Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention comparison

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention

February 2026

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Helped 885,311 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

7.0

Microsoft Defender for Cloud boosts productivity, enhances security, and integrates seamlessly, offering cost-efficiency and significant return on investment.

Sentiment score

6.4

Microsoft Purview DLP enhances data search efficiency, negates extra licensing costs, and reduces breach risks without needing third-party vendors.

Defender proactively indexes and analyzes documents, identifying potential threats even when inactive, enhancing preventative security.

Preston Cleary

Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees

Identifying potential vulnerabilities has helped us avoid costly data losses.

SaulPatino

Manager at CBTS

Compared to not having Microsoft Defender for Cloud in place, we definitely saw an advantage by not having downtime due to a security threat.

Jason_Lane

Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge

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

We save a lot of time for legal by using Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention when searching data for legal and HR and employee issues.

Anand Venkatachalapathy

Staff Systems Administrator at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

In these days of data breaches and data leakages that result in huge regulatory fines, we have not had any data breaches that could result in such fines.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The fact that we are not being fined is crucial.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.2

Microsoft Defender for Cloud offers efficient premium support, but standard support's responsiveness varies, with comprehensive documentation often assisting users.

Sentiment score

5.6

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention support has mixed reviews, with efficient help for some and delays or unhelpful responses for others.

Since security is critical, we prefer a quicker response time.

SaulPatino

Manager at CBTS

The support team was very responsive to queries.

reviewer2564271

Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

They understand their product, but much like us, they struggle with the finer details, especially with new features.

Preston Cleary

Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees

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

I rate it a ten because they are very quick to respond and very quick to escalate if needed.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Once we got to the Microsoft engineers, the experience was great.

ChrisVinding

Director of Cyber Security

In terms of support, it's top-notch and always available to help us with any support issues we raise.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.5

Microsoft Defender for Cloud adapts and scales efficiently with diverse organizational needs, integrating seamlessly across various cloud services.

Sentiment score

7.3

Microsoft Purview DLP offers robust scalability within Microsoft environments, but challenges exist with non-Microsoft systems and user interface.

As we have reduced our on-premises infrastructure, it is about how we can migrate workloads to the cloud to make it easier, and then having everything fully encompassed and secured within that area makes it much easier for us to scale as needed and grow.

Jason_Lane

Principal Microsoft Consultant at MicroAge

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.

Vibhor Goel

Senior Cloud Platform Engineer at Deutsche Börse

It has multiple licenses and features, covering infrastructures from a hundred to five hundred virtual machines, without any issues.

Syed Abid

Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra

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

The policy working and detection technology need enhancements.

reviewer2262372

Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention scales well with the growing needs of our organization.

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention scales effectively.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.6

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is stable and reliable, with minimal issues and high stability ratings, despite occasional performance hiccups.

Sentiment score

7.8

Microsoft Purview DLP is reliable, with high stability ratings, though improvements in rule synchronization and eDiscovery speed are needed.

Defender's stability has been flawless for us.

reviewer2595948

Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

I have not experienced any crashes or downtime.

RyanWalker

Head Of IT at Cirrus Response

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is very stable.

Martin Welen

Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

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

I would assess the stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention as high.

Brian Ricks

Co-Owner and Principal Consultant at BriComp Computers

The stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is great.

ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

I assess the stability and reliability of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention as quite good because I don't think it's ever gone down, unlike other parts of Azure.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Cloud needs better integration, customization, automation, support, pricing, interoperability, analytics, legacy support, threat detection, and AI integration.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention faces challenges in integration, real-time handling, licensing costs, language support, and efficient data labeling.

Microsoft, in general, could significantly improve its communication and support.

Preston Cleary

Endpoint management at a government with 10,001+ employees

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.

John Tzamtzis

Works at Coca-Cola HBC

The artificial intelligence features could be expanded to allow the system to autonomously manage security issues without needing intervention from admins.

Javier_Rodriguez

Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG

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

Business Premium users can get the data loss prevention features of E5, which is fantastic.

ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Implementing a degree of severity ranking is essential.

ChrisVinding

Director of Cyber Security

More guides, more examples, and more compliance frameworks such as NIST or even PCI compliance would be great.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

Setup Cost

Opinions on Microsoft Defender for Cloud pricing vary; it's seen as competitive yet costly, especially for complex workloads like Kubernetes.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is valued for competitive pricing and integration, despite some noting higher costs than alternatives.

Security has essentially no cost when compared to the cost of a breach.

David Birhange

Director, Cloud and Modern Workplace at Informanix Technology Group

Every time we consider expanding usage, we carefully evaluate the necessity due to cost concerns.

reviewer2564271

Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

We appreciate the licensing approach based on employee count rather than a big enterprise license.

Antonio Andres

Manager, Microsoft Technology Alliance at Silverfort

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

In terms of pricing, I would say it's unlimited value because it's bundled in our A5 and E5 licensing situation.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Director, IT Infrastructure at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees

The pricing for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is generally set; E5 is required, but it comes with all other products, so I would say it is fine.

Iohann Gessenay

Security Engineer at baseVISION

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is very straightforward because we are all using E5 licenses, so we are covered.

Scott Priddy

Cloud Architecture Lead at bolder inc

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud enhances security with AI-driven threat detection, seamless Azure integration, and comprehensive compliance management.

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention provides strong, integrated data protection and compliance across Microsoft and non-Microsoft environments, enhancing security.

The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available.

reviewer2564271

Programme Manager- Cyber Fusion- Group CISO at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

This feature significantly aids in threat detection and enhances the user experience by streamlining security management.

Javier_Rodriguez

Cloud Consultant at i-Community AG

The most valuable feature is the recommendations provided on how to improve security.

Martin Welen

Cloud architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

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

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention prevents users from sharing sensitive information outside the organization based on the configurations that we've implemented.

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Head of Geographies; Data Protection Officer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Purview has helped improve our organization's ability to discover sensitive data significantly as we use eDiscovery Purview, which is incredibly helpful.

Anand Venkatachalapathy

Staff Systems Administrator at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees

It finds social security numbers in the files when we scan for it, so that we can prevent those from leaving the company.

Pascal Garderen

Managing Director, Chief Information Security Officer at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vulnerability Management (7th), Container Management (8th), 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) (3rd)

Microsoft Purview Data Loss...

Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite

14th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 5.4%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is 2.6%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud	5.4%
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention	2.6%
Other	92.0%

Microsoft Security Suite

Featured Reviews

RyanWalker

Head Of IT at Cirrus Response

Cloud security has cut investigation time and now reveals threats faster but needs simpler oversight

When deploying AI applications, my key security concerns with Microsoft Defender for Cloud are data loss, leakage of data, and guardrails around the actual AI, and I am hoping that this is going to help me put those guardrails in place and identify data exfiltration. Microsoft Defender for Cloud has not helped me manage and secure multi-cloud environments, as we are 100 percent Microsoft and have not really got it in any other environment at all. I am not yet using the unified AI-powered security feature offered by Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet using the integrated XDR feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud, but that is coming. I am not yet utilizing the GenAI threat protection features of Microsoft Defender for Cloud. That is also coming and a lot of that will come from learning it here. I have enabled the agentless scanning in my cloud environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Assessing the impact on my workload protection without needing to install agents with Microsoft Defender for Cloud makes it a lot easier, but it also identifies a lot more, which puts more load on me sometimes. I would advise another organization considering Microsoft Defender for Cloud that it is the most logical route to follow if their whole ecosystem is Microsoft. It is easy to implement and it is very self-explanatory when doing it, making sense to just follow the steps as it is too simple, really. I would rate this review a 7.5 out of 10.

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ClayHampton

Senior Infrastructure Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Protects sensitive data across devices and helps address client compliance needs proactively

The reporting in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is a little easier than most Microsoft portals. I understand the licensing cost, especially if you're a Business Premium or in the SMB world, and a lot of clients run with a Business Premium. That comes with data loss prevention in a manual process, whereas E5 gives automation. Microsoft has said, 'Okay, here's your Microsoft 365 E5 compliance add-on that can go on the Business Premium.' So Business Premium users can get the data loss prevention features of E5, which is fantastic. That was the big point that they were missing, and I'm glad that they actually have an add-on now that makes it possible. So truly, I don't think there's a downside. Maybe more reporting, but that's it.

Read full review

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	49

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	15

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

The pricing of Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention is acceptable for us.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

I think that a feature on the side where you could click on something with a question mark, and then if you click on it, it would open up a new window and give you more information on that, almost ...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention?

My main use case is to upload mailboxes. We're using Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention to upload mailboxes. The migration tool that's built into the Microsoft Hybrid isn't working on our domai...

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

March 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Cloud product report

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention

March 2026

Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention report

Download Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention product report

Also Known As

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

Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention, MS Endpoint DLP, Microsoft Endpoint DLP

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.

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Our mission is grounded in both the world in which we live and the future we strive to create. Today, we live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, and the transformation we are driving across our businesses is designed to enable Microsoft and our customers to thrive in this world.

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available