Small business=heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
0%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 11 pointsRank 10 → 15 of 46
Microsoft · 10 categories · RankedMicrosoft Defender
59Judge labels
8First choices
4Negative labels
14 / 14Models named it
10Categories
October 2026 Edition. Every number here is derived from the raw labels under vendor table v2026-10.8, every buyer segment counted.
Best standing
2% in EDR for mid-market buyers
Rank 8 of 55 in the mid-market standing
0 of 14 models made it the first choice on the direct prompt; 0% of its 2 labels there were negative.
By buyer segmentRead the same way at every buyer size.
Small business15 of 49
0%2 labels
under the label threshold
Mid-market8 of 55
2%2 labels
under the label threshold
Enterprise7 of 47
2%2 labels
under the label threshold
In edr · each standing computed within its segment · bars are 0 to 100 · the accent bar is the product's own best reading
Standing by category
Every category where a model named Microsoft Defender for a mid-market B2B company. Share is first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts; rank is within every product named in that category.
| Category | Function | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Quadrant | Since September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endpoint detection and response | Security operations | 2% | 8 of 55 | 0% | 2 | under 10 labels · led by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint at 30% | =heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| AI SOC agents | Security operations | 2% | 21 of 104 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Dropzone AI at 24% | |
| Microsoft 365 management | IT operations and endpoint | 0% | 25 of 149 | 0% | 5 | under 10 labels · led by CoreView at 20% | |
| Endpoint protection | IT operations and endpoint | 0% | 36 of 86 | 33% | 3 | under 10 labels · led by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint at 22% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
| Cloud-native application protection | Cloud and infrastructure | 0% | 38 of 70 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Wiz at 37% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
| Identity threat detection and response | Identity and access | 0% | 56 of 105 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Huntress Managed ITDR at 51% | |
| Managed detection and response | Security operations | 0% | 53 of 67 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response at 37% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. |
| SaaS management platforms | IT operations and endpoint | 0% | 37 of 64 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Torii at 34% | |
| SaaS security posture management | Security operations | 0% | 70 of 95 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by Wing Security at 30% | |
| Threat intelligence platforms | Security operations | 0% | 94 of 119 | 0% | 1 | under 10 labels · led by MISP at 12% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. |
Movement
Since September 2026, Microsoft Defender held within the floor in all ten categories: no change cleared 11 points.
Best category · EDR · by segment
Mid-market=heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
2%from 2% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 11 pointsRank 9 → 8 of 52
Enterprise▲+2Since September 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked.
2%from 0% in September 2026
Inside the floor by 9 pointsRank 13 → 7 of 43
All categories · Mid-market
| Category | September 2026 | Now | Change | Reading | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI SOC agents | 0% | 2% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 2% now. | New this edition | Rank 21 of 104, unchanged |
| Endpoint protection | 2% | 0% | ▼−2Since September 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 13 → 36 of 86 |
| EDR | 2% | 2% | =heldSince September 2026: 2% → 2%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 9 → 8 of 55 |
| M365 management | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 25 of 149, unchanged |
| CNAPP | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 38 of 70, unchanged |
| ITDR | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 56 of 105, unchanged |
| MDR | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 53 of 67, unchanged |
| SaaS management | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 37 of 64, unchanged |
| SSPM | 0% | 0% | newNew since September 2026: not ranked then, 0% now. | New this edition | Rank 70 of 95, unchanged |
| Threat intel | 0% | 0% | =heldSince September 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise. Read over the models both editions asked. | Within noise | Rank 51 → 94 of 119 |
Shares here are read over the models both editions asked, so they can differ by a point or two from the standing above, which counts every model in this edition.
The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise, and both are shown. Movement is read over the twelve models both editions asked; GPT-6 Luna, Muse Glimmer 30B joined this edition and are in the standing but not yet in the comparison. How the floor is measured · The editions
By model
How each model treated Microsoft Defender across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.ShowHide
By model
How each model treated Microsoft Defender across every prompt where it was named for a mid-market B2B company. Fourteen models, six prompts per category.
ShowHide| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Negative | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
By framing
Which of the six questions produced the naming. By model says how often; this says asked what. The first-choice count on the right carries the marks of the models that produced it.
FramingLabels by classFirst choices
Direct5 labels1
Paraphrase6 labels1
Comparative9 labels1not counted in share
Budget-constrained14 labels5
Scale-constrained13 labels1
Negative12 labelsNone
First choiceAlternativeMentionNegative59 labels in all, every segment counted; 8 of the 9 first choices count toward share, since the comparative and negative framings do not. The bar is one segment per label class, to scale within the framing.
What the models said for it
Verbatim evidence the judge attached to positive labels.
“The best EDR platform for a company with a limited budget is Microsoft Defender if you hold E5” Llama 4 Maverick · EDR · budget prompt · first choice
“Best budget-friendly default: Microsoft Defender + Security Copilot agents” GPT-5.4 mini · AI SOC agents · budget prompt · first choice
“Offers "Cloud App Governance." It allows you to track which external applications are accessing your corporate data.” Qwen 3.7 Flash · SaaS management · budget prompt · alternative
“Microsoft Defender: Get threat prevention and detection with Microsoft Defender security capabilities.” Muse Glimmer 30B · M365 management · comparative prompt · alternative
And against it
Verbatim evidence attached to negative labels. A warning on a product with few labels is a warning; on a product with many, it is one voice among them.
“solid for basics, no extra cost), but upgrade for EDR/advanced features” Grok 4.20 · Endpoint protection · budget prompt · soft negative
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Microsoft Defender, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Microsoft Defender was named but was not.ShowHide
Named alongside
The products named in the same answers as Microsoft Defender, over the 59 answers that named it. Took the first choice instead counts the answers where the other product was the first choice and Microsoft Defender was named but was not.
ShowHideProductSame answerTook the first choice insteadHead to head
A head-to-head page exists where both products are among a category's top eight. The other rows are the same fact without a page behind them, so they link to the product instead.
What carried it into the answer
The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Microsoft Defender. A fact about retrieval, not a lever on the model.
Citations exist only for the models that return a source list, five of the fourteen in this edition, so these counts come from 52 of the 59 answers that named Microsoft Defender and are not a share of its labels.
Domains cited
g2.com19
expertinsights.com14
guideflow.com12
huntress.com12
learn.g2.com12
us.fitgap.com12
gbhackers.com11
cyberpress.org10
sentinelone.com10
microsoft.comYour site9
112 of the 121 domain citations in answers naming Microsoft Defender came from somebody else's page.
Pages cited
Pages are listed as the models cited them.
Search and answers
Where Microsoft Defender stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.ShowHide
Search and answers
Where Microsoft Defender stands in Google search beside where it stands in the models' answers.
ShowHideIn search
Google, US estimates- Searches for its name, Google
- 18,100 a month (“microsoft defender”)
- AI search demand for its name, est.
- 3,525 a month
- Its own site
- It sits on Microsoft's site (microsoft.com), so there are no site figures for it alone
In answers
This editionShare of first choices
2%
rank 8 of 55 in EDR
Segment leader
30%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
- First choices
- 8 across its categories
- Named in
- 59 answers
- Its own site cited
- in 52 of the answers that named it
Search figures are US estimates from DataForSEO, read September 28, 2026; AI search demand is its modeled, directional estimate, not a count of queries to any assistant. The answers are this edition's. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
Names read as Microsoft Defender
What the judge wrote, as written, with how often. The vendor table decides that these count as Microsoft Defender; a claim can dispute any of them.
Microsoft Defender + Intune 1Microsoft Defender + Security Copilot agents 1Microsoft Defender / E5 bundling 1Microsoft Defender / Entra ID 1Windows Defender 1
Follow Microsoft Defender
An email the morning each edition publishes: where this product moved, where it held, and by how much against the noise floor. One address, confirmed by a click; a stop link in every email.
Already following? Everything you follow, with a stop for each.
The company
Microsoft is the company behind Microsoft Defender.ShowHide
The company
Microsoft is the company behind Microsoft Defender.
ShowHideOn record
Company records- Also from Microsoft
- Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Admin Center, Microsoft 365 Administration, Microsoft 365 Backup, Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, Microsoft 365 DSC and 164 more
In its own words
Stated by the vendor, not checked- Positioning
- Професионална, винаги включена защита за вас и данните и устройствата на вашето семейство – за работа или личен живот.
- For
- отделни хора и семейства
- Price stated
- Microsoft 365 Personal 10.899 RSD godišnje; Microsoft 365 Family 13.499 RSD godišnje; Microsoft 365 Premium 24.999 RSD godišnje microsoft.com/sr-latn-rs/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals
- Starting price
- 10.899 RSD godišnje microsoft.com/sr-latn-rs/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals
- Hosting
- United States and US territories
- Not stated on the pages read
- Free plan or trial, integrations, certifications, customers
What Microsoft Defender's own pages state, read October 5, 2026: microsoft.com/bg-bg/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals, microsoft.com/sr-latn-rs/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals, microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals/identity-protection-and-prevention. A claimed page can correct any of them.
Is this your product?
Claim this page
Claiming is free and changes nothing in the data. A claimed page shows a verified contact who is told when each edition publishes and when Microsoft Defender's standing changes by more than the noise floor; the right to propose corrections to the vendor table, meaning names the judge wrote that should or should not read as Microsoft Defender, applied by version and listed in the change log; and a one-line description supplied by the vendor and marked as such.
What a new claim receivesHide what a new claim receives
A new claim receives the current edition's vendor brief for Microsoft Defender by email, built from the raw record of the edition. It shows:
- where Microsoft Defender is named, by buyer and by framing, and which cells hold its first choices;
- the claims the models make when they name it, ranked, with the strongest and the weakest quoted;
- its vocabulary against the segment leader's, and the pages the models cited;
- who was chosen in the answers that did not name Microsoft Defender, and every reason the record gives;
- a battlecard for each top rival: the head-to-head split, why they win, and the reservation quoted against them;
- one page of published figures cleared to show a buyer.