Endpoint detection and response · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Three of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; zero named Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Microsoft Defender for Cloud by eight and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint carries 57 labels and Microsoft Defender for Cloud 10, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in fourteen categories this edition.
First-choice share30%15%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate11%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#4A position in a field of 9; printed, not drawn.
Labels5710A 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.CrowdStrike Falcon Insight was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon Insight · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne Singularity · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Huntress Managed EDR
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 detection and response 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 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud
Direct30
Paraphrase60
Comparative10
Budget-constrained58
Scale-constrained20
Negative006 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
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 Endpoint 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 4.1 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 Microsoft Defender for Cloud first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on the left and Microsoft Defender for Cloud on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Defender for Cloud stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, Microsoft Defender for Cloud not the choice
3 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.DeepSeek V4 FlashMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Cynet, SentinelOne Singularity
GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity
MiniMax M2.5CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was the first choice, one was named
9 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 EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
GPT-5.4 miniCrowdStrike Falcon Insight alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Gemini 3.5 FlashSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Perplexity SonarSophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos MDR
Grok 4.1 FastSophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Mistral SmallCrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
Qwen 3.7 FlashCrowdStrike Falcon Insight alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Kimi K2SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
Muse Glimmer 30BCrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Llama 4 MaverickBitdefender GravityZone EDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight
GPT-6 LunaSophos Endpoint with MDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Microsoft Defender
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 forty-three points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud47%#1 of 9Microsoft Defender for Endpoint4%#4 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads at mid-market.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint30%#1 of 9Microsoft Defender for Cloud15%#4 of 9Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is not named for this buyer.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint29%#2 of 8Microsoft Defender for Cloud—not namedWhat 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. Five of six in this category shown.
“Commonly cited limitations are platform scope and detection depth... it may not perform as well in non-Windows environments.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“These enterprise-grade platforms are highly powerful, but they generate massive volumes of alerts and complex telemetry.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“in hybrid environments, integration conflicts with other security tools can sometimes cause hidden performance spikes” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“if you're already a Microsoft-centric organization on M365 E5, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the smartest financial move.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Best choice if you are already heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (Office 365, Intune, Azure). High value, low friction.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
What the models said about Microsoft Defender for Cloud
No label in this category carried a quote.
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon InsightMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Huntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZone EDRCrowdStrike Falcon Insight vs Microsoft Defender for CloudSentinelOne Singularity vs Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Huntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Bitdefender GravityZone EDRAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full EDR 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.