #17 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4. Lumu Technologies holds a 1.3% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 4.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Lumu Technologies users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Lumu

Read 8 Lumu reviews

1,747 Views
1,188 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,352 Views
5,797 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Lumu

Microsoft Defender XDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024

Microsoft Defender XDR and Lumu compete in the cybersecurity domain. Lumu stands out due to its innovative features, giving it an edge in providing confidence to users about its investment value.

Features: Microsoft Defender XDR is praised for advanced threat detection, integration with other Microsoft services, and cloud-based capabilities. Lumu offers a unique approach to threat detection, providing detailed network visibility and actionable insights. Lumu's proactive threat intelligence seems to surpass Microsoft's integrated platform approach for some users.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender XDR requires more enhanced customization and intuitive alert management. Lumu needs improved scalability and more comprehensive documentation. While Microsoft has customization needs, Lumu faces challenges in scaling operations according to user demands.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender XDR offers seamless integration within Microsoft ecosystems, supported by reliable customer service. Lumu, while quick to deploy with straightforward setup, occasionally faces support service limitations. Microsoft excels in ecosystem integration, but Lumu's deployment simplicity is frequently highlighted.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender XDR offers cost-effectiveness, delivering strong ROI in Microsoft-centric environments. Lumu, though potentially higher in setup costs, provides substantial long-term value with its focused threat detection capabilities. Microsoft's pricing aligns with existing ecosystems, while Lumu's specialized approach justifies its investment for enhanced security outcomes.

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

Buyer's Guide

Lumu vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

December 2025

Download the complete report

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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

Lumu

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

17th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (9th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (6th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

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

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Lumu is 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 4.9%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	4.9%
Lumu	1.3%
Other	93.8%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

Jeremiah Johnson

Director, Information Technology at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

Constant monitoring and analysis boosts network security

There is always room for improvement. I am not giving it a perfect score because I am sure there is something that could be enhanced.Having some sort of certification or training, along with more periodic webinars might be helpful. Having a larger support network would be beneficial. Nobody I know has heard of Lumu, so they are in the same space as Darktrace or CrowdStrike, but people give blank stares. As the community grows for Lumu then that will improve, but that is not really a criticism of Lumu, they simply have not been around that long.

Read full review

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

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool's support team helps partners resolve any problems with the product."

"It's been helpful for overall extended network visibility."

"I like Lumu's simple user interface. When we deployed it, we got full access, allowing us to identify IP addresses on the network and connect machine names to users. It helped us identify and block threats via the firewall. I also appreciate the chat support and ticket closure process. We're currently reviewing network detection solutions, and my recommendations include Lumu, Sentinel, and a few others. Regarding functionality and user-friendliness, I would recommend Lumu over the others."

"The automated response to incidents works effectively out of the box, and the number of interfaces and platforms it can work with is impressive."

"The context provided by the tool is very complete, it includes the miter matrix, playbooks, links, hashes, and much more."

"You can access external links, playbooks, MITRE Matrix, and a lot of information."

"Most of it is automated, so I do not have to watch it to get alerts."

"Lumu protects against threats immediately and handles them in time."

"From the perspective of Microsoft 365 XDR, the main benefit is a single, centralized dashboard offering the holistic visibility organizations crave."

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

"The feature I find most valuable is Defender for Endpoint."

"We are connected to Microsoft and have every laptop enrolled. This acts as an endpoint. The tool helps me check security and compliance. I can also check what a device is doing."

"In our company,we have faced multiple attacks over the last few months, but none of them have been successful, and I think Microsoft Defender XDR has played a major role in it."

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

"The email protection feature is the most valuable because our risks primarily lie there, and it seems to be the most popular target."

"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

Cons

"Nothing so far needs to be improved."

"Having a larger support network would be beneficial. Nobody I know has heard of Lumu, so they are in the same space as Darktrace or CrowdStrike, but people give blank stares."

"The reports need improvement."

"The free version is minimal compared to the full version."

"It would be good if we could access the physical logs."

"I am happy with the current features. However, one important one is to improve the reports."

"The integration with different vendors and endpoints could be improved."

"Lumu's ability to discover threats is an area of concern where improvements are needed."

"Microsoft Defender is slow to adapt to evolving threats."

"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."

"It would be beneficial to reduce the number of clicks required to navigate between blades, as the current navigation and breadcrumb system can be a bit confusing."

"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."

"The advanced threat-hunting capabilities are phenomenal, and the security copilot enhances that, but some data elements could be better or have more context inside of the advanced tables themselves. The schemas feel a little limited to what they're building into the product. It's probably just a maturity thing. I imagine we'll see the features I want in the next year."

"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."

"Support is hit or miss. Microsoft wants you to buy premium support contracts. Though they call themselves professional support, it's almost like throwing questions into a black hole. You get an answer, but it's never helpful."

"The initial time spent setting up and configuring Defender XDR is a bit longer than the other solutions. If everything were on one portal, the platforms for managing policies or alerts would be simpler. We must automate and manage policies on Intune rather than the same portal."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to Lumu, other solutions are more expensive. SentinelOne was a bit cheaper, and another provider's price structure is unclear, but Lumu fit our budget nicely. SentinelOne's cost depends on the number of devices, and it might be similar to Lumu's, depending on deployment."

"The tool is available at a good price. The tool offers a good and competitive price for customers."

"It is the cheapest solution we found."

"The price could be better. Normally, the costs depend on the country you're located in for the license. When we were in the initial stage, we went with the E5 license they call premium standard. It cost us around $5.20 per month for four users."

"It is fairly priced because we get complete integrated services with the E5 license."

"The solution is affordable, and we haven't been hit with any hidden costs. The subscription model is straightforward, and it's easy to understand how much additional features cost. If we need to cancel a license or feature, we do that well in advance to avoid being charged for it, but overall, the pricing and licensing are simple and easy."

"All I can say again is the E5 gives you all the capabilities that it offers. It also gives Office 365 and one terabyte of storage. All in all, the E5 license model makes sense. There are some people who say it's quite costly, but rather than paying different vendors, it makes sense to go all in with Microsoft if you've got that licensing. From that perspective, it's cost-effective, but I can't comment much on that."

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

"Microsoft Defender falls within a mid-tier price range compared to other security solutions."

"Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive."

"Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

Insurance Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	4

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Lumu?

Lumu protects against threats immediately and handles them in time.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lumu?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lumu?

We use it as our managed SOC instead of contracting with an MSP. It coordinates endpoint and gives us a single pane of glass for our security events.It fulfills the role of a SIEM, serving as our d...

See all answers

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

Comparisons

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Compared 35% of the time

Wazuh vs Lumu

Compared 14% of the time

Stellar Cyber Open XDR vs Lumu

Compared 12% of the time

Vectra AI vs Lumu

Compared 7% of the time

IBM Security QRadar vs Lumu

Compared 4% of the time

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 12% 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

Microsoft Sentinel vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Lumu

January 2026

Download Lumu product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Lumu Technologies is a cyber-security company that illuminates threats, attacks, and adversaries affecting enterprises worldwide. Using actionable intelligence, Lumu provides a radical way to secure networks by enhancing and augmenting existing defense capabilities established over the past 25 years.

Lumu Technologies

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

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

Lumu vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

December 2025

Free Report: Lumu vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

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