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CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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
7.2
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances security, reduces risks and costs, saves resources, and protects sensitive information effectively.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers significant ROI with cost savings, seamless integration, and real-time protection against ransomware attacks.
Deploying CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager has secured the infrastructure, which saves money, time, and resources.
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
I consider CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager's return on investment to be good since it effectively accomplishes the goals expected from privilege access management solutions.
Commercial and Technical Professional Manager at Evolution Technologies Group
Without detection and protection measures, organizations would face substantial payments and reputational damage, including the necessity to inform customers about data breaches, potentially leading to loss of business.
Consultant at ACT4SERVICES
We have seen a return on investment when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it saves labor by reducing the need for staff to focus on it.
IT CONSULTANT at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
Lead security engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager support is knowledgeable but needs improvements in response times, accessibility, and first-level assistance.
Sentiment score
6.4
Many users find Microsoft Defender for Endpoint reliable, but support experiences vary, with premium support offering quicker assistance.
They respond immediately to our inquiries, resolve issues promptly, and provide valuable guidance, especially in critical situations.
Security Delivery Analyst at Accenture
We engage them when needed and receive prompt responses that typically resolve our issues.
Global Security Systems Consultant at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Earlier, we received support for normal tickets within a day, but now it takes one or two days to resolve issues.
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
The Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, 'Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then.'
Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
Office 365 Subject Expert at a government with 10,001+ employees
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager efficiently scales for large deployments, praised for growth-centered architecture despite integration complexities.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable and integrates well with Microsoft’s ecosystem, despite needing improvements for handling massive data.
We can set permissions per team or department, allowing some teams to elevate specific applications while others have different permissions.
Global Security Systems Consultant at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is quite scalable.
Security Delivery Analyst at Accenture
The available reports and other security tools assist in scaling it according to my organization's needs.
Cybersecurity Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Compatibility is its main feature.
IT CONSULTANT at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is stable, with 99.99% uptime, reliable on Windows, needing console improvements and minimal memory.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is praised for its reliability and stability, with minor concerns about resource intensity and performance.
It is a robust solution that has effectively supported our environment without major issues.
Security Delivery Analyst at Accenture
Since implementing it, we have not experienced any outages or stability issues.
Global Security Systems Consultant at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager offers multiple options for creating and stopping policies.
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
Systems engineers at Delta Dental of Colorado
 

Room For Improvement

CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager needs improved integration, user interface, and pricing, along with enhanced compatibility and functionality.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint faces interface complexity, slow detection, high CPU usage, integration issues, and seeks improvements in multiple areas.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager could be improved by simplifying the administration process, specifically when setting up policies and applications.
Global Security Systems Consultant at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees
Currently, no user-based policy option is available inside the EPM console.
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Some features provided in the self-hosted version of EPM are not supported in the software as a service version, like connection to some analysis applied by Palo Alto.
Solution Architect at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
Office 365 Subject Expert at a government with 10,001+ employees
In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager's high pricing is justified by its quality, features, and appeal to large enterprises in finance.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers flexible pricing, making it competitive and cost-effective compared to standalone security products.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is slightly expensive, but costs can be negotiated to become more competitive.
Cybersecurity Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is costly compared to other solutions.
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
I've received feedback that the pricing is high, however, for me, the value it brings is worth the cost.
Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
That has been the trend we have seen with Microsoft lately—it is just getting more and more expensive.
Assistant Director, Hybrid Infrastructure & Operations at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
 

Valuable Features

CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances security by managing privileges, integrating seamlessly, and preventing ransomware while ensuring regulatory compliance.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels with seamless integration, advanced threat intelligence, AI-driven protection, and continuous cloud-based security management.
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager effectively reduces malicious content in applications by allowing us to identify and block dangerous applications.
Security Delivery Analyst at Accenture
It allows them to granularly manage controls to prevent some malicious activities on the endpoint machine.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager enhances computer security by providing minimal access, effectively preventing ransomware attacks.
Cybersecurity Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
Consultant at ACT4SERVICES
 

Categories and Ranking

CyberArk Endpoint Privilege...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (4th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (4th), Application Control (3rd), Ransomware Protection (5th)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
210
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager is 1.3%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 9.1%, down from 17.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint9.1%
CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager1.3%
Other89.6%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Sumit Chavan - PeerSpot reviewer
Lead Consultant at a tech vendor with 501-1,000 employees
Helps secure the infrastructure and control users with admin rights
There are many features that are currently missing. A customization option is required for certain policies. For instance, if we need to stop PowerShell scripting, we have to create a different policy for that. Being able to create a sub-level policy within a top-level policy would be good. Currently, no user-based policy option is available inside the EPM console. We can only create computer-based policies. The database is available, but there is a drawback in not being able to create local groups on the EPM console. We only have to depend on Active Directory. This limits infrastructure security as we depend on the Active Directory team to manage user groups. If they remove any users, we lose control. If we could create groups locally and block them or set specific policies, we would have more control. Local endpoint management is missing from the EPM site. Moreover, there is an issue with policies not running as expected when we make enhancements. We have to find multiple ways to whitelist applications or enhance policies.
Robert Arbuckle - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time
Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business80
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise92
 

Questions from the Community

Looking for recommendations and a pros/cons template for software to detect insider threats
This is an inside-out --- outside-in --- inside-in question, as an insider can be an outsider as well. There is no short answer other than a blend of a PAM tool with Behavioral Analytics and Endpo...
What do you like most about CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its performance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager?
I believe it's quite a reasonably priced solution. It's not very common to use CyberArk because it's a niche solution, but customers who are willing to control administrative accounts are willing t...
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...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
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 ...
 

Also Known As

Viewfinity
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about CyberArk Endpoint Privilege Manager vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,899 professionals have used our research since 2012.