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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Trellix Active Response comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

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
7.1
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers significant ROI with cost savings, seamless integration, and real-time protection against ransomware attacks.
Sentiment score
3.8
Trellix Active Response improved threat detection, reduced incident response times, increased efficiency, and enhanced productivity with an intuitive interface.
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.
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.
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
While we haven't yet quantified the financial benefits, we recognize that there has been a return on investment, particularly with operational efficiencies provided by the alerts.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Many users find Microsoft Defender for Endpoint reliable, but support experiences vary, with premium support offering quicker assistance.
Sentiment score
7.8
Trellix Active Response's customer support is generally positive, but availability and contact speed could improve, rated seven out of ten.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Due to our size, we don't have access to direct technical support, but the knowledge base, Microsoft Learn, and the articles available are really good.
I would rate technical support from Trellix Active Response as a seven because sometimes we face difficulties finding engineers quickly, leading to customer frustration.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable and integrates well with Microsoft’s ecosystem, despite needing improvements for handling massive data.
Sentiment score
4.1
Trellix Active Response is scalable, integrates easily, handles large data seamlessly, and maintains performance and security with minimal latency.
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.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Compatibility is its main feature.
The scalability of Active Response is satisfactory.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is praised for its reliability and stability, with minor concerns about resource intensity and performance.
Sentiment score
4.6
Trellix Active Response is praised for reliability, efficient data handling, quick threat detection, adaptability, and stability with minimal downtime.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint faces interface complexity, slow detection, high CPU usage, integration issues, and seeks improvements in multiple areas.
Trellix Active Response needs better resource management, advanced analytics, and improved integrations for efficient monitoring and AI features.
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.
In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment.
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.
We would like Trellix to optimize the technology for these systems similarly to how it is deployed for normal endpoints.
There is room for improvement in the platform area and security area to make the dashboard visibility clearer and easier for customers to monitor malicious activities occurring in their environment.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers flexible pricing, making it competitive and cost-effective compared to standalone security products.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
The pricing, setup, and licensing were very easy and simple.
Based on our evaluations, Trellix Active Response's pricing was the most feasible from a cost perspective.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels with seamless integration, advanced threat intelligence, AI-driven protection, and continuous cloud-based security management.
Trellix Active Response enhances analytics, user insights, and incident handling, excelling in detection and response with holistic EDR benefits.
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.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
They notify us immediately of any vulnerabilities on the endpoints, allowing us to deploy a response quickly.
The most valuable feature of Trellix Active Response is that whenever any incident occurs, it allows us to disconnect from that particular network or area and shut down the system using commands.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
198
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
Trellix Active Response
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
45th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.1%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Active Response is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint10.1%
Trellix Active Response0.3%
Other89.6%
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

NaySan @ Suraj Verma - PeerSpot reviewer
Has effectively blocked sophisticated attacks and malicious activities while providing excellent support
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is very good, but one suggestion is that in some products, we may need to configure security-related settings, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint works completely differently, providing automatic recommendations and actions that we may need to perform ourselves. 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. For example, whether I purchase Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for one year or for the next three years, the pricing remains constant with no discounts available. In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment. Microsoft should consider this option to remain competitive, but otherwise, everything else is fine.
Abdullah Al Hadi - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers comprehensive incident visualization and quick response capabilities but requires clearer dashboard interface
I am an Information Security Engineer at NHQ Distribution Limited and a partner of Trellix. I work with different products in Trellix, including Trellix EDR, SDR, and MDR. Trellix Active Response is the EDR solution from Trellix that has moved from an on-premise solution to a cloud solution. The Trellix MDR solution is helpful for SOC analysis and is integrated with Trellix EDR and SDR capabilities, providing full visibility of threat detection and hunting and detection response correlating with other solutions like endpoint security and encryption. On a scale of one to ten, I rate Trellix Active Response an eight.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Government
17%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise87
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
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 solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
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 push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee Active Response?
Based on our evaluations, Trellix Active Response's pricing was the most feasible from a cost perspective. I rate the pricing between a six and an eight. It is justified.
What needs improvement with McAfee Active Response?
For Trellix Active Response, there is room for improvement in the platform area and security area to make the dashboard visibility clearer and easier for customers to monitor malicious activities o...
What is your primary use case for McAfee Active Response?
The typical use case for Trellix Active Response is to provide quick incident response, as the product collects and correlates logs with the ePO dashboard, allowing customers to get visibility of t...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
McAfee Active Response
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Liquor Control Board of Ontario
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Trellix Active Response and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,956 professionals have used our research since 2012.