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Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
Cortex XDR enhances security, reduces costs, boosts threat identification, compliance, and user confidence, offering cost-effective data protection.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Defender boosts productivity and security, integrating seamlessly with Office tools for significant budget savings despite ROI challenges.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
I have seen a return on investment with Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, as this product is offered at a minimal cost, and we can find a good ROI from it.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Cortex XDR support is responsive and knowledgeable, despite occasional delays and regional language barriers affecting resolution times.
Sentiment score
5.5
Users have mixed reviews of Microsoft Defender's support, noting contact difficulties and inconsistent technical assistance despite good onboarding.
Every vendor has similar support; it depends on how the case is handled and raised.
Their support is efficient and responsive whenever I raise a ticket through my portal.
They did well with handling high-risk threats.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cortex XDR is praised for smooth scalability, managing diverse endpoints, and effective expansion in various organizational sizes.
Sentiment score
8.3
Microsoft Defender for Business is scalable and effective across diverse environments, though special configurations might impact growth speed.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cortex XDR is stable, with resolved bugs and ongoing improvements, earning high stability ratings from users.
Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Business is stable and reliable, with minimal crashes, but some report occasional bugs impacting stability.
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
For the last 11 months, we haven't faced any outage issues, so it is a stable product.
All the situations and issues were controlled in a good way by Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XDR struggles with compatibility, high memory usage, difficult management, limited features, and needs better integration, UI, and pricing.
Microsoft Defender for Business needs better reporting, integration, simplified interface, and enhanced features to address various limitations and concerns.
The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products.
If the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better.
Cortex XDR could improve its sales support team, including better commission structures and referral programs.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Cortex XDR expensive, but competitive, with flexible licensing; costs vary by usage, features, and setup.
Microsoft Defender for Business offers competitive pricing with enterprise value, though some users find costs high compared to competitors.
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
Compared to competitors such as CrowdStrike and Sophos, the pricing of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is similar to CrowdStrike but more expensive than Sophos.
Single-year pricing remains good.
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR offers robust endpoint security with advanced threat detection, ease of use, seamless integration, and real-time monitoring capabilities.
Microsoft Defender for Business integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, offering comprehensive security, scalability, and user-friendly features for effective threat management.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
The product provides automation responses in case of a threat attack, severity assessments, centralized manageability, and comprehensive compliance features, resulting in reduced costs.
If a user doesn't click any link within 30 days and on the 31st day clicks a new link, Cortex XDR immediately alerts us that this user has clicked on an uncommon link or their behavior is uncommon.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (9th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (7th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (4th)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
18th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.7%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 2.1%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks3.7%
Microsoft Defender for Business2.1%
Other94.2%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

HectorRios - PeerSpot reviewer
Has detected high-risk threats effectively and provides strong behavioral protection
They did well with handling high-risk threats. I would rate Palo Alto support an eight or nine. I would give them an eight because in the majority of cases, we talk with local partners, and only in case of an emergency or a difficult issue, we jump to Palo Alto support. When we had that experience with Palo Alto support, it was nice service, but it was really difficult to get it. To jump from the partner to Palo Alto directly was challenging. I understand that it's part of the service, as the local partner just jumps up to Palo Alto support in case they need it. In some cases, when we faced an important issue, it was preferred to jump directly to Palo Alto to save time.
Takayuki-Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
Product deployment protects assets but needs improvement in system support
I am doing maintenance for Microsoft Defender for Business, and I'm currently working with it. We don't need to use the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Business. We still use the latest virus definition file that Microsoft Defender for Business has automatically updated. We implement a basic update mechanism. Our compliance division manages how many servers and PCs we have and whether those servers have antivirus solutions. I am not certain about how Microsoft Defender for Business helps with AI-driven security strategies. I just use it normally and don't know if it uses AI technology. I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a six out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
6%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business41
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise36
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. The ability to reverse damage caused by ransomware with minimal interruptions to...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?
A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
Microsoft Defender for Business could improve by offering more of their offerings available in the basic tenants since not everyone has a budget for higher-level licenses, but everyone needs securi...
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs. Microsoft Defender for Business and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.