Lookout vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Lookout and Microsoft are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Lookout is ranked #42 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Lookout holds a 0.4% mindshare in EDR, compared to Microsoft’s 3.2% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of Lookout users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Lookout

Read 6 Lookout reviews

592 Views
462 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 99 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

6,401 Views
4,928 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Lookout

Microsoft Defender XDR

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Lookout and Microsoft Defender XDR are two cybersecurity solutions. Microsoft Defender XDR has the upper hand due to its robust features and extensive capabilities.

Features: Lookout offers efficient mobile threat defense, integration with existing security frameworks, and user-friendly interface. Microsoft Defender XDR provides advanced threat detection, comprehensive coverage, and seamless integration with Microsoft products.

Room for Improvement: Lookout can improve in threat intelligence, reporting accuracy, and expand its feature set. Microsoft Defender XDR needs better cross-platform consistency, reduction of false positives, and enhanced user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Lookout is noted for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Microsoft Defender XDR has a more complex deployment process but benefits from extensive documentation and effective customer support.

Pricing and ROI: Lookout offers reasonable pricing with good ROI. Microsoft Defender XDR is more expensive, yet its extensive feature set justifies the cost for many users.

To learn more, read our detailed Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

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Helped 849,963 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

Lookout

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

42nd

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (24th), Mobile Data Protection (6th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (13th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (19th), Mobile Threat Defense (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (17th), ZTNA (12th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (21st)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Lookout is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 3.2%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

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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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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is stable."

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

"On the outside, the main differentiation is because Lookout ingest. They have ingested basically all of the apps for the last ten years and all the versions of all the apps, and we have that in a corporate database that allows us to do very large-scale machine learning and analysis on that data set. That's not something that any of the competitors really have the capability to do because they don't have access to the data set. A lot of the apps you can no longer get them because that version of the app is five or six years old, and it just doesn't exist anywhere anymore, except within our infrastructure. So, the ability to have that very rich dataset and learn from that dataset is a real differentiator."

"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."

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

"Defender is easy to use. It has a nice console, and everything is all in one place."

"The feature of Microsoft Defender XDR that I preferred the most traditionally was its focus on endpoint protection, but now identity is right up there with endpoint security. Identity is important because different compromises start at the identity level. This allows us to understand what actions are being taken, who is doing them, and whether it is actually them."

"Based on my experience, I rate Microsoft Defender XDR as nine out of ten."

"The best feature is probably the alert generation. When I do a security reset, the other session triggers instantly from the Defender console, and I can work on it. The policies are three times, but they are also ready to install it."

"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."

"The most valuable feature of all is the full integration with the rest of the software in the operating system and Office 365, as well as Microsoft SCCM. It is quite easy for us to work with the whole instance of Microsoft products. This integration improves the benefits of the whole suite of products."

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

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

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"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."

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

"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."

"Lookout was moving into the SSE space. And so their work on SecureWeb Gateway and SD-WAN is still sort of evolving."

"The stability depends on the service from where you access it. Because sometimes, the place you are in, you have Gateway. You don't have Gateway. The gateway is overutilized. At the end, you need to go through their gateways. And this is the key point here. You have a tracking point. If it's not well orchestrated, and it scales up as you add more to the existing team, you will suffer"

"365 Defender has multiple subsets, including Defender for Cloud Apps. When integrating Defender for Cloud Apps with apps on third-party cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, there are limitations on our ability to control user activities. If Microsoft added more control over third-party products, that would be a game-changer and help us quite a lot."

"The patching capability should be there. Patching is something that you cannot do even though you see the vulnerabilities present in your environment. For patching, you have to depend on another solution."

"A simple dashboard without having to use MS Sentinel would be a welcome improvement."

"Stability could be improved by avoiding frequent changes to the interface."

"The initial time spent setting up and configuring Defender XDR is a bit longer than the other solutions. If everything were on one portal, the platforms for managing policies or alerts would be simpler. We must automate and manage policies on Intune rather than the same portal."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is not a full-fledged EDR or XDR."

"Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender."

"At times, when we have an incident email and we click on the link for that incident, it opens a pop-up, but there is nothing. It has happened a couple of times."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing costs are good. Prisma has much more options and support for security, but it has a higher cost. For example, Lookout costs 2/3rd of Prisma's licensing price."

"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."

"In terms of feature performance versus cost, they're a good value."

"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."

"On average, we pay around 55 euros per user for the services and features we receive."

"Defender plan 1 is tenant-wise, and Defender plan 2 is per-user, which makes it more expensive. To have certain features, you would need to purchase the E5 license. For all of the capabilities that the tool provides, the price, though it can be high, is fair."

"The solutions price is fair for what they offer."

"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."

"Understanding the subscription model has been a bit challenging, as every feature or requirement comes with an additional cost."

"The solution is affordable, and we haven't been hit with any hidden costs. The subscription model is straightforward, and it's easy to understand how much additional features cost. If we need to cancel a license or feature, we do that well in advance to avoid being charged for it, but overall, the pricing and licensing are simple and easy."

"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."

"For Defender, they have Endpoint Plan 1 and Endpoint Plan 2, but I don't know on what basis they have classified Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2, but it has given me enough pain to pick and design Endpoint Plan 1 or Endpoint Plan 2 for my organization. In fact, we are still struggling with it. Too many SKUs are confusing. There should not be too many SKUs, and they shouldn't charge for every new feature."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Lookout?

The solution is stable.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Lookout?

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

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

Zimperium vs Lookout

Compared 21% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Lookout

Compared 17% of the time

Check Point Harmony Mobile vs Lookout

Compared 12% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Lookout

Compared 8% of the time

Netskope vs Lookout

Compared 3% of the time

More Lookout 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

Lookout

April 2025

Download Lookout product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

CipherCloud

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

Lookout is a well-established and powerful secure web gateway (SWG) solution that protects more than 200 million users from threats that can result from the penetration of unsecured web traffic into their networks. Lookout is designed to enable organizations to work remotely while maintaining a tight blanket of security over their confidential business data. It provides administrators with security that extends from their endpoints to the cloud service that they are using to run their organization’s network.

Users of Lookout are able to proactively detect threats and keep themselves secure from a field of threats that constantly evolves. IT teams can protect their organizations without having to rely on any other security solutions. This singular solution can run on multiple kinds of mobile devices. The privacy of individuals is preserved while keeping compliance rules intact. Additionally, users gain access to a number of tools that enable them to prevent security breaches from taking place.

Lookout Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by deploying Lookout include:

Ease of deployment. Lookout is a solution whose design makes it easy for users to deploy it. It provides users with simple, step-by-step instructions that remove the need for organizations to devote extensive amounts of time to make sure that it is properly set up. Anyone can quickly set up the solution without undergoing technical training.

Built-in support. Users of the Lookout application have access to built-in demos that can teach them how to use various solution features. Instead of spending time trying to figure out the application, users can watch the demo that is most relevant to them and see for themselves how that particular feature is used.

Easy-to-use user interface. Lookout’s user interface is laid out in an intuitive way that makes it easy for administrators to navigate. This interface is present in both the mobile and desktop versions of this solution.

Settings customization. Lookout has a built-in settings customization menu. This makes it possible for administrators to easily customize their settings so that they best conform to their needs.

Lookout Features

Activity monitoring and activity tracking. Lookout’s activity monitoring and activity tracking capabilities enable users to keep a close eye on the activities that are taking place in their networks. IT teams and administrators have the ability to watch their networks for any unusual activity. These features ensure that organizations can keep ahead of any potential threats. They provide the kinds of insights and warnings that make the jobs of those IT teams and administrators much easier and more streamlined.

Encryption. Organizations that employ Lookout can encrypt their networks and keep crucial business data from being read by unauthorized parties. This feature keeps the secrets organizations are trying to keep out of the wrong hands.

Anti-virus tools. Lookout provides users with tools to block threats from harming their networks. These tools can successfully block 99.6 percent of threats without raising false alarms.

Lookout

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

Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

April 2025

Free Report: Lookout vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

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