Cloud security posture management · October 2026 Edition
Wiz vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Nine of fourteen models named Wiz first on the direct prompt; two named Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Both were named by all fourteen models and Wiz carries 61 labels and Microsoft Defender for Cloud 54, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in sixteen categories this edition.
Named in fourteen categories this edition.
First-choice share37%19%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%17%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels6154A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Wiz reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Orca Security was named alongside these two in eight of the fourteen direct answers. Wiz vs Orca Security · Wiz vs Prowler · Wiz vs AWS Security Hub
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 security posture management page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
WizFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud
Direct921 against Wiz
Paraphrase71
Comparative100
Budget-constrained074 against Wiz · 1 against Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Scale-constrained40
Negative104 against Wiz · 8 against Microsoft Defender for Cloud
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.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Wiz and Microsoft Defender for Cloud were named in the same answer 311 times, of the 743 answers naming Wiz and the 598 naming Microsoft Defender for Cloud. In those answers Microsoft Defender for Cloud took the first choice fifty-nine times and Wiz 117.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Wiz and Microsoft Defender for Cloud 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 4.20 | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | | |
Wiz Microsoft Defender for Cloud first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Wiz on the left and Microsoft Defender for Cloud on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Wiz and Microsoft Defender for Cloud stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Wiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Tenable Cloud Security
Wiz first, Microsoft Defender for Cloud an alternative
8 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Wiz alternatives: Aikido Security, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Rapid7, Sophos
GPT-5.4 miniWiz alternatives: Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud, Qualys TotalCloud, Sysdig Secure
Perplexity SonarWiz alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security, Prisma Cloud
Grok 4.20Wiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Orca Security
Mistral SmallWiz alternatives: CrowdStrike, Rapid7, Tenable Cloud Security, Uptycs
DeepSeek V4 FlashWiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security, Prisma Cloud
Qwen 3.7 FlashWiz alternatives: CrowdStrike, Rapid7, Tenable Cloud Security
Muse Glimmer 30BWiz alternatives: Aqua Security, CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Orca Security
Microsoft Defender for Cloud first, Wiz an alternative
1 of 14 modelsWiz was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for Cloud alternatives: Orca Security, Wiz
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Kimi K2Orca Security alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Tenable Cloud Security, Wiz
GPT-6 LunaOrca Security alternatives: AWS Security Hub, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Wiz
Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Gemini 3.5 FlashCyscale alternatives: Datadog Cloud Security Management, Drata, Orca Security, Vanta
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
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 eleven points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud21%#1 of 12Wiz11%#3 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Wiz leads at mid-market.
Wiz37%#1 of 12Microsoft Defender for Cloud19%#2 of 12Enterprise
Wiz leads by forty-four points.
Wiz54%#1 of 7Microsoft Defender for Cloud9%#3 of 7What the models said about Wiz
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“What to Avoid on a Tight Budget... generally quote-only and target mid-market to enterprise budgets” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · hard negative
“you will want to avoid enterprise-grade CSPM platforms like Wiz, Orca Security, or Prisma Cloud” Gemini 3.5 Flash · budget prompt · hard negative
“Praised for its agentless approach, prioritized risk findings, and attack-path correlation, making it ideal for mid-market companies looking to consolidate security tools.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“I'd suggest evaluating Wiz and Microsoft Defender for Cloud as starting points—Wiz for its modern, agentless approach and comprehensive CNAPP capabilities” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Wiz and Orca pioneered agentless side-scanning and graph-based threat context. They are incredibly easy to deploy and provide the best user experience.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
What 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. Four of four in this category shown.
“Avoid blindly adopting: Microsoft Defender for Cloud if you are multi-cloud (not Azure-first)” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“only deeply address their own environments ... Avoid native-only tools.” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Pure-Play Single-Cloud Tools (For Multi-Cloud Users) ... Why avoid” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Already on Azure or want a zero-cost baseline: Start with Defender for Cloud Foundational CSPM free and augment with Prowler for ad-hoc audits.” Muse Glimmer 30B · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Wiz vs Orca SecurityWiz vs ProwlerWiz vs AWS Security HubWiz vs Tenable Cloud SecurityWiz vs Prisma CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Orca SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs ProwlerMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs AWS Security HubMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Tenable Cloud SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Prisma CloudAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full CSPM 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.