Cybersecurity · head to head
Delinea vs Microsoft Defender
Delinea
Cybersecurity
Privileged access management from the merged Thycotic and Centrify
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
Microsoft Defender
Cybersecurity
Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices
- From
- $12/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Delinea the Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.; Microsoft Defender defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Delinea and Microsoft Defender actually diverge.
| Attribute | Delinea | Microsoft Defender |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | On request | $12/month |
| Pricing model | quote | subscription |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, Linux, macOS | Web |
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Delinea
- Secret Server
- Privileged session recording
- Privilege Manager
- Server PAM
- Discovery
- DevOps secrets
- Behaviour analytics
Only in Microsoft Defender
Nothing recorded that Delinea does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Delinea
- An organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotatednot Microsoft Defender
- A mid-market IT team that abandoned a heavier PAM rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeksnot Microsoft Defender
- A company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incidentnot Microsoft Defender
- An audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractorsnot Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender
- Endpoint security and threat protectionnot Delinea
- Identity and access securitynot Delinea
- Email threat protectionnot Delinea
- SaaS application security monitoringnot Delinea
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Delinea
- The Thycotic and Centrify lineages are integrated unevenly, so buying the full portfolio means running consoles and agents that do not share one administrative model as cleanly as the marketing suggests.
- Modules are licensed separately by different units, per privileged user for the vault and per endpoint for privilege management, which makes total cost hard to model and easy to underestimate at scale.
- Delinea does not publish rates, so buyers benchmark against third party and public sector listings; expect list prices to be negotiable by a wide margin, which means the first quote is not the price.
- Thoma Bravo ownership since 2021 has coincided with firmer renewal pricing, and buyers with a single-vendor PAM estate have little leverage once credentials are inside the vault.
- Migrating out of a privileged access vault is a genuinely hard project because every automated process that fetches a secret has to be repointed, so the switching cost is real and the vendor knows it.
Microsoft Defender
- Defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing
- Some Defender products use pay-as-you-go pricing with variable costs
- Prices vary based on Microsoft agreements, requiring sales contact for custom quotes
Pricing, plan by plan
Delinea
On request- Secret Server$undefined/year
- Priced per privileged user, tiered by edition
- Cloud or on premises deployment
- Session recording in higher editions
- Privilege Manager$undefined/year
- Priced per endpoint
- Local admin rights removal and application elevation
- Licensed separately from Secret Server
- Server PAM$undefined/year
- Priced per managed server or per privileged user
- Just-in-time server access
- Licensed separately
Microsoft Defender
$12/month- Microsoft Defender Suite$12/month
- Endpoint protection
- Identity threat detection
- Email security
- Microsoft 365 E5 with Defender$60/month
- Includes Defender Suite
- Microsoft Teams included
- Comprehensive security and compliance
- Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Add-on$2/month
- Vulnerability scanning and management
- One-month free trial available
- Annual commitment required
Which should you pick?
Choose Delinea if
- You need secret server.
- You work on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS.
- You also want privileged session recording.
Choose Microsoft Defender if
Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Defender from Delinea on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Delinea or Microsoft Defender better?
- Neither clearly leads. Delinea starts at On request and Microsoft Defender at $12/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Delinea or Microsoft Defender?
- Delinea starts at On request and Microsoft Defender at $12/month.
- Does Delinea or Microsoft Defender run on more platforms?
- Delinea runs on Web, Windows, Linux, macOS. Microsoft Defender runs on Web.
- What is Delinea best used for?
- Delinea is most often used for an organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotated, a mid-market it team that abandoned a heavier pam rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeks, a company removing local administrator rights from every workstation after a ransomware incident, an audit finding that shared service account passwords are stored in a spreadsheet and used by contractors. Of those, an organisation whose cyber insurer now requires privileged credentials to be vaulted and rotated and a mid-market it team that abandoned a heavier pam rollout and needs a vault that can be in production in weeks are not what Microsoft Defender is typically brought in for.
- What can Delinea do that Microsoft Defender cannot?
- Delinea covers Secret Server, Privileged session recording, Privilege Manager, Server PAM.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Delinea: Is Delinea the same as Thycotic?
Delinea is the merged company formed from Thycotic and Centrify in 2021. Secret Server is the former Thycotic product; the server access products come from Centrify.
Microsoft Defender: How much does Microsoft Defender Suite cost?
Microsoft Defender Suite costs $12/user/month (paid yearly), but requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing. It includes endpoint protection, identity threat detection, email security, and SaaS application monitoring.
SourceDelinea: Is pricing published?
Not by Delinea. Public sector frameworks have listed Secret Server Cloud around 348 GBP per user per year, which is a reference point, not a quote.
Microsoft Defender: What add-ons are available for Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Add-on costs $2/user/month with annual commitment and includes a one-month free trial. Additional pay-as-you-go products include External Attack Surface Management, Cloud Security Posture Management, and Sentinel.
SourceDelinea: Does one licence cover endpoints and servers?
No. Secret Server, Privilege Manager and Server PAM are separately licensed on different units. Scope all three if your requirement spans them.
Microsoft Defender: Is Defender included in Microsoft 365 E5?
Yes, Microsoft Defender Suite is included in Microsoft 365 E5 at $60/user/month (paid yearly with Teams). Prices may vary based on Microsoft agreements, requiring contact with Sales for customized quotes.
SourceRelated pages
More on Microsoft Defender
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