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Microsoft Defender for Business vs Microsoft Sentinel 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Defender boosts productivity and security, integrating seamlessly with Office tools for significant budget savings despite ROI challenges.
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Sentinel enhances security and efficiency, reducing costs and manual work, with long-term benefits in risk management and compliance.
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.
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.
If a customer is already using Microsoft’s ecosystem, the ROI can be positive due to seamless integration.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
We attribute our growth to Sentinel.
Chief Commercial Officer at defend
From a risk perspective, it's about mitigating risk, and as mentioned earlier, we haven't missed many things since we've had the offering in market—only a couple of minor incidents.
Chief Operating Officer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.5
Users have mixed reviews of Microsoft Defender's support, noting contact difficulties and inconsistent technical assistance despite good onboarding.
Sentiment score
6.5
Microsoft Sentinel support is responsive and efficient, with premium tiers offering prompt assistance, although complex issues may face challenges.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Chief Cybersecurity Architect at cytek-security
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
Their solutions' integration simplifies resolving issues compared to those caused by third-party products.
IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE
Microsoft invests significantly in support, which is crucial for companies.
Director de Microsoft y Transformación Digital at Compucad
Working with a Sentinel engineer helped us tune settings effectively.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Microsoft Defender for Business is scalable and effective across diverse environments, though special configurations might impact growth speed.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Sentinel's cloud architecture offers significant scalability and flexibility, easily adapting to organizational needs while accommodating extensive data.
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.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.
Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential
Office 365 and Exchange are running on it, covering about 35,000 users efficiently.
IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE
As our organization uses Microsoft Azure and Defender, everything grows together, and we can integrate various features seamlessly.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Being a SaaS solution, the scalability of Microsoft Sentinel is robust.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Business is stable and reliable, with minimal crashes, but some report occasional bugs impacting stability.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Sentinel is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and efficient data integration, surpassing alternatives like LogRhythm.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
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.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.
Public Cloud Engineer at Prudential
So far, we have not experienced any issues, and it has been stable from the beginning.
IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE
In the past two years, our team hasn't encountered any issues with the stability of Microsoft Sentinel from an operations perspective.
Project Executive at synergyc
I need to be aware of deprecated connectors as they may disconnect, but the data continues to be sent with a need for quick adaptation.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Business needs better reporting, integration, simplified interface, and enhanced features to address various limitations and concerns.
Microsoft Sentinel requires better third-party integration, improved UI, enhanced documentation, simpler pricing, and stronger threat intelligence capabilities.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
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.
CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
Information Technology Security Consultant at Navaio IT Security
We have some tools, such as our off-site Meraki firewalls, that have not fully integrated with Sentinel.
Systems Emgineer at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Currently, we are happy to have a way in the middle with not so much cost, but it would be nice to have the ability to enhance the automation of workflows based on learned incidents.
IT Consultant at MAN Truck & Bus SE
There are complexities in calculating the right pricing tier for different customers, which makes it difficult for me as a consultant during upfront pricing.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Business offers competitive pricing with enterprise value, though some users find costs high compared to competitors.
Microsoft Sentinel's pricing is complex and costly, yet beneficial for Microsoft stack users with insider knowledge for optimization.
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.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.
CISO at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
It has been beneficial that Microsoft Sentinel is included as part of the Microsoft package, making it more cost-effective.
Senior System Administrator at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees
Microsoft Sentinel offers more capabilities than Bastion, with a more intuitive experience.
Project Executive at synergyc
Setting up the right cost model for customers is intricate, requiring careful consideration of various components and licensing tiers.
senior cyber security at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Business integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, offering comprehensive security, scalability, and user-friendly features for effective threat management.
Microsoft Sentinel excels in integration, scalability, AI, and automation, enhancing threat detection and response with improved efficiency.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
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.
Consultant at Dell Technologies
Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources and its detection capabilities are essential.
Cost Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Sentinel has improved cost efficiency, which is one of the key areas we're able to win business against the ability to have threat intelligence.
Chief Commercial Officer at defend
Microsoft Sentinel's ability to correlate data from multiple sources enhances our threat detection capabilities beyond what is a simple data lake solution by filtering out the noise and consolidating the signal down to a meaningful level that is easier to investigate and see.
Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (16th)
Microsoft Sentinel
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (3rd), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR) (1st), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 3.5%, up from 2.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Sentinel is 4.7%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Sentinel4.7%
Microsoft Defender for Business3.5%
Other91.8%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Takayuki-Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
RW
Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees
Creates value with advanced investigation capabilities while seeking improved integration with varied platforms
My primary improvement request would be for auxiliary logs, as they represent our biggest need. While we have automated deployments now, Microsoft Sentinel is fairly easy to deploy, although we face challenges with integrations related to AWS and GCP, particularly with Google. The integration challenges arise from both sides; Google tends to be noisy, and we find only ten analytic rules out of the box, necessitating the use of Defender for Cloud for alerts, which indicates a need for better documentation during deployment. The story between UEBA and Defender for Identity and Intra needs to be further explored and defined. There's some confusion on what is happening from a user and entity behavior.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business38
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise44
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?
A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...
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?
Microsoft Defender for Business could be improved by making the advanced threat hunting available to all plans, as currently, it is only available to one of their plans which is not encouraging. It...
Is there a common threat intelligence tool that aggregates multiple threat intelligence sources?
Yes, Azure Sentinel is a SIEM on the Cloud. Multiple data sources can be uploaded and analyzed with Azure Sentinel and its Threat Hunting functionality with AI available as templates or customized ...
What is a better choice, Splunk or Azure Sentinel?
It would really depend on (1) which logs you need to ingest and (2) what are your use cases Splunk is easy for ingestion of anything, but the charge per GB/Day Indexed and it gets expensive as log ...
Which is better - Azure Sentinel or AWS Security Hub?
We like that Azure Sentinel does not require as much maintenance as legacy SIEMs that are on-premises. Azure Sentinel is auto-scaling - you will not have to worry about performance impact, you will...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Azure Sentinel
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Sentinel is trusted by companies of all sizes including ABM, ASOS, Uniper, First West Credit Union, Avanade, and more.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Microsoft Sentinel and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.