Extended detection and response · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender XDR vs CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Five of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender XDR first on the direct prompt; one named CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR. Both were named by all fourteen models and Microsoft Defender XDR carries 61 labels and CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR 62, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share40%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%27%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#3A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels6162A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Defender XDR reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Sophos Intercept X was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender XDR vs Sophos Intercept X · Microsoft Defender XDR vs SentinelOne Singularity · Microsoft Defender XDR vs Stellar Cyber Open XDR
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 extended 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 XDRFirst choices, of fourteen modelsCrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Direct513 against CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Paraphrase654 against CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Comparative45
Budget-constrained803 against CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Scale-constrained20
Negative019 against Microsoft Defender XDR · 7 against CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
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 XDR and CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR were named in the same answer 139 times, of the 201 answers naming Microsoft Defender XDR and the 178 naming CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR. In those answers CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR took the first choice eighteen times and Microsoft Defender XDR forty-three.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender XDR and CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR 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 XDR CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender XDR on the left and CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender XDR and CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.GPT-5.4 miniCrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Microsoft Defender XDR alternatives: Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR
Microsoft Defender XDR first, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR an alternative
4 of 14 modelsCrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.1 FastMicrosoft Defender XDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender XDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender XDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Sophos Intercept X
GPT-6 LunaMicrosoft Defender XDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR
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.Claude Haiku 4.5Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Microsoft Defender XDR, Rapid7 InsightIDR, SentinelOne Singularity
DeepSeek V4 FlashSophos Intercept X alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR, Microsoft Defender XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Stellar Cyber Open XDR
Llama 4 MaverickSophos Intercept X, Stellar Cyber Open XDR alternatives: Microsoft Defender XDR
Qwen 3.7 FlashSophos Intercept X alternatives: Microsoft Defender XDR, SentinelOne Singularity
Muse Glimmer 30BSophos Intercept X, Stellar Cyber Open XDR alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone XDR, Microsoft Defender XDR, Ontinue
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Gemini 3.5 FlashSophos Intercept X, Sophos MDR alternatives: Cynet 360 Auto XDR, Microsoft Defender for Business / Defender XDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Stellar Cyber Open XDR
Perplexity SonarSophos Intercept X alternatives: SentinelOne Singularity, Stellar Cyber Open XDR
Mistral SmallSophos Intercept X alternatives: Stellar Cyber Open XDR
Kimi K2SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
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 XDR leads by twenty-one points.
Microsoft Defender XDR25%#1 of 11CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR4%#8 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender XDR leads by twenty-nine points.
Microsoft Defender XDR40%#1 of 10CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR12%#3 of 10Enterprise
Microsoft Defender XDR leads by eight points.
Microsoft Defender XDR44%#1 of 8CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR36%#2 of 8What the models said about Microsoft Defender XDR
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“it is recommended to avoid buying into the full enterprise-grade Microsoft Defender XDR” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · hard negative
“Microsoft documents that some Defender TVM tables are not ingested into Microsoft Sentinel, so queries can behave differently across platforms.” GPT-5.4 mini · negative prompt · soft negative
“its correlation capabilities deteriorate significantly if your environment isn't fully integrated into the Microsoft 365 and Azure ecosystem” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Microsoft Defender XDR is the most cost-effective entry into enterprise-grade XDR for organizations already running Microsoft 365.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“I'd recommend starting with Microsoft Defender XDR if you're already in the Microsoft ecosystem, or CrowdStrike Falcon” MiniMax M2.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“For a company on a tight budget, the best value is usually Microsoft Defender—especially if you already use Microsoft 365.” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Avoid / be cautious if you have low tolerance for kernel-level risk, need predictable per-endpoint pricing, or have a junior SOC that can’t absorb a steep UI.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Do not buy a "DIY" XDR platform (like raw CrowdStrike Falcon or Palo Alto Cortex XDR) unless you have at least 2–3 dedicated, certified security analysts” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · soft negative
“modular pricing accumulates quickly across the XDR surface and Falcon sensor deployment is required for full XDR data fidelity on endpoints.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“CrowdStrike Falcon: Best for SMBs and mid-market organizations that want strong prevention-first endpoint protection with low system impact” Llama 4 Maverick · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“or CrowdStrike Falcon if you want best-in-class endpoint detection with flexibility. Both have strong B2B use cases” MiniMax M2.5 · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Microsoft Defender XDR for Microsoft-centric companies, otherwise CrowdStrike Falcon XDR.” GPT-5.4 mini · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Defender XDR vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender XDR vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender XDR vs Stellar Cyber Open XDRSophos Intercept X vs CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDRCrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR vs SentinelOne SingularityCrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR vs Stellar Cyber Open XDRAll ten head-to-head pages and the full XDR 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.