Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense comparison

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Download the complete report

Helped 902,456 peers since 2012

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 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

8th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (5th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)

Trellix Advanced Threat Def...

Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

23rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 3.6%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Advanced Threat Defense is 2.0%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity	3.6%
Trellix Advanced Threat Defense	2.0%
Other	94.4%

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)

Featured Reviews

Peter Arabomen

Security Engineer at Fidelity Bank Plc

Has supported hybrid identity management while integrating well with cloud directory services

The only challenge I have with Microsoft Defender for Identity is the latency. I may not put that entirely on Microsoft, because latency could be network related. At times when trying to authenticate, the prompt is delayed. We tried implementing passwordless authentication, especially for on-premises workloads, but we haven't been able to achieve that. Passwordless authentication is part of the identity functionalities, particularly when it comes to enforcing passwordless for on-premises workloads. In terms of improvements, you can't create OUs on Azure AD. Regarding giving users privileges on what they can do across different OUs, I haven't seen that feature on Microsoft Defender for Identity. Microsoft Defender for Identity needs to be able to plug into third-party applications that are not Microsoft. For instance, with a human resource application used to manage users and leave requests, when staff leaves the organization, they are first exited from that application before AD. Integration between Azure AD and third-party applications would allow automatic syncing when removing staff. The initial setup of Microsoft Defender for Identity is not hard. However, setup is one thing, and getting value from the application end-to-end is another. It can be set up and running from the first day but not functioning optimally. Initially, when we did the setup, it wasn't optimal. Over time, with continuous improvement, which we're still doing, we've gotten to a comfortable level, but there's still room for improvement.

Read full review

Philippe Panardie

RSSI at SDIS49

Ensuring long-term reliability while seeking internal email management enhancements

Prisma is a commercial name of the firewall now, but we don't work with the cloud product. Only our company is using it and we do not recommend it to customers. For us, it's transparent because it's a cloud product, so we don't really know the version as it's always updated. We have not had any problem, but it's difficult to report on what's going on because some days they can wash out perhaps 100 mails, and then it's difficult to say how many attacks you have reached. The right email has been washed out and then nobody has complained. We do not use the Threat Visualization feature; as we are in MX, the mail is washed out before it is in the mail inbox of the user, thus avoiding any problem requiring a reservation. In fact, there is no integration with existing security frameworks. The only problem we can have is that as we have no API interface, there is no inspection of internal mail. I rate Trellix Advanced Threat Defense a nine out of ten.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The basic security monitoring at its core feature is the most valuable aspect. But also the investigative parts, the historical logging of events over the network are extremely interesting because it gives an in-depth insight into the history of account activity that is really easy to read, easy to follow, and easy to export."

"We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity. I can say it is 100% stable."

"Defender for Identity has not affected the end-user experience."

"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."

"It automates routine testing and helps automate the finding of high-value alerts."

"The solution offers excellent visibility into threats."

"One of our users had the same password for every personal and company account. That was a problem because she started receiving phishing emails that could compromise all of her accounts. Defender told us that the user was not changing their password."

"Auto-remediation is a valuable feature applied to Microsoft Defender for Identity, reducing the burden of investigating false positives."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity pros

"The fact that in 10 years, we have had no problem is the most valuable feature for us; it's really a washing machine, but the only problem we face is that it's difficult to report on this product."

"It was easy to set up initially."

"The features I find most valuable are: the management, the ability for automatic remediation of threats and it can successfully detect a threat, and to act upon it."

"The product is expensive, but it is better than the rest of them in the industry."

"If a system admin can put in the patience to read and constantly update the ePO system in terms of rules, enforcing them at regular intervals, you can safely go to sleep every night."

"It is stable and reliable."

"Provides good exfiltration, and is an all-in-one product."

"It is very scalable."

More Trellix Advanced Threat Defense pros

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Identity does not save me time, but I think it is the way that I secure the data."

"Feedback on sync issues with the Microsoft portal highlighted its slow nature, with syncs sometimes taking eight hours."

"There is no option to remedy an issue directly from the console. If we see an alert, we can't fix it from the console. Instead, we must depend on other Microsoft products, such as MDE. That is a significant drawback. It simply works as a scanner, which can sometimes put enough load on the sensors. Immediate actions should be possible from the dashboard because. It can prevent issues from spreading further."

"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."

"One area that needs improvement is the number of alerts generated, leading to alert fatigue."

"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 tracking instance needs to be configured appropriately."

"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."

More Microsoft Defender for Identity cons

"It was not complex, but there are things to look out for, because it's an intense product. It scans intensely and there are major obstacles to overcome if it scans while users are using a network, then it is not a good thing."

"I would like to see future versions of the solution incorporate artificial intelligence technology."

"This solution needs to be made "cloud ready"."

"Make the ATD system a part of the whole product and take the whole thing onto the cloud. While it is there already, it is not to the same level as the on-premise version."

"There could be a tool that automatically updates all-new Microsoft IPs, which are available for free to connect to the client."

"The only problem we can have is that as we have no API interface, there is no inspection of internal mail."

"The initial setup was industry standard complex. It takes awhile and has a lot of planning involved. It could be simplified with product redesign."

"Make the ATD appliance a part of the whole product offering and take the whole thing onto the cloud."

More Trellix Advanced Threat Defense cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender for Identity comes as part of the Microsoft E5 licensing stack."

"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."

"It is very affordable considering that other SIEM solutions are much more expensive and have many more licensing restrictions and fees."

"Defender for Identity is a little more expensive than other Microsoft products. Identity and Microsoft Defender for Cloud are both a bit costly."

"Our licensing fees for this solution are approximately one million dollars per year."

"The product is expensive, but it is better than the rest of them in the industry."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Identity?

I really would have to sit down to think about how Microsoft Defender for Identity can be improved. I didn't take stock in what needs to be improved because I appreciated having the tools right the...

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?

My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Identity include Conditional Access, checking risky users, remediating risky users, and user sign-ins. I can easily remediate or determine what the user...

What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Defender for Identity?

I don't really use Microsoft Defender for Identity a lot because my new role doesn't allow me to take time to do so. I don't really use the threat intelligence feature of Microsoft Defender for Ide...

What needs improvement with McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

I would like to see an API interface for internal email and control of outgoing email to make it closer to 10. It's necessary; today we have an MX interface, and it would be interesting to have an ...

What is your primary use case for McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

We are working with Palo Alto products, specifically firewalls. We are only using Palo Alto Firewalls and not Cortex. With FireEye and Trellix, we only work with ETP now because the NDR function wh...

What advice do you have for others considering McAfee Advanced Threat Defense?

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Comparisons

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 5% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Identity vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 4% of the time

Huntress Managed ITDR vs Microsoft Defender for Identity

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Identity Competitors

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiSandbox vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Compared 11% of the time

NetWitness Platform vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Compared 10% of the time

Digital Guardian vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Compared 9% of the time

Morphisec vs Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Compared 6% of the time

More Trellix Advanced Threat Defense Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Identity

Download Microsoft Defender for Identity product report

Trellix Advanced Threat Defense

Download Trellix Advanced Threat Defense product report

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity

McAfee Advanced Threat Defense

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Identity offers real-time threat detection and protection for hybrid Active Directory environments. It integrates with Microsoft 365 components for seamless security and monitors advanced behaviors, enhancing identity protection across cloud and on-premises environments.

Microsoft Defender for Identity provides detailed threat insights and user behavior analytics to detect unauthorized access and notify anomalies. It allows setting custom detection rules, enhancing threat response automation. While it needs improvements in cloud security, SIEM integration, and access controls, users leverage its ability to mitigate identity threats like suspicious logins and ransomware. Enhanced integration with Microsoft security products ensures a coordinated threat response for identity control and privilege management.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Active Directory Federation: Seamlessly integrates with Microsoft 365 for comprehensive security.
Real-time Security Monitoring: Provides immediate insights into advanced user behaviors and potential threats.
Threat Insights: Delivers detailed analysis of threats with the ability to customize detection rules.
User Behavior Analytics: Analyzes user activities to detect anomalies and potential risks.
Identity Protection: Offers comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments.

What benefits should users expect from reviews of Microsoft Defender for Identity?

Unauthorized Access Prevention: Identifies potential unauthorized activities with advanced detection mechanisms.
Anomaly Notification: Alerts users to unexpected activities within their environments.
Threat Response Automation: Facilitates rapid response to threats with automated solutions.
Enhanced Cloud Security: Strengthens identity management across hybrid and cloud frameworks.

In specific industries, organizations implement Microsoft Defender for Identity to secure on-premises and hybrid Active Directory environments through user and entity behavior analytics, malicious activity detection, and integration with Microsoft security tools. This approach enhances security posture assessment and helps mitigate identity threats like identity harvesting and unauthorized access.

Microsoft

Trellix Advanced Threat Defense offers efficient threat detection and automatic threat remediation, featuring seamless management and integration with operating systems and extensions.

Providing robust malware defense, Trellix Advanced Threat Defense is easy to set up and use. Its components work collaboratively, with standout features like behavioral analysis, retro-inspection, and ePolicy Orchestration. Despite its strengths, users suggest improvements in Active Directory integration, cloud readiness, artificial intelligence, and faster sandboxing. The API interface and scalability need enhancement, while better compatibility with platforms like Cisco could elevate its function. Effective for server and endpoint security, it effectively blocks threats like WannaCry and disperses attack data through the DXL client quickly.

What are the notable features of Trellix Advanced Threat Defense?

Management and Automatic Threat Remediation: Facilitates seamless management and handling of threats.
Effective Threat Detection and Response: Delivers efficient and reliable threat detection capabilities.
Behavioral Analysis and Retro-Inspection: Offers advanced analysis for comprehensive threat identification.
ePolicy Orchestration: Streamlines processes for enhanced threat management.
Scalability and Price: Provides a stable and scalable solution at a competitive price point.

What key benefits can be identified from reviews?

Ease of Use and Setup: Known for its straightforward implementation and user-friendly interface.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with different operating systems and technologies like Palo Alto firewalls.
Threat Protection Efficiency: Proven effectiveness in stopping threats such as WannaCry.
Rapid Attack Information Dissemination: Utilizes the DXL client for quick data sharing.

Trellix Advanced Threat Defense is widely used across numerous industries for server and desktop protection, ensuring endpoint security and halting attacks without failure. Its integration with diverse technologies enhances protection in varied environments, making it a valuable tool in enterprise security management.

Trellix

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.

The Radicati Group, Florida International University, MGM Resorts International, County Durham andDarlington NHS Foundation Trust

Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Trellix Advanced Threat Defense