Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Entra Verified ID comparison

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Microsoft Entra Verified ID

December 2025

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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 Cloud

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (6th), Container Management (7th), Container Security (7th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (5th), Compliance Management (4th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (2nd)

Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

20th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 5.5%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra Verified ID is 1.5%, down from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud	5.5%
Microsoft Entra Verified ID	1.5%
Other	93.0%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

David Birhange

Director, Cloud and Modern Workplace at Informanix Technology Group

Brings together cloud security insights through a unified view and supports agentless protection for virtual machines

Copilot and similar features are already being used, though not necessarily for Microsoft Defender for Cloud specifically. We are trying to get more experience before rolling out most of Microsoft Defender for Cloud's AI capabilities. This is definitely on our to-do list, and the priority is urgent as we seek to learn more about these capabilities. The GenAI threat protection from Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not been enabled yet. There are many unknowns with AI applications. AI agents will operate while you're not present, whether you are sleeping or awake, and it's unclear whether there would be any exfiltration of data or how data is being managed. Microsoft Purview is being used extensively, and there is significant development going on with DSPM that will be rolled out to address security concerns. Data labeling and proper demarcation for sensitivity of data before it is received are being actively pursued.

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MuhammadWaqar

IT Director at Interwood Mobel Pvt Ltd

Supports user management and authentication but needs simpler hybrid integration for broader adoption

I believe there should be an easy provision for the on-premises and for the hybrid environment in Microsoft Entra Verified ID, as there seems to be some difficulty with hybrid implementations, especially in a country like Pakistan where most are transitioning to cloud but not fully migrating, instead opting for hybrid solutions. An ease for hybrid integration would greatly help the technical teams. I believe the policy implementation is a little bit complex on the Microsoft side; there should be a simpler way to implement policies, utilizing standardized templates for compliance, such as industry-specific templates for the service industry, which would be helpful for HIPAA and other compliances.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender has a lot of features including regulatory compliance and attaching workbooks but the most valuable is the recommendations it provides for each and every resource when we open Microsoft Defender."

"Microsoft Defender for Cloud has definitely helped us manage and secure our multi-cloud environment by providing ease of use."

"Scalability is great, and I would rate it a ten out of ten."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its support for cloud-native services like Kubernetes, containers, managed storage, and databases. Protecting these without Microsoft Defender for Cloud would be extremely challenging. For threat protection specifically, I find the signature-based detection and heuristic detection features very effective."

"The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security. It has made the cloud environment more secure, thanks to all the recommendations we can get."

"The notification process of Microsoft Defender for Cloud has been the most valuable feature. The notification process is effortless, as it can tell me right there and then locate issues pretty fast, saving us a lot of time by not having to dig through all the warnings."

"The dashboard is very good. It gives our clients a lot of information and allows them to have a complete overview of the system. Everything is visible in one glance."

"Defender for Cloud is a plug-and-play solution that provides continuous posture management once enabled."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pros

"The MFA number matching feature effectively prevents unauthorized access by phishing bad actors who might obtain email credentials. This feature requires users to verify a number on their screen, ensuring they only approve genuine requests."

"I find Microsoft Dynamics 365 very easy and useful because most of the users on our end are using Microsoft, thus they are very familiar with the Microsoft Office stack, and some of SharePoint and Teams."

"The authentication features of Microsoft Entra Verified ID are valuable. As an infrastructure professional, I appreciate the exceptional integration between on-premises Active Directory features and Entra ID."

"The most valuable features of the solution are mainly in the areas of security and auditing."

"Microsoft Entra Verified ID has smoothed out our identity verification process and made it easier for us to authenticate users, making us more confident about our users being who they say they are so we can trust that we have secure logins for all our users."

"I would recommend this solution to others because it's simple enough to deploy."

"I like the Microsoft Authenticator app since it comes with two-factor authentication."

"Microsoft Entra Verified ID has helped reduce fraud or impersonation attacks because if you are using a government-sanctioned ID, what is more secure than that?"

Cons

"The vulnerabilities are duplicated many times."

"I rate Microsoft support five out of 10. It gets better once you're escalated past the first and second levels. It's difficult to get the necessary support when tickets are first opened."

"The cost is always a concern, but overall, it's not too bad because it is easy to use and pretty friendly."

"While we are satisfied with Defender for Cloud's features, an AI enhancement could potentially provide better advice and adapt more effectively to our environment."

"They could always work to make the pricing a bit lower."

"It's hard to reach someone who understands my problems. I haven't had many issues, so I haven't called them."

"One of the main challenges that we have been facing with Azure Security Center is the cost. The costs are really a complex calculation, e.g., to calculate the monthly costs. Azure is calculating on an hourly basis for use of the resource. Because of this, we found it really complex to promote what will be our costs for the next couple of months. I think if Azure could reduce the complex calculation and come up with straightforward cost mapping that would be very useful from a product point of view."

"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud cons

"Microsoft products basically have no support other than the knowledge base, so I would give it a two out of 10."

"There is room for improvement in Microsoft Entra Verified ID, particularly in the integration with other platforms, as they could do better with the API, for example."

"While Microsoft continues to improve the solution, integrating the ID with biometric features could be enhanced, especially in terms of standard B2C flows for multi-factor authentication. Improvements in remembering devices and the timing of MFA triggers could also be beneficial."

"The tool's expensive nature is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"I must do two-factor authentication when I sign in from a different location. It creates friction. It's not personalized for the end user. I would like to see specific insights."

"I have not really seen return on investment with Microsoft Entra Verified ID."

"There are issues with the integration of Microsoft Entra Verified ID and MFA. Sometimes, the MFA process doesn't succeed, requiring users to sign out and log back in."

"I believe there should be an easy provision for the on-premises and for the hybrid environment in Microsoft Entra Verified ID, as there seems to be some difficulty with hybrid implementations, especially in a country like Pakistan where most are transitioning to cloud but not fully migrating, instead opting for hybrid solutions."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a helpful cost-reducing option that allows you to integrate production subscriptions with non-production subscriptions."

"There are improvements that have to be made to the licensing. Currently, for servers, it has to be done by grouping the servers on a single subscription... We don't have an option whereby, if all those resources are in one subscription, we can have each of the individual servers subject to different planning."

"The pricing model for most plans is generally good, but the cost of the new Defender for Storage plan is high and should be revisited, as it could lead to disabling desirable security features due to cost."

"Azure Defender is a bit pricey. The price could be lower."

"The product's pricing policy is generally favorable."

"The cost of the license is based on the subscriptions that you have."

"Currently, Microsoft offers only one plan at the enterprise level which is $15 per machine."

"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing and cost advice

"If one is cheap and ten is very expensive, I rate the product price as seven."

"The pricing and setup are standard. With Entra, you choose between P1 and P2 licenses. We recommend having at least one P2 license in a company for better alert management, even though P2 is more expensive."

"I still feel the pricing is on the higher side for larger customers. They don't pay anything for on-prem Active Directory. Although we receive additional features with Microsoft’s SSO, pricing is an area Microsoft can work on."

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881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	49

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Large Enterprise	4

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Microsoft Defender for Cloud was pretty straightforward. We did have a consultation with a third party to go over different tiers and produ...

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?

Microsoft Defender for Cloud can be improved. An additional feature that should be included in the next release is Zero Trust, similar to ThreatLocker software.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Verified ID?

It is hard for me to say how Microsoft Entra Verified ID can be improved. I really do not know the extent of how that can benefit everything. I am trying to learn that here at the Ignite conference.

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra Verified ID?

My main use cases for Microsoft Entra Verified ID are verifying the end user saying who they are and being able to back that up with government-issued proof.

What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Entra Verified ID?

My organization has not implemented the Face Check feature yet; we are using YubiKeys. My organization's trust in digital interactions really has not changed since implementing Microsoft Entra Veri...

AWS GuardDuty vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Comparisons

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Compared 8% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 3% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Compared 2% of the time

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Microsoft Entra ID vs Microsoft Entra Verified ID

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Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Compared 11% of the time

Okta Platform vs Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Compared 10% of the time

Auth0 Platform vs Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Microsoft Entra Verified ID

January 2026

Download Microsoft Entra Verified ID product report

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for cloud workloads. It offers real-time visibility into the security posture of cloud environments, enabling organizations to quickly identify and respond to potential threats. With its advanced machine learning capabilities, Microsoft Defender for Cloud can detect and block sophisticated attacks, including zero-day exploits and fileless malware.

The solution also provides automated remediation capabilities, allowing security teams to quickly and easily respond to security incidents. With Microsoft Defender for Cloud, organizations can ensure the security and compliance of their cloud workloads, while reducing the burden on their security teams.

Learn more about Microsoft Entra Verified ID

Microsoft Entra Verified ID is a managed verifiable credential service that lets organizations build unique user-owned identity scenarios designed for trustworthy, secure, and efficient interactions between people and organizations. Transform the way you perform identity verification with verifiable credentials.

Face Check with Microsoft Entra Verified ID is a premium privacy-respecting facial matching feature powered by Azure AI services that unlocks high-assurance identity verification at scale. It matches a user's real-time selfie with a trusted identity document – such as a driver’s license or a passport – without ever passing or storing personal data, providing secure, trustworthy verifications for organizations and a quick, simple experience for users.

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.

Information Not Available