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Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Xops comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Qualys TotalCloud
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (11th), Container Security (12th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (8th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (8th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (2nd), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (7th)
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Vulnerability Management (6th), Container Management (6th), Container Security (4th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (4th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (4th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (6th), Microsoft Security Suite (7th), Compliance Management (4th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (3rd)
Xops
Average Rating
9.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Cost Management (27th), Compliance Management (13th), AI Security (26th)
 

Featured Reviews

RO
IT Security Expert at Alior Bank S.A.
Unified risk scoring has improved our cloud visibility and simplifies remediation priorities
Qualys TotalCloud provides unified vulnerability and threat assessment across both IAS and SaaS. This solution provides a single prioritized view of risk, which helps reduce the work I would have to do. We are no longer based on CVSS; we are based on Qualys risk scoring, which is based on CVSS plus internal findings made by Qualys, and then assigns its own score. The TruRisk insight feature has found a small number of assets with high vulnerability scores, though I am cautious since some information is classified. Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution.
RW
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.
SS
CEO at Rexha Technologies
User interface needs refinement while providing robust security and cost management
Xops helps me with cloud finance management by allowing me to monitor my spending, and just a couple of months ago, I noticed that my AWS bill, which usually hovers around 50k monthly, spiked unexpectedly. I received an alert on the dashboard and via email about a sudden increase in usage, enabling me to rectify the actual problem and bring things back to normal. The best features of Xops, in my experience, include the FinOps component for checking unnecessary spending trends, the cloud security features, and the cybersecurity and workload security features that allow me to frequently check for vulnerabilities on images and websites. The cloud security feature of Xops stands out to me because it helps maintain compliance status by providing multiple compliance checks, including ISO and CIS benchmarks, and it is not limited to AWS, as it also includes Azure cloud scans and O365 cloud scans, allowing me to monitor security across various platforms. Other useful features of Xops include asset management tools and automation scripts, which help me check what assets I have across all regions, giving me a global view whenever I need it. Xops has positively impacted my organization by enabling me to save money and proactively detect issues, especially related to cloud spending, while also improving my routine security checks for any misconfigurations. While some metrics are difficult to quantify, I regularly run scans to catch security vulnerabilities that may arise due to changing user settings.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"TotalCloud offers a comprehensive suite of features, including EDR, XDR, and TrueRisk, providing a centralized platform for managing vulnerabilities and security risks."
"I appreciate TotalCloud's real-time protection and remediation features. The remediation options include automated one-click remedies and custom changes that help manage vulnerabilities efficiently."
"The most valuable feature of Qualys TotalCloud is the visibility it provides."
"I would definitely recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
"Its dashboards are brilliant. It provides in-depth insights."
"I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."
"The scalability is good as well. I would rate it ten out of ten."
"I would rate Qualys TotalCloud ten out of ten."
"The most valuable feature for me is the variety of APIs available."
"The most valuable feature is the regulatory compliance aspect, where we utilize predefined initiatives like NIST, and alert management is another useful feature with alerts directly integrated with our email or DevOps board for easy viewing, allowing us to identify problem areas efficiently."
"This solution is stable, it's 100% guaranteed and I've never had any problems with it other than some planned IT downtime."
"For organizations who have an on-prem environment and are planning to move to a cloud-based solution, Azure Security Center is definitely one of the best tools that they can use."
"It improves the transparency and visibility of the traffic in and out of the network of each workload on my system."
"Microsoft Defender for Cloud helps in improving our overall security posture. We have a nice overview of what is missing where and what can be improved."
"One of the features that I like about the solution is it is both a hybrid cloud and also multi-cloud. We never know what company we're going to buy, and therefore we are ready to go. If they have GCP or AWS, we have support for that as well. It offers a single-panel blast across multiple clouds."
"The feature of Microsoft Defender for Cloud that I have found most valuable is the alerts, which are pretty standard for security."
"The most valuable aspects of the solution include the Cloud FinOps Dashboards and the vulnerability scans."
"X-Ops has significantly improved our organization by streamlining cloud cost governance and enhancing the security posture across our AWS trading environment."
"Xops has positively impacted my organization by enabling me to save money and proactively detect issues, especially related to cloud spending, while also improving my routine security checks for any misconfigurations."
"Xops helped us mitigate the frequent external attacks that we have been trying to curb for a long time now, and more importantly, it helps with an easy-to-understand dashboard where I can monitor the services in use, optimizations, and ultimately the costs."
"The AWS cost optimization features have been game-changing - particularly the automated detection of idle EC2 instances and unattached EBS volumes that were silently draining our budget."
"The automated compliance monitoring reduced our manual security audits by 60%, allowing our team to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive checks."
 

Cons

"TotalCloud could improve the classification of vulnerabilities. Specifically, it could enhance the categorization of what aspects fall under patches resolved by OS or software updates and what pertains to configuration adjustments."
"Their support could be improved."
"To be honest, I would move out from this tool because it does not give a full view of vulnerability."
"There is room for improvement in vulnerability scanning, particularly for PaaS environments. Currently, Qualys does not have full access to these instances, which limits its effectiveness."
"With the growing integration of AI, I would like Qualys to enhance its service offerings to better accommodate AI-related risks."
"I think Qualys TotalCloud needs to improve its handling of zero-day vulnerabilities and supply chain management because modern ransomware attacks not only target prime critical infrastructures but also the supply chain system."
"An area for improvement would be to focus on risks related to AI, such as large language models and potential data leakage."
"Two areas for improvement in Qualys TotalCloud are the speed of the public cloud platform and vulnerability detection."
"Defender for Cloud is pretty costly for a single line. It's incredibly high to pay monthly for security per server."
"The cost is always a concern, but overall, it's not too bad because it is easy to use and pretty friendly."
"The overview provides you with good information, but if you want more details, there is a lot more customization to do, which requires knowledge of the other supporting solutions."
"As an analyst, there is no way to configure or create a playbook to automate the process of flagging suspicious domains."
"The pricing could be improved, as it is somewhat high for smaller companies."
"Pricing could be improved. There are limited options based on pricing for the government."
"Another thing is that Defender for Cloud uses more resources than for instance, CrowdStrike, which my current company uses."
"No possibility to write or edit any capability."
"While Xops delivers on core functionality, the platform could benefit from more mature AI models for anomaly detection."
"I do not have notes for improvements."
"I chose four out of five because I believe more UI enhancements and a cleaner UX navigation could elevate it to a perfect five."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive, but it offers a premier solution with no headaches."
"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."
"Although Qualys TotalCloud is relatively expensive due to its unique automation features, its cost-effectiveness is rated an eight out of ten, with ten being the most costly."
"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."
"The cost is high, but it meets our organizational needs."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable. It helps us to manage things with very few resources."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."
"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."
"The cost is fair. There aren't any costs in addition to the standard licensing fee."
"The price of the solution is good for the features we receive and there is an additional cost for Microsoft premier support. However, some of my potential customers have found it to be expensive and have gone on to choose another solution."
"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."
"Its pricing is a little bit high in terms of Azure Security Center, but the good thing is that we don't need to maintain and deploy it. So, while the pricing is high, it is native to Azure which is why we prefer using this tool."
"Defender's basic version is free, which is good. Many of our teams are evaluating the paid version against third-party products."
"Microsoft's licensing and pricing are sometimes complicated. If someone is new to Microsoft's licensing, they might have difficulty with it."
"There is a helpful cost-reducing option that allows you to integrate production subscriptions with non-production subscriptions."
"While we pay for any additional features, the pricing seems competitive, though I am not involved in the specific cost details."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Construction Company
39%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise31
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise49
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?
To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...
What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?
My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...
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 acros...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was that the license cost was the only consideration. Setup an...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Cloud?
To improve Microsoft Defender for Cloud, I think pricing-wise, the license price is a little bit higher from an inges...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Xops?
I recommend ensuring you fully understand the pricing tiers and the features included at each level. You should evalu...
What needs improvement with Xops?
I would like to see built-in anomaly detection for trading patterns using machine learning. It would also be helpful ...
What is your primary use case for Xops?
I use X-Ops to monitor and optimize AWS infrastructure costs for our trading workloads. It helps me ensure continuous...
 

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan
Microsoft Azure Security Center, Azure Security Center, Microsoft ASC, Azure Defender
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is trusted by companies such as ASOS, Vatenfall, SWC Technology Partners, and more.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs. Xops and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.