Azure DDoS Protection vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management comparison

Azure DDoS Protection and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Azure DDoS Protection is ranked #27 with an average rating of 7.8, while Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is ranked #33 with an average rating of 7.5. Azure DDoS Protection holds a 2.1% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Azure DDoS Protection users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management users who would recommend it.

Azure DDoS Protection

Read 8 Azure DDoS Protection reviews

2,145 Views
922 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender External...

Read 2 Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management reviews

1,123 Views
225 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Azure DDoS Protection

Microsoft Defender External...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure DDoS Protection and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Microsoft Security Suite solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure DDoS Protection vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure DDoS Protection vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

December 2025

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Helped 881,082 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

Azure DDoS Protection

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

27th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (9th)

Microsoft Defender External...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

33rd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Attack Surface Management (ASM) (14th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Azure DDoS Protection is 2.1%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Azure DDoS Protection	2.1%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management	0.8%
Other	97.1%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Dinesh Jaisankar

Cloud Architect at Vision Bank

Security architecture shields infrastructure but dashboard needs enhancement

The Azure DDoS Protection plan is essential for environments like ours that are highly exposed to potential attacks, especially since DDoS attacks have become common. The security architecture with Azure DDoS Protection is critical for safeguarding our financial organization's infrastructure. Although implementing it is pricier, it is worth using since our applications are entirely in Azure.

Read full review

AndyChan3

General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration

I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…

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 most valuable feature of Azure DDoS Protection is that it performs well."

"The integration of various tools with Azure Firewall, like DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, and Azure Front Door, is quite effective."

"Azure is easy to set up and widely used by our clients."

"DDoS Protection is simple to deploy and integrates seamlessly with the Azure environment. Ease of deployment is a crucial feature for us."

"Azure DDoS Protection offers superior protection against denial-of-service attacks."

"The integration of various tools with Azure Firewall, like DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, and Azure Front Door, is quite effective."

"The Azure DDoS Protection plan is essential for environments like ours that are highly exposed to potential attacks, especially since DDoS attacks have become common."

"This solution is the best option for us because we use a lot of Microsoft products. So, it is easy for us to deploy or integrate any features or products."

More Azure DDoS Protection pros

"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."

"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."

"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."

Cons

"I have noticed some false positives with the Web Application Firewall yet not with DDoS Protection."

"The dashboard lacks insights and user-friendliness, as most data is logged into metrics like Log Analytics workspaces."

"The visibility could be better. We would like to have better metrics, so we could see all the information in a central place."

"The implementation of Azure DDoS Protection results in a decrease in our bandwidth capacity and should be optimized to reduce resource consumption."

"Sometimes, it is hard for our staff to keep track of changes (in the GUI) between different projects, because there are constant changes. As a result, it is hard to manage, recall, and see all the features because they have been moved from one place to another."

"I suggest adding more services and additional services, which would be beneficial."

"It's not very easy to configure, in my view."

"Azure DDoS Protection could improve on the reporting."

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."

"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."

"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."

"You can test it for a certain period of time free of charge. You can have a free account. You can test it to compare its pros and cons with other products that you are testing."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Outsourcing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure DDoS Protection?

The pricing is somewhat costly, usually around $3,000 to $4,000 per month. Managing this expense is tough, especially since we haven't received everything we need for our capital expenditure manage...

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What needs improvement with Azure DDoS Protection?

The dashboard lacks insights and user-friendliness, as most data is logged into metrics like Log Analytics workspaces. It would be beneficial to have more detailed insights available directly on th...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure DDoS Protection?

We are a bank with Internet banking and corporate banking portals, which exposes multiple applications externally. These exposed applications come under the Azure DDoS Protection plan, integrated w...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

I rate the pricing of the solution as eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

See all answers

Comparisons

AWS Shield vs Azure DDoS Protection

Compared 17% of the time

Cloudflare vs Azure DDoS Protection

Compared 14% of the time

Arbor DDoS vs Azure DDoS Protection

Compared 10% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Azure DDoS Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Azure Web Application Firewall vs Azure DDoS Protection

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 13% of the time

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 9% of the time

Darktrace vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 8% of the time

Bitsight vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 8% of the time

Mandiant Advantage vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure DDoS Protection

January 2026

Download Azure DDoS Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

January 2026

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management report

Download Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management product report

Overview

Azure DDoS Protection, combined with application design best practices, provides defense against DDoS attacks.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

In this era of hybrid work, shadow IT creates an increasingly serious security risk. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management helps cloud security teams see unknown and unmanaged resources outside the firewall.

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

Azure DDoS Protection vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

December 2025

Free Report: Azure DDoS Protection vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure DDoS Protection vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

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