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Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Saviynt comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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 Iden...
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (6th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
Saviynt
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
8th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
User Provisioning Software (3rd), Identity Management (IM) (5th), Privileged Access Management (PAM) (11th), Identity and Access Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 15.9%, down from 24.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Saviynt is 2.3%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
 

Featured Reviews

ROBERT-CHRISTIAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration within the ecosystem enhances collaboration and automates functionalities
The integration into the Microsoft Defender ecosystem is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Identity. It fits very nicely with all the other Defender tools, allowing for excellent collaboration among them. It also fits seamlessly into Microsoft Sentinel SIEM. Furthermore, Microsoft security solutions can save time as they allow the automation of numerous functionalities, and the reporting inside the Microsoft ecosystem is commendable.
VinayM - PeerSpot reviewer
Used for IAM, IGA, MFA, SSO, and access management
The technical support team's response time could be improved. After the implementation, Saviynt should provide good support to their customers. While migrating from legacy applications to the cloud, Saviynt has many bugs. The lift and shift are not very seamless. There are a lot of customizations to be done and some development is required. From the migration point of view, the solution is a little buggy.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution offers excellent visibility into threats."
"Auto-remediation is a valuable feature applied to Microsoft Defender for Identity, reducing the burden of investigating false positives."
"The most valuable feature is its hybrid artificial intelligence, which gathers forensic data to track and counteract security threats, much like the CSI series in effect."
"We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity. I can say it is 100% stable."
"The advanced threat protection is one of the strengths of Microsoft Defender for Identity, as it utilizes user and entity analytics and can detect indicative attacks."
"The most valuable aspect is its connection to Microsoft Sentinel and Defender for Endpoint, and giving exact timelines for incidents and when certain events occured during an incident."
"All the integration it has with different Microsoft packages, like Teams and Office, is good."
"It is easy to set up. Based on the number of devices you would like to set up, you can use scripts, Group Policy, etc. It takes five minutes to set up."
"The product has a great attestation feature."
"The repository has many features where you can define primary and secondary owners."
"The workflow in Saviynt is easier compared to other tools. It's pretty straightforward."
"The product is flexible to use."
"Considering the initial cost and the basic features, this is a good solution that provides integration with both on-premise and cloud applications."
"One of the tool's advantages is its user-friendly interface, making it easier to manipulate from a GUI perspective. The graphical user interface for users and administrators is straightforward. While it may require more configuration initially, once set up, it becomes more accessible and easier to use."
"This product works well out of the box and if you don’t want to do a lot of configuration then this is the best tool."
"Based on my experience working with Saviynt, they deserve a rating of nine because they are very responsive to support."
 

Cons

"The technical support needs significant improvement. Documentation for more minor issues in the form of guides or walkthroughs could help to resolve this issue. The number of tickets raised would decrease, removing some pressure from the support team and making it easier to clear the remaining tickets."
"Feedback on sync issues with the Microsoft portal highlighted its slow nature, with syncs sometimes taking eight hours."
"The areas of Microsoft Defender for Identity that can be improved include its cost, which is quite expensive when integrated into Sentinel. Additionally, there is room for improvement in its integration with non-Microsoft applications and systems."
"One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform to promptly alert affected users and their friends."
"They should improve the automation for impossible travel detection. When connected to Wi-Fi and then to VPN, the system sometimes interprets the IP address change as impossible travel."
"The solution could be better at using group-managed access and they could replace it with broad-based access controls."
"We observe a lot of false positives. Sometimes, when we go for a coffee break, we lock our screens. Locking the screen has a separate Windows event ID and sometimes I see it is detected as a failed login."
"Defender for Identity gives us visibility, but we often get false positives from Azure that take us down the garden path. We go through 30 incidents each day and most of those are false positives or benign positive alerts. Occasionally, we get true positive alerts."
"The main difficulty was the integration process itself. But we were able to kind of work through it and fix it. We tried integrating with our HR system and other IBM solutions, like Microsoft Identity Management."
"The solution is hosted on AWS cloud, and there is some dependency that affects our bottom line."
"It should support more customizations. In SailPoint, we can do many customizations, but we are not able to do that in Saviynt. For workflows and other things, we can only use what is already in place. Saviynt has a lot of scope for improvement on the customization part."
"UI and support could be improved. The frequent updates and version changes can be disruptive for large organizations. Not every month, a large organization can go with the changes. Saviynt needs to consider this carefully."
"The customer support and implementation services need to be improved."
"According to feedback I've received, some users prefer SailPoint over Saviynt in real complex environments. SailPoint has its provisioning platform. Complex integrations may pose challenges in scenarios like a large bank with thousands of users, making SailPoint a preferred choice for some."
"The UI doesn’t enhance the user experience."
"The technical support team's response time could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."
"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."
"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."
"The product is costly, and we had multiple discussions with accounting to receive a discounted rate. However, on the open market, the tool is expensive."
"You won't be able to change your tenants from where you deploy them. For example, if you select Canada, they will charge you based on Canadian pricing. If you are also in London, when you deploy in Canada, the pound is higher than Canadian dollars, but your platform resources are billable in Canadian dollars. Using your pounds to pay for any of these things will be cheaper. Or, if you deploy in London, they will charge you based on your local currency."
"The product is less expensive than one of the competitors."
"The price of the license for this product is quite expensive."
"The solution has a pay-as-you-go licensing model, and you can subscribe monthly or yearly."
"We are not into the licensing part. The clients take care of the licensing part."
"The pricing is comparable to Azure Entra ID. Kind of the same"
"Saviynt's pricing is acceptable and licensing costs are yearly."
"Saviynt has a competitive price."
"If you are investing in securing your data and avoiding any non-compliance issues, then yes, it is certainly recommended. To put it plainly, if you're willing to pay fines and aren't concerned about the misuse of data, then there might not be a problem. However, if you intend to safeguard the data of your employees, vendors, and customers, it becomes crucial. In this context, managing data security requires preventive and detective measures, such as enforcing segregation of duties and regularly reviewing permissions. Throughout an individual's life cycle within an organization or customer life cycle, various access permissions are granted. Without taking action on these permissions, there is a risk of exposure later on. If individuals retain access after leaving the organization, it poses a serious security threat. Implementing solutions like Saviynt can address these challenges, ensuring continuous access review, generating reports, alerts, and identifying potential risks."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Identity?
Microsoft Defender for Identity provides excellent visibility into threats by leveraging real-time analytics and data intelligence.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?
Microsoft can improve Microsoft Defender for Identity by ensuring that installation prerequisites are included in the setup process. Installing the solution presents challenges as numerous logs and...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?
My personal use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity is that it is amazing. It provides very good and deep analytics about whatever is happening in the on-premises Active Directory. The sensors...
What do you like most about Saviynt?
It is very easy to use. It addresses most of the trends in identity governance and risk management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Saviynt?
Saviynt is very affordable compared to its competitors. It is cloud-based, making it significantly cheaper than on-premises solutions. This cost-effectiveness aligns well with the Saudi market, whe...
What needs improvement with Saviynt?
One area for improvement is Saviynt's training platform. They could enhance their training arrangements for partners and build a stronger partnership environment. When discussing Azure or AWS-relat...
 

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Shell, McKesson, Kimberly-Clark, Ingram Micro, Intermountain Health Care, Forterra, CoreLogic
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Saviynt and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.