AWS Security Hub vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud comparison

AWS Security Hub vs. Microsoft Defender for Cloud

June 2026

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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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.8%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Security Hub is 2.5%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 5.9%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud	5.9%
Qualys TotalCloud	1.8%
AWS Security Hub	2.5%
Other	89.8%

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Featured Reviews

Robert Orłowski

IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.

Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities

Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.

Has helped identify misconfigurations and prioritize risks but lacks multi-cloud support and deeper integration features

Karthik Ekambaram

Director at Scybers

AWS Security Hub cannot scale up to multiple different cloud environments; it only works for AWS. There are other products in the market for CSPM that can give you multi-cloud environment misconfigurations, even Microsoft for that matter. Regarding the integration of AWS Security Hub with third-party tools, I am not certain whether we can integrate them, but there is no need to do so. However, AWS Security Hub cannot integrate with other cloud providers, so it only supports the AWS environment. The compliance checks within AWS Security Hub are good, but we don't use them much. We utilize compliance frameworks such as CIS compliance frameworks and ISO 27017 framework, which are beneficial, but it can improve in other areas too, such as including NIST and other frameworks beyond just ISO and CIS. Improvements can be applicable for scalability, particularly on integration with multi-cloud environments, and compliance frameworks can be added for more variety as well. The unified dashboard in AWS Security Hub is adequate; I cannot say it is exceptional, but the content available in the dashboards is satisfactory for now.

Cloud security has cut investigation time and now reveals threats faster but needs simpler oversight

RyanWalker

Head Of IT at Cirrus Response

When deploying AI applications, my key security concerns with Microsoft Defender for Cloud are data loss, leakage of data, and guardrails around the actual AI, and I am hoping that this is going to help me put those guardrails in place and identify data exfiltration. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not helped me manage and secure multi-cloud environments, as we are 100 percent Microsoft and have not really got it in any other environment at all. I am not yet using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet using the integrated XDR feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet utilizing the GenAI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. That is also coming and a lot of that will come from learning it here. I have enabled the agentless scanning in my cloud environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Assessing the impact on my workload protection without needing to install agents with Microsoft Defender for Cloud makes it a lot easier, but it also identifies a lot more, which puts more load on me sometimes. I would advise another organization considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud that it is the most logical route to follow if their whole ecosystem is Microsoft. It is easy to implement and it is very self-explanatory when doing it, making sense to just follow the steps as it is too simple, really. I would rate this review a 7.5 out of 10.

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"TotalCloud provides the easiest and the best approach for cloud infrastructure management."

"The best part I like is the on-demand scans."

"I like the web API security and IoT scanning features the most. The user-friendly design of TotalCloud's interface enables customers to navigate it and use its full potential easily"

"If I had to say something positive about the product that brings me the biggest benefit, I would say it has accurate reports, gets new update CVEs, zero-day attack detection, and is easy to manage with its GUI."

"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly improved our organization by automating our reporting processes, reducing the time spent on report creation from two hours to less than fifteen to twenty minutes."

"With TotalCloud, we can scan through the API. If we are not able to deploy cloud agents on the machine, we can use the API."

"If someone were to ask me to review Qualys TotalCloud, I would summarize it as an end-to-end solution for cloud security with visibility and governance-grade controls without needing to manage multiple disconnected tools."

"Qualys TotalCloud has significantly reduced our workload in terms of managing risks, helping us to be more efficient and save substantial resources."

"AWS Security Hub has very good integration features. It allows for AWS native services integration, and it helps us to integrate some of the services outside of AWS. They have partners, such as Amazon Preferred Network Partners (APN). If you have different security tools around APN, we can integrate those findings with AWS Security Hub reducing the need to refer to different portals or different UIs. You can have AWS Security Hub act as a single common go-to dashboard."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is easy to manage...It is a scalable solution."

"If someone asks your team how vulnerable or compliant you are with your infrastructure, you can show findings from AWS Security Hub that demonstrate a ninety-plus percentage compliance rate."

"The most valuable feature of AWS Security Hub is the ability to track when monitoring is not enabled on any of my resources."

"Cloudposse is a valuable feature as it guarantees my security."

"AWS Security Hub can check your infrastructure against multiple compliance frameworks. You can turn on or off specific frameworks based on your needs."

"The solution shows us our compliance score."

"I really like the seamless integration with the AWS account structure. It can even be made mandatory as part of the landing zone. These are great features. And there's a single pane of glass for the entire account."

More AWS Security Hub pros

"It has improved our security posture a lot, and with the implementation of Azure Security Center, we have resolved many issues, including being able to do security monitoring of the complete infrastructure across both cloud and on-prem environments."

"The solution's coordinated detection and response across devices and identities is impressive because it is complete."

"We saw improvement from a regulatory compliance perspective due to having a single dashboard."

"Using Security Center, you have a full view, at any given time, of what's deployed, and that is something that is very useful."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the vulnerability assessments and the glossary of compliance."

"It's got a lot of great features."

"It improves the transparency and visibility of the traffic in and out of the network of each workload on my system."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the insights, meaning the remediation suggestions, as well as the incident alerts."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pros

Cons

"Qualys TotalCloud needs to enhance its scanning capabilities in the IP domain, as it currently lacks the functionality to resolve IPs to their corresponding domain names."

"Qualys's ticketing system can be confusing when assigning tasks to individuals, and support could be improved by offering instant call solutions with engineers in addition to ticket replies."

"Their support could be improved."

"I think Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its handling of zero-day vulnerabilities and supply chain management because modern ransomware attacks not only target prime critical infrastructures but also the supply chain system."

"The downside is only in container security, but it has not been a long time since they introduced these models."

"There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness."

"The main area needing improvement is integration. Although the team is strengthening TotalCloud, integration can be enhanced with SIEM, SOAR, ITSM, and other sources."

"From a downside perspective, the UI is not user-friendly and feels dated compared to other tools like Prisma Cloud."

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"AWS Security Hub should improve the time it takes to update. It takes a long period of time when updating. It can take 24 hours sometimes to update. Additionally, when integrating this solution with more security tools, takes time."

"We need more granular-level customizations to enable or disable the rules in AWS Security Hub."

"It is not flexible for multi-cloud environments."

"It's not user-friendly. Too much going on, too many unnecessary findings, not very visual. You can't do much compared to other similar tools that are cheaper and better."

"AWS Security Hub's configuration and integration are areas where it lacks and needs to improve."

"Adding SIEM features would be beneficial because of the limited customization of AWS Security Hub."

"There is room for improvement in implementing AI capabilities. It would be beneficial for Security Hub to implement preventative measures and to directly apply recommendations instead of just suggesting them."

"AWS Security Hub cannot scale up to multiple different cloud environments; it only works for AWS."

More AWS Security Hub cons

"While we are satisfied with Defender for Cloud's features, an AI enhancement could potentially provide better advice and adapt more effectively to our environment."

"Azure Security Center should be more easily understood by a non-technical person. It needs to be simplified and made more user-friendly for a non-technical person."

"When you work with it, the only problem that we're struggling with is that we have 21 different subscriptions we're trying to apply security to. It's impossible to keep everything organized."

"For Kubernetes, I was using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). To see that whatever is getting deployed into AKS goes through the correct checks and balances in terms of affinities and other similar aspects and follows all the policies, we had to use a product called Stackrox. At a granular level, the built-in policies were good for Kubernetes, but to protect our containers from a coding point of view, we had to use a few other products. For example, from a programming point of view, we were using Checkmarx for static code analysis. For CIS compliance, there are no CIS benchmarks for AKS. So, we had to use other plugins to see that the CIS benchmarks are compliant. There are CIS benchmarks for Kubernetes on AWS and GCP, but there are no CIS benchmarks for AKS. So, Azure Security Center fell short from the regulatory compliance point of view, and we had to use one more product. We ended up with two different dashboards. We had Azure Security Center, and we had Stackrox that had its own dashboard. The operations team and the security team had to look at two dashboards, and they couldn't get an integrated piece. That's a drawback of Azure Security Center. Azure Security Center should provide APIs so that we can integrate its dashboard within other enterprise dashboards, such as the PowerBI dashboard. We couldn't get through these aspects, and we ended up giving Reader security permission to too many people, which was okay to some extent, but when we had to administer the users for the Stackrox portal and Azure Security Center, it became painful."

"One of the main challenges that we have been facing with Azure Security Center is the cost. The costs are really a complex calculation, e.g., to calculate the monthly costs. Azure is calculating on an hourly basis for use of the resource. Because of this, we found it really complex to promote what will be our costs for the next couple of months. I think if Azure could reduce the complex calculation and come up with straightforward cost mapping that would be very useful from a product point of view."

"The pricing is very difficult because every type of Defender for Cloud has its own metrics and pricing."

"The product was a bit complex to set up earlier, however, it is a bit streamlined now."

"There needs to be improvement in the security recommendations, particularly in attack path mapping. Sometimes, it misleads users about the real exposure of external-facing assets."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers good pricing that is affordable and competitive with the market. Our partnership also provides us with additional benefits."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."

"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."

"Its price seems higher compared to other tools, but it is worth it. If they could adjust the pricing and make it comparable with other tools, that would be great."

"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"The price of AWS Security Hub is average compared to other solutions."

"The pricing is fine. It is not an expensive tool."

"AWS Security Hub's pricing is pretty reasonable."

"There are multiple subscription models, like yearly, monthly, and packaged."

"The cost is based on the number of compliances, core checks, and services required, and for more than 10,000 recommendations, the charge is just one dollar."

"Security Hub is not an expensive solution."

"The price of the solution is not very competitive but it is reasonable."

"AWS Security Hub is not an expensive tool. I would consider it to be a cheap solution. AWS Security Hub follows the PAYG pricing model, meaning you will have to pay for whatever you use."

"While we pay for any additional features, the pricing seems competitive, though I am not involved in the specific cost details."

"The tool is pretty expensive."

"It is bundled with our enterprise subscription, which makes it easy to go for it. It is available by default, and there is no extra cost for using the standard features."

"This is a worldwide service and depending on the country, there will be different prices."

"The pricing and licensing of Microsoft Defender for Cloud have been good for us. We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud is pricey, especially for Kubernetes clusters."

"Defender's basic version is free, which is good. Many of our teams are evaluating the paid version against third-party products."

"Pricing depends on your workload size, but it is very cheap. If you're talking about virtual machines, it is $5 or something for each machine, which is minimal. If you go for some agent-based solution for every virtual machine, then you need to pay the same thing or more than that. For an on-premises solution like this, we were paying around $30 to $50 based on size. With Defender, Microsoft doesn't bother about the size. You pay based on the number of machines. So, if you have 10 virtual machines, and 10 virtual machines are being monitored, you are paying based on that rather than the size of the virtual machine. Thus, you are paying for the number of units rather than paying for the size of your units."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user186927

Director of Operations at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

Feb 16, 2015

Cybereason vs. Interset vs. SQRRL

Capture DB - they all use NoSQL db and hence solve the ad hoc query and 'go back in time' problem with current best of breed SIEM and DLP solutions that rely on real time analysis of incoming logs (and don't store them). This means deeper and quicker iterative threat analysis and assessment…

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	30

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	31
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	49

Questions from the Community

The price is very expensive, actually.

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple en...

What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

Our use case involves the assets that we have under cloud, the assets exposed to the internet, and the internal appli...

Which is better - Azure Sentinel or AWS Security Hub?

We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel...

What needs improvement with AWS Security Hub?

I do not see any areas for improvement in AWS Security Hub itself, but the cost factor is something that is the main ...

What is your primary use case for AWS Security Hub?

AWS Security Hub is something I have used daily as it is a part of my job for cloud security purposes. If you are dea...

How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?

Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening acros...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was that the license cost was the only consideration. Setup an...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

To improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud, I think pricing-wise, the license price is a little bit higher from an inges...

JupiterOne vs Qualys TotalCloud

Comparisons

Wiz vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 11% of the time

Compared 6% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 6% of the time

Nucleus Security vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 5% of the time

Orca Security vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 4% of the time

More Qualys TotalCloud Competitors

Microsoft Sentinel vs AWS Security Hub

Compared 31% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs AWS Security Hub

Compared 6% of the time

Wiz vs AWS Security Hub

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point CloudGuard CNAPP vs AWS Security Hub

Compared 4% of the time

Datadog vs AWS Security Hub

Compared 2% of the time

More AWS Security Hub Competitors

AWS GuardDuty vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 25% of the time

Wiz vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 4% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

Datadog vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 1% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Qualys TotalCloud

July 2026

Download AWS Security Hub product report

AWS Security Hub

July 2026

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

July 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

SQRRL

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Qualys

Demo not available

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

AWS Security Hub provides multi-account management and compliance checks alongside integrations with AWS services and third-party tools. It centralizes vulnerability tracking and risk prioritization, delivering real-time alerts for proactive security management.

AWS Security Hub enhances cloud security management through a centralized dashboard that monitors infrastructure resources and compliance scores, ensuring adherence to AWS standards. With integrations for vulnerability detection and security posture management, users can streamline security operations. While the platform offers notable benefits, areas for improvement include customization options for findings suppression and integration with multi-cloud environments.

What are the key features of AWS Security Hub?

Multi-Account Management: Seamlessly manage security across numerous accounts.
Compliance Checks: Stay aligned with standards such as PCI through automated reviews.
AWS Integrations: Connect effortlessly with AWS and third-party services to enhance security posture.
Real-Time Alerts: Quickly respond to potential threats with immediate notifications.
Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities to enhance resource allocation.

What benefits should users expect from using AWS Security Hub?

Proactive Security: Early threat detection enables quicker mitigation strategies.
Cloud-Native Functionality: Utilize tools tailored for cloud environments.
Compliance Insights: Simplified compliance management provides transparency.
Ease of Use: Streamlined interface facilitates efficient security management.

Industries implementing AWS Security Hub leverage its capabilities for comprehensive security across multiple accounts and regions. Health, finance, and retail sectors benefit by automating compliance checks and monitoring security infrastructures. This service aids in identifying misconfigurations, tracking alerts, and ensuring infrastructure integrity during cyber incidents.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security platform offering integration with Microsoft services, multi-cloud capability, AI-driven threat detection, compliance, and unified visibility for improved security operations.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud manages security operations by integrating with Microsoft services and supporting multi-cloud environments. Its features include AI-driven threat detection, compliance oversight, and advanced threat protection. It simplifies processes with unified visibility, threat intelligence, and automated workflows, enhancing security posture across various workloads. Despite its robust capabilities, improvements are needed in third-party tool integration, comprehensive AI-driven remediation, and a more intuitive dashboard. Users report complexity in licensing, inadequate documentation, and high costs, with room for enhancements in compliance reporting and multi-cloud support.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

Integration with Microsoft Services: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft platforms for streamlined operations.
Multi-Cloud Capability: Supports various cloud environments for broader coverage.
AI-Driven Threat Detection: Uses AI to identify and counter security threats effectively.
Compliance Features: Offers regulatory compliance tools to ensure adherence to standards.
Unified Visibility: Provides a comprehensive view of security operations for better management.
Endpoint Management: Manages and secures endpoint devices efficiently.
Advanced Threat Protection: Delivers enhanced defense against complex threats.
Vulnerability Management: Identifies and addresses vulnerabilities proactively.

What benefits and ROI can users expect?

Enhanced Security Posture: Strengthens security across multiple environments.
Unified Threat Intelligence: Centralizes threat data for informed decision-making.
Automated Processes: Streamlines security operations with automated workflows.
Prioritized Remediation: Offers prioritized actions to address security challenges efficiently.

Industries leverage Microsoft Defender for Cloud for security posture management and endpoint protection. Many companies integrate it with Office 365 for enhanced functionality. It provides comprehensive security overviews by monitoring cloud vulnerabilities, limiting unauthorized access, and replacing existing tools with its extensive capabilities from network security to compliance checks, securing Azure infrastructure, and enhancing client security.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Edmunds, Frame.io, GoDaddy, Realtor.com

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.