Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 ( /products/office-365-reviews ) suite, making it slightly more expensive compared to Trend Micro. Although Defender is free, you have to pay separately for EDR.
While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment.
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Office 365. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
I know that the product is incredibly expensive. I know that my company has high expectations from Microsoft because of the high cost. I also know that Microsoft delivers tremendous value for our company in terms of productivity and collaboration. With Copilot coming along, the value Microsoft provides to my company will be even higher than what it was previously, owing to the productivity gain and the reformulation of how we work because of AI.
Head of Department of Network Communications at Eko electricity
Real User
Aug 1, 2023
For small and medium organizations, the pricing might not be affordable. Although Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a good product; something all organizations should have. However, the question is, can all organizations afford it? For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses.
Project Leader and IT Transition Manager at Data Communication & Software i Grondal Aktiebolag
Real User
Jun 1, 2023
The pricing has become expensive. Some customers want to use a monthly payment, but Microsoft recently changed its license policies. So we are encouraging most users to pay annually.
IT Manager at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Apr 12, 2023
It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license. Be aware of the licensing model, because for certain features you need a different level of licensing.
Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend. To a colleague who says it's better to go with a best-of-breed strategy rather than a single vendor's security suite, in terms of pricing, it's better to get a good package for security solutions from one vendor rather than multiple vendors.
Associate Tech Lead at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Aug 9, 2022
I would recommend Microsoft Defender for Office 365. If you already have a deployment method, like CCM or something similar, it will be easy. Even if not, there are several other deployment methods that could support any scenario.
Chief Information Security Officer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Jan 24, 2022
This is quite an expensive solution and understanding the pricing model and features is quite complicated and it can, in fact, be a nightmare when dealing with Microsoft.
Deputy Chief SAP BASIS Administrator at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Real User
Jan 5, 2022
I haven't actually evaluated the cost against other products. For example, it's bundled with the licenses that we have procured, so everything is included in that. We haven't purchased the Defender separately. We cannot just say that it's a product which is costly as compared to the other products available in the market or not, as it's a bundled offer. We can calculate the price of one license or an Office 365 license with any other cloud service partner's license cost, however, we cannot just compare the price of any specific feature with the services available in the market.
The pricing is pretty good and was a major factor in choosing it. The pricing is reasonable when compared with Cisco or some other products. If it is an IT company, the budget allocation will be more and focused on the IT part. However, when it comes to a manufacturing company, the budget focus will be more on manufacturing and the budget allocation will be very low in terms of IT. For us Office 365 was better in terms of Pricing.
General Manager IT at a logistics company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Apr 29, 2021
It has a simple interface to configure and manage. From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation.
Principal Consultant at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Consultant
Mar 4, 2021
Microsoft licensing should include Microsoft Defender for O365 in their E3 and E5 licenses. Currently it is all or nothing unless you purchase an add-on which we advise enterprise customers to do.
Information Technology Manager at a performing arts with 51-200 employees
Real User
Jan 14, 2021
It's a user-base subscription. Licensing is on a monthly basis. It's part of Office 365, so you really can't tell how much it costs. It's part of the bundle. It's difficult to compare prices with other companies.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.
With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by...
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a little expensive.
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 ( /products/office-365-reviews ) suite, making it slightly more expensive compared to Trend Micro. Although Defender is free, you have to pay separately for EDR.
I don't have detailed specifics on pricing, setup cost, or licensing.
The pricing is reasonable since it comes integrated with our Office 365 license.
While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment.
The tool's pricing is reasonable.
The solution is good but not cheap. It offers a big ecosystem where you can manage everything from one place.
I know that the product is incredibly expensive. I know that my company has high expectations from Microsoft because of the high cost. I also know that Microsoft delivers tremendous value for our company in terms of productivity and collaboration. With Copilot coming along, the value Microsoft provides to my company will be even higher than what it was previously, owing to the productivity gain and the reformulation of how we work because of AI.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is expensive but does what it says.
The product is expensive.
For small and medium organizations, the pricing might not be affordable. Although Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a good product; something all organizations should have. However, the question is, can all organizations afford it? For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses.
Defender for 365 is reasonably priced, but it isn't cheap. I think the price per user is $3 or $6, depending on the license.
The pricing has become expensive. Some customers want to use a monthly payment, but Microsoft recently changed its license policies. So we are encouraging most users to pay annually.
The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users. The more users there are, the higher the cost.
It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license. Be aware of the licensing model, because for certain features you need a different level of licensing.
Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive.
One problem is its pricing because I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products.
The price is reasonable.
The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced.
If we had compared it with other vendors, then I would have more to say about the cost, but we didn't. However, standalone, the cost is convenient.
Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend. To a colleague who says it's better to go with a best-of-breed strategy rather than a single vendor's security suite, in terms of pricing, it's better to get a good package for security solutions from one vendor rather than multiple vendors.
I would recommend Microsoft Defender for Office 365. If you already have a deployment method, like CCM or something similar, it will be easy. Even if not, there are several other deployment methods that could support any scenario.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system.
This is quite an expensive solution and understanding the pricing model and features is quite complicated and it can, in fact, be a nightmare when dealing with Microsoft.
I haven't actually evaluated the cost against other products. For example, it's bundled with the licenses that we have procured, so everything is included in that. We haven't purchased the Defender separately. We cannot just say that it's a product which is costly as compared to the other products available in the market or not, as it's a bundled offer. We can calculate the price of one license or an Office 365 license with any other cloud service partner's license cost, however, we cannot just compare the price of any specific feature with the services available in the market.
For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis.
The solution is not too expensive.
The pricing is pretty good and was a major factor in choosing it. The pricing is reasonable when compared with Cisco or some other products. If it is an IT company, the budget allocation will be more and focused on the IT part. However, when it comes to a manufacturing company, the budget focus will be more on manufacturing and the budget allocation will be very low in terms of IT. For us Office 365 was better in terms of Pricing.
It has a simple interface to configure and manage. From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation.
Microsoft licensing should include Microsoft Defender for O365 in their E3 and E5 licenses. Currently it is all or nothing unless you purchase an add-on which we advise enterprise customers to do.
It's a user-base subscription. Licensing is on a monthly basis. It's part of Office 365, so you really can't tell how much it costs. It's part of the bundle. It's difficult to compare prices with other companies.