FortiXDR vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Fortinet and Microsoft are both solutions in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category. Fortinet is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4. Fortinet holds a 0.7% mindshare in XDR, compared to Microsoft’s 6.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

FortiXDR

Read 4 FortiXDR reviews

809 Views
383 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 99 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

7,236 Views
5,536 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

FortiXDR

Microsoft Defender XDR

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between FortiXDR 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 FortiXDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

FortiXDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

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Helped 849,686 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

FortiXDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

28th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) category, the mindshare of FortiXDR is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 6.9%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Featured Reviews

Abdulrahman Mashabi

Sales Director at Virtual Vision (V2)

Affordable pricing improves access to solutions with scalable and efficient protection

We are a system integrator and cloud service provider. Although I am in sales and not technical, I am involved with these products to sell them to our customers We are using FortiGate and FortiWeb mostly. Additionally, we are engaged with FortiXDR and FortiEDR. They could change their licensing…

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Gabor Nyerd

Enterprise mobility and security evangelist at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot

We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.

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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

"FortiXDR is valuable for its integration capabilities with one hundred percent compatibility with other vendors in cloud environments like Google, Oracle, and Microsoft."

"The product is stable enough."

"The most valuable feature of FortiXDR is it integrates well with other Fortinet solutions, such as Fortinet firewall, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, Forti Fabric, switches, and access points. Whatever the flow of the traffic comes in or goes out, the entire traffic can be managed and monitored properly."

"Our customers are satisfied with FortiXDR."

"The most valuable feature of FortiXDR is its ability to block clients, providing comprehensive endpoint protection."

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

"I like Defender XDR's automation capabilities. XDR isn't automated by default, but you can automate it to respond. If an attack is performed anywhere within the organization, you can isolate that instance from the network. This is what I can figure out for it. When integrated with Sentinel, you can set up playbooks to automate all the alerts gathered on Sentinel from different Microsoft solutions. Sentinel has a wider range of capabilities than XDR."

"I like Defender XDR's reports and alerts. They give you updates about the latest hotfixes and zero-day vulnerabilities, which gives me all the information I need to maintain my servers."

"We can automate routine tasks and write scripts to carry out difficult tasks, which makes things easier for us."

"Scanning, vulnerability reporting, and the dashboard are the most valuable features."

"We can use Defender to block and monitor for security purposes without needing multiple other products to do different tasks."

"The integration, visibility, vulnerability management, and device identification are valuable."

"Vulnerability assessment and just-in-time access are some valuable features of Defender for server plans."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"Improvement is needed in the intuitiveness and integration measures of FortiXDR, especially in terms of compatibility."

"The pricing of FortiXDR should be improved. It's a point of concern for us."

"Many of the solutions, such as CrowdStrike have an MDR solution where remediation can be provided by the vendor. For example, if there is any zero data threat found, a new threat that the customer is not able to recognize, fix, or understand what needs to be done this feature has to be added in FortiXDR so that the customer feels comfortable."

"The pricing of FortiXDR should be improved."

"They could change their licensing costs to make it more affordable for smaller businesses."

"Improvement is needed in the intuitiveness and integration measures of FortiXDR, especially in terms of compatibility."

"Generally, antivirus products provide a central control to manage every device in terms of who is installing it or who is trying to disable it, but Microsoft doesn't have such a control center for the antivirus product it provides."

"The interface could be improved. For example, if you want to do a phishing simulation for your employees, it can take a while to figure out what to do. The interface is a bit messy and could be updated. It isn't too bad, but doing some things can be a long process."

"The solution could improve by having better machine learning and AI. Additionally, the interface, documentation, and integration could be better."

"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."

"There are a few technical issues with Defender XDR that can be improved. Sometimes, the endpoint devices are not reporting properly to the Defender 365 portal. When you're getting all the information from the Microsoft portal, the devices are sometimes not in sync. We have hundreds of endpoint devices, some needing to be onboarded again."

"My client would like the solution to be more customizable without using code. You can only build on the default console, but we're not allowed to change it."

"The solution could enhance the threat Intelligence feature by making it more relevant to specific industries. Much of the threat intelligence information isn't directly applicable to our environment. It would be beneficial if the threat intelligence were tailored to the industry, such as healthcare or fintech, where the solution is being used."

"The design of the user interface could use some work. Sometimes it's hard to find the exact information you need."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an expensive solution compared to other vendors, such as Check Point."

"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."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is expensive."

"The solution is too expensive."

"The licensing fee for Microsoft 365 Defender is fair."

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

"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."

"Microsoft Defender falls within a mid-tier price range compared to other security solutions."

"The functionality is fantastic, but for medium and small-sized companies it's overpriced. It would be better if it were a little bit cheaper."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiXDR?

Comparing to the enterprise level, the pricing is reasonable. However, for some companies, it might be a little high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with FortiXDR?

They could change their licensing costs to make it more affordable for smaller businesses.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for FortiXDR?

We are a system integrator and cloud service provider. Although I am in sales and not technical, I am involved with these products to sell them to our customers.

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

See all answers

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

Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

There is nothing I can think of at the moment that needs improvement. I am a contractor and finishing up soon, so I haven't encountered any issues requiring enhancements.

See all answers

Comparisons

Trend Vision One vs FortiXDR

Compared 19% of the time

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs FortiXDR

Compared 14% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Complete vs FortiXDR

Compared 12% of the time

ESET EDR/XDR vs FortiXDR

Compared 10% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs FortiXDR

Compared 8% of the time

More FortiXDR Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 18% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 10% of the time

Trend Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

March 2025

Download FortiXDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

XDR Defined and Explained
Extended detection and response (XDR) is a natural extension of the endpoint detection and response (EDR) concept, in which behaviors that occur after threat prevention controls act are further inspected for potentially malicious, suspicious, or risky activity that warrant mitigation. The difference is simply the location (endpoint or beyond) where the behaviors occur.

Fortinet

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

Information Not Available

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

Buyer's Guide

FortiXDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

Free Report: FortiXDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

Find out what your peers are saying about FortiXDR vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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