CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management comparison

CrowdStrike and Microsoft are both solutions in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category. CrowdStrike is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while Microsoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.5. CrowdStrike holds a 15.8% mindshare in ASM, compared to Microsoft’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of CrowdStrike users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

CrowdStrike Falcon

Read 132 CrowdStrike Falcon reviews

5,127 Views
222 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender External...

Read 2 Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management reviews

731 Views
222 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

CrowdStrike Falcon

Microsoft Defender External...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between CrowdStrike Falcon and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Attack Surface Management (ASM) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

April 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

CrowdStrike Falcon

Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

132

Ranking in other categories

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (6th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Threat Intelligence Platforms (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (1st), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (1st)

Microsoft Defender External...

Ranking in Attack Surface Management (ASM)

12th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (34th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Attack Surface Management (ASM) category, the mindshare of CrowdStrike Falcon is 15.8%, down from 28.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 3.2%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

Featured Reviews

Waleed Omar

Information Security Specialist at Arab Open University

Provides effective real-time threat detection with potential for cost optimization

Some features such as device control, firewall management, and file analysis are standalone products that we need to purchase separately. If these features came out of the box within the product, it would be much more beneficial for us. Other providers such as SentinelOne include these features in their base product. We attended a CrowdStrike Falcon event where they discussed some shallow AI features, but we cannot see these in our panel yet. We work with different solutions such as Darktrace and SocRadar, where AI features are automatically displayed in our dashboards after release. However, for CrowdStrike Falcon, we cannot see these features.

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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

"It has definitely minimized resources. When everything was on-prem, there was a lot more work maintaining it. One of the big value tickets: I don't have lists of hundreds of exceptions for certain applications that I have to maintain, add, delete, and move. The very nature of the product has lessened my workload considerably."

"The most valuable aspects of CrowdStrike Falcon for me are its device observability, identification, and software and OS recognition."

"The features we showcase to potential customers are prevention, malware protection, zero-day protection, and application scripting. Vulnerability assessment is another valuable feature."

"We have seen a reduction to the performance hit to our operating systems."

"The EDR is amazing and ease of integration with Splunk is a big plus. Integration with BigQuery is also a plus for me and workflow creation is easy. Overall, CrowdStrike Falcon is a great product."

"I like the vulnerability assessment and proactive hunting features of CrowdStrike Falcon."

"The malware protection is the most valuable feature of CrowdStrike Falcon."

"At this point what is most valuable is the interface, which is easy to navigate."

More CrowdStrike Falcon pros

"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

"The malware analysis could be improved, as that's what we use the solution for the most and that change would make it a better EDR tool."

"Currently, I do not see any tangible benefits from CrowdStrike regarding incident improvement time, response time, or cost saving."

"The product could be more accurate in terms of performance."

"CrowdStrike Falcon could improve the logs by making them free to the API."

"Basically, they don't cover legacy OS or applications. That's the only issue we're concerned about"

"The price is too high."

"For further improvements, I can only think of one example because this is very important for us; they could reduce the price. Then it would deserve a rating of seven."

"Unfortunately, native applications are not supported."

More CrowdStrike Falcon cons

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

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

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Annual licensing."

"With respect to pricing, my suggestion to others is to evaluate the environment and purchase what you need."

"We are at about $60,000 per year."

"Our company pays approximately US$ 65,000 annually for 900 machines."

"The pricing is not bad. It's on the higher end of the market, but you get what you pay for."

"CrowdStrike Falcon can be more expensive than some competitors, and its base price doesn't cover every feature."

"The price is too high."

"Purchasing the product through the AWS Marketplace is just a click away. Since we were using the on-premise version of the product, we continued on the cloud by purchasing it through the AWS Marketplace."

More CrowdStrike Falcon pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 ...

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How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?

Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...

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How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?

The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...

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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...

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

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon

Compared 6% of the time

Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response vs CrowdStrike Falcon

Compared 5% of the time

Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business vs CrowdStrike Falcon

Compared 3% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs CrowdStrike Falcon

Compared 3% of the time

Microsoft Defender XDR vs CrowdStrike Falcon

Compared 3% of the time

More CrowdStrike Falcon Competitors

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 20% of the time

Tenable Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 16% of the time

Bitsight vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 13% of the time

Mandiant Advantage vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 12% of the time

Darktrace vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 12% of the time

More Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CrowdStrike Falcon

June 2025

Download CrowdStrike Falcon product report

Buyer's Guide

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

June 2025

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management report

Download Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management product report

Also Known As

CrowdStrike Falcon, CrowdStrike Falcon XDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Threat Intelligence, CrowdStrike Identity Protection, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface

No data available

Overview

CrowdStrike Falcon provides endpoint protection and threat intelligence using a cloud-based platform for real-time detection and response. Its minimal impact on system performance and ease of deployment are key benefits along with advanced logging and reporting for compliance and forensic analysis.

CrowdStrike Falcon is known for its efficacy in identifying malware, ransomware, and sophisticated cyber threats. The platform's cloud-native architecture and advanced AI capabilities ensure comprehensive endpoint visibility and rapid response times. Users appreciate the lightweight agent and seamless deployment process, along with detailed reporting features. Integration with security tools and efficient customer support are essential features.

What are the key features of CrowdStrike Falcon?

Real-time Threat Detection: Provides immediate threat identification and response.
Lightweight Agent: Minimal impact on system performance.
Cloud-native Architecture: Ensures flexibility and scalability.
Advanced AI Capabilities: Enhances threat detection and prevention.
Comprehensive Endpoint Visibility: Complete insight into endpoint activities.
Detailed Reporting: Facilitates compliance and forensic analysis.
Security Tool Integration: Seamless integration with other tools.
Efficient Customer Support: Robust support services.

What are the benefits or ROI of CrowdStrike Falcon?

Improved Threat Detection: Identifies sophisticated threats, reducing risk.
Enhanced System Performance: Lightweight agent ensures minimal disruption.
Faster Response Times: Swift reaction to incidents minimizes damage.
Better Compliance: Detailed logs meet regulatory requirements.
Streamlined Deployment: Easy to implement with minimal downtime.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, CrowdStrike Falcon is often used for critical security due to its robust threat detection capabilities. Financial firms value its rapid response and detailed reporting for compliance, while healthcare providers appreciate the minimal system performance impact. Retailers benefit from its comprehensive endpoint visibility and integration with other security tools.

CrowdStrike

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

CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

April 2025

Free Report: CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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