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Endpoint protection · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon
Three of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; five named CrowdStrike Falcon. Both were named by all fourteen models and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint carries 40 labels and CrowdStrike Falcon 41, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in twelve categories this edition.
First-choice share22%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate5%22%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#4A position in a field of 11; printed, not drawn.
Labels4041A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 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 Bitdefender GravityZone · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept X
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 EndpointFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCrowdStrike Falcon
Direct352 against CrowdStrike Falcon
Paraphrase511 against CrowdStrike Falcon
Comparative29
Budget-constrained40
Scale-constrained11
Negative002 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · 6 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.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and CrowdStrike Falcon were named in the same answer 105 times, of the 307 answers naming Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and the 255 naming CrowdStrike Falcon. In those answers CrowdStrike Falcon took the first choice forty times and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint twenty-five.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 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 Endpoint CrowdStrike Falcon first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 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 Endpoint and CrowdStrike Falcon stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, CrowdStrike Falcon an alternative
3 of 14 modelsCrowdStrike Falcon was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.1 FastMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, SentinelOne Singularity, 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
CrowdStrike Falcon first, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an alternative
5 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint 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
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR
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
Muse Glimmer 30BBitdefender GravityZone Business Security, Microsoft Defender for Business / Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Gemini 3.5 FlashSophos Intercept X alternatives: Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Business / Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
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 Endpoint leads by three points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint3%#6 of 12CrowdStrike Falcon0%#12 of 12Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by ten points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint22%#1 of 11CrowdStrike Falcon12%#4 of 11Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by nine points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint44%#1 of 9CrowdStrike Falcon35%#2 of 9What the models said about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.
“I'd suggest starting with a pilot of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (if you're in the Microsoft ecosystem) or Bitdefender GravityZone” Kimi K2 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Microsoft Defender and Bitdefender are especially recommended for their balance of cost, ease of use, and effectiveness for small businesses.” Mistral Small · budget 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 Bitdefender GravityZoneMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs ESET PROTECTBitdefender GravityZone vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs CrowdStrike FalconCrowdStrike 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.