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Anomali vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

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

Anomali
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (33rd), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (18th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (8th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (27th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Email Security (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Anomali is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 8.0%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

CC
Enables automated threat intelligence sorting and enhances proactive threat hunting capabilities
You have to have at least a threat intelligence background or a SOC analyst background to use it, as that's the information you'll dig around with in there. If you don't have that kind of knowledge, it probably can be a little hard to use, but they do provide training. They offer training not only for how to use the platform but also some basic threat intelligence training to explain what these things are and what these terms mean. My company is a customer of Anomali. I would recommend it to other people. I would advise making sure you don't pick it without testing other products and have your use cases well thought out and documented before testing, so you know it will solve the problems you're trying to address. Keep an open mind with it and realize that whatever you can dream of, you can probably do with the platform. Overall, I would rate Anomali an eight out of ten.
Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We now have a very robust collection of threat intelligence based on the capabilities that Anomali provides."
"The most valuable aspect of Anomali is the threat modeling capability."
"The feature I have found most valuable is credential monitoring. This feature is easy and quick."
"I have found Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) very useful and concise. The solution is easy to use."
"My experience deploying Microsoft Defender for Office 365 was seamless."
"It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased."
"Overall, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Office 365 at a ten."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"Defender for 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The value of the cloud is that you aren't alone. Threat intelligence and analytics are shared in the cloud. We don't have to find the solution alone. If you face an unknown threat with traditional solutions like Trend Micro and Symantec, you need to open a case and send your information to them to analyze forensically and identify the source of the attack."
"The technical support is good and quick to resolve issues."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 helps people to work remotely. It is a secure solution. We don't need to use our company's computers or get VPN connections to the networks. I can control how they share screens and what they send to the devices. It keeps our organizations confidential and sensitive information safe."
"My experience with customer support and technical support for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has been excellent."
 

Cons

"Support in the past has been top-notch, but recent trends indicate that it has taken a back seat, as we often don't get answers for days."
"An area for improvement is the intelligence sharing within the Anomali community. The tagging system can be inconsistent, as any company can use any tags for their reporting."
"A lot of tools can give you many features, such as CTI intelligence and a tax service reduction. However, many people are combining different tools together to have more capabilities. It is up to the consumer whether they want to have multiple tools or have one tool that serves the purpose. Anomali Enterprise could improve by combining all the other tools' features into one solution."
"Less code in integration would be nice when building blocks."
"The only thing they should improve is the licensing model. They should stop changing it. A year ago, the five features I mentioned were included in one product. Now, three of them are bundled into one product, and you have to pay extra for the other two. I don't mind paying extra, but I don't want them to change it every year or every six months. I need to know what I'm looking at and not worry about it next year."
"In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help."
"We noticed that from time to time, Microsoft's stability does have problems. Sometimes the service goes up and down. Sometimes they change without prior notice."
"The changes to customer service, specifically the new model for support agreements, are not favorable."
"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."
"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When comparing the price of Anomali Enterprise to other solutions it is in the medium to high range. However, I am satisfied with the price."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
7%
Insurance Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Anomali ThreatStream?
An area for improvement is the intelligence sharing within the Anomali community. The tagging system can be inconsistent, as any company can use any tags for their reporting. Combining all aliases ...
What is your primary use case for Anomali ThreatStream?
I use Anomali ( /products/anomali-reviews ) for threat hunting, threat collection, operationalization of intelligence, such as indicators of compromise (IOCs), and dissemination of reports for repo...
What advice do you have for others considering Anomali ThreatStream?
For new users, I recommend taking the training provided by Anomali as it is very well articulated. I advise reading the user manual and taking the instructor-led training sessions from the customer...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published. It's essential to enhan...
 

Also Known As

Match, Lens, ThreatStream, STAXX, Anomali Security Analytics
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bank of England, First Energy, UBISOFT, Bank of Hope, Blackhawk Network
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Anomali vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.