

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft Defender XDR compete in the endpoint and server security category. Microsoft Defender XDR holds a slight upper hand due to its seamless integration within the Microsoft ecosystem, which is highly valued by enterprises.
Features: Cortex XDR offers advanced detection capabilities, behavior-based detection, and WildFire sandbox for threat prevention. The system's automated incident correlation and integration with other Palo Alto products enhance its functionality. Microsoft Defender XDR is well-integrated with Microsoft products, providing a comprehensive security platform. Its EDR capabilities and compatibility with various Microsoft security tools are significant advantages.
Room for Improvement: Cortex XDR users suggest enhancements in reporting, dashboard usability, and reducing false positives. Performance issues and complex third-party tool integration are noted areas needing attention. Microsoft Defender XDR faces licensing complexity challenges and needs improved visibility for non-Microsoft products and better automated response capabilities.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions can be deployed on-premises, cloud, or hybrid, offering flexibility. Microsoft Defender XDR integrates seamlessly with existing Microsoft solutions, while Cortex XDR is easily deployed within the Palo Alto ecosystem. Microsoft Defender's support is considered more reliable, whereas Cortex XDR's customer service has mixed reviews.
Pricing and ROI: Cortex XDR is viewed as expensive, yet its extensive security features justify the cost. Users mention dynamic pricing for flexibility, though it may be costly for smaller firms. Microsoft Defender XDR's pricing is competitive within Microsoft bundles, providing significant value for enterprises, although standalone purchases can be pricey. Both solutions show good ROI with security and compliance benefits.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks helps to reduce my total cost of ownership significantly.
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.
We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.
Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.
It helped stop multiple intrusion points where we would have had millions in lost revenue if the attackers got in.
The technical support from Palo Alto deserves a mark of ten because they reach out within an hour whenever assistance is needed.
There is no back and forth, and they know what we are asking for and come up with the best resolution for a solution.
If any of these services are missed, it becomes a problem in terms of support tickets, follow-up, or special configuration that needs to be done in the system.
You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.
It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.
Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks can be expanded anytime by purchasing another license without any issues related to scalability.
My concern is about the scale of events and alerts being generated, and the product is doing a very good job of only surfacing the important items for us.
Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.
Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.
Cortex remains fast and responsive, even with increasing data and alerts.
The thresholds we've seen on our firewall boxes at some instances reached 80% to 85%, but even at that level of utilization, we don't observe any latency or any issues reported with respect to accessing the application.
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.
The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.
It provides high-fidelity signals.
Improving reporting and dashboard customization, along with the addition of real-time and exportable reports, would help SOC teams greatly.
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.
The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.
Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.
Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.
The pricing on SentinelOne is far more reasonable and cheaper than Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks.
I would say it is definitely not a cheap product, considering how mature it is and how scalable all Palo Alto products are together.
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.
I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.
Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.
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.
It includes machine learning to easily analyze data and detect complex threats across endpoints, networks, or clouds.
With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.
This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.
Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender XDR | 5.3% |
| Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks | 5.0% |
| Other | 89.7% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 43 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 18 |
| Large Enterprise | 43 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 47 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 25 |
| Large Enterprise | 38 |
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks delivers comprehensive endpoint security, integrating well with other systems to offer robust threat detection and real-time protection through AI-driven analytics.
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks offers advanced endpoint protection and threat detection through AI and behavior-based analytics. Its user-friendly design simplifies integration with firewalls, delivering multi-layered protection with low resource consumption. Valued for policy management, USB control, and incident correlation, Cortex XDR enhances threat management and real-time threat hunting capabilities. However, users note challenges with third-party integration, reporting, and dashboard automation. Agent performance across operating systems and memory consumption are areas for improvement, alongside reducing false positives and simplifying endpoint management and setup.
What features does Cortex XDR offer?
What benefits should be considered in reviews?
Cortex XDR is crucial in industries requiring robust endpoint protection, such as finance, healthcare, and technology. It supports malware detection, behavioral analysis, and ransomware mitigation across endpoints, including remote work environments, providing comprehensive threat visibility and security policy management. The solution's integration with firewalls and specialized industry requirements enhances security posture in diverse operational settings.
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.
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