Microsoft Defender for Business vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection comparison

Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection

December 2025

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Helped 881,114 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

6.1

Microsoft Defender for Business improves security, enhances productivity, and reduces costs but may have delays in financial returns.

Sentiment score

6.4

Microsoft Purview enhances protection, automates compliance, reduces response time, and supports growth, though exact savings are hard to quantify.

Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.

Amit-Granot

Works

Purview can do a quick scan, and it doesn't use human resources, so it gets time to do things that we need humans to focus on.

Mgr Data Engineering at Avanade

The E5 license comes with different solutions like data discovery classification, CASB, DLP solutions, and Defender for Cloud.

Associate Director at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech

The cost of data loss and your data going to a competitor is potentially massive.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.2

Microsoft Defender for Business support is efficient but inconsistent, with variable responsiveness and differing opinions on staff knowledge and resolution times.

Sentiment score

4.0

Users experience inconsistent Microsoft Purview support, citing slow responses and unresolved issues, despite some improvements in visibility and engagement.

It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.

Anat Garty

Chief Cybersecurity Architect at cytek-security

Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.

Amit-Granot

Works

Sometimes, I get a fast and knowledgeable response, while other times, I've experienced delays and received no resolution.

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

It's hard to be an ambassador for a product when you know it will be hard to get support.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Mgr Data Engineering at Avanade

After our issues are reported, it takes a long time to find a resolution.

SantoshDeshpande

Director Security Architecture at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.6

Microsoft Defender for Business offers scalable, cloud-driven security for diverse organizations, adaptable to various configurations and endpoint quantities.

Sentiment score

6.0

Microsoft Purview Information Protection is praised for scalability despite some concerns with data analytics speed and policy update intervals.

The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

It can be scaled across different departments organization-wide very quickly and easily.

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

It can handle large collections of data without issues.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Mgr Data Engineering at Avanade

Scalability can be improved by reducing these intervals.

Ayse Kocak

Information Technology Senior Expert at Garanti Teknoloji

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Microsoft Defender for Business is highly rated for stability, despite minor errors and complexity issues not significantly impacting confidence.

Sentiment score

7.0

Microsoft Purview is stable and reliable, with minor delays and occasional drawbacks, fostering user trust and wide deployment.

No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.

Amit-Granot

Works

I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

Once implemented, I haven't had issues with its consistency.

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

The product is stable, and whatever it does, it does better than any other thing.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Associate Director at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech

Since identity is where everything is based, if that goes down, you're screwed.

reviewer2778771

Director, Network & Cloud Infrastructure at a legal firm with 501-1,000 employees

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Business needs improved reporting, threat protection, support, and integration, with attention to pricing and update communication.

Microsoft Purview requires better integration, pricing, navigation, and feature enhancements to address user concerns about functionality and support.

Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.

KiranKumar17

CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.

Wondimu Almu

Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security

Effectiveness in Microsoft Purview Information Protection means enforcing the policy and making sure it works consistently across non-Microsoft products as well.

SantoshDeshpande

Director Security Architecture at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

A lot of functionality in Microsoft Purview Information Protection is not exposed in an API officially yet, which has made a lot of implementation work difficult because we have to do click ops instead of DevOps.

Jp Bourget

CEO at Blue Cycle

Having a roadmap or updates about new releases would be helpful for demonstrating to clients.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Business offers integrated security in Office 365, with competitive pricing but some note higher costs than competitors.

Microsoft Purview offers competitive pricing, flexible enterprise licenses, and cost-effective bundled solutions, despite some complexity in licensing options.

Single-year pricing remains good.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.

KiranKumar17

CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees

I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started.

Mgr Data Engineering at Avanade

The E5 license covers most of the solutions for different technologies, so that way, it is good and more affordable compared to any other solution.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Associate Director at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech

Our focus is on helping customers maximize their software investment.

JohnAssouline

Business Development Manager, Transformational Services at Dell Technologies

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Business provides robust, scalable security with seamless Azure integration and effective threat management at a cost-effective price.

Microsoft Purview enhances data protection with encryption, automated labeling, and compliance, excelling in Microsoft ecosystem integration and management.

The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.

Wondimu Almu

Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security

Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.

Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies

The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender for Business report

Consultant at Dell Technologies

Microsoft Copilot is an advantage because it's enterprise-grade AI.

JohnAssouline

Business Development Manager, Transformational Services at Dell Technologies

It's paramount to have a single solution for information protection.

Client Experience Officer at 1234 Micro Technologies

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.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Mgr Data Engineering at Avanade

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

16th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (18th)

Microsoft Purview Informati...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Governance (7th), Data Privacy Management Software (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 3.5%, up from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is 1.8%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Purview Information Protection	1.8%
Microsoft Defender for Business	3.5%
Other	94.7%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

Takayuki-Umehara

Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential

Product deployment protects assets but needs improvement in system support

I am doing maintenance for Microsoft Defender for Business, and I'm currently working with it. We don't need to use the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Business. We still use the latest virus definition file that Microsoft Defender for Business has automatically updated. We implement a basic update mechanism. Our compliance division manages how many servers and PCs we have and whether those servers have antivirus solutions. I am not certain about how Microsoft Defender for Business helps with AI-driven security strategies. I just use it normally and don't know if it uses AI technology. I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a six out of ten.

Read full review

Achieve comprehensive data protection with reliable performance and room for enhanced discovery accuracy

Associate Director at LTI - Larsen & Toubro Infotech

The product is still in a growing phase. I could see that many use cases in their product are not capable enough in terms of detecting or protecting. Compared to other products, they are in the middle of bringing their solution up to the mark, so it is not a full-grown solution. They have to get more accurate results in terms of data discovery and classification. The second thing is their support; support from Microsoft takes a lot of time to get a response from their support team. The third thing is their OCR capability is not that great in terms of identifying the documents. We would love to see response times of less than 24 hours. Additionally, there is no way to check the policy's current status in terms of whether it got synced or not. You have to wait and test the use cases after 24 hours or after 48 hours, and once it starts working, then it appears the policy got implemented.

Read full review

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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?

Our thoughts on the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Business are that we wish it could be better. If the pricing was a little better, we would definitely increase what we currently have.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?

I see room for improvement in Microsoft Defender for Business, particularly regarding the consolidation of all security solutions in one place and the integration of AI and data security into the s...

What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Business?

I would rate this product an eight out of ten.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Information Protection?

In my experience with Microsoft Purview Information Protection, the experience of pricing, setup costs, and licensing is confusing, especially knowing what I have to do for add-ons with buying SCUs...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Information Protection?

I think the role of sensitivity labels in guiding AI interaction with Microsoft Purview Information Protection is pretty good, but for us, it's too general. It says, "Here's a dataset" and because ...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Information Protection?

My main use case for Microsoft Purview Information Protection is sensitivity labeling, as I use it for exposing labeling for inside Teams and outside Teams.

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Comparisons

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Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 4% of the time

ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Business

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Business Competitors

Varonis Platform vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Compared 12% of the time

Cyera vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Compared 7% of the time

BigID Next vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Compared 6% of the time

More Microsoft Purview Information Protection Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Business

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Business product report

Microsoft Purview Information Protection

January 2026

Microsoft Purview Information Protection report

Download Microsoft Purview Information Protection product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft Information Protection

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.

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