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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Entra External ID 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
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhances security, reduces costs, and boosts productivity with proactive threat detection and seamless integration.
Sentiment score
4.7
Users faced a learning curve with Microsoft Entra External ID but gained productivity and returns despite higher costs.
Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.
Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.
The biggest return on investment is the rapid improvement of security posture.
It has led to cost savings as well as time savings because I can use a single solution for all applications.
Companies can leverage it for setting up external identities without needing to develop their own solutions.
In terms of return on investment, prior to using this product, our company managed our own mail server with all internal authentication happening on premises, resulting in a ROI in the thousands every year.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender for Cloud support is praised for expertise but criticized for delays, inconsistent service, and ticket handling issues.
Sentiment score
4.7
Microsoft Entra External ID customer support is mixed, with inconsistencies in response times, accessibility, and communication effectiveness.
Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.
The support team was very responsive to queries.
They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.
Companies without a Microsoft license for Entra ID or Azure portal cannot add Azure AD B2C, creating logistical issues for some of my clients who are unable to evaluate the platform.
The support for business applications, infrastructure support, and Entra has been mostly positive with highly skilled technicians.
The documentation is very thorough, reducing the need for support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is highly scalable, managing diverse environments smoothly, with seamless integration and flexible subscriptions despite cost concerns.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Entra External ID is praised for scalability and security but criticized for limited authentication options and increased latency.
We are using infrastructure as a code, so we do not have any scalability issues with Microsoft Defender for Cloud implementation because our cloud automatically does it.
It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.
Defender won't replace our endpoint XDR, but it will likely adapt and support any growth in the Microsoft Cloud space.
This is one of EID's weak points compared to Azure AD B2C, which offers customizable authentication options, including attribute and password combinations.
End-user workloads experience increased latency in a cloud environment compared to on-premises resources.
Microsoft Entra External ID is quite scalable, and I would rate its scalability between eight and nine out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides a stable, reliable environment with minor performance issues primarily due to outdated systems.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Entra External ID is rated highly for stability, reliable and glitch-free except during major disruptions like cloud incidents.
Defender's stability has been flawless for us.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.
Microsoft sometimes changes settings or configurations without transparency.
The stability of this solution is very good.
I have not encountered any stability issues with Microsoft Entra External ID.
Unless such major incidents occur, it is stable and reliable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Cloud needs better automation, integration, user-friendliness, documentation, pricing, real-time monitoring, and legacy support.
Microsoft Entra External ID struggles with high costs, limited features, and slow synchronization, needing better integration and UI improvements.
Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.
It would be beneficial to streamline recommendations to avoid unnecessary alerts and to refine the severity of alerts based on specific environments or environmental attributes.
The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.
This is particularly challenging during enterprise agreement renewals, as it's difficult for customers to review costs leading to lengthy negotiations.
Enhanced customizable login options and the ability to use attribute password logins are critical features that are required for Microsoft Entra External ID to gain dominance in the authentication market.
I would like to see a more detailed alert system that provides a summary of why alerts are generated, who is generating them, and the reasons behind it.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides flexible pricing with a free version; costs vary by features, region, and enterprise needs.
Microsoft Entra External ID pricing is complex and potentially expensive, with varying costs and limitations on specific licenses.
Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.
We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is pricey, especially for Kubernetes clusters.
Regarding pricing, the cost seems high for single sign-on, especially for external applications like Oracle.
Microsoft's pricing is complex and difficult to fathom due to a range of different licensing options.
The cost can be a factor for Microsoft Entra External ID, but in general, it offers a scalable and efficient solution compared to deploying individual solutions.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhances security with AI detection, compliance, seamless Azure integration, and multi-cloud support for streamlined protection.
Microsoft Entra External ID simplifies integration, enhances security with federated identities, and supports seamless hybrid environments and efficient user management.
The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.
This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.
The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.
It is crucial for hybrid environments, especially for integrating existing on-site infrastructures with cloud-based Active Directory, such as in Office 365 implementations.
EID unifies workforce users with external business partners, which is a very strong feature.
Microsoft's reliability in providing a clear roadmap for the solution is very important, especially at a time when cybersecurity is a risk in every company.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (7th), Container Management (8th), Container Security (7th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (2nd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), Compliance Management (5th)
Microsoft Entra External ID
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
21st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Identity and Access Management as a Service (IDaaS) (IAMaaS) (10th), Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 6.3%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra External ID is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Vibhor Goel - PeerSpot reviewer
A single tool for complete visibility and addressing security gaps
Currently, issues are structured in Microsoft Defender for Cloud at severity levels of high, critical, or warning, but these severity levels are not always right. For example, Microsoft might consider a port being open as critical, but that might not be the case for our company. Similarly, it might suggest closing some management ports, but you might need them to be able to log in, so the severity levels for certain things can be improved. Even though Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides a way to temporarily disable certain alerts or notifications without affecting our security score, it would be better to have more granularized control over these recommendations. Currently, we cannot even disable certain alerts or notifications. There should be an automated mechanism to design Azure policies based on the recommendations, possibly with AI integration. Instead of an engineer having to write a policy to fix security gaps, which is very time-consuming, there should be an inbuilt capability to auto-remediate everything and have proper control in place. Additionally, enabling Defender for Cloud at the resource group level, rather than only at the subscription level, would be beneficial.
Corrado Vigano - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution integrates well with existing systems while being easy to use
The fact that it is quite integrated into the entire Microsoft environment makes it quite easy to use. Furthermore, Microsoft's reliability in providing a clear roadmap for the solution is very important, especially at a time when cybersecurity is a risk in every company. The solution is easy to reuse and not difficult to find expertise for in the market because it is widespread. It is gaining attention even from partners and from the market on the offering side. This serves as a good starting point for customers who can develop internal competence on the solution. Additionally, the presence of reliable partners who know the solution and can provide internal knowledge is the best aspect for them.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How is Prisma Cloud vs Azure Security Center for security?
Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across your ecosystem. It also has great remote workforce capabilities and supports a...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
The entire Defender Suite is tightly coupled, integrated, and collaborative.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra External ID?
Concerning the pricing or setup costs for Microsoft Entra External ID, based on my experience with Entra and 365 in general, it shouldn't require a whole education on their software. That's been a ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra External ID?
Where it could be improved beyond the previous pain points is that every software vendor should have SAML or SCIM integration, and if they don't, I believe they are doing a disservice. On the Micro...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra External ID?
As an end user, I use both Linux and Windows products. Our organization is mostly Windows, but we have various Linux servers. My experience with Linux includes primarily Ubuntu and Debian. We use U...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
Azure Active Directory External Identities
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Microsoft Entra External ID and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
863,429 professionals have used our research since 2012.