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Developer Tools · head to head

Hookdeck vs Microsoft Defender

Hookdeck logo

Hookdeck

Developer Tools

Event gateway that receives, queues, retries and replays inbound webhooks

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft Defender logo

Microsoft Defender

Cybersecurity

Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices

From
$12/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hookdeck has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Hookdeck pricing meters delivered events, so fan-out multiplies the bill: one inbound event routed to four services counts as four deliveries.; Microsoft Defender defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hookdeck and Microsoft Defender actually diverge.

Attributes where Hookdeck and Microsoft Defender differ
AttributeHookdeckMicrosoft Defender
Starting priceFree$12/month
Pricing modelPer month by delivered event countsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, WindowsWeb
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Hookdeck

  • Ingest and persist
  • Automatic retries
  • Filters and fan-out
  • Transformations
  • Local development CLI
  • Rate limiting

Only in Microsoft Defender

Nothing recorded that Hookdeck does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Hookdeck

  • A payments integration where losing a Stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfillednot Microsoft Defender
  • Fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separatelynot Microsoft Defender
  • Debugging a partner integration by replaying the exact failing payload after shipping a fixnot Microsoft Defender
  • Receiving production-shaped webhooks on a developer laptop without running a public tunnelnot Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender

  • Endpoint security and threat protectionnot Hookdeck
  • Identity and access securitynot Hookdeck
  • Email threat protectionnot Hookdeck
  • SaaS application security monitoringnot Hookdeck

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Hookdeck

  • Pricing meters delivered events, so fan-out multiplies the bill: one inbound event routed to four services counts as four deliveries.
  • Free-tier retention is three days, which is shorter than the time it typically takes to notice a failing integration, so the payloads needed for a replay are often already gone.
  • It becomes a single point of failure in front of every third-party integration, and an outage there means every provider webhook queues or fails at once.
  • The transformation layer runs JavaScript in a constrained environment, so anything that needs a database lookup or an external call has to happen downstream instead.
  • For a team already running Kafka or SQS the value is mostly the console and the replay UI, which is a hard cost to justify against infrastructure they already operate.

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

Hookdeck

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Up to ten thousand events per month
    • Three-day retention
    • One user
  • Team$39/month
    • Ten thousand events included
    • Unlimited users
    • Pay as you go metering above the included events
  • Growth$499/month
    • Ten thousand events included plus metered usage
    • Thirty-day retention
    • Uptime and latency SLAs
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Negotiated event volume
    • Custom retention
    • Dedicated support

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 Hookdeck if

  • You need ingest and persist.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want automatic retries.
Hookdeck review

Choose Microsoft Defender if

Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Defender from Hookdeck on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Microsoft Defender review

Questions people ask

Is Hookdeck or Microsoft Defender better?
Neither clearly leads. Hookdeck starts at Free and Microsoft Defender at $12/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hookdeck or Microsoft Defender?
Hookdeck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hookdeck and $12/month for Microsoft Defender.
Does Hookdeck or Microsoft Defender run on more platforms?
Hookdeck runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows. Microsoft Defender runs on Web.
Can I use Hookdeck for free?
Yes. Hookdeck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month.
What is Hookdeck best used for?
Hookdeck is most often used for a payments integration where losing a stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfilled, fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separately, debugging a partner integration by replaying the exact failing payload after shipping a fix, receiving production-shaped webhooks on a developer laptop without running a public tunnel. Of those, a payments integration where losing a stripe event during a deploy causes an order to go unfulfilled and fanning one provider webhook out to several internal services without each subscribing separately are not what Microsoft Defender is typically brought in for.
What can Hookdeck do that Microsoft Defender cannot?
Hookdeck covers Ingest and persist, Automatic retries, Filters and fan-out, Transformations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hookdeck: Is there a free plan?

Yes, ten thousand events a month with three-day retention and one user.

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.

Source
Hookdeck: How is usage counted?

By delivered events, so a single inbound webhook fanned out to three destinations counts as three.

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.

Source
Hookdeck: Can I replay a failed webhook?

Yes, individually or in bulk from the console, with the original payload.

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.

Source
Hookdeck: Does it work for outbound webhooks too?

Yes, the same queueing, retry and observability applies to webhooks you send.

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