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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Cortex XDR
Your security is too important for "good enough." Cortex XDR delivers #1-rated prevention and unified visibility across your entire multi-vendor environment.
Microsoft
"Good enough” prevention misses attacks
- Failed to stop modern threats in the rigorous MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations, preventing only 3 of the 10 attack scenarios.
- Agent updates are tied to OS updates, creating prolonged windows of risk and a weak prevention posture.
- Lacks the dedicated focus on cybersecurity required to stop sophisticated attacks that evade basic defenses.
Why Palo Alto Networks
Stops attacks with top-performing prevention
Cortex XDR blocks more threats than any endpoint security market leader, with rigorously tested capabilities that work right out-of-the-box.
#1
Prevention rate out of all market leaders in the latest MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations.
Microsoft
Detection limitations break the analyst experience
- Defender XDR only supports detection for Microsoft data, forcing analysts to switch to a separate SIEM product for any other data source.
Why Palo Alto Networks
Delivers the best detection in a unified analyst experience
Palo Alto Networks pioneered the XDR category. Cortex XDR collects telemetry from every key source: endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and email to power pre-built, AI-driven detectors that find threats fast within a single product.
100%
Detection in the latest MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations, with no configuration changes.
Microsoft
Not a unified SOC platform
- Forces teams to buy multiple products and pivot between interfaces for broad coverage, increasing cost and complexity.
Why Palo Alto Networks
The unified SOC platform that starts with XDR
Cortex XDR immediately sets the foundation for your AI-driven SOC. It unifies data from all key sources in a single data lake, powering native security analytics. This provides a frictionless path to Cortex XSIAM—the single, complete platform that unifies your entire SOC and stops threats faster.
1
Single agent and single data lake with a frictionless path to a unified, AI-driven SOC platform.
Side-by-Side: Cortex XDR vs. Microsoft Defender
Cortex XDR
|
Microsoft Defender
| |
|---|---|---|
Endpoint Prevention | Top-performing prevention #1 prevention rate of all market leaders in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 6. | “Good enough” prevention #7 prevention rate of all market leaders in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 6. |
Threat Detection | Native analytics for all key data sources 10K detectors and 2.6K ML models detect threats natively across endpoint, network, cloud, identity, and email sources. With endpoint data alone, Cortex XDR achieved 100% detection in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 6. | Limited analytics Doesn’t support third-party data sources in Defender for Endpoint or Defender XDR. Achieved 71% technique-level detection with no configuration changes in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 6. |
Investigation Workflow | Unified, AI-driven investigations Builds rich context from all key data sources, allowing AI-driven grouping and scoring to create unified cases that tell the complete story of an attack. Analysts experience 8x faster investigations and 98% fewer alerts to triage. | Fragmented investigations Does not group non-Microsoft alerts, forcing analysts to manually piece together the story of an attack, wasting valuable time. |
Platform & TCO | The foundation of the Cortex SOC platform With key data in place, Cortex XDR creates the foundation for a unified, AI-driven SOC with a frictionless path to Cortex XSIAM. | Not a unified SOC platform Leads to a fragmented analyst experience with multiple interfaces and no clear path to a unified SOC. |
Why Trust Palo Alto Networks
Proven leadership from the world’s largest cybersecurity company
- 100% technique-level detection in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations Round 6
- AAA rated with 100% prevention in the 2025 SE Labs Ransomware Test
- 3x Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Endpoint Protection Platforms
98%
Willingness to recommend score in the 2025 Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer for EPP.
“The user experience and interface of Cortex XDR is exceptional, allowing us to easily navigate and digest reports. With this solution, we also have extensive visibility into our security stack and our data lake, helping us triage and investigate alerts for response and remediation action.”
“With Palo Alto Networks, we can sunset point solutions and roll them into a consolidated platform for more efficient operations and cost savings.”
“We get far fewer alerts from Unit 42 MDR than we did from our previous provider. If they surface an incident, we know it’s something we need to look into, and then we work together to resolve it quickly. They use their knowledge and expertise to determine priority, which is a big time-saver.”
“It’s a lot like having another member of our team. They [Unit 42 MDR] manage our alerts and escalate the ones that matter.”
“Palo Alto Networks makes it far, far easier to safeguard our university infrastructure and respond instantly to incidents. By protecting what’s important in the background, we can fight fires in a different forest.”
“Cortex XDR, Data Lake, and Cortex XSOAR was a powerful combination—it allowed us to realise the benefits of automation to support a next-generation SOC.”
“The user experience and interface of Cortex XDR is exceptional, allowing us to easily navigate and digest reports. With this solution, we also have extensive visibility into our security stack and our data lake, helping us triage and investigate alerts for response and remediation action.”
“With Palo Alto Networks, we can sunset point solutions and roll them into a consolidated platform for more efficient operations and cost savings.”
“We get far fewer alerts from Unit 42 MDR than we did from our previous provider. If they surface an incident, we know it’s something we need to look into, and then we work together to resolve it quickly. They use their knowledge and expertise to determine priority, which is a big time-saver.”
“It’s a lot like having another member of our team. They [Unit 42 MDR] manage our alerts and escalate the ones that matter.”
“Palo Alto Networks makes it far, far easier to safeguard our university infrastructure and respond instantly to incidents. By protecting what’s important in the background, we can fight fires in a different forest.”
“Cortex XDR, Data Lake, and Cortex XSOAR was a powerful combination—it allowed us to realise the benefits of automation to support a next-generation SOC.”
