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

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection comparison

Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Microsoft Purview Information Protection are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is ranked #34 with an average rating of 7.5, while Microsoft Purview Information Protection is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.2. Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management holds a 0.2% mindshare in Microsoft Security Suite, compared to Microsoft Purview Information Protection’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Microsoft Purview Information Protection users who would recommend it.
Microsoft Defender External...
Read 2 Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management reviews
  • 108 Views
  • 69 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Purview Informati...
Read 12 Microsoft Purview Information Protection reviews
  • 900 Views
  • 641 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management and Microsoft Purview Information Protection 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.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection
April 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 850,028 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
34th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Attack Surface Management (ASM) (12th)
Microsoft Purview Informati...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Data Governance (4th), Data Privacy Management Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management is 0.2%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is 1.1%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

AndyChan3 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
Read full review
Heidi Hasting - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data, but the changing product names are confusing
One of the key features of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is the auto-classification functionalities, although I have found them to be less effective in complex scenarios. The policy toggle, demanding justification for downgrading labels, provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data. The security tools integrate well. I like that you can scan several data or informational assets, such as your SharePoint list, Teams, etc., and bring them into Purview as a central repository. Partnering with other products, like Sentinel, for logging capability and inventory provides a service across the board. It's essential that Purview automatically prevents highly sensitive corporate secrets and data from being ingested into generative AI models, but the reality is that AI is a tool. It's problematic if consumers rely on a tool to protect them because they must be educated first. Regardless of the education, the employee might share the information anyway, so the AI shouldn't be the first point of failure. It should be a human making good decisions.
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

"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."
"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 ensures that sensitive data is automatically safeguarded, even for email attachments, regardless of the user or device."
"Before using it, we had a lot of unlabeled data, and the tool helped us quickly and accurately label a large number of documents."
"Incorporating data loss prevention capabilities built into the Microsoft platform to endpoints, such as Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers, can also help prevent data loss and is highly advantageous."
"I recommend Microsoft Purview Information Protection for organizations using the Microsoft ecosystem."
"We use the solution for our customers' services. It helps identify and protect sensitive data in documents, PDFs, emails, and Teams chats to prevent data leakage. It can detect and block emails containing credit card information sent outside the organization."
"I created training materials for end users on applying different labels, explaining their purposes, and providing examples. This was crucial since end users would apply the labels in different protection scenarios. The implementation helped the organization in several ways."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is its ability to respond to sensitive data shared on Teams chat by deleting the message, not just monitoring or logging."
"Microsoft Purview Information Protection supports data classification, sensitivity labels, and data loss prevention."
More Microsoft Purview Information Protection pros
 

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."
"My experience with the customer service and support of Microsoft is around five out of ten. The response time is slow, and they take multiple sessions for diagnosing issues."
"I had experience with previous versions of Microsoft Purview Information Protection as well. The new version doesn't have all the features that were present in the previous native clients and functionalities. For example, the ability to track documents - knowing where your document is, who is accessing it, when and where. You could even revoke access to a particular document if needed, which was a cool feature. These aren't available right now, although Microsoft is working on bringing them back, which might take some time."
"Microsoft customer service is hit or miss. Sometimes, I get a fast and knowledgeable response, while other times, I've experienced delays and received no resolution."
"During the initial setup, I found the lack of policy segregation at the sub-site level for DLP policies to be a challenge."
"Microsoft can improve the affordability of Purview Information Protection by offering it at a lower cost."
"I would like the time it takes to update a DLP policy on an endpoint to be reduced."
"Purview could better integrate with third-party tools, but I don't have a specific use case for that because It's currently integrated into the managed services we offer to Microsoft customers using E5 licenses."
"I rate Microsoft support six out of 10. Response times are a challenge. It's hard to be an ambassador for a product when you know it will be hard to get support."
More Microsoft Purview Information Protection cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price is determined by the enterprise licensing, either the E3 or E5 licensing or the EMS plus security and other feature licensing."
"Initially, Purview's cost seemed quite high because it was for personal use. I was scanning a tiny tenant and thinking, "If I extrapolate this to an enterprise-scale tenant, it will be quite costly." However, I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started. At least, Purview has a free trial, so you can try some of the features early on."
"The tool's pricing is not a problem for customers because they often purchase it as part of a bundle. With an E5 license, for example, users get access to the entire functionality. This is one of the main reasons why many customers are choosing Microsoft."
"The product is affordable, and our clients agree. Sensitivity labels come with the MIP license at an additional $2 a month per user, an excellent deal for auto-labeling capabilities."
"The pricing and setup costs are transferred to my clients, who find it affordable and are satisfied with what they receive."
"The tool's pricing is fairly low, less than 100,000 for a year."
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Insurance Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
 

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?
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 ...
See all answers
What do you like most about Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
It ensures that sensitive data is automatically safeguarded, even for email attachments, regardless of the user or device.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine. Microsoft offers different licensing options. AIP Plan 2 is used for critical users. The AIP is included in the business standard license for cl...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The most difficult part in the labeling solution is the lack of direct PDF support on Macs, whereas on Windows, a Purview agent can label PDFs. This should be improved to support PDF protection on ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Logo
Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Compared 22% of the time
Tenable Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Logo
Tenable Attack Surface Management vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Compared 16% of the time
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Logo
CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Compared 14% of the time
Bitsight vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Logo
Bitsight vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Compared 12% of the time
Mandiant Advantage vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Logo
Mandiant Advantage vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Compared 11% of the time
More Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management Competitors
Varonis Platform vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection Logo
Varonis Platform vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Compared 21% of the time
BigID vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection Logo
BigID vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Compared 12% of the time
Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection Logo
Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Compared 12% of the time
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection Logo
Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Compared 12% of the time
Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection Logo
Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Compared 9% of the time
More Microsoft Purview Information Protection Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Attack Surface Management (ASM)
April 2025
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management reportDownload Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Purview Information Protection
April 2025
Microsoft Purview Information Protection reportDownload Microsoft Purview Information Protection product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Information Protection
 

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

Implement Microsoft Information Protection (MIP) to help you discover, classify, and protect sensitive information wherever it lives or travels.

MIP capabilities are included with Microsoft 365 Compliance and give you the tools to know your data, protect your data, and prevent data loss.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection
April 2025
Free Report: Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection report.
See our list of best Microsoft Security Suite vendors.

We monitor all Microsoft Security Suite reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.