CrowdStrike Falcon and Microsoft Defender XDR are both Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions that offer endpoint protection and threat detection capabilities. CrowdStrike Falcon is a standalone platform, whereas Defender XDR integrates seamlessly with Microsoft security products. CrowdStrike Falcon offers customizable alert settings and machine-learning algorithms for proactive threat hunting. Microsoft Defender is highlighted for its efficient incident response system. Both products have flexible pricing options, with users noting positive ROI from both solutions.
The summary above is based on 207 interviews we conducted recently with CrowdStrike Falcon and Microsoft 365 Defender users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"Ability to get forensics details and also memory exfiltration."
"Fortinet FortiEDR's firewalling, rule creation, monitoring, and inspection profiles are great."
"he solution is an anti-malware product that integrates well with other vendor products such as firewalls, SIEM, etc. It captures threat intelligence and gives you better visibility. The product also has sandboxing features."
"The ease of deployment and configuration is valuable. It's very easy compared to other vendors like Sophos. Sophos' configuration is complex. Fortinet is a lot easier to understand. You don't need a lot of admin knowledge to do the configuration."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats."
"I like FortiClient EMS. FortiEDR has a lot of great features like lockdown mode, remote wipes, and encryption. I can set malware outbreak policies and controls for detecting abnormalities. You can also simulate phishing attacks."
"The most valuable feature is the analysis, because of the beta structure."
"We like Falcon's network visibility. We can see how threats are evolving on PCS or in the company network. The solution's real-time incident response is very fast."
"I like the vulnerability assessment and proactive hunting features of CrowdStrike Falcon."
"The initial setup is a very fast process."
"From what we have seen, it is very scalable. We have recently acquired a company where someone had a ransomware attack when we joined networks. Within the course of just a few days, we were able to easily get CrowdStrike rolled out to about 300 machines. That also included the removal of that company's legacy anti-malware tool."
"Scalability is good. We have had no issues with it."
"CrowdStrike Falcon offers a comprehensive dashboard that is highly effective in protecting against and blocking external infiltration attempts."
"Scalability hasn't been an issue for us."
"We haven't had any infections or down time."
"We are able to consolidate licences and make use of many Microsoft products using this solution. If we have any Microsoft customers, we encourage them to use this solution for enterprise defence."
"From the perspective of Microsoft 365 XDR, the main benefit is a single, centralized dashboard offering the holistic visibility organizations crave."
"The 'Incidents and Alerts' tab is a valuable feature where we can find triggered alerts."
"Scanning, vulnerability reporting, and the dashboard are the most valuable features."
"The most valuable aspect is undoubtedly the exploration capability"
"Microsoft 365 Defender is simple to upgrade."
"The best feature is threat hunting. There are a lot of other features I like, such as the alert mechanism. The chain alert mechanism has a huge impact. It combines all the alerts into one incident and automatically correlates them with AI."
"The Endpoint Manager is incredible; it has a very straightforward interface and is exceedingly easy to use. Pulling out and deploying different tags or resources is a simple task across various departments with different levels of security. The notifications are also simple and satisfying; it's great to see the bubble informing us which devices are compliant and which are waiting to update."
"FortiEDR can be improved by providing more detailed reporting."
"They can include the automation for the realtime updates. We have a network infrastructure with remote sites. Whenever they send updates, they are not automated. We have to go into the console and push those updates. I wish it was more automated. The update file is currently around 31 MB. It could be smaller."
"It takes about two business days for initial support, which is too slow in urgent situations."
"The SIEM could be improved."
"The EDR console should have more extensive reporting. You shouldn't need to purchase FortiAnalyzer. It should be included in the EDR part. The security adviser cloud platform could be improved with more options for exclusive or intensive rules for devices."
"Cannot be used on mobile devices with a secure connection."
"I would like the solution to extend beyond endpoint protection and include other attack surfaces such as other network components."
"The support needs improvement."
"They need to strengthen the forensic capabilities of this product, for e-discovery."
"There is room for improvement in managing multiple customer IDs."
"The Integration with tools, SOC tools, could be better."
"It can be expensive depending on the features you select."
"In the future release of CrowdStrike Falcon, they should add a sandbox feature."
"If CrowdStrike can further expand its support for XDR compatibility, that would give it an edge over all the other competing new products."
"Technical support could be better than what is currently offered."
"Falcon could be improved with more function on the mobile end of things and better optimization with mobile devices."
"The advanced threat-hunting capabilities are phenomenal, and the security copilot enhances that, but some data elements could be better or have more context inside of the advanced tables themselves. The schemas feel a little limited to what they're building into the product. It's probably just a maturity thing. I imagine we'll see the features I want in the next year."
"The interface could be improved. For example, if you want to do a phishing simulation for your employees, it can take a while to figure out what to do. The interface is a bit messy and could be updated. It isn't too bad, but doing some things can be a long process."
"The cost can be high if you want to build custom license packages. Another area for improvement is the policies. In Azure, we need to implement policies in JSON format, but in 365 Defender 365, it would be helpful to use a different format so we can customize the platform."
"The price could be better. It'll also help if they can continuously update and upgrade the solution. Every day there's a new virus uploaded into the network, and we have to keep updating it to identify all these things."
"The solution could improve by having better machine learning and AI. Additionally, the interface, documentation, and integration could be better."
"The solution does not offer a unified response and standard data."
"The user interface of Microsoft 365 Defender could improve. They could make it simpler."
"Advanced attacks could use an improvement."
CrowdStrike Falcon is ranked 1st in Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with 107 reviews while Microsoft Defender XDR is ranked 5th in Extended Detection and Response (XDR) with 78 reviews. CrowdStrike Falcon is rated 8.8, while Microsoft Defender XDR is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of CrowdStrike Falcon writes "Easy to set up with good behavior-based analysis but needs a single-click recovery option". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender XDR writes "Includes four services and four products, which can help organizations a lot". CrowdStrike Falcon is most compared with Darktrace, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Trend Micro Deep Security, Trend Vision One and VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, whereas Microsoft Defender XDR is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager, Wazuh, Trend Vision One and Microsoft Entra ID. See our CrowdStrike Falcon vs. Microsoft Defender XDR report.
See our list of best Extended Detection and Response (XDR) vendors and best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vendors.
We monitor all Extended Detection and Response (XDR) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.