Lookout vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

Lookout and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Lookout is ranked #52 with an average rating of 7.0, while Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. Lookout holds a 0.8% mindshare in EDR, compared to Microsoft’s 6.0% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Lookout users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Lookout and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compete in the cybersecurity products category. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is perceived to have the upper hand due to its superior features and comprehensive threat protection capabilities.

Features: Lookout users value strong mobile threat defense, ease of integration, and effective management of mobile endpoints. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint users highlight comprehensive threat detection, response capabilities, and extensive protection suite.

Room for Improvement: Lookout users suggest enhancements in reporting capabilities, more proactive threat identification, and improved customer support. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint users point out the need for a more intuitive setup process, lighter system impact, and refined user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Lookout is praised for quick and straightforward deployment, but users desire more robust customer support. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has a more complex deployment but receives better feedback on customer service responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Lookout is noted for its competitive setup cost and decent ROI. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s setup cost is higher, but users report greater ROI due to its superior threat protection.

To learn more, read our detailed Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

April 2026

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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 May 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.4%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Lookout is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 6.0%, down from 10.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	6.0%
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.4%
Lookout	0.8%
Other	89.8%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

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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David Baynton

IT Manager at NHS Trust

Enhanced mobile security with visibility into app and website usage, but installation challenges remain

We use Lookout for mobile devices, such as phones It has reduced our risk around mobile devices. I like the security features and being able to see what apps and websites people are using. There is nothing we have come across that we've desired. We have been using Lookout for one year. The…

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Robert Arbuckle

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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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The normal protection was really effective, and we detected situations that if we didn't have Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, it's highly likely that we would have been affected, but it protected the infrastructure."

"Best solution for avoiding security breaches, malware attacks, and other kinds of security issues."

"It collects and caches and the knowledge of machine learning from different customers to take to the cloud. It makes it better to use for everybody. It allows for quick learning and updates and can, therefore, offer zero-day malware security. This sharing of metadata helps make the solution very safe."

"I have found the solution to be very easy in respect of the integration and configurable."

"We can use Cortex XDR to get the entire graph of the incidents from source to destination, and we can take remedial action."

"From a single pane of glass, you can easily manage all of your endpoints."

"The solution's most valuable feature is the user interface."

"The solution allows control over the user and his machine through Cortex XDR security policies."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"The most valuable features are the antivirus as a whole, the anti-malware, and all of the protection features that scan our enterprise devices."

"We have not had any issues with bugs or breakdowns."

"The protection offered by the product is the most valuable feature. It detects vulnerabilities or traps on our users' phones and then prompts them to clean up their devices. Tools we used previously would only discover, which required us to gather information on the backend, so Lookout is a welcome upgrade."

"The integration of Defender, Security Center, and the Microsoft compliance score, is the feature we use most to share the results with our clients and to create a roadmap together."

"Our clients are definitely seeing an ROI."

"At the moment, it is one of the best security platforms for endpoint security in the market."

"We saw a return on our investment within the first two years."

"Defender for Endpoint has significantly improved our security posture."

"If anyone is looking for an antivirus instantly, they can enable Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on their Windows operating system."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to load and it runs quietly in the background, unlike other solutions."

"Easy to understand and easy to set up endpoint security solution. It's a multifeatured product with web content filtering and automated investigation features. It also has a fantastic vulnerability management dashboard."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

Cons

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks could improve its user interface, which is more complicated compared to competitors such as SentinelOne."

"Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth."

"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."

"Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks can improve mobile integration to allow access to the console."

"The MAC agent is not as robust feature-wise as the PC version."

"We have found that there are times Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks does not detect some of the viruses, we have to use another protection solution called Kaspersky."

"When it comes to malware files, it should be a little quick because, at times, it would give a wrong result in the sense of what it might be on malware, even if it still might be a normal one."

"It is not a suitable solution if you are looking for a single product with multiple features such as DLP, encryption, rollback, etc."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"From the analysis that we've done, they do seem to be maybe a step behind in trying to enter the market with a new solution. But when they do pick up, they do come out with some good products."

"The initial setup requires a little bit of experience with configuration."

"We just submitted an enhancement request reflecting the main area we want to see improvement in; the APIs. Currently, we're able to build dashboards, but it's somewhat backward because we use our MDM API to create them. Lookout should provide API to customers so we can query our data and use it in our cloud, and this is the only outstanding area for improvement with the product right now."

"I am not sure if I will be using this product in the future because of the price."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is effective for validating work, but not ideal for investigations."

"Lowering the price would be an improvement."

"If there were more template queries in the library, that would make it much easier."

"Its detection is not as quick. There should also be more frequent updates."

"Its user interface (UI) can be improved. Currently, in the console, you have to dig down for certain things. They've got many different layers to get to things instead of having it all on the surface. You have to go three folds lower to get to specific functionality or click a particular option. It would be good if we can manage the console through menus and instead of three clicks, we can do things in one click. They need to change the UI and work on it in terms of a better user experience."

"Regarding the pricing of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, during the last three years, we set up the product and sold it, but we faced difficulties because Microsoft pricing is always the same."

"Another concern is ransomware, whether people can penetrate and encrypt my data or steal my credit card/banking information."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't like that they have different types of licenses."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. I have customers that have voiced that the solution is good for the value but if I want to sell more of the solution the price reduction would help."

"The price is on the higher side, but it's okay."

"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."

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

"I am using the Community edition."

"If one wishes to work with another team or large number of users at a future point, he must purchase a license for them."

"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."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is fair; it's comparable to our previous solution, and we carried out multiple POCs and POVs (proof of value). The product is worth the money we pay for it."

"Lookout is definitely on the lower end when it comes to price point and that seems to be the only differentiator. The technology is in place in this space and it's really about who is coming in at the better price point now."

"I got it with the Microsoft Windows license."

"It is free."

"We have seen ROI. Most of the other competing alternatives will cost up to around $30 per user device. We average 400 devices. Therefore, the amount that we save each year is 400 times $30."

"Pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is competitive. Out of the bundle, you will get a lot of security, if I talk about Microsoft E5, for example, and get a lot of benefits. If the customer goes and purchases a different solution, it will cost more, so pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is quite reasonable at the moment. There isn't any challenge in terms of pricing, for example, I didn't see a customer who pulled back because of the price. Some prices could be negotiable, and sometimes, as a sales point, the two become negotiable, but they don't bill one and pull back because of the pricing. If you have an E5 license, you get everything."

"We pay a yearly license for Microsoft Defender. We also have a support contract with them."

"The pricing is competitive."

"It is so expensive. It isn't cheaper than McAfee or other solutions."

"You don't need to worry about the renewal and purchase of antivirus products. It is bundled with Windows 10, so you don't need to worry about separately purchasing any antiviruses."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Construction Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	49

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	2
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	82
Midsize Enterprise	44
Large Enterprise	96

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. ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 Lookout?

The pricing is a little expensive. We are currently looking at comparisons with other solutions, including Umbrella.

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What needs improvement with Lookout?

There is nothing we have come across that we've desired.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Lookout?

We use Lookout for mobile devices, such as phones.

See all answers

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...

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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...

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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...

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Comparisons

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

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Zimperium vs Lookout

Compared 11% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Lookout

Compared 5% of the time

Check Point Harmony Mobile vs Lookout

Compared 3% of the time

Workspace ONE UEM vs Lookout

Compared 3% of the time

iVerify vs Lookout

Compared 3% of the time

More Lookout Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

OpenText Core Endpoint Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

F-Secure Total vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 2% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

May 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Mobile Threat Defense

April 2026

Download Lookout product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

April 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

CipherCloud

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Palo Alto Networks

Demo not available

Lookout

Microsoft

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

Lookout offers a mobile EDR solution that uniquely addresses the challenges of iOS and Android security, providing comprehensive threat defense and visibility.

By utilizing AI-driven security and behavioral analysis, Lookout identifies and mitigates mobile threats before they escalate. Lookout's mobile threat defense system is tailored for modern risks, protecting employee devices from social engineering attacks such as phishing and smishing. It bridges the gap between mobile and traditional endpoint security, ensuring secure mobile productivity through the world's largest mobile security data set.

What are the key features of Lookout?

AI-Driven Threat Detection: Uses AI to identify and neutralize threats proactively.
Comprehensive Mobile Security: Protects against mobile malware, and network threats.
Behavioral Analysis: Evaluates device activities to detect anomalies and potential threats.
Advanced Social Engineering Defense: Guards against phishing, smishing, and other social engineering tactics.
Risk Alignment: Integrates mobile risk assessment with traditional endpoint security.

What benefits should users expect?

Enhanced Security: Ensures robust protection against emerging mobile threats.
Improved Visibility: Provides real-time insights for effective risk management.
Increased Productivity: Enables secure access to mobile apps and data.
AI-Powered Protection: Delivers smarter and faster threat detection.
Cost Efficiency: Reduces the need for multiple security solutions.

Lookout is widely implemented across industries like finance, healthcare, and government due to its ability to secure sensitive data on mobile platforms. Financial institutions value its proactive threat detection, healthcare providers rely on its compliance capabilities, and government agencies trust its robust defense against sophisticated attacks. Lookout helps organizations maintain security while enabling mobile productivity.

Lookout

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides comprehensive threat protection that integrates well with current systems, offering proactive threat detection and automatic updates while reducing manual efforts.

The platform is designed for seamless integration with Microsoft products, facilitating efficient management and use. It offers proactive ransomware protection and valuable threat intelligence, crucial for timely response and increased visibility across devices. Users highlight its ability to secure endpoints from viruses and malware, integrating with Windows and Office 365 to enhance real-time detection capabilities in diverse environments, including hybrid and on-premises setups. However, enhancements are needed in Linux integration, detection accuracy, and policy implementations.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Seamless Integration: Works smoothly with existing systems and Microsoft products for easy management.
Proactive Threat Detection: Advanced monitoring to identify and mitigate threats swiftly.
Ransomware Protection: Built-in features to protect against ransomware attacks automatically.
Centralized Management: Unified platform for better device visibility and collaboration.
Threat Intelligence: Provides critical data for rapid threat response.

What benefits should be evaluated in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Cost-Effectiveness: Part of Windows bundles, offering comprehensive security at competitive pricing.
Time Efficiency: Reduces manual oversight with automatic updates and management ease.
Real-Time Detection: Enhanced security through seamless Office 365 and Windows integration.
Device Coverage: Supports hybrid and on-premises environments for varied digital infrastructures.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is implemented across industries for securing endpoints, relying on its deep integration with Windows and Office 365 to protect against malware and viruses. Organizations benefit from its real-time detection and comprehensive management capabilities, particularly in hybrid environments where diverse digital infrastructures need safeguarding.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Information Not Available

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Buyer's Guide

Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

April 2026

Free Report: Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Find out what your peers are saying about Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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