Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jun 2, 2022

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender Cloud and Prisma Cloud according to four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of Microsoft Defender Cloud say the initial setup is straightforward, and it comes by default with the free version. The only downside is that if you want more visibility, you need the paid version. In contrast, with Prisma Cloud was easy to run an automated setup. 
  • Features: Valuable features of Microsoft Defender Cloud  include support of hybrid cloud and multi-cloud, the seamless integration with Azure, GCP and AWS. The solution is very intuitive about policy administration, and incident alerts. But you cannot create custom use cases and the consistency needs improvement. Prisma Cloud users say the most valuable features are the integration with Amazon, the visibility, and the ability to monitor the artifact repository. However, it needs to improve the usability and the compute function's integration into the cloud monitoring function. 
  • Pricing: Microsoft Defender Cloud users say it is more cost-effective than competing products, and the pricing model is straightforward. Prisma Cloud users say the licensing is confusing. You can't predict what your costs are going to be. 

  • Service and Support: Users of both solutions say the support is vital. However, Microsoft came ahead because they assigned an architect to the team.   

Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Microsoft Defender came ahead of Prisma Cloud because our reviewers found Prisma Cloud to be more difficult in terms of licensing. 

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks Report (Updated: September 2023).
735,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Out of all the features, the one item that has been most valuable is the fact that Wiz puts into context all the pieces that create an issue, and applies a particular risk evaluation that helps us prioritize when we need to address a misconfiguration, vulnerability, or any issue that would put our environment into risk.""The solution is very user-friendly.""Our most important features are those around entitlement, external exposure, vulnerabilities, and container security.""The vulnerability management modules and the discovery and inventory are the most valuable features. Before using Wiz, it was a very manual process for both. After implementing it, we're able to get all of the analytics into a single platform that gives us visibility across all the systems in our cloud. We're able to correspond and understand what the vulnerability landscape looks like a lot faster.""The CSPM module has been the most effective. It was easy to deploy and covered all our accounts through APIs, requiring no agents. Wiz provides instant visibility into high-level risks that we need to address.""I like Wiz's reporting, and it's easy to do queries. For example, it's pretty simple to find out how many servers we have and the applications installed on each. I like Wiz's security graph because you can use it to see the whole organization even if you have multiple accounts.""The first thing that stood out was the ease of installation and the quick value we got out of the solution.""The automation roles are essential because we ultimately want to do less work and automate more. The dashboards are easy to read and visually pleasing. You can understand things quickly, which makes it easy for our other teams. The network and infrastructure teams don't know as much about security as we do, so it helps to have a tool that's accessible and nice to look at."

More Wiz Pros →

"Defender lets you orchestrate the roll-out from a single pane. Using the Azure portal, you can roll it out over all the servers covered by the entire subscription.""The vulnerability reporting is helpful. When we initially deployed Defender, it reported many more threats than we currently see. It gave us insight into areas we had not previously considered, so we knew where we needed to act.""The product has given us more insight into potential avenues for attack paths.""The main feature is the security posture assessment through the security score. I find that to be very helpful because it gives us guidance on what needs to be secured and recommendations on how to secure the workloads that have been onboarded.""The solution is very easy to deploy.""Technical support is helpful.""Defender is a robust platform for dealing with many kinds of threats. We're protected from various threats, like viruses. Attacks can be easily minimized with this solution defending our infrastructure.""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."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Pros →

"Prisma Cloud is quite simple to use. The web GUI is powerful. Prisma Cloud scans the overall architecture of the AWS network to identify open ports and other vulnerabilities, then highlights them.""It has improved the overall collaboration between SecOps and DevOps. Now, instead of asking people to do something, it is a default offering in the CI/CD. There is less manual intervention and more seamless integration. It is why we don't have many dependencies across many teams, which is definitely a better state.""We were pleased with Prisma's custom and built-in reports. We could go into the dashboard and see all these notifications telling us which subscriptions didn't have TLS 1.2 enabled. The security controls were the most valuable features.""The application visibility is amazing. For example, sometimes we don't know what a particular custom port is for and what is running on it. The visibility enables us to identify applications, what the protocol is, and what service is behind it. Within Azure, it is doing a great job of providing visibility. We know exactly what is passing through our network. If there is an issue of any sort we are able to quickly detect it and fix the problem.""Prisma Cloud helped us with compliance. Most of my deployments have been greenfield, so I don't have a benchmark to compare how the security posture has improved. I've always used this from day zero of the configuration. However, I can say that the compliance checks for PCI, DSS, HIPAA, etc., made my life simpler. I don't need to look at each of these standards and compare the rules I have in place.""The most valuable feature is the continuous cloud compliance monitoring and alerting.""The most valuable feature is the closed VPN connection, which provides better performance than traditional VPN boxes. For example, let's say a user in New York State normally connects in the East, but if they travel to the UK, they can connect to the same portal, which automatically redirects to any VPN gateway. We can control traffic based on Active Directory groups instead of the user's IP. That means a user in New York can access his application based on his user ID and AD group access when he travels to the UK or anywhere else.""We found it to be easy and flexible. We could easily configure it for our needs, and we could spread the Prisma Cloud platform to 16 countries without encountering any kind of problem."

More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks Pros →

Cons
"Wiz's reporting capabilities could be refined a bit. They are making headway on that, but more executive-style dashboards would be nice. They just implemented a community aspect where you can share documents and feedback. This was something users had been requesting for a while. They are listening to customer feedback and making changes.""We wish there were a way, beyond providing visibility and automated remediation, to wait on a given remediation, due to a critical aspect, such as the cost associated with a particular upgrade... We would like to see preventive controls that can be applied through Wiz to protect against vulnerabilities that we're not going to be able to remediate immediately.""Given the level of visibility into all the cloud environments Wiz provides, it would be nice if they could integrate some kind of mechanism to better manage tenants on multiple platforms. For example, let's say that some servers don't have an application they need, such as an antivirus. Wiz could include an API or something to push those applications out to the servers. It would be great if you could remedy these issues directly from the Wiz platform.""One significant issue is that the searches are case-sensitive, so finding a misconfigured resource can become very challenging.""The only small pain point has been around some of the logging integrations. Some of the complexities of the script integrations aren't supported with some of the more automated infrastructure components. So, it's not as universal. For example, they have great support for cloud formation and other services, but if you're using another type of management utility or governance language for your infrastructure-as-code automation components, it becomes a little bit trickier to navigate that.""The reporting isn't that great. They have executive summaries, but it's only a compliance report that maps all current issues to specific controls. Whether you look at one subscription or project, regardless of the size, you will get a multipage report on how the issues in that account map to that control. Our CSO isn't going to read through that. He won't filter that out or show that to his leadership and say, "Here's what we're doing." It isn't a helpful report. They're working on it, but it's a poor executive summary.""The remediation workflow within the Wiz could be improved.""The only thing that needs to be improved is the number of scans per day."

More Wiz Cons →

"You cannot create custom use cases.""From my own perspective, they just need a product that is tailored to micro-segmentation so I can configure rules for multiple systems at once and manage it.""After getting a recommendation, it takes time for the solution to refresh properly to show that the problem has been eliminated.""I would suggest building a single product that addresses endpoint server protection, attack surface, and everything else in one solution. That is the main disadvantage with the product. If we are incorporating some features, we end up in a situation where this solution is for the server, and that one is for the client, or this is for identity, and that is for our application. They're not bundling it. Commercially, we can charge for different licenses, but on the implementation side, it's tough to help our end-customer understand which product they're getting.""Microsoft sources most of their threat intelligence internally, but I think they should open themselves up to bodies that provide feel intelligence to build a better engine. There may be threats out there that they don't report because their team is not doing anything on that and they don't have arrangements with another party that is involved in that research.""The most significant areas for improvement are in the security of our identity and endpoints and the posture of the cloud environment. Better protection for our cloud users and cloud apps is always welcome.""Microsoft can improve the pricing by offering a plan that is more cost-effective for small and medium organizations.""Azure is a complex solution. You have so many moving parts."

More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Cons →

"Prisma Cloud supports generating CSV files, but I would also like it to generate PDF files for reporting.""The first time I looked at Prisma Cloud, it took me a while to understand how to implement the integration or how to enable features by using the interface for integration. That portion can probably be improved.""The security automation capabilities are average.""The information presented in the UI sometimes doesn't look intuitive enough.""We'd like to have more native integration with clouds and additional security checks in the future.""They need to improve the API gateway.""Prisma Cloud lags behind in terms of security automation capabilities.""In terms of securing cloud-native development at build time, a lot of improvement is needed. Currently, it's more a runtime solution than a build-time solution. For runtime, I would rate it at seven out of 10, but for build-time there is a lot of work to be done."

More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The pricing seems pretty simple. We don't have to do a lot of calculations to figure out what the components are. They do it by enabling specific features, either basics or advanced, which makes it easy to select."
  • "The pricing is fair. Some of the more advanced features and functionalities and how the tiers are split can be somewhat confusing."
  • "The pricing is fair and comparable to their competitors. The cost seems to be going up, which is a concern. There are potential savings from consolidating tools, but we're uncertain how Wiz's pricing will change over time."
  • "I wish the pricing was more transparent."
  • "The cost of the other solutions is comparable to Wiz."
  • More Wiz Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "It is bundled with our enterprise subscription, which makes it easy to go for it. It is available by default, and there is no extra cost for using the standard features."
  • "Azure Defender is definitely pricey, but their competitors cost about the same. For example, a Palo Alto solution is the same price per endpoint, but the ground strikes cost a bit more than Azure Defender. Still, it's pricey for a company like ours. Maybe well-established organizations can afford it, but it might be too costly for a startup."
  • "Defender for Cloud is pretty costly for a single line. It's incredibly high to pay monthly for security per server. The cost is considerable for an enterprise with 500-plus virtual machines, and the monthly bill can spike."
  • "The cost is fair. There aren't any costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."
  • "Pricing depends on your workload size, but it is very cheap. If you're talking about virtual machines, it is $5 or something for each machine, which is minimal. If you go for some agent-based solution for every virtual machine, then you need to pay the same thing or more than that. For an on-premises solution like this, we were paying around $30 to $50 based on size. With Defender, Microsoft doesn't bother about the size. You pay based on the number of machines. So, if you have 10 virtual machines, and 10 virtual machines are being monitored, you are paying based on that rather than the size of the virtual machine. Thus, you are paying for the number of units rather than paying for the size of your units."
  • "The pricing is very difficult because every type of Defender for Cloud has its own metrics and pricing. If you have Cloud for Key Vault, the pricing is different than it is for storage. Every type has its own pricing list and rules."
  • "They have a free version, but the license for this one isn't too high. It's free to start with, and you're charged for using it beyond 30 days. Some other pieces of Defender are charged based on usage, so you will be charged more for a high volume of transactions. I believe Defender for Cloud is a daily charge based on Azure's App Service Pricing."
  • "Pricing is difficult because each license has its own metrics and cost."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Cloud Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Prisma Cloud is quite scalable. In our current licensing model, we're able to heavily extend our cloud workload and onboard a lot of customers. It really helps, and it is on par with other solutions."
  • "If you pay for three years of Palo Alto, it's better. If you're planning on doing this, it's obviously not going to be for one year, so it's better if you go with a three-year license... The only challenge we have is with the public cloud vendor pricing. The biggest lesson I have learned is around the issues related to pricing for public cloud. So when you are doing your segmentation and design, it is extremely important that you work with someone who knows and understands what kinds of needs you will have in the future and how what you are doing will affect you in terms of costs."
  • "You can expect a premium price because it is a premium quality product by a leading supplier."
  • "Its price is reasonable as compared to other products. The main challenge is explaining the licensing model to customers. It isn't a problem related to Palo Alto. Commonly, people don't understand cloud licensing or security licensing. When they have fixed virtual machines, they know what they are going to be charged, but when it comes to cloud automation, it is hard for them to get clarity in case of high workloads or when they have enabled auto-scaling, etc. It would be helpful if Palo Alto can educate people on their licensing programs."
  • "Prisma Cloud Enterprise is a costly solution. You need a license for all the components. At the same time, you have everything under one roof, so I think it's still justified."
  • "The cost depends on the pricing model. Compared to other solutions, the cost isn't that bad."
  • "The pricing is competitive; for the most part, the security firms have similar prices."
  • "The pricing structure is easy to understand. Depending on the use case the pricing of the solution can be different. There are not any additional costs to the standard living fees."
  • More Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Wiz and Lacework sucks... Buy Orca. 
    Top Answer:Whether or not the cost of third-party Cloud Security tools is justified would depend on your specific needs and budget… more »
    Top Answer:I like Wiz's reporting, and it's easy to do queries. For example, it's pretty simple to find out how many servers we… more »
    Top Answer:Azure Security Center is very easy to use, integrates well, and gives very good visibility on what is happening across… more »
    Top Answer:The product has given us more insight into potential avenues for attack paths.
    Top Answer:We have the full E5 license. The tool is pretty expensive.
    Top Answer:Prisma Cloud helps support DevSecOps methodologies, making those responsibilities easier to manage.
    Top Answer:We like Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks, since it offers us incredible visibility into our entire cloud system. We… more »
    Top Answer:Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
    Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud, Prisma Public Cloud, RedLock Cloud 360, RedLock, Twistlock, Aporeto
    Learn More
    Overview

    Wiz is a highly efficient solution for data security posture management (DSPM), with a 100% API-based approach that provides quick connectivity and comprehensive scans of platform configurations and workloads. The solution allows companies to automatically correlate sensitive data with relevant cloud context, such as public exposure, user identities, entitlements, and vulnerabilities.This integration enables them to understand data accessibility, configuration, usage, and movement within their internal environments.

    Wiz's Security Graph delivers automated alerts whenever risks emerge, allowing teams to prioritize and address the most critical issues before they escalate into breaches. Furthermore, Wiz ensures rapid and agentless visibility into critical data across various repositories, enabling organizations to easily determine the location of their data assets.

    Wiz Features

    Wiz provides various features in the following categories:

    • Agentless Scanning: The solution can scan every layer of a cloud environment without requiring agents, managing the entire process and providing comprehensive visibility.

    • Workflow Integration: Users can create customized workflows within Wiz to identify and assign actions based on urgency, integrating them with ticketing systems for quick and efficient remediation.

    • Vulnerability Management: Wiz's vulnerability management modules provide detailed analytics and visibility across cloud systems, streamlining the manual process of vulnerability discovery. The automated attack path analysis helps identify risks and trace potential points of exposure, allowing users to understand and mitigate them effectively and proactively.

    • CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management): Wiz's CSPM module offers instant visibility into high-level risks to an enterprise’s cloud environment, covering all accounts without the need for agents.

    • Out-of-the-Box Reporting and Custom Queries: The service supports comprehensive reporting with asset context, allowing users to perform complex custom queries on the solution’s user-friendly interface.

    • Automation Roles and Dashboards: The solution facilitates automation by providing essential roles and dedicated dashboards that enable teams to understand security information quickly, even those with limited expertise.

    • Contextual Risk Evaluation: The service contextualizes the various components contributing to an issue, providing a risk evaluation framework that helps prioritize remediation efforts.

    • Security Graph and Visibility: Wiz's security graph offers visibility across the entire organization, even with multiple accounts, enabling users to understand their environment and assets effectively.

    The Benefits of Wiz

    Wiz offers the following benefits:


    • Comprehensive agentless scanning

    • Effective identification and mitigation of vulnerabilities

    • Streamlined vulnerability management

    • Robust reporting capabilities and customizable queries

    • Enhanced automation and role-based access control

    • Prioritized risk evaluation for efficient remediation

    • Security posture across multiple accounts

    Reviews from Real Users

    Kamran Siddique, VP Information Security at boxed.com, remarks his company has seen a ROI while using Wiz, as it simplifies the process by integrating multiple useful tools into one solution.

    According to a Senior Security Architect at Deliveroo, Wiz has given their company a fresh approach to vulnerability management, as Wiz's native integrations are extremely useful and paramount to the operational success of their platform.



    Get a demo | Wiz

    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.

    Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is a cloud security solution used for cloud security posture management, cloud workload protection, container security, and code security. It provides visibility, monitoring, and alerting for security issues in multi-cloud environments. 

    The solution is user-friendly, easy to set up, and integrates with SIEM for generating alerts and reports. Its most valuable features include security features, monitoring capabilities, reporting, compliance monitoring, vulnerability dashboard, data security features, and multi-cloud capabilities. Prisma Cloud has helped organizations by providing comprehensive protection, automating workflows, simplifying troubleshooting, and improving collaboration between SecOps and DevOps.

    Prisma Cloud Features

    Prisma Cloud offers comprehensive security coverage in all areas of the cloud development lifecycle:

    • Code security: Protect configurations, scan code before it enters production, and integrate with other tools.

    • Security posture management: Monitor posture, identify and remove threats, and provide compliance across public clouds.

    • Workload protection: Secure hosts and containers across the application lifecycle.

    • Network security: Gain network visibility and enforce micro segmentation.

    • Identity security: Enforce permissions and secure identities across clouds.

    Benefits of Prisma Cloud

    • Unified management: All users use the same dashboards built via shared onboarding, allowing cloud security to be addressed from a single agent framework.

    • High-speed onboarding: Multiple cloud accounts and users are onboarded within seconds, rapidly activating integrated security capabilities.

    • Multiple integration options: Prisma Cloud can integrate with widely used IDE, SCM, and CI/CD workflows early in development, enabling users to identify and fix vulnerabilities and compliance issues before they enter production. Prisma Cloud supports all major workflows, automation frameworks, and third-party tools.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Prisma Cloud stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its integration capabilities, as well as its visibility, which makes it very easy for users to get a full picture of the cloud environment.

    Alex J., an information security manager at Cobalt.io, writes, “Prisma Cloud has enabled us to take a very strong preventive approach to cloud security. One of the hardest things with cloud is getting visibility into workloads. With Prisma Cloud, you can go in and get that visibility, then set up policies to alert on risky behavior, e.g., if there are security groups or firewall ports open up. So, it is very helpful in preventing configuration errors in the cloud by having visibility. If there are issues, then you can find them and fix them.”

    Luke L., a cloud security specialist for a financial services firm, writes, “You can also integrate with Amazon Managed Services. You can also get a snapshot in time, whether that's over a 24-hour period, seven days, or a month, to determine what the estate might look like at a certain point in time and generate reports from that for vulnerability management forums.”

    Offer
    Learn more about Wiz
    Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud
    Learn more about Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks
    Sample Customers
    Wiz is the fastest growing software company ever - $100M ARR in 18 months: Wiz becomes the fastest-growing software company ever | Wiz Blog  Discover why companies, including Salesforce, Morgan Stanley, Fox, and Bridgewater choose Wiz as their cloud security partner. Read their success stories here: Customers | Wiz
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
    Amgen, Genpact, Western Asset, Zipongo, Proofpoint, NerdWallet, Axfood, 21st Century Fox, Veeva Systems, Reinsurance Group of America
    Top Industries
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company25%
    Agriculture10%
    Recruiting/Hr Firm10%
    Consumer Goods Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company31%
    Manufacturing Company20%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Healthcare Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Educational Organization13%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Midsize Enterprise38%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise64%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise63%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise66%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business21%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise58%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise63%
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    735,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud is ranked 3rd in Container Security with 22 reviews while Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is ranked 1st in Container Security with 44 reviews. Microsoft Defender for Cloud is rated 8.0, while Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Cloud writes "Provides good recommendations and makes policy administration easy". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks writes "The magic happens with traffic passing through multiple zones and our data center, as we can quickly troubleshoot problems". Microsoft Defender for Cloud is most compared with Microsoft 365 Defender, AWS GuardDuty, Microsoft Sentinel, Trend Micro Cloud One and Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, whereas Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks is most compared with Aqua Cloud Security Platform, Snyk, Check Point CloudGuard Posture Management, AWS GuardDuty and Orca Security. See our Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks report.

    See our list of best Container Security vendors, best CWPP (Cloud Workload Protection Platforms) vendors, and best Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) vendors.

    We monitor all Container Security reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.