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Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 9, 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
4.7
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides cost savings, enhanced security, and compliance with reduced administrative effort and robust threat detection.
Sentiment score
3.0
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection offers a 30% ROI, top-tier protection against data loss, and is highly valued for its cost-effectiveness.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers cost savings, enhanced security, time savings, and ransomware prevention, with improved functionality and productivity.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks helps to reduce my total cost of ownership significantly.
Detection and Response Consultant at Inovasys
In Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, most of the remediation is automated and the accuracy is quite good.
Network Security Engineer at Cyberwell Solution
I have observed value for money from Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum.
Senior IT Manager at HETCO
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
7.0
Cortex XDR support varies by plan and location; premium plans provide better experiences but others report delays.
Sentiment score
5.3
Kaspersky's support is praised for expertise, but experiences vary due to response times and communication clarity.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint support satisfaction varies, with faster responses for premium support but slower tier-one assistance.
The technical support from Palo Alto deserves a mark of ten because they reach out within an hour whenever assistance is needed.
Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees
There is no back and forth, and they know what we are asking for and come up with the best resolution for a solution.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
If any of these services are missed, it becomes a problem in terms of support tickets, follow-up, or special configuration that needs to be done in the system.
Chief of IT Architecture at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Compared to other solution providers, the responses are not very clear when we need support.
Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We usually solve issues ourselves due to our experience, as paid support is not used.
Network Engineer at Berhan Bank
For technical support, Kaspersky provides two kinds: purchased support for real-time assistance and normal support during working hours.
CEO at Haniya Technologies
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
7.5
Cortex XDR offers scalable, flexible management for enterprises, supporting thousands of users with easy deployment and cloud-based maintenance.
Sentiment score
7.9
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection scales well for large organizations, with straightforward licensing and strong integration for extended capabilities.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers scalability and flexibility, supporting diverse organizations with seamless integration and extensive capabilities.
You can onboard 10,000 endpoints in just hours, which demonstrates the excellent scalability of this product.
Assistant Security Architect at Cloudnomics
Activating the newly purchased licenses is instantaneous, allowing installations without adjustments since it's cloud-based.
Junior Security Analyst at ITSEC Asia
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks can be expanded anytime by purchasing another license without any issues related to scalability.
Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum can expand from Endpoint Detection and Response to Extended Detection and Response and then threat intelligence solutions.
CEO at Haniya Technologies
It is very easy for me to scale.
Senior IT Executer at Mylerz Co.
Currently, I find it good and easily scalable.
Network Engineer at Berhan Bank
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
8.0
Cortex XDR is praised for its stability and performance, with manageable upgrades and frequent updates enhancing its features.
Sentiment score
7.9
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is praised for its stability and performance, despite occasional disconnection issues.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, reliable, integrates well with Windows, but occasionally faces update and cloud connectivity issues.
Cortex remains fast and responsive, even with increasing data and alerts.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
The thresholds we've seen on our firewall boxes at some instances reached 80% to 85%, but even at that level of utilization, we don't observe any latency or any issues reported with respect to accessing the application.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
The solution is highly stable, scoring more than nine in terms of protection.
Chief Information Technology Officer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is stable.
Network Engineer at Berhan Bank
I would rate stability for Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum as nine; it is pretty stable, a very good, stable product.
CEO at Haniya Technologies
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

Cortex XDR users desire better OS integration, interface, threat detection, and pricing, while facing complexity and compatibility challenges.
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum needs improvements in integration, scalability, pricing, UI, support efficiency, and central management.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint needs better interfaces, support, integration, performance, reporting, pricing, Linux features, cloud integration, and automation.
Improving reporting and dashboard customization, along with the addition of real-time and exportable reports, would help SOC teams greatly.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products.
Pre Sales Architect at network techlab
If the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better.
Cyber Security Information Security Specialist at MHM Holding GmbH
To increase the benefits of the product, Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service from Kaspersky should be included.
Chief Information Technology Officer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The uninstallation needs better handling, specifically with automatic license deletions.
Senior IT Manager at HETCO
SonicWall can integrate with other products such as Sophos, SentinelOne, and several others, but not with Kaspersky.
Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 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

Cortex XDR is seen as costly by some, but offers scalable licensing and satisfaction varies with advanced features.
Kaspersky EDR Optimum offers competitive pricing, considered economical by some despite security concerns, compared to Fortinet or CrowdStrike.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's pricing varies; included in some bundles but advanced features may require costly additional licenses.
The pricing on SentinelOne is far more reasonable and cheaper than Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks.
Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would say it is definitely not a cheap product, considering how mature it is and how scalable all Palo Alto products are together.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
Kaspersky is very cheap compared to solutions like CrowdStrike or other vendors.
Senior IT Executer at Mylerz Co.
The value from Kaspersky is very good, especially since we recently got a special deal.
Chief Information Technology Officer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is reasonably priced for the market.
Senior IT Manager at HETCO
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
The standalone option can feel expensive if you opt for full P2 coverage.
Technical Head Cloud Services at Softcell Technologies Limited
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
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR offers advanced security with robust detection, integration, and AI capabilities, praised for flexibility and user-friendly interface.
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection provides advanced security with real-time analytics, automation, encryption, and user-friendly management for comprehensive protection.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint enhances security with seamless Windows integration, advanced threat detection, centralized management, and minimal performance impact.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
The product provides automation responses in case of a threat attack, severity assessments, centralized manageability, and comprehensive compliance features, resulting in reduced costs.
Pre Sales Architect at network techlab
It includes machine learning to easily analyze data and detect complex threats across endpoints, networks, or clouds.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
It fulfills security and protection requirements against newly discovered malware, especially ransomware attacks.
Chief Information Technology Officer at a engineering company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Threat Response Automation in Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is quite effective for enhancing security.
Senior IT Manager at HETCO
In the past month, we encountered an unknown type of malware, but the behavior was sufficient for Kaspersky to isolate the network based on this behavior, which proved very efficient.
Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
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Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (1st)
Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
26th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
214
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (6th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.6%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum is 1.0%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 7.2%, down from 11.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint7.2%
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks3.6%
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum1.0%
Other88.2%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Nadeem Syed - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Haniya Technologies
Continuous protection has improved automated threat response and reporting for our endpoints
We did work with one of our clients who required mobile security solutions. In my opinion, Trend Micro, when we went through the POCs and other components, we did not find it very strong as far as mobile security is concerned. I think Kaspersky is much better than Trend Micro when it comes to mobile security solutions. From an outside perspective, Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum looks pretty strong and comprehensive. The main improvement would be if they could decrease the cost, as it would be great for clients since it is quite expensive now compared to when it used to be cheaper. The key competitor for Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is Trend Micro. Trend Micro is the only competitor in the market right now. I would say both Trend Micro Endpoint Detection and Response and Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum are quite similar; I cannot say that one is better than the other. The difference is mainly in cost; Trend Micro has mostly moved all their products to the cloud, offering no on-premises products now, whereas Kaspersky is still in a transition phase providing both on-premises and cloud solutions. Many clients prefer on-premises as it is less expensive compared to cloud.
Kalpesh Pawar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Head Cloud Services at Softcell Technologies Limited
Unified threat visibility has reduced incident impact and streamlines response across our endpoints
From a customer or SOC perspective, the best features Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers are the EDR with deep telemetry, which helps us with continuous behavioral monitoring. The automated investigation and remediation feature includes auto-isolation, file quarantine, and incident-level correlation. The advanced hunting KQL-based feature along with Attack Surface Reduction and vulnerability management proactively hardens exposures and provides visibility to reduce attack paths before exploitation. The advanced hunting and vulnerability management features in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint help my team day to day by allowing us to utilize Advanced hunting KQL for proactive threat hunting and validation of alerts, querying process trees, lateral movement, and IOC swipes across all endpoints in seconds. The vulnerability management feature gives us a real-time exposure view with risk-based prioritization. We align it with patching cycles and use security recommendations to reduce attack surface before exploitation. Device isolation and live response provide real operational value. This capability allows a SOC to instantly isolate compromised hosts and run remote forensics or commands without user impact, which is critical during active incidents.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise42
Large Enterprise95
 

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. ...
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...
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,...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum?
Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum is reasonably priced for the market. I do not know the exact cost o...
What needs improvement with Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum?
We did work with one of our clients who required mobile security solutions. In my opinion, Trend Micro, when we went ...
What is your primary use case for Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response Optimum?
When it comes to endpoint security requirements, we work with Trend Micro most of the time; currently, my focus is mo...
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 sol...
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 pu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?
We have been discussing pricing, setup cost, and licensing, and we are currently on an E3. We are discussing going to...
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
No data available
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Information Not Available
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Kaspersky Next EDR Optimum vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
890,124 professionals have used our research since 2012.