Endpoint detection and response · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept X
Three of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; three named Sophos Intercept X. Both were named by all fourteen models and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint carries 57 labels and Sophos Intercept X 39, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in six categories this edition.
First-choice share30%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate11%5%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#6A position in a field of 9; printed, not drawn.
Labels5739A 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 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 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 modelsSophos Intercept X
Direct33
Paraphrase60
Comparative10
Budget-constrained50
Scale-constrained20
Negative006 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · 2 against Sophos Intercept X
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 Sophos Intercept X were named in the same answer 138 times, of the 307 answers naming Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and the 275 naming Sophos Intercept X. In those answers Sophos Intercept X took the first choice five times and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint forty-six.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Sophos Intercept X 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 Sophos Intercept X first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on the left and Sophos Intercept X on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Sophos Intercept X stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, Sophos Intercept X an alternative
3 of 14 modelsSophos Intercept X 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
Sophos Intercept X first, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an alternative
3 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
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
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.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
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 Endpoint leads by four points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint4%#4 of 9Sophos Intercept X0%#7 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by twenty-four points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint30%#1 of 9Sophos Intercept X6%#6 of 9Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by twenty-nine points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint29%#2 of 8Sophos Intercept X0%#6 of 8What 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 Sophos Intercept X
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 would evaluate Carbon Black/Broadcom and Sophos carefully for fit rather than assuming they are best-in-class” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“My Pick for Most Mid-Market B2B: Sophos Intercept X edges out due to Gartner leadership, mid-market pricing, and simplicity with optional MDR.” Grok 4.1 Fast · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon InsightMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Huntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZone EDRCrowdStrike Falcon Insight vs Sophos Intercept XSentinelOne Singularity vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept XHuntress Managed EDR vs Sophos Intercept XSophos Intercept X 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.