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Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence [EOL] vs VirusTotal comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 16, 2025

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 Threat I...
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (10th), Microsoft Security Suite (16th)
VirusTotal
Ranking in Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence [EOL] is 2.8%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 3.9%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VirusTotal3.9%
Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence2.8%
Other93.3%
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP)
 

Featured Reviews

Charles Mokoena - PeerSpot reviewer
Has strengthened our ability to detect threats in real time and improved internal security decision-making
The features that I find most valuable in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence include the Sentinel part of it. There are several features we've looked at, including Sentinel as well as extended Defender, which is XDR. I've used those two, and that's what I've found quite useful for us, especially in the hardening and analysis part of the whole threat analysis. We use the real-time threat detection features in Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. If it wasn't for that real-time threat detection on the vulnerability, I think we would not have survived the attack. The integration capabilities of Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence with other Microsoft security tools have benefited our organization's threat management process by initially being quite a challenge, especially coming from other security tools such as Fortinet and Check Point. However, once you've gotten used to it, it's quite easy and user-friendly. The dashboard, especially the threat analysis dashboard, is quite detailed in terms of providing a view of which areas in our environment need attention, making it quite useful.
Chinmay Banerjee - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps businesses collect threat data while keeping privacy in mind and apable of detecting, blocking, and removing viruses and malware
There are two gray areas I still need to explore. I have worked with VirusTotal because it easily integrates with over seventy antivirus scanners and blacklisting services. In addition to those there is much scope to improve and add other services or integrations. The areas for improvement are that VirusTotal is not using much AI or generative AI models, while other competitors are starting to build them. For example, VirusTotal's work is based on the setup done by their engineers. If you want to do scanning or protection activities for a specific site, app, or device, that is the area VirusTotal is currently focused on. But other competitors are building AI models that can do things like left-side scanning and provide auto-generated reports. VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved. Secondly, the API is very limited if I want to integrate VirusTotal with other applications. They need to build more connectors and provide support for Webhook connectors for the API. If you can't build your own connector, it's always good to have provisions for Webhook setup connectors across platforms. Thirdly, Kaspersky, a competitor of VirusTotal, is using a methodology called "gatekeeper." A gatekeeper is a security system that protects the inside of a building from outside threats. This is the model Kaspersky is currently using. You have your website set up, but the entire army of VirusTotal or Kaspersky is standing guard, protecting you from the first gate itself. Right now, VirusTotal detects threats from your domain, but it is always better to verify inside the domain and protect it from the first level when people or malware are entering. This first level of protection is lacking in VirusTotal right now. The security bridge and protection gate are missing.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I value how Threat Intelligence integrates with the different platforms in Microsoft."
"You can use it to monitor third parties and ensure they are not under threat attacks. It is beneficial in the GRC model."
"The solution is one suite covering everything from email protection to threat intelligence and vulnerability scanning."
"The technical support services are excellent."
"Offers easy integration with a cloud-based infrastructure"
"The tool is managed from the cloud, because of which the maintenance is very low."
"The most valuable aspects are its integration capabilities with other Microsoft products like Intune, Office 365, and Azure cloud applications."
"The product is stable."
"It can scan the dark web and find if an email ID has been compromised. This is another area that we have not explored yet."
"It allows us to see if there have been previous reports on certain indicators of compromise, providing insights from other security professionals."
"It is quite simple for anyone if they just want to check some suspicious URLs."
"VirusTotal provides 95% to 98% accurate information."
"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."
"I have never had any problems with stability or bugs while using VirusTotal."
"The initial setup is easy."
"It gives detailed information about suspicious IPs, which is one of its most valuable features."
 

Cons

"It takes time for the support team to understand the issue, and they then respond with a delay at times, which causes a lot of trouble."
"The price point is something they can improve slightly for those who don't have an M 365 E5."
"It's a bit complicated to manage because you have many dependencies of servers, many dependencies in queue, and so on. Entries or different endpoints, and you make different configuration topics for each one. So that's a major problem."
"While the current setup meets our needs, Microsoft can constantly improve customization and adaptability to rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats."
"The software is expensive."
"Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence is evolving and needs to fix and enhance numerous issues like stability and licensing. The continuous rebranding and licensing changes are confusing."
"Microsoft itself is a major target for attacks and threats due to its size and popularity. That could be considered Microsoft's Achilles heel."
"Some of the customization features could be improved by providing a portion of it as open source."
"VirusTotal is hard to understand because you need to know Google Docs to create queries, and it doesn't have documentation for that."
"I would like to see improved correlation with other threat intelligence sources, not just reliant on its own database, to enhance the database of threat intelligence that VirusTotal offers."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in making some of the most useful features more accessible in the non-paid version."
"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."
"VirusTotal needs better advertisement and promotion, especially in the Middle East, since it is not yet widely recognized or popular in that region."
"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."
"VirusTotal has different versions, and sometimes the parameters of the API are not very clear."
"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is relatively expensive; however, our status as a gold partner provides us with several complimentary licenses, which offsets the cost."
"It's reasonably priced, though there's room for further improvement."
"I use the product's default version, which is a free one and not the licensed version."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable and not very expensive."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six or seven out of ten."
"The product is a part of my Microsoft 365 subscription, so there is no additional cost. It is cost-effective."
"It is an expensive product."
"The solution can be licensed, but most users would already have it in their Office 365 license."
"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is very economical."
"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."
"The pricing is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
It just runs in the background. I don't have to worry about, making sure it's Intelligence. So, you know, this kind of makes it very easy, have to worry about installing. It is easy to use.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
From the telemetry data standpoint, I would prefer Defender data to be more open in future updates.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence?
We have tried Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence. I have expertise with Microsoft Defender products. I am not familiar with Microsoft Defender for IoT because we did not use that in our environ...
What do you like most about VirusTotal?
With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VirusTotal?
I do not know about the pricing or licensing as our organization services VirusTotal for our clients.
What needs improvement with VirusTotal?
I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the categ...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence [EOL] vs. VirusTotal and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
870,623 professionals have used our research since 2012.