Cybersecurity · head to head
Microsoft Defender vs Spacelift
Microsoft Defender
Cybersecurity
Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices
- From
- $12/month
- Free plan
- No
Spacelift
Developer Tools
Infrastructure-as-code orchestration for Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi and Kubernetes
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Only Spacelift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Defender defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing; Spacelift users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Defender and Spacelift actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Defender | Spacelift |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $12/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | By private worker and tier, not by user |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Self-hosted, Cloud |
| Category | Cybersecurity | Developer Tools |
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 Microsoft Defender
Nothing recorded that Spacelift does not also cover.
Only in Spacelift
- Multi-tool orchestration
- Policy as code
- Private workers
- Spaces
- Blueprints
- Drift detection
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft Defender
- Endpoint security and threat protectionnot Spacelift
- Identity and access securitynot Spacelift
- Email threat protectionnot Spacelift
- SaaS application security monitoringnot Spacelift
Spacelift
- Platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application CInot Microsoft Defender
- Organisations standardising Terraform and OpenTofu across many teams with policy enforcementnot Microsoft Defender
- Estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the networknot Microsoft Defender
- Teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alonenot 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
Spacelift
- Users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
- There is no affordable paid entry point. The free tier stops at two users and the next tier is a five-figure commitment with nothing in between.
- Three of the five tiers are quote-only, so a shortlist cannot be costed without entering a sales process with each vendor on it.
- The self-hosted build lags the hosted one, has no public worker pool and lacks the Azure and Google Cloud integrations available in the SaaS product, with OIDC federation offered as the workaround.
- Stacks, Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and Spacelift-managed state are proprietary constructs, so leaving means rebuilding the orchestration layer rather than pointing it at a different runner.
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$2/month
- Vulnerability scanning and management
- One-month free trial available
- Annual commitment required
Spacelift
Free- FreeFree
- Two users
- Public workers only
- No private workers
- Starter Plus$undefined/year
- Unlimited users
- Two public workers
- One to two private workers
- Business$undefined/year
- Unlimited users
- Three private workers
- Quoted
- Enterprise$undefined/year
- Unlimited users
- Five to thirty private workers
- Self-hosted option
Which should you pick?
Choose Microsoft Defender if
Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Defender from Spacelift on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Spacelift if
- You need multi-tool orchestration.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
- You also want policy as code.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Defender or Spacelift better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month and Spacelift at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Defender or Spacelift?
- Spacelift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $12/month for Microsoft Defender and Free for Spacelift.
- Does Microsoft Defender or Spacelift run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Defender runs on Web. Spacelift runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
- Can I use Spacelift for free?
- Yes. Spacelift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month.
- 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 Spacelift is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Defender do that Spacelift cannot?
- Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Policy as code, Private workers, Spaces.
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.
SourceSpacelift: How is Spacelift priced?
By tier and by private worker count rather than per user. Users are unlimited on every paid plan. The published figure on the pricing page carries no period label, and the FAQ describes the tier as an annual subscription, so confirm the period in writing.
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.
SourceSpacelift: Does it support OpenTofu?
Yes, and Spacelift sponsors the OpenTofu project, which is a substantive hedge for anyone avoiding Terraform under the Business Source Licence.
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.
SourceSpacelift: Is there a self-hosted version?
Yes, described as carrying Enterprise functionality, but it is priced on request and lags the hosted product on cloud integrations.
Spacelift: Why not just use the CI system we already have?
That is the real comparison. General purpose CI handles state, drift, approval gates and concurrency control for infrastructure poorly, and whether that is worth a five-figure floor depends on how much infrastructure change your organisation actually ships.
Spacelift: What happens to our pipelines if we leave?
They do not port. Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and managed state are Spacelift constructs and the orchestration has to be rebuilt elsewhere.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Defender
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