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Microsoft Defender for Business vs Tanium comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

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 for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
21st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (17th)
Tanium
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
36th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (7th), Vulnerability Management (24th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (31st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tanium is 2.4%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Takayuki-Umehara - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
NitinKushwaha - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable product with an ability to build complex roles
We use Tanium as an EDR solution for managing end-user devices and servers The product is granular and can build complex roles compared to other EDR vendors. Tanium's dashboard UI could be similar to CrowdStrike. We have been using Tanium for two and a half years. The product is stable. I rate…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Defender's main strength is its integration with Microsoft Sentinel, offering valuable insights."
"It is scalable."
"Defender's main strength is its integration with Microsoft Sentinel, offering valuable insights."
"I rate Microsoft Defender for Business a 10 out of 10."
"The security features are valuable because they come with more capabilities that other licenses do not have, including the enterprise license like E3."
"The solution provides good scalability."
"Using Microsoft Defender for Business is beneficial for my company."
"Everything is stable. There have been no technical errors or stability issues."
"I like the tool's incident response and security patching."
"I like the fact that you can create patching campaigns depending on the area of your network that you want to address first. I like the ability it has to make several campaigns that work in parallel."
"When I push a quick update, it's done right away, and I can rescan immediately to confirm completion within minutes."
"For incident response tasks, all these tasks can get done in minutes with minimal disruption to the end-user."
"The interrogation piece was the most valuable feature because it was very detailed."
"The product is granular and can build complex roles compared to other EDR vendors."
"Tanium is a very good product and I would rate it eight or nine out of ten."
"Tanium's most valuable feature is its instant discovery aspect."
 

Cons

"We face a licensing issue with Windows 11 Enterprise not reflecting in our portal, which affects activation. Microsoft's support did not resolve this issue, even after sharing remote desktop and screen details."
"Customer service is not bad, yet not great either, and I would rate it maybe five or six out of ten."
"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"Pricing could be lowered as it is expensive and not suitable for low-budget organizations."
"The technical support from Microsoft is very poor. I would rate it a one, as their technical staff are very junior and take a long time to respond to simple questions."
"The user interface has a lot of features which can make it complex and hard to adapt to for some users."
"The areas where Microsoft Defender for Business could improve include the support, installation process, and wiki. I should be able to find solutions to issues quickly without having to delve too deep."
"Defender's threat protection should be fine-tuned to reduce false positives. It could be more targeted, reflecting a continuous evolution in detecting. Also, it could be easier to integrate into other environments."
"Any movement into a SaaS solution has challenges since the processes and data flows are not well defined. Hence, you need to build it at the same time."
"The main issues are the network connection because different customers have issues with their networks. It's difficult implementing this type of solution because the network is the main feature in the architecture for these types of solutions. Tanium could improve by creating some network optimization."
"Most of the time, agent-relative issues have to be more equipped with self-healing features. At times, the agent is there, but for some reason, it doesn't report a status. It gives certain problems that are obviously agent-based."
"The solution needs to improve the reporting and tracking capabilities."
"It is not really additional functions, or the features that are needed, rather the complexity would be reduced based on the number of modules required to put together a comprehensive operational security and risk compliance model."
"Tanium's limitations should be improved because although it is a great tool, it is limited to only a few classes during a session."
"When working with Tanium, there are some older devices that haven't been patched for a long time, and certain patches are not included in Tanium. I have to search outside to download patches, create bundles, and then perform the task."
"I would like to have more integrations and custom plugins to input. Integration is always a big deal in a lot of different environments."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."
"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."
"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."
"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."
"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."
"The solution offers value for money."
"There is an annual license required to use this solution."
"The solution is expensive but it's a good investment."
"Tanium is a more expensive solution in Latin America than some of the competitors, such as BigFix."
"The product's pricing differs from region to region depending on negotiations and the number of endpoints."
"It is higher than some competitors in the market."
"It's an expensive solution. It would be nice if the cost were lower."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 improve by offering more of their offerings available in the basic tenants since not everyone has a budget for higher-level licenses, but everyone needs securi...
What do you like most about Tanium?
Tanium’s linear-chain architecture is valuable.
What needs improvement with Tanium?
While there is always room for improvement, I am pleased with Tanium.
What is your primary use case for Tanium?
The primary use case for Tanium ( /products/tanium-reviews ) is compliance, patching, and inventory as part of the core functions.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
JPMorgan Chase, eBay, Amazon, US Bank, MetLife, pwc, Cerner, Delphi, MGM Grand, New York Life
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Tanium and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.