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Microsoft Defender XDR vs WatchGuard Threat 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
Organizations achieve positive ROI with Microsoft Defender XDR by consolidating security measures, enhancing protection, and saving time and resources.
Sentiment score
8.0
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response enhances threat detection, reduces manual intervention, and improves ROI by optimizing network security and operational efficiency.
Previously, identifying and containing threats took a long time, but now, with Microsoft Defender XDR, it takes just a few minutes.
Ever since we turned on the M5 feature set back in June, we have seen a reduced number of potentially malicious clicks and faster alerting when incidents occur.
The biggest return on investment for us is that by being on the platform, we can sunset many legacy tools.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Microsoft Defender XDR support ranges in effectiveness; premium users receive better service, while standard support often involves delays and inefficiencies.
Sentiment score
9.5
WatchGuard offers fast, reliable support with high satisfaction, but some suggest room for improvement in customer service.
I have heard from customers that it's not the easiest, and sometimes, it can be complex to reach the right person for specific needs.
Once issues are escalated to the second or third layer, the support is much better.
You get stuck in low-level support for way longer than you should, instead of them escalating the issue up the chain.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Defender XDR is scalable, integrating seamlessly across devices and departments, despite some limitations with specific requirements.
Sentiment score
7.9
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is praised for its scalability and efficient adaptation to varying organizational sizes.
Microsoft Defender XDR shows tremendous scalability, much more so than on-premises solutions.
It is suitable for enterprise-level deployment but has room for improvement.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender XDR is highly stable, reliable, and effective, with minimal bugs and proactive issue resolution ensuring user confidence.
Sentiment score
8.7
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is praised for stability, reliability, and easy maintenance, though some desire scheduled scans.
The services within our ecosystem have been reliable, meeting their SLAs.
The service has remained consistently online, with any issues isolated to specific components, suggesting a well-designed and modular architecture.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender XDR requires improvements in speed, integration, cost-efficiency, support, and AI capabilities for a better user experience.
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response struggles with efficiency, pricing, integration, and management, requiring enhancements in various areas.
Improvements are needed in automated response capabilities.
The licensing process needs improvement and clarification.
Microsoft could improve on threat hunting and build more on threat detection and handling.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender XDR pricing is competitive with Microsoft 365, though standalone costs and licensing complexity impact user perception.
WatchGuard Threat Detection offers competitive pricing, ideal for small businesses, balancing affordability with features and support.
There are certainly savings when using Microsoft Defender XDR, which can range from 30%, 40%, and even up to 50%.
I would rate the pricing as eight out of ten, indicating it is a reasonable cost for the product.
Microsoft purposefully obfuscates this through marketing ploys to hide costs.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender XDR strengthens security with integration, threat detection, centralized management, and cloud service compatibility, enhancing IT efficiency.
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is user-friendly with comprehensive protection, effective analytics, and seamless configuration and deployment features.
With Microsoft threat intelligence information, it detects various types of threats, including insider attacks, malicious content, and data exfiltration.
This allows us to secure our systems in advance and proactively improve security, rather than waiting for incidents to occur.
It's because endpoint management is my primary focus, and this feature integrates well with my other skills.
 

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
99
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
WatchGuard Threat Detection...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
39th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.9
Number of Reviews
13
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 WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is 0.5%, down from 0.6% 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.
Jose Fos - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution provides automated responses and helps protect our systems
We use the solution to protect our systems. We also use it for real-time detection The tool provides automated responses. It has a lot of features. The interface is not the best. I do not like it. The reports must also be improved. I am currently using the solution. I have contacted the…
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Retailer
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

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?
Licensing is somewhat confusing, particularly when presenting our pitch decks to stakeholders and leveraging key features in premium SKUs, but we managed with some assistance from Microsoft.
What needs improvement with Microsoft 365 Defender?
There is nothing I can think of at the moment that needs improvement. I am a contractor and finishing up soon, so I haven't encountered any issues requiring enhancements.
What needs improvement with WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response?
The pricing of WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response could be improved. It's not the cheapest option available. That said, it often meets our needs effectively. There are areas for improvement i...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response?
WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response is used to monitor traffic and give alarms to the administration if something goes wrong. It reacts when services protected by it are attacked and sends not...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Threat Protection, MS 365 Defender
WatchGuard TDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accenture, Deloitte, ExxonMobil, General Electric, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and many others.
Goodwill New York / New Jersey, F4 IT, Café Comunicação Integrada
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender XDR vs. WatchGuard Threat Detection and Response and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.