Microsoft Defender XDR vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] comparison

Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] are both solutions in the Microsoft Security Suite category. Additionally, 98% of Microsoft Defender XDR users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,359 Views
2,486 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

Read 2 Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] reviews

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft and others in Microsoft Security Suite.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Security Suite Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Security Suite

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 879,422 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 XDR

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (5th), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)

Microsoft Entra Permissions...

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

Advanced threat hunting saves significant time in tracking and responding to incidents

Microsoft Defender XDR could be improved with a lower price. My main suggestion would essentially be what Copilot is providing, which is a single pane of glass, so I don't have to go to different windows. That's just a workflow consideration for me. It would be great to have all the information centralized into one particular data app. If I need to open up extra ones, I can, however, I would appreciate a future where everything I need is right there on one single pane of glass. Beyond that, there's really nothing else I see that I would want Microsoft to improve.

Read full review

Sameer Bhat

Vice President at Goldman Sachs

Provides resource-based access and security, but time-bound access can be a problem

Entra ID is the core of the identity management that we have. This is the key product that we are using. I am currently also looking into Entra Private Access because we are planning to deploy about 50,000 desktops into Azure and use Azure Virtual Desktop. We would like to give access to the users from the desktop to on-premises applications. I learned that Entra Private Access is a good solution. That is not yet GA, but that is what we are looking for. Entra provides a single pane of glass for managing user access, but because our company also integrates with Nebula API, only administrators use Entra's pane. A normal person who wants to get onboarded can do self-service using Nebula. The features for whitelisting and other things are definitely there. That is what we use specifically. Application IDs, enterprise applications, and all those things are already there, so we have more efficiency. There is also security because we usually do not allow user identities to get direct access to Azure resources. Usually, we use the service principles from Entra ID, so this way, it increases security. Entra has helped to save time for our IT administrators. We tend to automate a lot of things. We can do automation using Graph APIs and save time. It is hard to quantify the time savings, but there has been a medium amount of time savings. Entra has helped to save our organization money. We care about security and risk more than money, but it also saves money. We are premium customers, and because we have a commit-to-consume contract with Microsoft of multi-million dollars, the money does not come into it because we have to consume those resources.

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

"Microsoft 365 Defender is simple to upgrade."

"On the Windows side, Microsoft Defender XDR is definitely integrated into the operating system. Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline."

"Email protection is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender XDR."

"The ability to integrate and observe a more cohesive narrative across the products is crucial."

"The EDR and the way it automatically responds to ransomware and other attacks are valuable features."

"We can use Defender to block and monitor for security purposes without needing multiple other products to do different tasks."

"Defender XDR enables you to scan a system remotely and get a complete inventory of its assets. You can gather more information from the asset inventory and apply threat intelligence using Office 365 or something."

"The proactive remediation aspects and the surfacing of suspicious activity for investigation and escalation are the key aspects we appreciate most."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pros

"Multifactor authentication is valuable."

"The solution integrates well with our infrastructure and other systems without any issues."

Cons

"We struggle sometimes with tier one support agents who give canned responses."

"Sometimes, digging into the information and knowing where to go can be difficult. It would be better if much of that information were immediately visible, especially when looking at endpoints or users."

"365 Defender has multiple subsets, including Defender for Cloud Apps. When integrating Defender for Cloud Apps with apps on third-party cloud platforms like AWS or GCP, there are limitations on our ability to control user activities. If Microsoft added more control over third-party products, that would be a game-changer and help us quite a lot."

"It would be beneficial to have a more seamless experience with everything consolidated in one place, particularly when dealing with aspects related to the Exchange console."

"There should be better information for experts on features in the solution. What I see when reading about features in Microsoft 365 Defender is that it is always general information. If Microsoft could go deeper into details for the experts about how to use the tools, usage of it would be more familiar and it would be easier to use."

"Since all of our databases are updated and located in the cloud, I would like additional support for this."

"When we do investigations, it would be better if Microsoft could populate the host dashboard more. When we open any host for investigation, we want the entire timeline of what is happening on the host, including all the users logging in, their hardware, Windows version, etc."

"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."

More Microsoft Defender XDR cons

"We use a third-party API called Nebula API to integrate the account for authorization. The time-bound access area in Entra can be a problem. It can be improved in terms of the granularity of the permissions."

"The solution's pricing and support services need improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes."

"Microsoft Defender XDR's licensing is complicated."

"All I can say again is the E5 gives you all the capabilities that it offers. It also gives Office 365 and one terabyte of storage. All in all, the E5 license model makes sense. There are some people who say it's quite costly, but rather than paying different vendors, it makes sense to go all in with Microsoft if you've got that licensing. From that perspective, it's cost-effective, but I can't comment much on that."

"The pricing of Microsoft 365 Defender is definitely on the costly side, but with the features and services that Microsoft provides, such as the seamless integration of all the Defender tools, while the price is on the higher side, there is no alternative."

"The solution is affordable, and we haven't been hit with any hidden costs. The subscription model is straightforward, and it's easy to understand how much additional features cost. If we need to cancel a license or feature, we do that well in advance to avoid being charged for it, but overall, the pricing and licensing are simple and easy."

"While the standalone price of Defender XDR might seem high, its value becomes clear when considering the ease of implementation and smooth integration with our existing Microsoft infrastructure, especially when bundled with other Microsoft products."

"The price of the solution is high compared to others and we have lost some customers because of it."

"The license cost for a year is approximately forty-four thousand, and this annual saving is a significant factor in our decision to switch."

More Microsoft Defender XDR pricing and cost advice

"We are a Fortune 500 company, so we always negotiate with Microsoft."

"The product cost is in the mid to high range."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Microsoft Security Suite solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	47
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	38

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft 365 Defender?

Microsoft Defender XDR provides strong identity protection with comprehensive insights into risky user behavior and potential indicators of compromise.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?

My experience with pricing, setup, costs, and licensing of Microsoft Defender XDR is tied to our E5 subscription, which is very straightforward for us. We also purchase the uplift for our mobile us...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?

I am not aware of a mobile app that would be available for my team. With a single analyst, if she is ever away, it would be beneficial to have easier access. While she can use the web portal, the e...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The product cost is in the mid to high range. You need to have a good budget to implement it, so it is considered fairly expensive for our market. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

The solution's pricing and support services need improvement.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Microsoft Entra Permissions Management?

Our clients primarily use the product from a security management perspective.

See all answers

Comparisons

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 11% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Sentinel vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

SailPoint Identity Security Cloud vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

Compared 20% of the time

VMware Aria Automation vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

Compared 16% of the time

Saviynt vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]

Compared 16% of the time

More Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

December 2025

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM)

December 2025

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] report

Download Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] product report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

CloudKnox Permissions Management

Overview

Microsoft Defender XDR is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect against threats in the Microsoft 365 environment.

It offers robust security measures, comprehensive threat detection capabilities, and an efficient incident response system. With seamless integration with other Microsoft products and a user-friendly interface, it simplifies security management tasks.

Users have found it effective in detecting and preventing various types of attacks, such as phishing attempts, malware infections, and data breaches.

Watch the Microsoft demo video here: Microsoft Defender XDR demo video.

Microsoft

Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] provides robust access control and identity management, enhancing security by optimizing permissions and reducing risk.

This advanced platform offers comprehensive capabilities designed to streamline identity management. It empowers organizations to manage permissions efficiently, enhancing security frameworks while addressing compliance needs. By focusing on visibility and control, it optimizes access to ensure the right resources are available to the right users, reducing excessive permission grants and potential security vulnerabilities.

What are the main features of Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Advanced Visibility: Gain insights into permissions to identify and address security risks.
Access Optimization: Align permissions with actual usage to prevent over-privileged access.
Compliance Integration: Streamline compliance processes with built-in reporting tools.

What benefits should you consider when evaluating Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL]?

Improved Security Posture: Reduces risk by eliminating excessive permissions.
Enhanced Compliance: Eases regulatory compliance with robust auditing features.
Operational Efficiency: Saves time and resources by automating permission management.

In specific industries like finance and healthcare, Microsoft Entra Permissions Management [EOL] plays a crucial role in maintaining data integrity and regulatory compliance. Its implementation allows organizations to seamlessly integrate permission management into existing security infrastructures, providing tailored solutions that address sector-specific requirements and challenges.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Security Suite

December 2025

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft and others in Microsoft Security Suite. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Microsoft Security Suite vendors.

We monitor all Microsoft Security Suite reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.