Microsoft Defender is a Windows platform that can be integrated with various solutions. It has a complete dashboard that gives us clear visibility into the total security of things, the endpoint devices connected, and their status. It also gives us information about who has been logged in and at what time. Compared to other solutions, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint gives us more visibility and threat analysis reports.
Senior Manager ICT & Innovations at Bangalore International Airport Limited
A highly stable solution that gives more visibility and better threat analysis reports
Pros and Cons
- "The solution's latest features for threat analysis are updated to provide us with future protection against the latest threats worldwide."
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should include better automation that will make it faster to detect the latest threats happening across the world."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has improved my security score very well. Since it is a fully automated solution, all false positives have been ruled out for me. The investigations provided by the dashboard have compliance functionality and are useful for auditing purposes.
What is most valuable?
The solution's latest features for threat analysis are updated to provide us with future protection against the latest threats worldwide. It allows us to prepare from our side for the worst scenarios so that the business operations would not be affected.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should include better automation that will make it faster to detect the latest threats happening across the world. The solution should also generate an automatic report for any investigation before I generate a report. The solution's cost could be improved as it is an expensive tool.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
April 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a highly stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a scalable solution. We have around 3,000 total endpoint devices with two administrators, and we have plans to increase the usage.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is good. We were able to get proper support from the technical support team.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is easy.
What about the implementation team?
The solution’s deployment took almost three weeks. Two network engineers and I ensured the configuration of the group policies. We ensured that all the inbound and outbound traffic was properly configured and implemented.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a return on investment with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is an expensive solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, we evaluated other solutions by Azure. We chose Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because of its better functionalities and capabilities.
What other advice do I have?
The solution provides us with clear visibility. We have a clear dashboard analysis, and we don't need to worry about the changes we need to make as it gives a clear solution for us. Threat hunting is the best feature that gives the response to any event happening.
The solution helps me prioritize threats across our enterprise because I'm able to map all the devices across my enterprise. It is improving my security score compared to the earlier one. Compared to our earlier endpoint protection solutions, we have a good edge over the mapping we have with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Any new devices getting added to our ecosystem are getting secured in a better way.
We use more than one Microsoft security product. We have integrated all of these products, and it was easy to integrate them.
The integrated Microsoft security solutions work natively together to deliver coordinated detection and response across our environment. This is very important for us because we follow a framework where protection, detection, response, and recovery have to happen in a seamless manner.
Microsoft security products give visibility into the information about the latest threats happening across the globe. This gives us awareness and helps us to be well-prepared before the attacks.
We use Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and we make use of its bi-directional sync capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has both on-premises and cloud capabilities.
We use Microsoft Sentinel, which enables us to ingest data from our entire ecosystem. We have different types of endpoints. The ingestion of data gives more data and more credibility to the logs, which makes my environment more secure.
MS Sentinel enables us to investigate threats and respond holistically from one place. It provides vulnerability management and threat detection so that we'll be able to see different logs and parameters. Normally, the threat collection, detection, and response are very much important for an organization.
MS Sentinel’s built-in SOAR and UEBA are different higher-end functionalities with artificial intelligence that provide a secure environment for any platform. It can analyze more volumes of data.
Compared to MS Sentinel, SOAR solutions are more costly.
Our Microsoft security solution helps automate routine tasks and help automate the finding of high-value alerts. It gives us a clear investigation report to find the RCA appropriately, thereby speeding up our response time.
Our Microsoft security solution has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and given us one XDR dashboard. I can integrate all my security parameters into one dashboard, and looking for the management review is easy for me.
The solution’s threat intelligence helps prepare us for potential threats before they hit and to take proactive steps. It alerts me immediately from which IP the threat is coming so that I can block that respective port immediately and prevent it from entering my network.
Our Microsoft security solution has saved us time by making the operations faster and reducing the response time. The solution has saved me almost 15 days in a month.
Our Microsoft security solution has saved us money by providing a single integrated solution and eliminating the need for different security solutions.
The solution has decreased our time to detect and respond. The solution has enabled me to act quickly on any issue before it hits me.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a one-stop solution for your protection, and it gives overall visibility of your endpoint devices. You can easily add on the devices whenever the enterprise is growing.
With Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, you can club your endpoint protection, email protection, network protection, and application protection and ensure they are in good hands. We can handle anything regarding security operations, investigations, or complaints from a single point.
Overall, I rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner

Senior Technology Consultant at SoftwareONE
Provides complete and secure integration that gives us a full picture of the status of the entire organization
Pros and Cons
- "The solution provides protections and reports about strange behavior and automatically blocks some of it. I love the way that statuses are represented."
- "The dashboard customization could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
I'm a consultant. When we do a project with a client, they want us to make an assessment of their environment so they know how to improve their security through Endpoint. I give advice on how to manage the daily case reports that Microsoft automatically sends.
The solution is mainly deployed on the cloud. Most of our clients are on-premises, but they are transitioning and moving most of their administrative tasks to the cloud.
We deploy this solution for multi-national companies. For example, the last customer I worked with has several departments and locations in several countries. It's a mixture of everything. It's a multi-national company nowadays.
We use all of the M365 security products. I'm also looking into Sentinel. For on-premise security, we're using Windows Defender managed by Security Center or Intune.
We have integrated the solution with other Microsoft products. For example, integrating Azure Active Directory and on-premises computers with Intune is really easy to accomplish. The security console gives us visibility over all the products that are managed by different Microsoft tools. The integration is amazing.
The solutions work natively together to deliver coordinated detection and response across our environment.
Using ORCA PowerShell provides us with an extensive report and assessment of the platform. It's officially recommended by Microsoft to get an assessment of their environment. It's easier to get the big picture from this tool than from the Microsoft console.
How has it helped my organization?
The main improvement is that we have complete integration. For example, there were a couple of projects where I integrated the already managed platform from on-premises using Endpoint Corporation Manager with Defender. The integration between the on-premises Microsoft hybrid environment, Intune, and Defender for Endpoint is secure. It gives me a full picture of the status of the entire organization. That was unimaginable a couple of years ago, but now it's real.
This solution helps us train a lot of customers and their employees to be aware of what they shouldn't do with certain behaviors, mail, and files on their corporate computers. It helps customers to be more aware of behaviors that put the entire company at risk.
We realized these benefits from the beginning of using this solution. It gives us information from different points of view and consoles in a convenient way.
It helps prioritize threats across an enterprise. The reporting shows companies what they need to do to resolve abnormalities and prioritize what needs to be solved in order to improve the security level of the company.
Prioritization is important because it's absolutely necessary to know what has been upgraded and what hasn't. Hackers take advantage of that.
Defender gives us the ability to look at all the dashboards from a single screen. The solution's threat intelligence helps us prepare for potential threats before they hit and take proactive steps by configuring some behaviors.
Microsoft Endpoint saved us from a lot of potential problems. It has absolutely saved us time. From the point of view of our clients, the solution saves money because the main tools that are used by the platform are already integrated into their contracts with Microsoft.
What is most valuable?
The solution provides protection and reports strange behavior and automatically blocks some of it. I love the way that statuses are represented.
It provides visibility into threats and gives daily reports about new threats and how to deal with them. We can change configurations so customers are continuously aware of new threats.
What needs improvement?
The dashboard customization could be improved. It's not as good as Azure. The center console isn't very flexible.
The automated remediation could be improved too. If there's a problem, most of the time they open a ticket for another help desk team. They don't remediate these vulnerabilities themselves 90% of the time.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for about five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. From time to time, there's a blackout on the web pages.
How are customer service and support?
The quality of technical support depends on the technicians who are assigned to your case, but the solutions they provided us with have worked every time. The reply time can be fast, but it depends on if you're lucky or not. You can be waiting for a week or two days.
I would rate technical support an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The setup is very quick. The amount of time it takes depends on the infrastructure that someone wants to maintain or update.
Only a couple of people were involved in the deployment. From my point of view, I leave the customer's teams in charge of the maintenance of the tools. I recommend taking a look at the weekly reports that Microsoft sends in order to know what changed, what's new, and what has been upgraded.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
There are several free platforms to test all the functionalities and evaluate the solution. If you see that they cover all of your needs, my advice is to buy the product.
I prefer a single vendor's security suite because integration is easier.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
April 2025

Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
850,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Security Analyst at SecureOps
Threat intelligence helps against potential threats before they hit, and Sentinel is powerful for searching
Pros and Cons
- "The visibility into threats that the solution provides is pretty awesome... This is something that makes me think, "Wow, okay. If I had my own organization, I would probably get this too." It stops the threat before an employee gets phished or something gets downloaded to their computer."
- "If there were more template queries in the library, that would make it much easier. They could have basic things, like, "Where's the IP for this user?" or, "What file was downloaded from this user?" If there were more of those basic queries that would help."
What is our primary use case?
Our server is on Azure, so we get alerts on Microsoft Defender. If it's an endpoint alert, we investigate the endpoint based on the type of endpoint it is, whether it's a computer or a phone, et cetera. We then figure out what kind of file was downloaded, if it was bad or good, based on the hash file.
We also use Microsoft Defender for Office 365 for email, where we get alerts based on phishing emails, spam, and we investigate them. We also do Sentinel queries, with KQL (Kusto Query Language).
How has it helped my organization?
Automation has had a positive impact. When we have a lot of false-positive alerts, we are able to set up a condition in Microsoft Defender where it will automatically close that as false. I don't create those conditions, that's something our security engineer does, but it makes my job easier.
Also, threat intelligence helps against potential threats before they hit. You can actually block and delete the emails from MDE whenever you detect them, or when they report, "Hey, this is a phishing email or spam email." It's also able to block and detect a bad or phishing URL. It has decreased our time to respond because if it detects a URL, we're able to automatically block and delete it before a user even sees their mailbox the next morning. It's very fast in detecting and we like that.
As a SOC, it has saved us time, on the order of 60 percent of our time.
What is most valuable?
The Microsoft Sentinel part is the most valuable when you have to search for the malicious folder or file the user downloaded. We use it to ingest data from our entire ecosystem and that is very important if we have to go back 30 days and investigate cases, and we need more details. It's able to ingest that much data. That's pretty important.
Sentinel also enables us to respond holistically from one place and that's good for my job. It makes it easy.
Also, the visibility into threats that the solution provides is pretty awesome. I had never actually seen this type of technology before. It was the first time I had exposure to the cloud. This is something that makes me think, "Wow, okay. If I had my own organization, I would probably get this too." It stops the threat before an employee gets phished or something gets downloaded to their computer. Even if it gets downloaded to the computer, it doesn't spread to the other networks, because Defender will automatically block it.
Another thing that is pretty awesome is that our Microsoft security products work natively together and deliver coordinated detection and response throughout our environment. As a SOC person, it makes my job very easy.
When it comes to the comprehensiveness of the threat protection from these products, so far I have seen how it's able to pick up the smallest script that is hidden in any type of malicious file. It's so good. And it gives you all the details: what kind of script was run, what kind of hash file, and what type of command was run. I'm pretty happy with it.
What needs improvement?
If there were more template queries in the library, that would make it much easier. They could have basic things, like, "Where's the IP for this user?" or, "What file was downloaded from this user?" If there were more of those basic queries that would help. I haven't seen basic ones, but there are a lot of advanced queries, where people need to know the KQL language to understand them. I'm still learning so that's why I'm providing that feedback.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for almost a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been really good so far. I haven't seen it go down or have an issue where it didn't work.
We have had some integration issues when something breaks, but that's just occasional. So far, it's good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have it deployed across various departments. The IT users have more privileged settings.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When I started with this company we used Splunk before we switched to Sentinel. We switched because Sentinel seems way faster.
How was the initial setup?
I wasn't involved in the setup of the solution, but when it comes to maintenance, we have security engineers who maintain our alerts, in case there are false positive alerts coming in.
What other advice do I have?
Work on Sentinel. It has a lot of power versus the Microsoft Defender solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 51-200 employees
Covers everything that we want from our security platform, integrates with all enterprise services, and is infinitely scalable
Pros and Cons
- "It is a very advanced system based on AI. It has a very large database of places or sites on the internet where you should not go. It is continuously online."
- "It makes your Surface devices hot. It is resource-intensive. It strains your CPU, not more than other file scanners around, but it also does a lot more. When you are transmitting files or data, it is continuously scanning the traffic and analyzing it bit by bit to see what's going on, and that, of course, is costly in terms of CPU. It is CPU intensive, and if you are on battery, it drains your battery fast. That's the only drawback that it has."
What is our primary use case?
We are a property investment company, and people here use Microsoft Surface devices for their daily job. We are a Microsoft-oriented company, and we use it for our basic endpoint security implementation.
Our entire security is based on this endpoint solution. Sometimes you have centralized security where you scan all traffic going through a central firewall and you also check through several types of solutions. You also check HTTPS connections. Basically, for all the traffic going inside and outside the company, you use a security firewall, and this endpoint solution is actually a firewall solution or security solution that is distributed. So, all the traffic coming from and going into the end-user device is basically submitted for scanning. If you download an ISO on a website or an email, everything is scanned for security to check whether it contains any malicious data.
We are using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, which is the enterprise version of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. We are using the most recent version of it.
We deploy it via Intune. The feature is called Microsoft Intune Autopilot. We have a hardware hash. A colleague of mine prepares the configuration and then based on the hardware hash and Autopilot, the devices are completely installed and joined to Azure AD and then to our enterprise. Intune is a Microsoft device management platform that comes with Microsoft solutions. When you buy a new device, based on the hardware hash, it can automatically find that device through Autopilot and do the specific deployment for your company. So, the users can use any type of device, start it, and then it will automatically be joined to our environment.
How has it helped my organization?
It is a completely integrated platform with advanced threat analysis, SIEM features, updated inventory, and so on. It is an all-in-one solution. Microsoft is taking over lots of companies to provide more and better services to its clients. This is one of the best solutions around at the moment.
It protects our organization from all kinds of attacks, such as ransomware attacks and any malware downloads. It is like an oracle who knows everything about:
- What is around at the moment?
- From where the attacks are coming?
- What is currently going on security-wise?
It knows about all the software that you have installed on the laptop, and whether they are not patched or have security issues. It covers everything you want from your security platform.
What is most valuable?
It is a very advanced system based on AI. It has a very large database of places or sites on the internet where you should not go. It is continuously online.
It is completely self-sufficient. You don't have to install anything. It is completely integrated into the operating system, and it also has a centralized information dashboard where you can immediately see:
- Are all your devices up to date?
- Are there any threats?
- Are the devices having problems with updates?
- Are they infected with anything?
- Was something blocked?
You can immediately see what is going on in your enterprise, in different networks, and also in people's homes in terms of endpoint security.
It is a zero-trust platform, and it integrates with all types of enterprise services that we run. It also integrates with the Office 365 environment where you can securely connect from anywhere.
What needs improvement?
It makes your Surface devices hot. It is resource-intensive. It strains your CPU, not more than other file scanners around, but it also does a lot more. When you are transmitting files or data, it is continuously scanning the traffic and analyzing it bit by bit to see what's going on, and that, of course, is costly in terms of CPU. It is CPU intensive, and if you are on battery, it drains your battery fast. That's the only drawback that it has.
They're continuously improving it. You can compare it with Teams. About a year ago, the codex and the presentation of the Teams application were not very well optimized, and if you were using the Teams application, it used to drain your battery. It still drains your battery, but they have improved it a lot, and it is a lot less CPU intensive after one year. They're working on Defender for Endpoint to make it less CPU intensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for more than six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its stability is quite good, especially with Windows 11, which is a very stable operating system. Of course, you can run into some issues. We have some issues with docking stations for Surface and screens, but generally, the operating system together with the endpoint security solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is the most scalable solution around. You can create an Azure tenant, and with a script, you can deploy 1,000 user accounts. There is no actual limit to it, so the scalability is infinite.
How are customer service and support?
Their support has improved. They're quite good. I would rate them an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It has the easiest setup that I've ever seen. It's completely integrated with Microsoft. When you deploy your machine through Autopilot and Intune and assign the license, everything is done automatically. Of course, you have a lot of possibilities and a lot of freedom for detailed configuration, but out of the box, it comes completely self-sustained. You don't have to do anything. This is one of the easiest solutions that I've seen.
You just apply for the plan in Office 365, and you set up your very basic Autopilot template where you would specify the types of software that have to be installed. For instance, you want Office or other types of software. The very basic template is enough to roll it out fully automatically.
It takes a couple of hours. If you apply for a tenant on Azure, you pay for the licenses, and you can roll out with a click on 200 to 1,000 endpoint devices within the hour. This cloud is really amazing.
What about the implementation team?
We are a small company with a few technical engineers, and we provide services for our clients. We provide all kinds of services such as maintaining endpoints and Azure cloud solutions with virtualized services and SaaS services.
Its implementation is more or less handled by my colleague. I do a little bit of configuration but not so much. My colleague knows about all the technical details. He does the complete installation and the complete central management of policies and templates. However, a basic part with basic software is very quickly implemented. You just create a tenant on microsoft.com, and then you can very easily roll out to as many workstations as you would like the necessary configuration for Defender for Endpoint.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price at the moment is very good because you get a lot of value for your money, especially with the subscriptions. If you have the E1, E3, or E5 enterprise subscription, you pay per month per user, and you get almost an infinite number of solutions. If you compare the price to the number of solutions that you get, it is a very good deal.
I'm only concerned about the future because Microsoft is taking over one company after another. In the end, there will be no alternative and then they can do whatever they like, but for now, in terms of price, Microsoft is one of the best performers.
What other advice do I have?
At the moment, it is one of the best security platforms for endpoint security in the market. It is comparable to SentinelOne in terms of features and functions.
It is part of Microsoft's ecosystem. If you need a reliable and secure work environment, and you are bound by GDPR and other standards where you have to take care of your data and prevent breaches and unauthorized access, it is a great solution.
The E1, E3, or E5 license contains Defender for Endpoint along with many other solutions. Having just the scanner is not enough these days. You need an overview of your whole environment. You need to make sure that your endpoints are encrypted, they are up to date, and they are correctly using zero-trust relationships for your central services. All these things that you need these days are perfectly implemented in the solutions that Microsoft provides. This is the only way for a company that takes data seriously and has to give a guarantee to customers that data is protected.
It is resource-intensive, but you have to take into account that it is not only a file scanner. It is continuously scanning every connection you make on the internet. It is deeply investigating the data that you transport and the connections that you make. It is scanning your files, and it is scanning your software against all kinds of knowledge bases to identify whether there are vulnerabilities in the software that you use. It is a solution that integrates almost everything. It is doing what a central firewall did before, but it is doing that in a distributed way on your device. So, it does so much more than you expect. If you are providing it to your users, you have to take its CPU consumption into account, and you need to provide sufficient CPU power for this.
I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Associate Consultant at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Out-of-the-box and brings more value to customers; provides technically sound support, but is not as robust and not as customizable
Pros and Cons
- "What I found most valuable in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is that it's out-of-the-box, which brings more value to the customer. The technical support for the product is also one of the best parts, because it's good, in terms of the product knowledge of the technical engineers."
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not as robust, and you cannot customize it much, so that's a challenge."
What is most valuable?
What I found most valuable in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is that it's out-of-the-box, which brings more value to the customer. The technical support for the product is also one of the best parts, because it's good, in terms of the product knowledge of the technical engineers.
What needs improvement?
In Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, the devices still need to mature a little more when compared to other AV solutions. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not as robust, and you cannot customize it much, so that's a challenge. These are the rooms for improvement in the product.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is still being improved. I would say it's still in the development stage. Daily, Microsoft is getting feedback from the customers, so they are modifying the product based on the feedback and requirements of the customers. It's an ongoing process, and as a consultant, I'm in a much better shape, from a consultant point of view, in terms of speaking with customers.
What I'd like to see in the next release of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a single console where you can manage all the policies, Intune, and the EDR capability that can be managed through Intune. There should be a single portal for that to make it more convenient for the security consultant engineer to work with. Right now, I have to hop between different controls. Even the tenant attach feature needs to become more mature in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because it's just very basic. The concept is good, but it's very basic, so it requires more effort for the engineer to configure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint since 2018.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a stable product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud solution, so it's always scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is good, and it's the best part. Microsoft knows that the product needs some development, so they're working on improvements, but all the technical engineers I've worked with so far are very technically sound and they know the product.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is straightforward, if you are aware or have knowledge of it. For example, it's easy if you have gone through all the phases of setting up Microsoft Defender for Endpoint when it started as a manual deployment, manual configuration, then it came through GTO, then SSCM, then Intune, and now SMM. If you have gone through all the phases of deployment, then you know where you need to go and where to change the settings.
If you just started with Intune, or you're dealing with a combination of Intune and a firewall, the initial setup won't be as easy. It could be challenging for a newcomer, because you do not have much experience with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, but they'll give you good support, and they'll try to resolve the challenges that come up when setting up the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is competitive. Out of the bundle, you will get a lot of security, if I talk about Microsoft E5, for example, and get a lot of benefits. If the customer goes and purchases a different solution, it will cost more, so pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is quite reasonable at the moment. There isn't any challenge in terms of pricing, for example, I didn't see a customer who pulled back because of the price. Some prices could be negotiable, and sometimes, as a sales point, the two become negotiable, but they don't bill one and pull back because of the pricing. If you have an E5 license, you get everything.
Customers don't worry about the prices too much, because what they're a little bit worried about is the complete capability of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint in the endpoint security space when compared to other legacy solutions such as McAfee Endpoint Security and Symantec End-User Endpoint Security that are quite mature enough in this market, as seen on Gartner. Sometimes the customer is reluctant to move to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, but not because of its price. I didn't have customers who questioned the pricing for the solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I'm currently working with all these solutions: McAfee Endpoint Security, Symantec End-User Endpoint Security, and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, because I'm a consultant. I'm not a customer. I do use it, and the organization I'm in uses it, but I'm a consultant to the customer. I do pre-sales and look into any of the technical aspects of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
In terms of comparing Symantec End-User Endpoint Security with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, they both work, but in different ways and they have different approaches. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint doesn't have HIPS, while Symantec End-User Endpoint Security has HIPS. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has ASR rules which are compulsory, but there are some activities that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can't do in an environment, particularly if it is an air-gapped network. In an air-gapped network, which is very secure, my team can't open the internet, and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint fails in that, despite being an EDR solution, because it's cloud-based and it doesn't work there. Microsoft still doesn't have any solution for mitigating the air-gapped network.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to people looking into implementing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is to do it very fast because the tool is changing very rapidly, so if you are a novice and you are just learning, what you learn might get changed in the next quarter. Some of the functionality might get changed, so you need to keep up with the changes, and you need to learn quickly and implement Microsoft Defender for Endpoint fast.
My rating for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Reliable with useful security and helpful technical support.
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support has been great."
- "We'd like the stability to be better."
What is our primary use case?
It's used to improve the security score for the whole system, even if it is the cloud or on-premises version.
What is most valuable?
The security is very useful.
Its stability is okay.
The solution can scale.
Technical support has been great.
There's no setup process; a user simply needs to enable it to get started.
What needs improvement?
We'd like the stability to be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product can scale if a company needs it to.
There's a big number of users on the solution in our company. It's likely more than 400 users.
How are customer service and support?
We've dealt with support in the past and found them to be very helpful. We're quite satisfied with the level of service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I'm also familiar with Trend Micro, which is similar. However, Defender is specific to Microsoft.
The company does use more than one solution as well.
How was the initial setup?
There's not really an installation process. A user simply needs to enable it. That's all.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay a yearly licensing fee.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Group CISO, VP of Group Security, Risk & Compliance at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Performs well, easy to maintain, and good support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is that it is embedded into the Windows system. Additionally, the performance is good and simple to maintain."
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is secure but when it comes to security all solutions could improve security."
What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can be used for system protection. For example, anti-virus, malware, and EDR.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is that it is embedded into the Windows system. Additionally, the performance is good and simple to maintain.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is secure but when it comes to security all solutions could improve security.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been stable in our usage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have more than 5,000 users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
We are quite satisfied with the support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use many solutions in our company, such as Panda, Trend Micro, McAfee, Microsoft, and FireEye.
How was the initial setup?
There is no installation required.
What about the implementation team?
We have a five-person technical team that supports this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solutions price could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend this solution to others.
I rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Infrastructure Engineer at Red Cross International Committee
Gives me all the resources I need in one place
Pros and Cons
- "It's a very complete application. I have all the controls in one site. I can track emails, attacks, and threats, and I can research information. I really like this configuration because I have all the information in place."
- "I have accounts for administrators and corporate employees, but I also have accounts for students. I can't split these types of accounts. I need a separate configuration for both... I need to research how I can get alerts for only the administrative machines."
How has it helped my organization?
In the past, I needed two, three, or four apps to do my job. With Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, I have all the resources on one site. I can check what the threats are and if the computers need to be updated or if they reboot with various apps. It's very helpful for us. For example, I have colleagues who use different versions of a certain programming software. With this tool, I can check whether they need to update the app because an older version might have a lot of bugs. I can check which applications need to be updated or uninstalled.
I have a lot of alerts set up as well. For example, all our users are here in Mexico. If we get someone connecting in the UK or Venezuela or Colombia, we get an alert. I then know I need to change the password and use two-step authentication.
And I get a message when a new threat comes up or I need to do updates to different tools. This is helpful because threats are always working in innovative ways. These are very important messages for us.
Defender for Endpoint saves me a lot of time because I have all the alerts and information in one application. It also saves money because when you lose information due to an attack, you lose a lot of money on the reconfiguration of the sites or the information or on the recovery of a backup or a server. It's very important to have a tool like this. It saves a lot of money. The cost-benefit is very good.
What is most valuable?
It's a very complete application. I have all the controls in one site. I can track emails, attacks, and threats, and I can research information. I really like this configuration because I have all the information in place. It was very easy for me to configure it to show me all the things that I need in one dashboard for monitoring.
The visibility into threats is very good. I can track the threats very easily in this application. I have also used Trend Micro and it's more difficult to do with that solution. With Defender, I have all the information and I can follow all of the steps and do my job. It's really easy and very impressive.
I also use Microsoft Endpoint Manager to control all our laptops and cell phones. I take care of all those policies in that solution. In addition, I use Microsoft Azure and Microsoft Exchange, as well as Teams and SharePoint. I have integrated them all into one environment. All the solutions are integrated into one solution and that makes my job easier. Integrating them is really easy because you have one platform to configure all of them. In the role of the global manager, I can make all the changes in these solutions. And the process for connecting all these apps is very easy.
What needs improvement?
I have two different environments, two different types of accounts. I have accounts for administrators and corporate employees, but I also have accounts for students. I can't split these types of accounts. I need a separate configuration for both. I don't have access to the laptops or computers of the students, so I can't deactivate the alerts from the students' machines. I get a lot of alerts from their machines. I need to research how I can get alerts for only the administrative machines.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Defender for Endpoint is very good. I haven't had trouble with it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is pretty good. It's easy to scale it.
I have different locations here in Mexico, with about 300 users here and two or three in the UK, depending on the travel schedule.
How are customer service and support?
I have contact with a Microsoft partner here in Mexico as well as directly with Microsoft. If the partner doesn't have a solution, I can contact Microsoft support.
The support is very quick in communicating. Usually, with one mail or one call, the problem is resolved.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Trend Micro and Symantec in the past to research threats, like viruses and malware, but for me, Defender for Endpoint is the better solution. It's very easy to integrate all the tools and gives me a lot of information in one place. It's very easy to detect an attack or email threat.
How was the initial setup?
I also get all the alerts on my cell phone. Because I have all the alerts, if one of my colleagues in the IT area makes a change, I have all the information. That makes it very easy to maintain.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
For me, the pricing is very good, but for management it's very expensive. Other solutions are less expensive. But when I present all the information and all the reports they say, "Well, it's expensive, but the cost-benefit is very good."
What other advice do I have?
If you have all the information, and you are clear about what solutions your business needs, and Microsoft has all that information, the change is very easy. It's a very good solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
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