Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Defender XDR comparison

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Microsoft Defender XDR are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is ranked #33 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft Defender XDR is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management holds a 0.3% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Defender XDR’s 6.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of Microsoft Defender XDR users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender External...

Read 2 Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management reviews

905 Views
136 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 101 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

12,431 Views
3,356 Comparison Views

97% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender External...

Microsoft Defender XDR

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Microsoft Defender XDR based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Microsoft Security Suite solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Defender XDR Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

July 2025

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Helped 865,384 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

Microsoft Defender External...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

33rd

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Attack Surface Management (ASM) (13th)

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 0.3%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 6.6%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

AndyChan3

General manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Enhanced visibility and exposes vulnerabilities but needs more integration

I am currently in the pilot stage of implementing Microsoft External Attack Surface Management (EASM). My organization is transitioning to a comprehensive track of Microsoft solutions, and we will move to full-scale production in another year, maybe Microsoft External Attack Surface Management…

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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.

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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

"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."

"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."

"The attack simulation is excellent; initially, this feature wasn't very robust, but Microsoft improved what we could achieve with it. We can now customize our practice phishing emails and include our company logo, for example. Attack simulation also helps integrate with third-party solutions where applicable and provides an overview of our security architecture through testing. The summary includes areas for improvement in our protection and what steps we need to take to get there."

"What I like most about the product is its all-in-one solution. With Microsoft Defender XDR, we get coverage for various aspects like endpoint security, cloud security, and image-related cases, all within a single platform. This eliminates the need for multiple products or technical controls to address incidents. The main benefit became evident immediately after deployment, especially in its ability to analyze files and phishing emails quickly. By submitting suspicious files or emails, we receive quick results on whether they are legitimate, suspicious, or malicious, saving time."

"The product integrates security into one tool instead of having third-party security tools."

"The portal is quite user-friendly. There is integration with Office, Intune, and other products from the same portal. From there, we can see which policies are installed on a particular machine. We also can manage devices, groups, and tagging."

"The comprehensiveness of Microsoft's threat detection is good."

"My clients like Defender's file integrity monitoring. They're monitoring Windows and Linux system files."

"The most valuable features are machine learning, AI, and auto-remediation of none malicious alerts."

"It has been great for us. Previously, we didn't have a solution to protect us, especially from malware, whereas now, we are getting protection up front, especially from the malware attacks coming through emails or endpoints."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

Cons

"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."

"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."

"The support could be more knowledgable to improve their offering."

"Microsoft frequently changes the names of its products, sometimes even renaming entire portals or features."

"Sometimes, digging into the information and knowing where to go can be difficult. It would be better if much of that information were immediately visible, especially when looking at endpoints or users."

"This solution could be improved if it included features such as those offered by Malwarebytes."

"For Microsoft Defender XDR, there is currently no ability to reset passwords for on-premises accounts, which is a key challenge."

"The solution could enhance the threat Intelligence feature by making it more relevant to specific industries. Much of the threat intelligence information isn't directly applicable to our environment. It would be beneficial if the threat intelligence were tailored to the industry, such as healthcare or fintech, where the solution is being used."

"Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected."

"Generally, antivirus products provide a central control to manage every device in terms of who is installing it or who is trying to disable it, but Microsoft doesn't have such a control center for the antivirus product it provides."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Microsoft 365 Defender offers competitive pricing."

"We've managed to navigate it effectively through our enterprise agreement, and Microsoft's academic discounts have proven to be quite generous."

"Purchasing Microsoft Defender XDR as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle can be cost-effective, but acquiring it as a standalone product may be more expensive."

"Microsoft Defender XDR is priced high."

"While Microsoft Defender XDR carries a higher cost, its ease of use compared to Defender may justify the investment."

"Defender XDR is included in the E5 license, but it's a bit too expensive."

"The solution is too expensive."

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

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

I rate the pricing of the solution as eight out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement. Introduction of more AI automation into the products would also be beneficial. The integration is not as seamless co...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?

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?

The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

For Microsoft Defender XDR ( /categories/extended-detection-and-response-xdr ), there is currently no ability to reset passwords for on-premises accounts, which is a key challenge. Incident managem...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 13% of the time

Tenable Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 12% of the time

Darktrace vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management

Compared 11% of the time

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 12% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 9% of the time

Trend Vision One vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Attack Surface Management (ASM)

August 2025

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management report

Download Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

August 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

Overview

In this era of hybrid work, shadow IT creates an increasingly serious security risk. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management helps cloud security teams see unknown and unmanaged resources outside the firewall.

Microsoft

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

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

July 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Defender XDR

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Defender XDR and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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