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Endpoint protection · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs CrowdStrike Falcon
Zero of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Cloud first on the direct prompt; five named CrowdStrike Falcon. Microsoft Defender for Cloud was named by eight of the fourteen models and CrowdStrike Falcon by fourteen and Microsoft Defender for Cloud carries 12 labels and CrowdStrike Falcon 41, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in fourteen categories this edition.
Named in twelve categories this edition.
First-choice share17%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate8%22%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels1241A 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.Sophos Intercept X was named alongside these two in ten of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon · Bitdefender GravityZone vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud
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 endpoint 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 modelsCrowdStrike Falcon
Direct051 against Microsoft Defender for Cloud · 2 against CrowdStrike Falcon
Paraphrase211 against CrowdStrike Falcon
Comparative09
Budget-constrained80
Scale-constrained01
Negative006 against CrowdStrike Falcon
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 CrowdStrike Falcon 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 CrowdStrike Falcon first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Cloud on the left and CrowdStrike Falcon on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Cloud and CrowdStrike Falcon stood in it.
CrowdStrike Falcon first, Microsoft Defender for Cloud not the choice
5 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniCrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
Mistral SmallBitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Acronis Cyber Protect
GLM 4.7 FlashXCrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
MiniMax M2.5Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
GPT-6 LunaCrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
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.Perplexity SonarBitdefender GravityZone alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
DeepSeek V4 FlashSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Business / Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
Qwen 3.7 FlashMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X, Trend Vision One
Kimi K2Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity
Muse Glimmer 30BBitdefender GravityZone Business Security, Microsoft Defender for Business / Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR
Gemini 3.5 FlashSophos Intercept X alternatives: Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Business / Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Grok 4.1 FastMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Llama 4 MaverickBitdefender GravityZone
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 fifty points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud50%#1 of 12CrowdStrike Falcon0%#12 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by five points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud17%#3 of 11CrowdStrike Falcon12%#4 of 11Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is not named for this buyer.
CrowdStrike Falcon35%#2 of 9Microsoft Defender for Cloud—not namedWhat 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. Two of two in this category shown.
“My top advice: If you are not already using Microsoft 365, Microsoft Defender for Business is still a strong contender because it is the most cost-effective way” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“If you want the best value and least friction for a mid-size B2B firm already in the Microsoft ecosystem, start with Microsoft Defender for Business” GLM 4.7 FlashX · paraphrase prompt · first choice
What the models said about CrowdStrike Falcon
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“CrowdStrike Falcon (with significant caveats) ... It's still a strong product, but the outage demonstrated that relying on any single endpoint platform carries systemic risk.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Why to be cautious: If you choose CrowdStrike, do not allow the vendor to automatically push kernel-level updates to your entire fleet instantly.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“with CrowdStrike positioned highest on both "Ability to Execute" and "Completeness of Vision" (for the fifth consecutive year)” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Choose CrowdStrike if you have a complex enterprise fleet (including significant macOS and Linux deployments)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“CrowdStrike Falcon - Leader in enterprise endpoint security ... Best for threat hunting and telemetry depth” MiniMax M2.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike FalconBitdefender GravityZone vs Microsoft Defender for CloudBitdefender GravityZone vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs ESET PROTECTCrowdStrike Falcon vs Sophos Intercept XCrowdStrike Falcon vs SentinelOne SingularityCrowdStrike Falcon vs SentinelOne Singularity EndpointCrowdStrike Falcon vs ESET PROTECTAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full endpoint protection 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.