Anomali vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Anomali and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. Anomali is ranked #26 with an average rating of 8.5, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4. Anomali holds a 0.5% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 5.9% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Anomali users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Anomali

Read 4 Anomali reviews

2,356 Views
330 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 102 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,986 Views
6,152 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Anomali

Microsoft Defender XDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

Anomali and Microsoft Defender XDR are competitive cybersecurity solutions known for their advanced security features. While Anomali is recognized for its superior threat intelligence capabilities, Microsoft Defender XDR is often favored due to its comprehensive integration with Microsoft tools, offering a more unified security approach.

Features: Anomali provides robust threat intelligence and analytics, real-time threat detection, and specialized threat modeling capabilities. Microsoft Defender XDR excels in comprehensive security integration, multi-platform threat protection, and automation features, allowing for detailed threat analysis and response.

Room for Improvement: Anomali could enhance scalability and user interface design to match diverse security needs. Additionally, improving integration capabilities with third-party tools would benefit users. Microsoft Defender XDR can improve customization options and reduce false positive rates to enhance user efficiency, along with expanding identity management features for better user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Anomali facilitates easy deployment focusing on threat intelligence integration. Microsoft Defender XDR offers seamless integration within Microsoft environments, benefiting from established support networks enhancing the customer service experience. Microsoft provides extensive deployment support within its ecosystem, aiding existing Microsoft users.

Pricing and ROI: Anomali generally incurs higher setup costs due to its specialized focus, providing significant ROI for threat-intelligence-centric organizations. In contrast, Microsoft Defender XDR offers a more cost-effective setup for Microsoft service users, potentially yielding better ROI through integrated security features and lower additional expenses. Microsoft Defender XDR's comprehensive features provide a strong value proposition, balancing cost efficiency with security needs.

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

Buyer's Guide

Anomali vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

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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

Anomali

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

26th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (32nd), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (19th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (22nd), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (8th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Anomali is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 5.9%, down from 8.1% 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	5.9%
Anomali	0.5%
Other	93.6%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

ChrisCollins

Enterprise Security Architect V at FirstEnergy

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.

Read full review

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.

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 feature I have found most valuable is credential monitoring. This feature is easy and quick."

"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."

"I have found Cyber threat intelligence (CTI) very useful and concise. The solution is easy to use."

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

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

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

"The ability to hunt that IM data set or the identity data set at the same time is valuable. As incident response professionals, we are very used to EDRs and having device process registry telemetry, but a lot of times, we do not have that identity data right there with us, so we have to go search for it in some other silo. Being able to cross-correlate via both datasets at the same time is something that we can only do in Def"

"The product integrates security into one tool instead of having third-party security tools."

"Defender XDR offers richer insights into Defender XDR. It's a better overall experience."

"My clients like Defender's file integrity monitoring. They're monitoring Windows and Linux system files."

"Defender XDR can stop advanced attacks, like ransomware or business email compromise."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

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."

"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."

"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."

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

"We should be able to use the product on devices like Apple, Linux, etc."

"Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender."

"The technical support from Microsoft Defender XDR has been disappointingly slow, to the point that I am considering not renewing my unified support contract."

"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."

"The patching capability should be there. Patching is something that you cannot do even though you see the vulnerabilities present in your environment. For patching, you have to depend on another solution."

"The customer support aspect can be better because it's the biggest complaint I hear about Microsoft."

"What could be improved in Microsoft 365 Defender is its licensing, e.g. it should be more consolidated and would be good if it has some optimizations. Improving the alerts and notifications, in terms of adding more details, would also be good for this solution."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

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."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is already included in our Office 365 licensing. It is better because we're saving money by using it."

"Microsoft is not competitive with the pricing of the solution. The competitors are able to offer lower discounts. The price of the solution is higher."

"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."

"Microsoft Defender XDR's licensing is complicated."

"We have a lot of problems in Latin America regarding the price of Microsoft 365 Defender, because the relationship between dollars and the money of the different countries, it's is a lot. Many customers that have small businesses say that they would like the solution but it is too expensive. However, large companies do not find the cost an issue."

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

"It can be complex to navigate since customers have varying licensing agreements across Microsoft. If they go straightforward with E5 for all users, it's simple, but combinations based on budget constraints can complicate things."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Educational Organization

Computer Software Company

16%

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	46
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	37

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

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?

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

See all answers

Comparisons

ThreatConnect Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) vs Anomali

Compared 18% of the time

Recorded Future vs Anomali

Compared 16% of the time

Splunk Enterprise Security vs Anomali

Compared 12% of the time

ThreatQ vs Anomali

Compared 10% of the time

SOCRadar Extended Threat Intelligence vs Anomali

Compared 6% of the time

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

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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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)

October 2025

Download Anomali product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

Match, Lens, ThreatStream, STAXX, Anomali Security Analytics

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Anomali delivers advanced threat intelligence solutions designed to enhance security operations by providing comprehensive visibility into threats and enabling real-time threat detection and management.

Anomali stands out in threat intelligence, offering an innovative platform that integrates data to identify and analyze threats effectively. It enables teams to streamline threat detection processes and respond to incidents with increased agility. With a focus on accuracy and efficiency, Anomali supports cybersecurity professionals in making informed decisions to safeguard their networks consistently.

What are Anomali's core features?

ThreatStream: A platform that aggregates threat intelligence feeds to enhance threat assessment.
Match: An automated detection feature that matches internal log data against threat intelligence insights.
Link: Provides graphical visualization for threat analysis, helping to understand threat vectors better.
STAXX: A lightweight tool for collecting and analyzing open-source threat intelligence.

What are the key benefits and ROI of using Anomali?

Improved Threat Detection: Streamlined processes lead to faster identification and response to threats.
Resource Efficiency: Automation reduces manual tasks, allowing security teams to focus on strategic activities.
Better Decision Making: Provides actionable insights that enable more informed security strategies.

In industries like finance and healthcare, Anomali is implemented to address specific challenges like compliance and data protection. By using this platform, organizations gain the ability to adapt to evolving threats, ensuring robust and adaptable security postures tailored to industry demands.

Anomali

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

Bank of England, First Energy, UBISOFT, Bank of Hope, Blackhawk Network

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

Buyer's Guide

Anomali vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2025

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