Cybersecurity · head to head
Microsoft Defender vs Quantexa
Microsoft Defender
Cybersecurity
Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices
- From
- $12/month
- Rated
- -
Quantexa
Cybersecurity
Entity resolution and network analytics for financial crime investigation
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Defender defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing; Quantexa pricing is never published and lands in the seven figure range annually for a tier one deployment, so it is out of reach for mid-sized institutions no matter how well the analytics would fit.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Defender and Quantexa actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Defender | Quantexa |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $12/month | On request |
| Pricing model | subscription | quote |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Linux |
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
Nothing recorded that Quantexa does not also cover.
Only in Quantexa
- Entity resolution
- Network generation
- Contextual monitoring
- Investigation workspace
- Data fusion
- Deployment on customer cloud
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft Defender
- Endpoint security and threat protectionnot Quantexa
- Identity and access securitynot Quantexa
- Email threat protectionnot Quantexa
- SaaS application security monitoringnot Quantexa
Quantexa
- A bank whose AML alert backlog is dominated by false positives and wants network context to close them fasternot Microsoft Defender
- Sanctions investigation where the sanctioned party is not the account holder but a connected director or shareholdernot Microsoft Defender
- Merging customer records across retail, commercial and wealth divisions after an acquisition to see total exposurenot Microsoft Defender
- A tax or benefits agency looking for organised fraud rings rather than individual claimantsnot Microsoft Defender
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Quantexa
- Pricing is never published and lands in the seven figure range annually for a tier one deployment, so it is out of reach for mid-sized institutions no matter how well the analytics would fit.
- Output quality is bounded by input data quality, and organisations without governed customer data spend the first phase of the programme fixing feeds rather than catching criminals.
- Implementation typically requires a systems integrator and runs into quarters rather than weeks, so the business case has to survive a long period with no operational benefit.
- The platform augments rather than replaces existing transaction monitoring, so you keep paying for the incumbent system alongside it and total compliance technology spend rises before it falls.
- Skills are scarce; the platform needs people who understand both Spark scale data engineering and financial crime typologies, and those people are hard to recruit and easy to lose.
Pricing, plan by plan
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$2/month
- Vulnerability scanning and management
- One-month free trial available
- Annual commitment required
Quantexa
On request- Quantexa Platform$undefined/year
- Entity resolution and network generation
- Deployed in customer cloud tenancy
- Priced by data volume and use case count
Which should you pick?
Choose Microsoft Defender if
Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Defender from Quantexa on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Quantexa if
- You need entity resolution.
- You work on Web, Linux.
- You also want network generation.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Defender or Quantexa better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month and Quantexa at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Defender or Quantexa?
- Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month and Quantexa at On request.
- Does Microsoft Defender or Quantexa run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Defender runs on Web. Quantexa runs on Web, Linux.
- What is Microsoft Defender best used for?
- Microsoft Defender is most often used for endpoint security and threat protection, identity and access security, email threat protection, saas application security monitoring. Of those, endpoint security and threat protection and identity and access security are not what Quantexa is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Defender do that Quantexa cannot?
- Quantexa covers Entity resolution, Network generation, Contextual monitoring, Investigation workspace.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
SourceQuantexa: Does Quantexa replace our transaction monitoring system?
No. It usually sits alongside it, adding network context to the alerts that system generates and to investigations.
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.
SourceQuantexa: Where does our data go?
Into your own cloud tenancy in the normal deployment model. Quantexa does not require you to send customer data to a shared multi-tenant service.
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.
SourceQuantexa: How is it priced?
Not publicly. Expect an annual subscription scaled by data volume and number of use cases, plus separate implementation cost.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Defender
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