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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Varonis Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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
4.8
Cortex XDR reduces security incidents, personnel needs, and costs, offering quick ROI, enhanced performance, and competitive pricing.
Sentiment score
6.8
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers cost savings, enhanced security, time savings, and ransomware prevention, with improved functionality and productivity.
Sentiment score
4.8
Varonis Platform offers initial ROI and long-term security benefits, though competition challenges its value in cloud environments.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks helps to reduce my total cost of ownership significantly.
Detection and Response Consultant at Inovasys
In Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, most of the remediation is automated and the accuracy is quite good.
Network Security Engineer at Cyberwell Solution
Without detection and protection measures, organizations would face substantial payments and reputational damage, including the necessity to inform customers about data breaches, potentially leading to loss of business.
Consultant at ACT4SERVICES
We have seen a return on investment when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it saves labor by reducing the need for staff to focus on it.
IT CONSULTANT at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
Lead security engineer at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
I definitely say that we have had time savings by using the DataVantage module and also time savings using the AD module when we are dealing with different incidents.
cybersecurity architect at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
I have seen a return on investment mainly through time savings and improved security for sensitive data, making it a valuable investment.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Cortex XDR support is effective and fast but faces issues with language, delays, and high costs, yet generally satisfactory.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint support satisfaction varies, with faster responses for premium support but slower tier-one assistance.
Sentiment score
7.4
Varonis Platform's customer service is praised for expertise and responsiveness but needs quicker issue resolution in some cases.
The technical support from Palo Alto deserves a mark of ten because they reach out within an hour whenever assistance is needed.
Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees
There is no back and forth, and they know what we are asking for and come up with the best resolution for a solution.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
If any of these services are missed, it becomes a problem in terms of support tickets, follow-up, or special configuration that needs to be done in the system.
Chief of IT Architecture at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, 'Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then.'
Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
Office 365 Subject Expert at a government with 10,001+ employees
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
The customer support is above par; it is what I think other organizations should look at to be comparable to.
cybersecurity architect at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
They respond quickly to anything we need, which is not common among platforms.
Database and crm dynamics engineer at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
I would rate the customer support for Varonis Platform at nine out of ten.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cortex XDR is scalable, supports diverse enterprises, integrates with endpoints, and enables easy expansion with cloud infrastructure.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers scalability and flexibility, supporting diverse organizations with seamless integration and extensive capabilities.
Sentiment score
6.3
Varonis Platform is highly scalable, effectively supporting various organizations with automatic management and available assistance for complex expansions.
You can onboard 10,000 endpoints in just hours, which demonstrates the excellent scalability of this product.
Assistant Security Architect at Cloudnomics
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks can be expanded anytime by purchasing another license without any issues related to scalability.
Head of data centers at a non-profit with 10,001+ employees
I think scalability for Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is good.
Threat Analyst II at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Compatibility is its main feature.
IT CONSULTANT at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Varonis Platform is highly rated for scalability.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
Varonis's scalability as eight to eight point five out of ten.
Cyber Security Senior Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cortex XDR is highly regarded for stability, reliable performance, and well-received updates, despite minor occasional disruptions.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, reliable, integrates well with Windows, but occasionally faces update and cloud connectivity issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
Varonis Platform is stable but faces deployment and database challenges with large data, needing performance improvements and permanent fixes.
Cortex remains fast and responsive, even with increasing data and alerts.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
The thresholds we've seen on our firewall boxes at some instances reached 80% to 85%, but even at that level of utilization, we don't observe any latency or any issues reported with respect to accessing the application.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
IT Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
Systems engineers at Delta Dental of Colorado
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XDR requires enhancements in UI, integration, reporting, and pricing, while addressing false positives and improving automation and mobile support.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint needs better interfaces, support, integration, performance, reporting, pricing, Linux features, cloud integration, and automation.
The Varonis Platform needs enhanced usability, better integration, faster performance, improved reporting features, and cost-effective licensing.
Improving reporting and dashboard customization, along with the addition of real-time and exportable reports, would help SOC teams greatly.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products.
Pre Sales Architect at network techlab
If the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better.
Cyber Security Information Security Specialist at MHM Holding GmbH
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
Office 365 Subject Expert at a government with 10,001+ employees
In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety.
Cyber Security Senior Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
A phishing email module would be great; I look forward to when that comes out.
cybersecurity architect at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Enhancing tighter integration with third-party solutions, such as SIEM or SOAR platforms, for smoother incident response workflows.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Setup Cost

Cortex XDR offers flexible pricing from $55 to $90 per endpoint annually, considered cost-effective for its advanced features.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's pricing varies; included in some bundles but advanced features may require costly additional licenses.
Varonis Platform pricing suits large enterprises, seen as either costly or justified by its feature-rich value.
The pricing on SentinelOne is far more reasonable and cheaper than Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks.
Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I would say it is definitely not a cheap product, considering how mature it is and how scalable all Palo Alto products are together.
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
That has been the trend we have seen with Microsoft lately—it is just getting more and more expensive.
Assistant Director, Hybrid Infrastructure & Operations at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
Varonis is known for its high licensing cost, which can include the cost of multiple servers required for its operations, called collectors.
Cyber Security Senior Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Varonis Platform has been good, with competitive costs.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR provides advanced threat detection with AI analytics, real-time blocking, and seamless integration for enhanced security.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint enhances security with seamless Windows integration, advanced threat detection, centralized management, and minimal performance impact.
Varonis Platform enhances data security by identifying sensitive data, analyzing behavior, governing access, and supporting compliance and integration.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
Cyber Security Manager at Welab bank
The product provides automation responses in case of a threat attack, severity assessments, centralized manageability, and comprehensive compliance features, resulting in reduced costs.
Pre Sales Architect at network techlab
It includes machine learning to easily analyze data and detect complex threats across endpoints, networks, or clouds.
Final Year Student at Gitam University
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Team manager of it department at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
Snr. Infrastructure Architect (Data Centre) at LogicEra
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
Consultant at ACT4SERVICES
Varonis is excellent for scanning unstructured data sources like file shares, OneDrive, SharePoint, Azure Blob Storage, and S3s.
Cyber Security Senior Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Varonis Platform is agent-based and AI-driven for detection and response, identifying data based on its content and context.
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
We have created automatic scripts in case there is a chance that it is a ransomware malicious actor, and it will automatically disable the user, log them out, and disable the actual workstation.
cybersecurity architect at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
109
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (5th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (7th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
213
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (5th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
Varonis Platform
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (15th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (5th), User Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) (6th), Data Governance (6th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (3rd), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (3rd), Compliance Management (8th), Ransomware Protection (7th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (7th), Insider Risk Management (1st), AI Security (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint7.8%
CrowdStrike Falcon6.6%
HP Wolf Security5.0%
Other80.6%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Varonis Platform5.8%
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention8.0%
Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention5.7%
Other80.5%
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
 

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk
Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration
Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.
Robert Arbuckle - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time
Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.
SureshKumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Consultant at Satcom Infotech Pvt Ltd
Has improved data visibility and protection while enabling automated compliance monitoring
Varonis Platform offers multiple features for data protection, such as data discovery and classification. We can identify, discover, and classify sensitive data effectively, which is crucial given the DPDP law in India and GDPR. The platform also excels in access and exposure tracking, enabling us to monitor users, permissions, and reduce access to sensitive files. Additionally, it includes UEBA for behavior analytics and threat detection, making it valuable for compliance and audit readiness. Varonis Platform has helped our organization primarily for DPDP compliance, although I currently don't have a specific example related to GDPR or HIPAA. A unique feature of Varonis Platform that stands out to me is that, in the current market, it is one of the best data classification solutions available. Compared to others such as Forcepoint, Varonis Platform is agent-based and AI-driven for detection and response, identifying data based on its content and context, and it includes automated remediation and lifecycle automation, making it a leading product in the market.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Insurance Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise48
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business81
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise95
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions th...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface,...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior sol...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never pu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?
I'm not too familiar with the pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint; it wasn't some...
What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?
While Varonis Platform is powerful, the initial data scanning and indexing can take significant time in large environ...
What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?
My main use case for Varonis Platform is for data classification on the user's machine, specifically for data visibil...
What advice do you have for others considering Varonis Platform?
I suggest enhancing tighter integration with third-party solutions, such as SIEM or SOAR platforms, for smoother inci...
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
SlashNext Complete
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Nottingham Building Society
Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, Microsoft, SentinelOne and others in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). Updated: February 2026.
885,789 professionals have used our research since 2012.