Cloud-native application protection · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Aqua Security
Two of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Cloud first on the direct prompt; one named Aqua Security. Microsoft Defender for Cloud was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Aqua Security by eight and Microsoft Defender for Cloud carries 53 labels and Aqua Security 12, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in fourteen categories this edition.
Named in five categories this edition.
First-choice share21%4%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate4%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#5A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels5312A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Defender for Cloud reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Wiz was named alongside these two in thirteen of the fourteen direct answers. Wiz vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud · Wiz vs Aqua Security · Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Orca Security
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the cloud-native application protection page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Microsoft Defender for CloudFirst choices, of fourteen modelsAqua Security
Direct211 against Microsoft Defender for Cloud · 1 against Aqua Security
Paraphrase21
Comparative00
Budget-constrained91
Scale-constrained10
Negative001 against Microsoft Defender for Cloud · 1 against Aqua Security
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Aqua Security stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | ||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | ||
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | ||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | |
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Aqua Security first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Cloud on the left and Aqua Security on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Aqua Security stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud first, Aqua Security not the choice
2 of 14 modelsAqua Security was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for Cloud, Wiz alternatives: Sysdig Secure
Kimi K2Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security alternatives: Rapid7 InsightCloudSec, Wiz
Aqua Security first, Microsoft Defender for Cloud an alternative
1 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.MiniMax M2.5Aqua Security, Wiz alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Wiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security, SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security
Grok 4.1 FastWiz alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security, Sysdig Secure
DeepSeek V4 FlashWiz alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security, Sysdig Secure
GLM 4.7 FlashXWiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security
GPT-6 LunaWiz alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security
Neither was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Gemini 3.5 FlashOrca Security alternatives: Upwind, Wiz
Perplexity SonarWiz alternatives: Prisma Cloud, Rapid7 InsightCloudSec, SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security, Sysdig Secure
Mistral SmallOrca Security, Wiz alternatives: FortiCNAPP, Sysdig Secure
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Qwen 3.7 FlashWiz alternatives: Orca Security, Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud
Muse Glimmer 30BOrca Security, Wiz alternatives: Rapid7 InsightCloudSec
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by twenty-eight points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud28%#2 of 12Aqua Security0%#– of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by sixteen points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud21%#2 of 11Aqua Security4%#5 of 11Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by seventeen points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud17%#2 of 11Aqua Security0%#10 of 11What the models said about Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. One of one in this category shown.
“The Trap: Relying exclusively on AWS Security Hub or Microsoft Defender for Cloud... Vendor Lock-in.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
What the models said about Aqua Security
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. One of one in this category shown.
“Aqua Security - a CNAPP that secures containerized and cloud-native applications from development through runtime.” Llama 4 Maverick · paraphrase prompt · first choice
Also compared
Wiz vs Microsoft Defender for CloudWiz vs Aqua SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Orca SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Aikido SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs FortiCNAPPOrca Security vs Aqua SecurityAikido Security vs Aqua SecurityAqua Security vs FortiCNAPPAll fifteen head-to-head pages and the full CNAPP standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.