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Microsoft Defender XDR vs Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

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
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
Symantec Endpoint Detection...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
30th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 3.2%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response is 0.5%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Gabor Nyerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot
We found that sometimes integrations work, but testing them can take some time. Sometimes, configurations take much longer than expected. We have a configuration in place that needs to be synchronized with another server. However, the servers are four hours apart, so this can cause delays. In general, I believe that the time it takes to configure and test a service should be shorter. Sometimes, it can take a couple of hours to test a single configuration setting. Other times, it is only ten or fifteen minutes, which is normal. However, sometimes, even immediate actions can be triggered by configuration changes, and some settings can take up to eight hours to complete. I believe that this time can be improved. Microsoft is making a lot of improvements to its services in a short period of time. This is a good thing, as it means that the services are constantly being updated and improved. However, it can be challenging for customers to keep up with the changes. For example, a customer may read about an update, understand it, and share it with their colleagues and boss. However, it may take days or weeks to test the update and get the necessary approvals. This can be especially challenging for large customers with many users or machines. In some cases, Microsoft may change a service before the customer has had a chance to implement the previous update. This can be frustrating for customers, as it means that they have to constantly learn new things and adjust their workflows. On the one hand, it is important for Microsoft to keep updating and improving its services. This helps to ensure that the services are meeting the customers' needs and that they are staying ahead of the competition. Microsoft should also be mindful of the challenges that these changes can create for customers. One way to address this challenge is to provide customers with more time to implement changes. Microsoft could also provide more information about upcoming changes so that customers can plan ahead. Ultimately, Microsoft needs to strike a balance between keeping its services up-to-date and providing customers with a smooth transition to new features.
YusufAhmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and competitively priced
Honestly, the product needs to continue the way it is, and I feel that everything will be fine. I haven't had any reasons to complain about the product. The product doesn’t offer MDM functionality under its current licensing model. In the future, I want the product to offer MDM. It can allow me to manage my mobile device more efficiently and effectively. Currently, there is a need for a separate license to be added to Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response to be able to use the MDM part. If both are bundled up under the same license, the administration part can be made easier.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The feature I find most valuable is Defender for Endpoint."
"The summarization of emails is a valuable feature."
"The incident-level visibility across the cyber attack chain when using Microsoft Defender XDR is great."
"Microsoft Defender XDR's capability to automatically disrupt advanced cyber attacks is very effective."
"I like Defender XDR's reports and alerts. They give you updates about the latest hotfixes and zero-day vulnerabilities, which gives me all the information I need to maintain my servers."
"I like that it's stable. It's been stable for a long time, and Microsoft Defender has done a good job there."
"The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability"
"It's a great threat intelligence source for us, providing alerts for things it detects on the network and on the machines. We've used it often when there is a potential incident to see what was done on a computer. That works quite nicely because you can see everything that the user has done..."
"The most valuable features of Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response are its immediate response and investigation."
"The most valuable features of the solution are that it is easy to use and has good support."
"IPS and the user interface are good features."
"The pricing is pretty reasonable."
"The interface is quite easy to use."
"The solution is stable."
"Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response is stable."
"In Symantec, we have found that the most important feature is Application and Device Control."
 

Cons

"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."
"Since all of our databases are updated and located in the cloud, I would like additional support for this."
"Intrusion detection and prevention would be great to have with 365 Defender."
"The technical support from Microsoft Defender XDR has been disappointingly slow, to the point that I am considering not renewing my unified support contract."
"There is no comprehensive visibility, making it less user-friendly."
"Defender's AI for identifying suspicious activity could be improved. Also, I do a lot of home updates. Maybe there is a way to set it up faster. For example, let's say that I want to automatically update seven computers, servers, etc. I wouldn't do it to a user, but maybe the server. I don't mind if the server restarts automatically."
"The documentation on their website is somewhat outdated and doesn't show properly. I wanted to try a query in Microsoft Defender 365. When I opened the related documentation from the security blog on the Microsoft website, the figures were not showing. It was difficult to understand the article without having the figures. The figures were there in the article, but they were not getting loaded, which made the article obsolete."
"The management features could be improved, particularly in terms of better integration with Intune, Microsoft's cloud-based management solution."
"It would be nice to see more granular timeline analysis."
"It is not possible to buy it from the company itself, or resellers in other countries. If it is available, I see that it is offered as part of a larger service. For me, this was not suitable."
"Reporting is a major issue, as it is not user friendly."
"Technical support is not as good as we expect, and resolving problems should be more timely."
"The solution’s scalability and stability could be improved."
"The Symantec portfolio is not big enough to cover the organization in all 360 degrees."
"Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response could improve the reporting. It is very difficult to create reports from the user interface."
"The interface is very complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On average, we pay around 55 euros per user for the services and features we receive."
"Microsoft Defender XDR's licensing is complicated."
"It has consistently offered highly appealing academic pricing, with distinct rates for higher education and general educational purposes."
"The most valuable licensing option is expensive, so pricing could be improved. Licensing options for this solution also need to be consolidated, because they frequently change."
"Purchasing Microsoft Defender XDR as part of a Microsoft 365 bundle can be cost-effective, but acquiring it as a standalone product may be more expensive."
"There are no issues with pricing, but sometimes, the clarity in licensing is a concern."
"365 Defender is billed per account. I don't know the exact price, but my supervisor told me that Microsoft Defender is cheaper than the alternatives. It's bundled, so you get all the features in one place."
"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."
"We pay around $100,000 for 5000 licenses every year."
"We are satisfied with the pricing."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response is expensive."
"We have a yearly subscription, and the pricing is fair."
"The price is okay, but it really depends on the customer's requirements."
"The price is really high and it should be lower."
"The more devices we have the more expensive it becomes, which is where the challenge is."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft 365 Defender?
The pricing for Microsoft Sentinel operates on a pay-as-you-go model based on data ingestion. I recall that Defender XDR pricing is based on the number of endpoints.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?
For Microsoft Defender XDR ( /categories/extended-detection-and-response-xdr ), there is currently no ability to reset passwords for on-premises accounts, which is a key challenge. Incident managem...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response?
I am not aware of the pricing details, as that falls under the management's responsibility.
What needs improvement with Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response?
There are several areas where Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response can improve, including shell features, web control, asset management, and device control. Specifically, the application contro...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,451 professionals have used our research since 2012.