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Cybersecurity · head to head

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Varonis Data Security Platform

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint logo

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Cybersecurity

Enterprise endpoint security built into Microsoft 365

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Varonis Data Security Platform logo

Varonis Data Security Platform

Cybersecurity

Data security platform that maps effective permissions, content classification and access activity across file shares, Microsoft 365 and SaaS.

From
$100/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing not published on public websites; quote required from Microsoft sales; Varonis Data Security Platform deployment is a project rather than an installation: collectors, service accounts, the initial crawl of a large file estate and behavioural baselining typically run for weeks to months before the first genuinely useful report, so value arrives well after the invoice does.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint covers Threat & vulnerability management, Varonis Data Security Platform covers Effective permissions modelling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Varonis Data Security Platform actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Varonis Data Security Platform differ
AttributeMicrosoft Defender for EndpointVaronis Data Security Platform
Starting priceOn request$100/year
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, Desktop
Founded19752005

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 Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

  • Threat & vulnerability management
  • Attack surface reduction
  • Next-gen protection
  • EDR
  • Auto investigation
  • Microsoft Threat Experts
  • Threat analytics
  • Secure score

Only in Varonis Data Security Platform

  • Effective permissions modelling
  • Content classification
  • Access activity auditing
  • Behavioural alerting
  • Blast radius view
  • Automated remediation
  • Stale data identification
  • Ransomware detection

What people use each for

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

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

  • Enterprise endpoint security across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS via Plans 1 or 2not Varonis Data Security Platform
  • Small and medium-sized businesses using Microsoft Defender for Business as alternativenot Varonis Data Security Platform
  • Organisations using Microsoft 365 E5 which includes Defender for Endpoint Plan 2not Varonis Data Security Platform

Varonis Data Security Platform

  • Answering an auditor or a board asking exactly which sensitive files are reachable by every employee and who has opened themnot Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
  • Cleaning up Microsoft 365 sprawl where Teams, SharePoint sites and shared links accumulated faster than governancenot Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
  • Investigating an insider incident where you need a defensible record of what a departing employee accessed and whennot Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
  • Reducing the blast radius of a compromised account before an incident by removing global access groups and broken inheritancenot Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Where each one falls short

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

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

  • Pricing not published on public websites; quote required from Microsoft sales
  • Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 and Plan 2 do not include server licenses; additional licensing required for server protection
  • Specific feature differences between Plan 1 and Plan 2 require consulting Microsoft documentation

Varonis Data Security Platform

  • Deployment is a project rather than an installation: collectors, service accounts, the initial crawl of a large file estate and behavioural baselining typically run for weeks to months before the first genuinely useful report, so value arrives well after the invoice does.
  • The collection model requires granting the platform broad read access across the data you are trying to protect, which needs its own approval and creates a high-value target, and some change boards spend longer approving that access than approving the purchase.
  • Findings are produced far faster than remediation capacity: an initial scan routinely surfaces hundreds of thousands of overexposed objects, and fixing them means altering permissions owned by business units, so without an executive mandate it becomes a dashboard nobody acts on.
  • Licensing is driven by identity counts and connected data sources, so a directory full of stale accounts and service principals inflates the bill and every additional platform you connect adds cost, which quietly pushes organisations to leave their least-governed systems uncovered.
  • Coverage is deepest in the Microsoft estate and thinner elsewhere: connectors exist for other SaaS and database platforms but they do not all support the same classification, alerting and automated remediation, so a heterogeneous estate receives uneven protection at a uniform price.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint review.

Varonis Data Security Platform

$100/year
  • Varonis Essentials$100/year
    • Data classification
    • Access visibility
    • Permission management
  • Varonis Professional$175/year
    • All Essentials features
    • Threat detection
    • User behavior analytics
  • Varonis Enterprise$300/year
    • All Professional features
    • Advanced analytics
    • Incident response

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Defender for Endpoint if

  • You need threat & vulnerability management.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want attack surface reduction.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint review

Choose Varonis Data Security Platform if

  • You need effective permissions modelling.
  • You work on Web, Desktop.
  • You also want content classification.
Varonis Data Security Platform review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Varonis Data Security Platform better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint starts at On request and Varonis Data Security Platform at $100/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Varonis Data Security Platform?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint starts at On request and Varonis Data Security Platform at $100/year.
Does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Varonis Data Security Platform run on more platforms?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Varonis Data Security Platform runs on Web, Desktop.
What is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint best used for?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most often used for enterprise endpoint security across windows, macos, linux, android, and ios via plans 1 or 2, small and medium-sized businesses using microsoft defender for business as alternative, organisations using microsoft 365 e5 which includes defender for endpoint plan 2. Of those, enterprise endpoint security across windows, macos, linux, android, and ios via plans 1 or 2 and small and medium-sized businesses using microsoft defender for business as alternative are not what Varonis Data Security Platform is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Defender for Endpoint do that Varonis Data Security Platform cannot?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint covers Threat & vulnerability management, Attack surface reduction, Next-gen protection, EDR. Varonis Data Security Platform covers Effective permissions modelling, Content classification, Access activity auditing, Behavioural alerting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint: How is Microsoft Defender for Endpoint priced?

Defender for Endpoint is bundled into Microsoft 365 enterprise subscriptions. Plan 1 is included in Microsoft 365 E3, and Plan 2 is included in Microsoft 365 E5. Individual pricing is not published separately.

Source
Varonis Data Security Platform: Is this data loss prevention?

No, and it is a common confusion. DLP watches data in motion and tries to stop it leaving. Varonis works on data at rest: where it is, who can reach it, and who touched it. They address different halves of the same problem and organisations frequently run both.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint: Does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offer a trial?

Yes. A free trial is available for prospective customers to test the product before committing to a subscription.

Source
Varonis Data Security Platform: On-premises or SaaS?

It is now sold principally as SaaS, with edge collectors deployed on your network to reach on-premises file shares and directories. Older on-premises deployments with Windows collectors and SQL Server still exist in the field and are being migrated.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint: What is the difference between Plan 1 and Plan 2?

Plan 1 (in E3) includes unified security tools, device controls, network protection, firewall, web/URL controls, APIs, SIEM connectors, and app controls. Plan 2 (in E5) adds endpoint detection and response, deception techniques, automatic attack disruption, exposure management, and threat intelligence.

Source
Varonis Data Security Platform: Does it need agents on every server?

Generally no. It collects through APIs and network protocols with service accounts, with collectors deployed near the data rather than agents on every host. That is one reason deployment is less invasive than the scale of the data suggests.

Varonis Data Security Platform: How long until it is useful?

Expect weeks to a few months depending on the size of the file estate and how quickly the service accounts and access are approved. The classification and behavioural baselining both need time before the alerts mean anything.

Varonis Data Security Platform: Can it fix the problems it finds automatically?

Yes, it can remove global access groups, repair broken inheritance and quarantine exposed files under policy. Most organisations run this in simulation first, because automatically changing permissions on live business data goes wrong loudly.

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