Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
2
Ranking in other categories
Attack Surface Management (ASM) (14th)
Microsoft Purview Complianc...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Data Governance (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 0.8%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is 1.6%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager1.6%
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management0.8%
Other97.6%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
AO
System Administrator at Templars
Opportunities for improvement overshadow benefits
Microsoft support is great overall. However, their business model of outsourcing to third-party partners, especially in Nigeria with tech experts and other partners, needs improvement. I have raised tickets and worked with these support teams. Microsoft needs to address how partners treat their technical support staff. The quality of support is affected because most support staff seem focused on obtaining five-star ratings rather than resolving problems thoroughly. This appears to be due to the pressure from partners and Microsoft's feedback metrics system. They often rush to close tickets without deeply investigating complaints. From the level of support received, I usually try to resolve issues independently. I rate the engineers favorably understanding their pressures, even when issues remain unresolved. Overall, I would rate Microsoft Support five out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It seems to be better at protecting from cyberattacks."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Microsoft External Attack Surface Management helps improve the visibility of my exposed vulnerabilities and provides an overview of my security posture across the globe."
"Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is tightly integrated with email solutions like Office 365."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to apply regulations and ensure compliance with various policies. It also provides tools for investigation, risk assessment, and security score evaluations."
"The stability is a ten out of ten."
"The best aspect is that it requires little to no time for implementation if I am using all of Microsoft's tools."
"Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager's eDiscovery is essential for organizations using Outlook as their email service."
"We have more visibility of data and how it is being shared."
"The system provides a dashboard showing our compliance status, which aids in managing compliance tasks."
"Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is tightly integrated with email solutions like Office 365."
 

Cons

"Further integration across different Microsoft products would be an improvement."
"With Microsoft, support is always crazy, it's not easy to get support."
"The integration is not as seamless compared to competitors like Palo Alto."
"The speed and accessibility, particularly in the user interface, require significant work."
"Integrating add-on licenses, which currently offer additional features at a cost, into the base product would be beneficial, especially for a charity organization to avoid incurring extra costs."
"Policy configuration, particularly for web interfaces and OCR scanning, presents challenges."
"Integrating add-on licenses, which currently offer additional features at a cost, into the base product would be beneficial, especially for a charity organization to avoid incurring extra costs."
"Microsoft Purview has moved its portal from classic to premium with some display improvements, yet not much in options and functionalities."
"We've had issues with data connectors for Teams."
"When I tried to set up Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager for my organization to ensure people are not sending PII documents, especially payment cards, using keywords for flagging, it disrupted our services, so we had to deactivate it."
"Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is a stable product used by organizations utilizing Outlook as their email client. Despite stability, it needs to be more user-friendly and competitive compared to other eDiscovery tools."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing and licensing are moderate because we have other licenses for Microsoft services. The pricing is in line with that."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
6%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management?
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager?
While not cheap, Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is priced at 60% to 70% compared to some competitors. Additional costs may involve OCR page scanning.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager?
When I tried to set up Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager for my organization to ensure people are not sending PII documents, especially payment cards, using keywords for flagging, it disrupted o...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager?
I have limited experience with the templates in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager. Our organization hasn't fully utilized the solution beyond checking compliance scores and adjusting basic setti...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Compliance Manager
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.