Guardz vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Guardz and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Guardz is ranked #47 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4. Guardz holds a 0.4% mindshare in EDR, compared to Microsoft’s 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Guardz users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Guardz

Read 1 Guardz review

922 Views
535 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,352 Views
5,487 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Guardz

Microsoft Defender XDR

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Guardz and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne and others in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR).

To learn more, read our detailed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

December 2025

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Helped 880,901 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

Guardz

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

47th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Security (31st), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (31st), Ransomware Protection (13th)

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) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Guardz is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.6%, down from 3.2% 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	2.6%
Guardz	0.4%
Other	97.0%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

Steve Bowtell

Managing Director at Cyber Active

Exceptionally easy to integrate and covers a multitude of cybersecurity issues

The solution's interface appears very simple, but it is very complicated in the back end. So, it removes all the complications that an MSP or an MSSP would normally have. The solution's maintenance depends on whether you run it like an MDR platform where you provide the detection response part for the customer. That would normally be the MSP part. Sometimes, you have customers who are just happy to get an email and tell them what the problem is, and they fix it themselves. If there's no in-house expertise, the MSP or the MSSP can do the maintenance. If there's in-house expertise, it's just a matter of advising them. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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 solution is exceptionally easy to integrate and covers a multitude of cybersecurity issues."

"The stability has been great."

"As a reseller and partner, the advantages of Microsoft Defender XDR are numerous; I have stopped many threats for many organizations using Defender alone, and I have saved significant IT management time by avoiding manual updates and manual work."

"The Email Explorer feature has proven invaluable, offering a broader perspective than automated alerts and incidents alone."

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

"The most valuable features of Microsoft 365 Defender are the combination of all the capabilities and centralized management."

"The feature I like the most in Microsoft Defender XDR is XDR because it has taken us a while, but we are a global company with people in a few countries, and now we can have centralized alerts that we send out to Teams messages and clean up infected computers or help people in a very short amount of time."

"The EDR and the way it automatically responds to ransomware and other attacks are valuable features."

"The feature of Microsoft Defender XDR that I preferred the most traditionally was its focus on endpoint protection, but now identity is right up there with endpoint security. Identity is important because different compromises start at the identity level. This allows us to understand what actions are being taken, who is doing them, and whether it is actually them."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"The solution's security awareness training and phishing are very United States-focused and don't work very well in Australia."

"My client would like the solution to be more customizable without using code. You can only build on the default console, but we're not allowed to change it."

"For some scenarios, it provides good visibility into threats, and for some scenarios, it doesn't. For example, sometimes the URLs within the emails have destinations, and you do get a screenshot and all further details, but it's not always the case. It would be good if they did a better job of enabling that for all the emails that they identified as malicious. When you get an email threat, you can go into the email and see more details, but the URL destination feature doesn't always show you a screenshot of the URL in that email. It also doesn't always give you the characteristics relating to that URL. It would be quite good if the information is complete where it says that we identified this URL, and this is what it looks like. There should be some threat intel about it. It should give you more details."

"From an integration standpoint, it is always improving overall. With Security Copilot coming out, as partners, we are waiting for the GDAP support so that we can actually see Security Copilot on behalf of customers if they subscribe to it."

"Automated playbooks and automated dashboards would be preferable to the way the data is currently being presented."

"The message trace feature for investigating mail flow issues should add more detailed information to the summary report... if they could extend the summary report a little bit, make it more descriptive, ordinary administrators could understand what happened and that the emails failed at this or that point. That way they would know the location to go to try to correct it and to prevent it from occurring again."

"Microsoft tends to provide too many features, which makes the solution prone to bugs."

"At times, when we have an incident email and we click on the link for that incident, it opens a pop-up, but there is nothing. It has happened a couple of times."

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

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I like Guardz's pricing model because it's very cost-effective and has no long-term commitments."

"365 Defender can get expensive because you pay per gigabyte of data ingested. On the other hand, much of the data available in the other Microsoft security solutions are made available relatively cheaply—sometimes at cost or for free. Integrating only a limited set of third-party solutions with Sentinel would be cost-effective. It's much more affordable if companies only have Microsoft stuff."

"Microsoft 365 Defender offers competitive pricing."

"The solutions price is fair for what they offer."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive."

"Its licensing and pricing are handled by someone else. My role is limited to incidents or issues with the portal, but you get what you pay for. It is worth the cost."

"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."

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

"I find the pricing to be quite competitive, especially considering its inclusion in our E5 subscription, which provides a comprehensive set of functionalities."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Media Company

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Guardz?

The solution is exceptionally easy to integrate and covers a multitude of cybersecurity issues.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Guardz?

I like Guardz's pricing model because it's very cost-effective and has no long-term commitments. You could run it monthly if you want to and then leave.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Guardz?

The solution's security awareness training and phishing are very United States-focused and don't work very well in Australia.

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

Coro vs Guardz

Compared 23% of the time

Huntress Managed ITDR vs Guardz

Compared 18% of the time

Cynet vs Guardz

Compared 12% of the time

Avanan vs Guardz

Compared 12% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs Guardz

Compared 11% 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

Email Security

January 2026

Download Guardz 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

Guardz delivers robust cybersecurity solutions tailored for businesses seeking reliable and efficient security measures without compromise.

Guardz is specifically designed for businesses looking for dependable digital protection. It integrates advanced threat detection and prevention technologies, ensuring improved cyber resilience. Guardz is a preferable choice for organizations of all sizes, offering a comprehensive security suite that addresses potential vulnerabilities and enhances data protection efficiently.

What are Guardz's most valuable features?

Adaptive Threat Detection: Continuously monitors and identifies emerging threats, adapting to new challenges in real-time.
Data Encryption: Offers strong encryption to protect sensitive data against unauthorized access.
Access Control: Provides multi-layered access control mechanisms to ensure only authorized personnel can access critical systems.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Enhanced Security Posture: Users will notice an immediate improvement in their comprehensive security management.
Cost-Efficiency: Reduced operational costs through efficient threat management and proactive maintenance.
Scalability: Easily adapts to growing business needs without a significant increase in expenditure.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Guardz is implemented to counter sophisticated attacks, protecting client data and maintaining regulatory compliance. Retail sectors use Guardz to secure online transactions, ensuring customer data remains protected from breaches and fraud.

Guardz

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

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

December 2025

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