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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs SUSE Rancher 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 Cloud
Ranking in Container Security
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
78
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (7th), Container Management (8th), 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), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (5th)
SUSE Rancher
Ranking in Container Security
34th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Container Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Cloud is 6.7%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SUSE Rancher is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Container Security
 

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.
Sachin Deorah - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables seamless local Kubernetes development and quick deployment to the cloud
Rancher Desktop provides support for Kubernetes setup on local machines. It allows us to run Kubernetes as per our requirement, and the desktop application offers a good UI. We use Rancher Desktop for local development, testing APIs locally, and it helps to seamlessly publish to the cloud. This makes it a valuable tool for developers.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are the monitoring of users, endpoint detection and response, and the adaptability of the AI threat intelligence engine, which quickly adapts to customizations."
"The technical support is very good."
"The pricing is good."
"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."
"It isn't a highly complex solution. It's something that a lot of analysts can use. Defender gives you a broad overview of what's happening in your environment, and it's a great solution if you're a Microsoft shop."
"Defender for Cloud provides a complete DevOps security package for cloud services."
"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 first valuable feature was the fact that it gave us a list of everything that users were surfing on the web. Having the list, we could make decisions about those sites."
"The most valuable features of SUSE Rancher include the user interface and the display features."
"Rancher Desktop provides support for Kubernetes setup on local machines."
"Rancher Desktop provides support for Kubernetes setup on local machines."
 

Cons

"I would like to see more connectors and plugins with other platforms."
"The customer service at Microsoft has room for improvement. The first line of support is not technically adept and often requires engaging higher-level technicians to resolve issues."
"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."
"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."
"Most customer teams need more training on this type of product."
"However, some Copilot features aren't available in the GCP environment. This is something we hope will be addressed in the future."
"With the new Copilot functionality available everywhere, it is challenging to pinpoint areas for improvement. If I put in a lot of thought, I might identify things, but right now, nothing significant pops into my mind, but there is always room for more transparency, especially in pricing."
"It's hard to reach someone who understands my problems. I haven't had many issues, so I haven't called them."
"Some initial setup and configuration were required by the admin side for enabling security policies, which were not supported initially."
"Some initial setup and configuration were required by the admin side for enabling security policies, which were not supported initially."
"Additional features for a paid solution should be included, such as more detailed insights, better graphics, and an improved user interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free version of the Azure Security Center."
"Microsoft's licensing and pricing are sometimes complicated. If someone is new to Microsoft's licensing, they might have difficulty with it."
"The licensing cost per server is $15 per month."
"The licensing is straightforward but can become expensive if you cover everything. You must balance the cost against the importance of what needs covering."
"Our clients complain about the cost of Microsoft Defender for Cloud."
"The solution is expensive, and I rate it a five to six out of ten."
"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 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."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 SUSE Rancher?
Rancher is free of cost for us as it is open source. However, there might be costs involved when using Kubernetes on cloud services.
What needs improvement with SUSE Rancher?
I believe additional features for a paid solution should be included, such as more detailed insights, better graphics, and an improved user interface.
What is your primary use case for SUSE Rancher?
My primary use case for SUSE Rancher is managing Kubernetes clusters, allocating them to different users, and monitoring workloads. I manage all cluster-related activities through Rancher.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
No data available
 

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. SUSE Rancher and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.