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Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Vectra AI 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.5
Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective and efficient, offering incident prevention and resolution without complex hardware setups.
Sentiment score
7.1
Vectra AI enhances security efficiency, reduces threat response times, and offers cost-effective risk management compared to other solutions.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Opinions on Microsoft Defender for Identity support vary, highlighting responsiveness, but issues include delays, contact challenges, and false positives.
Sentiment score
8.2
Vectra AI's customer service is responsive, knowledgeable, and generally praised, though complex issues might experience occasional delays.
The quality of support is very good, but troubleshooting can take time due to complex setups and the need to provide many logs.
Generally, the support is more effective than other providers like Oracle.
Technical support from Microsoft rates an eight on a scale of 1 to 10 for response time.
The support is quite reliable depending on the service engineer assigned.
When I create tickets, the response is fast, and issues are solved promptly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Defender for Identity efficiently integrates and scales globally, supporting diverse organizational needs within Microsoft’s ecosystem effectively.
Sentiment score
7.5
Vectra AI is scalable and flexible, easily integrating with cloud platforms, but may require planning and can be costly.
In a Microsoft-centric organization, especially with Azure infrastructure and Office 365, Microsoft Defender for Identity is scalable.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Defender for Identity is highly reliable, with minimal incidents, seamless operation, and consistent ratings between seven and nine.
Sentiment score
8.0
Vectra AI is praised for stability, requiring minimal maintenance, with efficient updates and quick issue resolution ensuring reliable performance.
Microsoft Defender for Identity is quite robust and built on Azure hyperscale infrastructure, with a 99% availability.
We do not see any issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Identity.
Having recently started using it, reliability is affirmed, but manual investigation is often performed to verify if alerts identified by auto-remediation are accurate.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Identity users seek improved cloud integration, user-friendly features, better support, and streamlined processes for enhanced threat management.
Vectra AI needs better visibility, integration, flexibility, reporting, and customization, plus improved UI, detection accuracy, and endpoint coverage.
If Microsoft could develop a feature that indicates when impossible travel is caused by VPN connections, it would prevent unnecessary password resets and session disruptions, especially for VIP users in organizations.
One improvement I would recommend is the integration of an admin application within Teams, allowing easy access to attack information on a mobile platform.
Reducing false positives is something we've been working on with Microsoft.
ExtraHop's ability to decrypt encrypted data is a feature that Vectra AI lacks.
You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end.
Neither Vectra nor Darktrace have a function like a status health check on my log sources and traffic sources.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Identity is cost-effective with E5 licenses despite complex pricing and competitive against other security solutions.
Vectra AI's pricing varies; it's seen as costly yet competitive for quality, with complex licensing needing simplification.
If they can reduce the costs, organizations will be happy, and it will compensate for using the Azure environment, which is more expensive on the infrastructure as a service side.
the Microsoft Defender Suite is quite expensive, especially when integrated into Sentinel.
Ensuring a fair price according to market standards.
Vectra is cheaper in terms of pricing and features compared to Darktrace.
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Identity integrates with Azure to offer comprehensive threat detection, identity protection, and advanced real-time security insights.
Vectra AI excels in threat detection, risk management, and seamless integration, enhancing security operations with AI-driven insights.
We receive an advance report of risky users, allowing us to take preemptive action before an attack causes damage to organization details.
Based on the detection of incidents, we can prevent issues, and if there are any identity-related alerts, they are prevented through a conditional access policy.
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.
There are extensive out-of-box detection capabilities.
The main feature of Vectra AI that I find valuable is its focus on the user interface and its approximately two hundred algorithms based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Iden...
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (5th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
Vectra AI
Ranking in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (16th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Identity is 14.6%, down from 22.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Vectra AI is 2.2%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Identity14.6%
Vectra AI2.2%
Other83.2%
Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Peter Arabomen - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Mohammad Alkurdi - PeerSpot reviewer
Innovative detection features enhance monitoring
The advantages of the integration are not entirely out-of-the-box. You have to do it manually. When I'm doing tier response, an out-of-the-box solution is not available. You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end. This is a major consideration about them. The recall feature, if it can be placed in some areas instead of the cloud, and charged for, would be better. Recall the storage where you watch all the traffic, and you can recall it and try to analyze it in the back end. It’s cloud-based. If they offer it on-prem, it would be better. I think they have a solution, but I have never tested it, to be honest with you.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise27
 

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?
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 authentica...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Identity?
I've used Microsoft Defender for Identity primarily for provisioning users on Azure AD and Microsoft authentication. For hybrid scenarios, I integrate on-premises AD to Azure AD. We use AD Connect ...
What is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Vectra AI?
The solution is currently used as a central threat detection and response system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vectra AI?
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Also Known As

Azure Advanced Threat Protection, Azure ATP, MS Defender for Identity
Vectra Networks, Vectra AI NDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Identity is trusted by companies such as St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ansell, and more.
Tribune Media Group, Barry University, Aruba Networks, Good Technology, Riverbed, Santa Clara University, Securities Exchange, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Identity vs. Vectra AI and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.