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Attack surface management · October 2026 Edition
Intruder vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Eleven of fourteen models named Intruder first on the direct prompt; one named Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management. Both were named by all fourteen models and Intruder carries 34 labels and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management 39, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in four categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share49%10%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate3%18%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels3439A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Intruder reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Intruder vs Attaxion · Intruder vs CyCognito · Intruder vs UpGuard BreachSight
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 attack surface 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.
IntruderFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Direct111
Paraphrase102
Comparative001 against Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Budget-constrained31
Scale-constrained111 against Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Negative001 against Intruder · 5 against Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
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, Intruder and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management were named in the same answer thirty-four times, of the 231 answers naming Intruder and the 116 naming Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management. In those answers Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management took the first choice five times and Intruder nineteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Intruder and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management 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 | | | |
Intruder Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Intruder on the left and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Intruder and Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management stood in it.
Intruder first, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management an alternative
11 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Gemini 3.5 FlashIntruder alternatives: Detectify, UpGuard BreachSight, runZero
Perplexity SonarIntruder alternatives: Cortex Xpanse, Mandiant Attack Surface Management, UpGuard BreachSight
Grok 4.1 FastIntruder alternatives: Bitsight, Qualys CyberSecurity Asset Management, Rapid7 Surface Command
Mistral SmallIntruder alternatives: Bitsight, Detectify
DeepSeek V4 FlashIntruder alternatives: Censys ASM, CrowdStrike Falcon Surface, CyCognito, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Llama 4 MaverickIntruder alternatives: Bitsight, Qualys
Qwen 3.7 FlashIntruder alternatives: Rapid7
Kimi K2Intruder alternatives: Detectify, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, UpGuard BreachSight
GLM 4.7 FlashXIntruder alternatives: CyCognito, UpGuard BreachSight
MiniMax M2.5CyCognito, Intruder alternatives: Mandiant Attack Surface Management
Muse Glimmer 30BIntruder, UpGuard BreachSight alternatives: Attaxion, Halo Security
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management first, Intruder not the choice
1 of 14 modelsIntruder was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-6 LunaMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management alternatives: Censys ASM, CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, Rapid7 Surface Command
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.Claude Haiku 4.5CyCognito alternatives: Hadrian, Halo Security, Intruder
GPT-5.4 miniUpGuard BreachSight alternatives: CyCognito, Intruder, Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management, Tenable Attack Surface Management
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
Intruder leads by twenty-four points.
Intruder26%#1 of 13Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management2%#10 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
Intruder leads by thirty-nine points.
Intruder49%#1 of 12Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management10%#3 of 12Enterprise
The order flips: Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management leads at enterprise.
Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management16%#2 of 9Intruder0%#– of 9What the models said about Intruder
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of three in this category shown.
“Basic scanners (e.g., some positioned as EASM like Intruder.io) discover assets but don't validate exploitability, leading to alert fatigue.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · soft negative
“the strongest default pick is Intruder because multiple 2026 reviews describe it as best for medium-sized businesses and mid-market organizations” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · first choice
“Intruder is likely the best starting point due to its transparent pricing, ease of use, and comprehensive features at a reasonable cost” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Microsoft’s native ASM is described as tightly integrated with Defender and Azure, so it may be less suitable if you need broad multi-cloud, SaaS, or heterogeneous coverage” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“integrates deeply with Microsoft/Sentinel/Defender; limited third-party integration for non-Microsoft environments.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“while Microsoft Defender EASM is excellent at passive discovery, its active vulnerability scanning can be lacking” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“the best attack surface management (ASM) platform is Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management (EASM) if you already use Microsoft 365/E5” GLM 4.7 FlashX · budget prompt · first choice
“I'd generally recommend Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface Management as the first tool to evaluate” GPT-5.4 mini · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“I'd start with Microsoft Defender EASM—especially if you already use Azure or Microsoft security tools.” GPT-6 Luna · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
Intruder vs AttaxionIntruder vs CyCognitoIntruder vs UpGuard BreachSightIntruder vs DetectifyIntruder vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementIntruder vs CrowdStrike Falcon SurfaceAttaxion vs Microsoft Defender External Attack Surface ManagementMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs CyCognitoMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs UpGuard BreachSightMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs DetectifyMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs Tenable Attack Surface ManagementMicrosoft Defender External Attack Surface Management vs CrowdStrike Falcon SurfaceAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full ASM 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.