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Huntress Managed EDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

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
6.2
Huntress Managed EDR enhances efficiency and cost savings by improving threat analysis, reducing staff needs, and increasing response rates.
Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Defender for Business improves security, enhances productivity, and reduces costs but may have delays in financial returns.
We have to provide endpoint security as a core part of our service as an MSP and using Huntress Managed EDR has saved us approximately a thousand dollars a month over using other more expensive, less effective solutions.
CTO at Limetree Labs
My advice to others looking into using Huntress Managed EDR is that if they're looking for an easy-to-use and manage solution, Huntress Managed EDR is a good fit for a small to medium company.
Director, Information Technology at Middletown Medical
Huntress Managed EDR provides validated detections, detailed threat context, and recommendations from the SOC team, our engineers can focus on responding to legitimate threats rather than manually reviewing large numbers of low priority alerts.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.0
Huntress Managed EDR's support is praised for quick, professional service with proactive engagement, 24/7 availability, and high ratings.
Sentiment score
5.2
Microsoft Defender for Business support is efficient but inconsistent, with variable responsiveness and differing opinions on staff knowledge and resolution times.
I felt it was important to raise awareness about this new technique where attackers use legitimate applications to gain remote access and control of computers.
Owner at Phenicie Business Management
They are thorough and ensure the problem is addressed without pushing responsibilities onto me unnecessarily.
Senior Systems Engineer at NetSmart, Inc.
For technical support, I would rate Huntress a ten out of ten, and in truth, they are better than that.
President at Cyber5
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Chief Cybersecurity Architect at cytek-security
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Huntress Managed EDR offers scalable, cost-effective, cloud-based security for diverse environments, simplifying management with a centralized console.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Business offers scalable, cloud-driven security for diverse organizations, adaptable to various configurations and endpoint quantities.
For MSPs, the multi-tenant management capabilities are especially valuable because they allow engineers to support multiple clients from a single platform while maintaining clear separation between environments.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
I know other techs with thousands deployed, so scalability isn't an issue.
Business Owner at Royal IT
Scaling Huntress is simple; I can manage up to a thousand devices without issue.
Owner at Phenicie Business Management
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.
Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Huntress Managed EDR is highly stable, reliable, and efficient, with quick support, ensuring dependable daily operations and threat detection.
Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Business is highly rated for stability, despite minor errors and complexity issues not significantly impacting confidence.
About stability, we have not seen any lagging, crashing, downtime, or any sort of instability with Huntress Managed EDR.
Security Specialist at a healthcare company with 201-500 employees
From a day-to-day perspective, the platform has provided dependable threat detection, tamper alerting, and consistent SOC support.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
It is stable and reliable for day-to-day SOC operations.
Soc Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.
Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential
 

Room For Improvement

Huntress Managed EDR needs improved usability, better integration, enhanced APIs, expanded compatibility, increased customization, and more comprehensive features.
Microsoft Defender for Business needs improved reporting, threat protection, support, and integration, with attention to pricing and update communication.
A more transparent way for the support team at Huntress and our IT team to collaborate to make it faster and easier would be beneficial.
VCIO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Huntress Managed EDR indicated this is a normal behavior, but I would prefer to be alerted whenever there is any incident involving Windows Defender on any machines, regardless of the status of the incident.
Managing Director at KAN iT
Additional dashboard customization, more granular alert filtering options, and enhanced executive level reporting would help teams present security insights more effectively to their clients.
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers find Huntress Managed EDR competitive, cost-effective, and valuable with straightforward licensing and justified price increases.
Microsoft Defender for Business offers integrated security in Office 365, with competitive pricing but some note higher costs than competitors.
The savings from utilizing the included Windows Defender offset the cost of Huntress Managed EDR, making it an affordable solution overall.
Managing Director at Fluent2 Ltd
It is not too expensive or too cheap. It is just right.
Owner at Antra Tech
It can get expensive for small to medium businesses if large license quantities are not purchased.
Senior Systems Engineer at NetSmart, Inc.
Single-year pricing remains good.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.
CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Huntress Managed EDR provides 24/7 SOC support with automated remediation, enhancing security efficiency and lowering costs through a user-friendly dashboard.
Microsoft Defender for Business provides robust, scalable security with seamless Azure integration and effective threat management at a cost-effective price.
What stands out most is their human element: when faced with an unknown threat, real people, not just automated processes, are investigating it, and they're people we trust.
CTO at Accent Consulting
They provide detailed remediation steps, explaining why an issue is a problem and what steps to take.
Business Owner at Royal IT
Previously, I could not modify it unless I had special Microsoft licensing, so it was beneficial to control Windows Defender through a central console to add policies and things like that.
Owner at Antra Tech
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
 

Categories and Ranking

Huntress Managed EDR
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (6th), Managed Detection and Response (MDR) (1st)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (14th), Microsoft Security Suite (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Huntress Managed EDR and Microsoft Defender for Business aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Huntress Managed EDR is designed for Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and holds a mindshare of 4.2%, down 10.0% compared to last year.
Microsoft Defender for Business, on the other hand, focuses on Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP), holds 1.4% mindshare, down 2.1% since last year.
Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Huntress Managed EDR4.2%
SentinelOne Wayfinder Threat Detection and Response6.2%
CrowdStrike Falcon Complete MDR4.5%
Other85.1%
Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Business1.4%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint6.5%
CrowdStrike Falcon5.7%
Other86.4%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Abhishek Saini - PeerSpot reviewer
Professional Services Engineer at Next7 IT
Managed detection has transformed incident response and now delivers faster, focused protection
Overall, my experience with Huntress Managed EDR has been very positive. If I were to suggest improvements, I would like to see more advanced customization and reporting capabilities, particularly for MSPs managing multiple clients. For example, additional dashboard customization, more granular alert filtering options, and enhanced executive level reporting would help teams present security insights more effectively to their clients. Deeper integrations with a broader range of third party security and IT management platforms could also streamline workflows and reduce the need to switch between multiple tools. Another area of improvement would be expanding automation options for common remediation tasks, allowing security teams to respond even more quickly to certain types of threats while maintaining appropriate control. These are more enhancements than shortcomings, as Huntress Managed EDR already provides strong threat detection, excellent SOC support, and an easy-to-manage platform that delivers significant value in day-to-day operations. A few additional enhancements would make the platform even stronger, especially for MSPs managing a large number of endpoints and clients. From a user interface perspective, I would like to see more customizable dashboards that allow engineers to tailor views based on the client's priorities, threat levels, or operational metrics. Another useful feature would be additional automation and authorization options for common response actions such as isolating devices, initiating remediation workflows, or integrating with ticketing systems and SIEM platforms. Overall, these would be valuable additions, but they do not take away from the core strength of Huntress Managed EDR.
Paritosh Jani - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate VP (Managed Information Technology Services) at Dev Information Tech Pvt Ltd
Has delivered automated threat response and streamlined integration with advanced tools
The best features of Microsoft Defender for Business include it coming as an XDR solution which provides automated investigations, remediations, and endpoint detection and response. Moreover, it can be tightly integrated with vulnerability management or detecting vulnerabilities and pushing them to the SIEM solution. I utilize the advanced threat hunting feature of Microsoft Defender for Business and find it helpful; it's good and improving with every update. Microsoft Defender for Business integrates effectively with the Microsoft ecosystem as with Azure Sentinel, and it has a two-way natural integration. Apart from that, it also integrates with industry SIEM solutions such as Splunk.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business65
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Huntress?
I would like to see more customization and deeper integration with SIEM and other security tools for Huntress Managed EDR, as better reporting and more detailed endpoint investigation data would al...
What is your primary use case for Huntress?
My main use case for Huntress Managed EDR is endpoint monitoring and threat detection, which I use to investigate suspicious processes, malware activity, endpoint alerts, and potential indicators o...
What advice do you have for others considering Huntress?
I would rate Huntress Managed EDR a nine out of 10 because it gives strong endpoint visibility, reliable threat detection, and effective remediation, while the managed SOC reduces the workload for ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
I see room for improvement in Microsoft Defender for Business, particularly regarding the consolidation of all security solutions in one place and the integration of AI and data security into the s...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Huntress, SentinelOne, CrowdStrike and others in Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Updated: September 2026.
914,889 professionals have used our research since 2012.