Microsoft Defender XDR vs Trellix Active Response comparison

Microsoft and Trellix are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Microsoft is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.4, while Trellix is ranked #45 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 2.6% mindshare in EDR, compared to Trellix’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Trellix users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Defender XDR

Read 106 Microsoft Defender XDR reviews

10,352 Views
5,487 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

Trellix Active Response

Read 5 Trellix Active Response reviews

561 Views
550 Comparison Views

50% willing to recommend

Microsoft Defender XDR

Trellix Active Response

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Trellix Active Response and Microsoft Defender XDR are leading contenders in the endpoint detection and response market. Users express greater satisfaction with the features of Microsoft Defender XDR despite its higher cost.

Features: Trellix Active Response is praised for its advanced threat detection capabilities, seamless integration with existing systems, and intuitive deployment. Microsoft Defender XDR stands out for its comprehensive protection across various platforms, integrated threat intelligence, and robust suite of features.

Room for Improvement: Users of Trellix Active Response suggest enhancements in automation capabilities, incident response times, and reporting tools. Feedback for Microsoft Defender XDR indicates a need for better reporting tools, improved scalability, and a more user-friendly interface. Microsoft Defender XDR's areas for improvement seem more critical to overall user experience compared to Trellix Active Response.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Trellix Active Response is recognized for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Users report that Microsoft Defender XDR, while feature-rich, has a steeper learning curve and mixed reviews on support efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: Trellix Active Response offers competitive upfront costs and satisfactory ROI. Microsoft Defender XDR, although priced higher, is perceived as delivering greater ROI due to its extensive feature set. Despite Trellix Active Response being more budget-friendly, the comprehensive benefits of Microsoft Defender XDR justify its higher expense for many users.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,114 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

7.1

Microsoft Defender XDR provides high ROI by consolidating security tools, streamlining operations, and enhancing security, despite licensing costs.

Sentiment score

3.8

Trellix Active Response improved threat detection, reduced incident response times, increased efficiency, and enhanced productivity with an intuitive interface.

We can quarantine and isolate a device within minutes.

Agustin-Torres

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft Defender XDR has saved me at least 50% of my time.

Kunle Oluwadiya

House security operator at Cypress Creek Renewables

It helped stop multiple intrusion points where we would have had millions in lost revenue if the attackers got in.

Joshua Hart

Network Technician at T. Baker Smith, LLC

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

While we haven't yet quantified the financial benefits, we recognize that there has been a return on investment, particularly with operational efficiencies provided by the alerts.

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.1

Microsoft Defender XDR's support is timely and responsive, yet smaller organizations experience slower, less effective assistance than larger ones.

Sentiment score

7.8

Trellix Active Response's customer support is generally positive, but availability and contact speed could improve, rated seven out of ten.

You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.

Darrell Carr

Enterprise Application Engineer at a legal firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

It's critical to escalate SEV B issues immediately to a domestic engineer.

Ty Ryan

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.

Ankit-Joshi

Cyber Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

I would rate technical support from Trellix Active Response as a seven because sometimes we face difficulties finding engineers quickly, leading to customer frustration.

Abdullah Al Hadi

Information Security Engineer at Nhq Distribution Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

6.9

Microsoft Defender XDR scales well for various organizations, efficiently supporting growth and flexibility despite some network deployment challenges.

Sentiment score

4.1

Trellix Active Response is scalable, integrates easily, handles large data seamlessly, and maintains performance and security with minimal latency.

My concern is about the scale of events and alerts being generated, and the product is doing a very good job of only surfacing the important items for us.

reviewer2315544

Vice President, Information Technology at a construction company with 201-500 employees

Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.

Ty Ryan

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

Microsoft Defender XDR scales pretty well.

Agustin-Torres

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

The scalability of Active Response is satisfactory.

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.1

Microsoft Defender XDR is praised for high stability, reliable performance, minimal issues, frequent updates, and prompt issue resolution.

Sentiment score

4.6

Trellix Active Response is praised for reliability, efficient data handling, quick threat detection, adaptability, and stability with minimal downtime.

The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.

Ty Ryan

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

It provides high-fidelity signals.

Agustin-Torres

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

No quotes available

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender XDR requires enhancements in speed, integration, automation, AI, ease-of-use, and industry-specific threat intelligence.

Trellix Active Response needs better resource management, advanced analytics, and improved integrations for efficient monitoring and AI features.

The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.

reviewer2595324

Owner at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Some inconsistencies exist between blades, which could be improved for a more seamless user and UI experience.

Ty Ryan

Infrastructure engineer at Cetera Financial Group

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

We would like Trellix to optimize the technology for these systems similarly to how it is deployed for normal endpoints.

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

There is room for improvement in the platform area and security area to make the dashboard visibility clearer and easier for customers to monitor malicious activities occurring in their environment.

Abdullah Al Hadi

Information Security Engineer at Nhq Distribution Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is seen as complex but fair, with high costs alleviated in bundled Microsoft 365 packages.

There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.

Clay Bowlin

Director, Sales at a tech vendor with 201-500 employees

I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.

reviewer2595618

Senior System Engineer at a sports company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

Based on our evaluations, Trellix Active Response's pricing was the most feasible from a cost perspective.

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates tools for comprehensive security, offering threat detection, automation, identity protection, and enhanced efficiency.

Trellix Active Response enhances analytics, user insights, and incident handling, excelling in detection and response with holistic EDR benefits.

With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.

Soumitra_Chakraborty

Security manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.

A Roy

Works at Hometrack

Once we have it on the security dashboard, we can see a real-time storyline.

Agustin-Torres

Information Security Analyst at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Defender XDR report

They notify us immediately of any vulnerabilities on the endpoints, allowing us to deploy a response quickly.

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

The most valuable feature of Trellix Active Response is that whenever any incident occurs, it allows us to disconnect from that particular network or area and shut down the system using commands.

Abdullah Al Hadi

Information Security Engineer at Nhq Distribution Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Trellix Active Response report

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender XDR

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

7th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)

Trellix Active Response

Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

45th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender XDR is 2.6%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trellix Active Response is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Defender XDR	2.6%
Trellix Active Response	0.4%
Other	97.0%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

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

Ezzard De Lange

Senior Manager Operational Technology and Cyber Security at Eskom Ltd

Operational efficiencies increase with immediate threat alerts for endpoints

We use Trellix Active Response primarily for our endpoints, including desktop computers. It monitors all the tools that our users use for their day-to-day work The alerts provided by Trellix Active Response are its most valuable feature. They notify us immediately of any vulnerabilities on the…

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

No data available

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 McAfee Active Response?

Based on our evaluations, Trellix Active Response's pricing was the most feasible from a cost perspective. I rate the pricing between a six and an eight. It is justified.

See all answers

What needs improvement with McAfee Active Response?

For Trellix Active Response, there is room for improvement in the platform area and security area to make the dashboard visibility clearer and easier for customers to monitor malicious activities o...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for McAfee Active Response?

The typical use case for Trellix Active Response is to provide quick incident response, as the product collects and correlates logs with the ePO dashboard, allowing customers to get visibility of t...

See all answers

Comparisons

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 12% of the time

Wazuh vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Sentinel vs Microsoft Defender XDR

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender XDR Competitors

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Trellix Active Response

Compared 29% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vs Trellix Active Response

Compared 23% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Trellix Active Response

Compared 17% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Trellix Active Response

Compared 13% of the time

Tanium vs Trellix Active Response

Compared 9% of the time

More Trellix Active Response Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR

January 2026

Download Microsoft Defender XDR product report

Buyer's Guide

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

December 2025

Download Trellix Active Response product report

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender

McAfee Active Response

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

Continuous Visibility into Your Endpoints:
Capture and monitor events, files, host flows, process objects, context, and system state changes that may be indicators of attack or dormant attack components.

Identify and Remediate Breaches Faster:
Access tools you need to quickly correct security issues. Send intelligence to analytics, operations, and forensic teams.

Target Critical Threats:
Get preconfigured and customizable actions when triggered, so you can target and eliminate threats.

Trellix

Sample Customers

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

Liquor Control Board of Ontario

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response

December 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Microsoft Defender XDR vs. Trellix Active Response report.

See our list of best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vendors.

We monitor all Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) 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.