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Microsoft Defender for IoT vs Microsoft Entra ID Protection comparison

 

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

Microsoft Defender for IoT
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
23rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
IoT Security (4th), Operational Technology (OT) Security (6th)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
Identity Management (IM) (7th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Microsoft Security Suite category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for IoT is 1.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Entra ID Protection is 2.3%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Microsoft Security Suite Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Entra ID Protection2.3%
Microsoft Defender for IoT1.4%
Other96.3%
Microsoft Security Suite
 

Featured Reviews

Luis Gabriel Mieles Benavides - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Architect at Sonda S.A.
Security monitoring has become proactive and threat hunting is now faster and more precise
The best features of Microsoft Defender for IoT are that it is easy to find where the intruder is and easy to capture and hunt intruders. When I need to send a full scan for a device, it is straightforward. I have worked with Symantec, which is an antivirus, and McAfee, where I send full scans in a similar way to how I do it in Azure Defender, and it is equally easy. I can take actions with the device, such as disconnecting it, turning it off, or sending an alarm. The integration with Azure Defender and Azure Sentinel is seamless because they are from the same company. They capture intruders, viruses, worms, and everything else easily, and I can fix problems quickly. I use the network visibility features daily to manage connected assets. Currently, I am closing a case with Mutual Asesorías where they have a computer with intruders attempting to force brute capture the password. I can see how the intruder tried to do this, and my work involves closing the IP origin in this case.
MohammedTalukdar1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Enterprise Security Architect at PRS for Music
Identity protection has unified access control and delivers faster, risk-based threat response
The licensing for Microsoft Entra ID Protection is somewhat complex depending on whether you have an E5 or E3 licensing model, so improving the licensing models would make it a lot easier to use. The cost could always be lower; at the moment, I would say it is reasonable, but to get the full suite, you need to go for at least an E5 license, which can be very expensive. Occasionally, when we are trying to do something different in terms of integrating into a new vendor or platform, especially with some of the new SaaS platforms, there are not many out-of-the-box solutions available, so we have to build custom solutions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I believe it is best suited for cloud services and is unmatched by other cloud security solutions."
"As a cybersecurity consultant, the best part of Microsoft Defender for IoT is the capability to integrate with other tools such as Microsoft Sentinel and receive real-time alerts from the product."
"The best features of Microsoft Defender for IoT are that it is easy to find where the intruder is and easy to capture and hunt intruders."
"I find Microsoft Defender very effective in vulnerability management and it provides good attack reduction, making it a next-generation protection solution."
"The graphics and analysis in Microsoft Defender for IoT are very representative."
"Some advantages of Microsoft Defender for IoT are that it's easy to install on any OS, and you can create any custom use cases easily."
"Mainly, it is manageable and integrates with other Microsoft products, which is crucial for me."
"The deployment process is straightforward. It takes a few hours to complete."
"The reverse proxy feature provides additional security that is not available in other solutions such as SailPoint and Dell."
"The valuable features include multifactor authentication, accessory capabilities, and conditional access for specific applications."
"The solution helps us with authentication."
"These features ease the job of security analysts, providing a better vision of user activities and potential risks."
"We've integrated our other software with Microsoft, and we log into other software using Microsoft. That's very helpful."
"The multifactor authentication feature is effective, providing an additional layer of security."
"For me, automatization is most valuable."
 

Cons

"The primary area that needs improvement is compatibility with the latest IoT technologies."
"The only improvement I see is that some detection explanations are vaguely provided by Microsoft, resulting in generic IoT detections that alert me to an issue yet don't specify what's wrong."
"The documentation for Microsoft Defender for IoT is lacking. There are no clear steps or guidance, and updates are frequent, which adds to the confusion."
"Customer service and support from Microsoft are costly. The execution by engineers is expensive, and the service is neither free nor toll-free, making it less accessible for customers."
"There are a few limitations with Microsoft Defender for IoT. We raised concerns with the product team because they don't capture all the information regarding command execution or processes executed on certain endpoints."
"Microsoft Defender for IoT is not scalable. If you want to monitor another industrial network, you need an additional server, making it less scalable."
"Entra ID lacks a function to synchronize from the cloud to the local directory. This is a significant issue since there is no write-back feature from the cloud to local, which would allow me to use my own credentials from the cloud tenant securely."
"The solution is not optimized to work with Mac devices on a granular level. They work seamlessly with Windows but have a lot to improve to work with Mac devices. It also needs to improve stability and scalability."
"The platform's pricing and scalability need improvement."
"The pricing could be improved."
"The product's initial setup phase is not easy."
"Microsoft has not offered control over how they calculate high or low-risk scenarios. While they mention if a low risk is found by Microsoft, the triggered policy isn't customizable."
"There is room for improvement in the ability for Entra ID Protection to inherit roles and configurations from whatever solution I am migrating from, so that these don't have to be built from the ground up during the implementation process."
"The licensing for Microsoft Entra ID Protection is somewhat complex depending on whether you have an E5 or E3 licensing model, so improving the licensing models would make it a lot easier to use."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is competitive in the SMA segment and runs $5-$6 per user."
"The price of Azure AD is not expensive."
"From one to ten, if one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool a seven out of ten."
"Azure Active Directory Identity Protection is not very expensive."
"The product cost is on the expensive side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for IoT?
In my case, I do not work with the pricing for Microsoft Defender for IoT because I work for the operator. However, I know that every device costs $15 per device, and I think this is a good price a...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for IoT?
At this moment, there are no areas that could be improved with Microsoft Defender for IoT in general. When I look inside the solution, I can see every point and every source of attempted intrusions...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for IoT?
Sonda is an integrator with its head office in Chile. I work from Colombia for a Chilean company that has many different types of clients. I currently work for Mutual Asesorías, which is a financia...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
The cost could always be lower; at the moment, I would say it is reasonable, but to get the full suite, you need to go for at least an E5 license, which can be very expensive.
What needs improvement with Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
The licensing for Microsoft Entra ID Protection is somewhat complex depending on whether you have an E5 or E3 licensing model, so improving the licensing models would make it a lot easier to use. T...
What is your primary use case for Azure Active Directory Identity Protection?
I primarily use Microsoft Entra ID Protection as an Identity and Access Management platform. The primary use case for Microsoft Entra ID Protection is Identity Management, although there are numero...
 

Also Known As

Azure Defender for IoT
Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, Azure AD Identity Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for IoT vs. Microsoft Entra ID Protection and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.