ESET EDR/XDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Why PeerSpot?

ESET and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. ESET is ranked #19 with an average rating of 9.0, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. ESET holds a 1.5% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 3.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of ESET users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 98% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between ESET EDR/XDR and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2026

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Helped 914,322 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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 4.8%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ESET EDR/XDR is 1.5%, down from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 3.7%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	4.8%
Microsoft Defender XDR	3.7%
ESET EDR/XDR	1.5%
Other	90.0%

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk

Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration

Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.

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GirdharMishra

Program Manager at iONE IT Solutions

Centralized monitoring has improved threat visibility and reduced incident response time

In terms of valuable features in ESET EDR/XDR, we focus on endpoint device management as well as for the firewall team, including our log analysis and monitoring the firewall, which are three significant functions for us. ESET EDR/XDR has automated threat detection that gives us real-time incident alerts, and it helps us proactively receive and work on incidents that could have an impact. Regarding the usefulness of ESET EDR/XDR's behavior-based analysis in detecting potential breaches, we have identified some files or configuration files that should remain static, and if any changes occur without proper change management, we are able to identify those changes, including detecting zero-day attacks. The integration of threat intelligence feeds has helped our response strategies, as we are using Oracle OCA-based data analysis, and we have integrated it so that logs are forwarded to our SIEM, allowing us to analyze the data effectively. I evaluate the impact of centralized management on our security operations as very useful because it eliminates the need to log into individual systems to find sources, allowing us to identify all types of risks and vulnerabilities from a single desk.

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reviewer2812758

Infosec at a government with 10,001+ employees

Integrated defenses have unified threat hunting, phishing simulations, and identity investigations

I appreciate Microsoft Defender XDR's MDE, Microsoft Defender tool, which has Attack Simulator. Instead of doing a phishing campaign and getting a separate tool, Microsoft Defender XDR does it all. These features of Microsoft Defender XDR have helped us conduct a phishing campaign quarterly, which has been beneficial. I also appreciate the fact that it has Defender for Office integrated, Defender for Identity, and everything integrated together. I would describe the process of using Microsoft Defender XDR to prioritize incidents in my security operations as quite decent. I appreciate the automatic alerting system where any incidents or alerts we receive come directly to our email. From there, we can open the email, go directly to Microsoft Defender XDR, and start our investigations and remediations. I perceive the integration of security and identity access management in Microsoft Defender XDR as affecting my identity protection strategies very well because it is well integrated with Purview, integrated well with Entra ID, and integrated well with Exchange. I especially appreciate MDO, the Office product. If anything happens and I want to conduct an investigation, it takes me directly to Exchange, where I can also investigate any emails or phishing incidents. Instead of going to different portals, everything can be done from Microsoft Defender XDR. If necessary for further investigation, Microsoft Defender XDR then directs me to that environment. I would assess the integration of AI in guiding security actions within Microsoft Defender XDR as quite positive. Recently, Security Copilot went big, and it is beneficial that I can use that, especially to write KQL. I can do threat hunting features and intelligence all within using Microsoft's Security Copilot. It also has a nice AI feature for threat hunting. I know that all the Defender logs go to Sentinel, and I can pull it up from Microsoft Defender XDR or from Sentinel. The fact that I can actually do all that within Microsoft Defender XDR is a nice feature. In the top module, I can do threat lookups, and I can actually type KQLs in Microsoft Defender XDR and look up incidents. Predictive shielding has had a nice impact on my proactive security measures. It is beneficial that it has, similar to Entra ID, a secure score. For me to improve the product, the secure score helps me out. If I rate it from highest to lowest, I can see what things I can improve. Secure score helps me see what areas I can improve in Microsoft Defender XDR to increase my score and bring it to 80 or more. Knowing Microsoft Defender XDR from using it since 2019, before COVID days, I know that they have improved significantly. It is much more user-friendly and has a very nice vulnerability feature that I find handy and useful. The fact that this feature integrates into Intune is also very decent.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The good thing about the product is that it's always scanning."

"If any application performs suspicious activities, such as changing registries or modifying other applications, Cortex XDR detects and blocks the entire application."

"The most valuable feature of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is its machine-learning capabilities. Additionally, there is full integration with other solutions."

"Cortex XDR alerts us on the dashboard when there's a threat, which allows us to restrict that user and helps secure our infrastructure."

"We switched because there were a lot of added features with Palo Alto that Check Point didn't have, and it was an upgrade for us."

"The anti-exploit is impenetrable. We chose Traps because it is the only product that we were not able to get anything past."

"Palo Alto is the core of the security infrastructure in the environment."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks saves time in various ways, although the user interface is fairly standard."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"The initial setup of ESET EDR_XDR is very simple, easy to deploy, and manage."

"The solution is easy to use."

"It is pretty easy to install without any hassles, and ESET EDR_XDR has its own cloud portal where everything is available."

"ESET EDR/XDR has automated threat detection that gives us real-time incident alerts, and it helps us proactively receive and work on incidents that could have an impact."

"The stability has been great."

"The 'Incidents and Alerts' tab is a valuable feature where we can find triggered alerts."

"A crucial aspect for our team is the inclusion of identity and access management tools from the vendor."

"In our company,we have faced multiple attacks over the last few months, but none of them have been successful, and I think Microsoft Defender XDR has played a major role in it."

"Among the most valuable features are the alert timeline, the alert story, which is pretty detailed. It gives us complete insight into what exactly happened on the endpoint. It doesn't just say, "Malware detected." It tells us what caused that malware to be detected and how it was detected. It gives us a complete timeline from beginning to end."

"I have found the ability to delete unwanted threats beneficial."

"Microsoft Defender is very stable, and you can see that there is a 99.9% success rate when they give us good service."

"As a reseller and partner, the advantages of Microsoft Defender XDR are numerous; I have stopped many threats for many organizations using Defender alone, and I have saved significant IT management time by avoiding manual updates and manual work."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"The main issue I could point out is the offline agents and the way that it is missing."

"Dashboards do not allow everyone to see what's happening."

"It's more focused on network communication. If a customer wants to increase the level of protection and start working with documents, it's impossible to integrate these features into the system. It's more of a communication-oriented system than a content security-oriented system."

"They've been having some issues with updating their endpoint agents, and it has been quite frustrating."

"Previously, the endpoint would leave the environment, not being on our VPN, essentially unable to interact with the server to upload files. It was unable to retrieve new file verdicts. It was using a thing called "local analysis" to determine if something was a malicious file or not. There was no dynamic analysis."

"However, if you do not have Palo Alto in your environment, you are paying these additional services just for Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, so it is not a cost-effective solution."

"Although I would say this product is highly-rated, it could probably do more because nothing does everything that you want."

"In terms of areas of improvement, we have not completed our review of the product. We're also looking at other products. So, it's a little bit hard to tell what could be different because we have not completed the review of this product, but based on our experience so far, its implementation is quite complex."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"The solution could improve how it scours each website."

"ESET EDR_XDR needs to conduct more research and development and innovations in early detection of attacks."

"The memory and CPU footprint can affect performance. It sometimes slows down the CPU performance."

"The price could be better. It'll also help if they can continuously update and upgrade the solution. Every day there's a new virus uploaded into the network, and we have to keep updating it to identify all these things."

"Microsoft tends to provide too many features, which makes the solution prone to bugs."

"Advanced attacks could use an improvement."

"Customers say they want absolutely seamless integration between other Microsoft solutions and Defender XDR, including the ability to change device settings within the Defender portal. They need to contact the IT team responsible for the device management tools to change some settings. They would prefer that those changes be initiated directly from the Defender portal or applied from Intune without involving the IT operations team."

"While the XDR platform offers valuable functionalities, it falls short of other solutions in its ability to deliver a cohesive identity experience."

"It would be highly beneficial if CoPilot could identify anomalies within the network and notify the IT team."

"The web filtering solution needs to be improved because currently, it is very simple."

"It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution has one subscription for endpoint protection and one subscription for detection and response. The two licenses combined give you the BRO version."

"The price of the product is not very economical."

"Licensing for Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR can be costly, especially when it comes to a hundred users. A license is required for each user, and the subscription must be renewed on a yearly basis."

"The pricing is okay, although direct support can be expensive."

"It's the most expensive solution, but features-wise, it's quite strong. It's very good for protection, so the results are very good in the case of protection. I would rate it a two out of ten in terms of pricing."

"It has a higher cost than other solutions, like CrowdStrike or Microsoft’s EDR tools, but it reduces the cost of our operations because it’s a new generation antivirus tool."

"Traps pays for itself within the first 16 months of a three-year subscription. This is attributed to OPEX savings, as security teams spent less time trying to identify and isolate malware for analysis as a result of a reduction in malware incidents, false positives, and breach avoidance."

"Every customer has to pay for a license because it doesn't work with what you get from a managed services provider."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"I rate the solution’s pricing a six or seven out of ten.."

"Sometimes 365 Defender is expensive, but it can be moderate, depending on the organization's size and the license type. We're satisfied with the cost because it gives us a product that protects our entire environment with DLP. To compromise some cost, of course, we are to complete the most secure environment."

"The price could be better. Normally, the costs depend on the country you're located in for the license. When we were in the initial stage, we went with the E5 license they call premium standard. It cost us around $5.20 per month for four users."

"I find the pricing to be quite competitive, especially considering its inclusion in our E5 subscription, which provides a comprehensive set of functionalities."

"Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is already included in our Office 365 licensing. It is better because we're saving money by using it."

"It can be complex to navigate since customers have varying licensing agreements across Microsoft. If they go straightforward with E5 for all users, it's simple, but combinations based on budget constraints can complicate things."

"365 Defender can get expensive because you pay per gigabyte of data ingested. On the other hand, much of the data available in the other Microsoft security solutions are made available relatively cheaply—sometimes at cost or for free. Integrating only a limited set of third-party solutions with Sentinel would be cost-effective. It's much more affordable if companies only have Microsoft stuff."

"I believe that the pricing of the licensing is fair."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Outsourcing Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Construction Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	55

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	28
Large Enterprise	41

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. ...

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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 th...

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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,...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ESET EDR/XDR?

I find the price of ESET EDR/XDR to be competitive to the market, which is a reasonable aspect for us.

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What needs improvement with ESET EDR/XDR?

I just deploy and forget it, so I don't get into much detail about improvements. The major setback we face with ESET ...

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What advice do you have for others considering ESET EDR/XDR?

We might get good pricing one year, and then the next year there could be significant pricing issues. Integration wit...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My experience with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender XDR is that we are on an E5 license,...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

From my perspective, Microsoft Defender XDR can be improved with better visibility in certain areas where I can trigg...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender XDR are telemetry, advanced hunting, and the ability to perform host isolati...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 14% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Wazuh vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Kaspersky Next XDR Expert vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 7% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 5% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 3% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs ESET EDR/XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More ESET EDR/XDR Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

September 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

September 2026

Download ESET EDR/XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

ESET Secure Authentication

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

ESET EDR/XDR offers advanced endpoint detection and response capabilities, designed to enhance security posture with real-time threat intelligence and investigation features. It's tailored for comprehensive analysis and proactive measures against cyber threats.

ESET EDR/XDR stands out by providing a robust framework for threat detection, investigation, and response processes. It arms security teams with the tools needed to detect suspicious activities, reduce response times, and improve threat hunting. This efficient system leverages artificial intelligence to provide actionable insights and event correlation across the organization, ensuring swift adaptation to dynamic threat environments.

What are the key features of ESET EDR/XDR?

Threat Hunting: Conduct thorough searches for potential threats using detailed telemetry data and advanced querying capabilities.
Root Cause Analysis: Quickly pinpoint the source of security incidents to mitigate potential vulnerabilities and prevent recurrence.
Automated Response: Configure automatic countermeasures to neutralize detected threats, minimizing manual intervention.
Behavioral Rules: Implement machine learning algorithms to identify abnormal behaviors indicative of compromised systems.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated in reviews?

Improved Threat Visibility: Gain a holistic view of security events, allowing for informed decision-making and threat prioritization.
Cost Efficiency: Reducing manual monitoring and response efforts translates to significant savings on operational costs.
Reduced Incident Response Time: Accelerate the time it takes to detect and respond to threats, limiting potential damages.
Scalability: Easily integrates with existing security infrastructures, accommodating growth and increasing demands.

ESET EDR/XDR is versatile across industries, from finance to healthcare, providing tailored functionalities to meet sector-specific requirements. For instance, in finance, it meets stringent compliance standards, while in healthcare, it ensures patient data confidentiality and rapid threat mitigation.

ESET

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.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Mitsubishi Motors, Canon

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Buyer's Guide

ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

September 2026

Free Report: ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

Find out what your peers are saying about ESET EDR/XDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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