Cybersecurity · head to head
Microsoft Defender vs Very Good Security
Microsoft Defender
Cybersecurity
Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices
- From
- $12/month
- Rated
- -
Very Good Security
Cybersecurity
Tokenisation proxy that keeps card and personal data out of your own systems and out of PCI scope
- From
- $1000/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Defender defender Suite requires existing Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing; Very Good Security vGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft Defender and Very Good Security actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Defender | Very Good Security |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $12/month | $1000/month |
| Pricing model | subscription | Per month |
| Platforms | Web | Web, API |
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 Very Good Security does not also cover.
Only in Very Good Security
- Aliasing proxy
- PCI scope reduction
- Network tokenisation
- Processor optionality
- Card issuing data
- Vault and access controls
- Data residency options
- Compliance artefacts
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft Defender
- Endpoint security and threat protectionnot Very Good Security
- Identity and access securitynot Very Good Security
- Email threat protectionnot Very Good Security
- SaaS application security monitoringnot Very Good Security
Very Good Security
- A marketplace facing its first PCI DSS Level 1 assessment that wants to keep card data off its own estate rather than harden a dozen servicesnot Microsoft Defender
- A merchant negotiating with a second acquirer that needs card credentials portable so the negotiation is real rather than theoreticalnot Microsoft Defender
- A fintech collecting bank account and identity documents that wants sensitive fields absent from logs, backups and analytics warehouses by constructionnot Microsoft Defender
- A card issuer that must display a full PAN in its own mobile app without the app or its backend touching cardholder datanot 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
Very Good Security
- VGS sits in the live path of every request carrying sensitive data, so its latency and availability become yours, and an outage in the proxy is a payment outage no matter how healthy your own systems are.
- Token portability is the whole selling point yet leaving VGS means migrating tokens back out, a project the vendor has no incentive to streamline, so the lock-in you removed from your acquirer partly moves to VGS.
- Entry pricing at around one thousand US dollars a month is real money for a pre-revenue fintech, and it buys volume-limited throughput, so cost scales with exactly the growth that made you buy it.
- Scope reduction is not scope elimination: your QSA still assesses how you integrate, and teams regularly discover that a support tool or an internal admin screen pulled plaintext back in and dragged systems into scope again.
- Proxy-based interception constrains how you design request flows, and non-standard payloads, streaming uploads or binary formats often need custom routing rules that make debugging production issues noticeably harder.
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
Very Good Security
$1000/month- Starter$1000/month
- Aliasing proxy
- Vault storage
- PCI scope reduction
- Growth$undefined/month
- Network tokenisation
- Multiple processors
- Data residency options
- Enterprise$undefined/year
- Custom vault architecture
- Dedicated support and SLA
- Contractual compliance coverage
Which should you pick?
Choose Microsoft Defender if
Nothing in the data separates Microsoft Defender from Very Good Security on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Very Good Security if
- You need aliasing proxy.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want pci scope reduction.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Defender or Very Good Security better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month and Very Good Security at $1000/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft Defender or Very Good Security?
- Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month and Very Good Security at $1000/month.
- Does Microsoft Defender or Very Good Security run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Defender runs on Web. Very Good Security runs on Web, API.
- 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 Very Good Security is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Defender do that Very Good Security cannot?
- Very Good Security covers Aliasing proxy, PCI scope reduction, Network tokenisation, Processor optionality.
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.
SourceVery Good Security: Does VGS make me PCI compliant?
No. It removes cardholder data from your systems so your assessment covers a far smaller boundary, but you still complete an assessment and your integration is part of it.
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.
SourceVery Good Security: Can I move to another processor without re-collecting cards?
Yes, that is a core reason people buy it. The vault reveals stored credentials to whichever processor you route to.
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.
SourceVery Good Security: What does it cost?
Published entry pricing is about one thousand US dollars per month; growth and enterprise tiers are quoted.
Very Good Security: Is it only for card data?
No. The proxy handles any sensitive field, including bank details, national identifiers and documents, though payments is where the product is now focused.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Defender
More on Very Good Security
Other head to heads
- Microsoft Defender vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Microsoft Defender vs Norton 360
- Microsoft Defender vs 1Password
- Microsoft Defender vs LastPass
- Microsoft Defender vs McAfee Total Protection
- Microsoft Defender vs Proofpoint
- Microsoft Defender vs CrowdStrike Falcon
- Microsoft Defender vs Avast One
- Microsoft Defender vs ESET NOD32 Antivirus
- Microsoft Defender vs Cybereason Defense Platform
- Microsoft Defender vs Fortinet FortiGate
- Microsoft Defender vs VMware Carbon Black
- Microsoft Defender vs Wireshark
- Microsoft Defender vs WorkOS
- Microsoft Defender vs Zscaler Internet Access
- Microsoft Defender vs Milestone XProtect
- Microsoft Defender vs Osano
- Microsoft Defender vs Bitdefender VPN
- Microsoft Defender vs Baffle
- Microsoft Defender vs HashiCorp Vault
- Microsoft Defender vs Feedzai
- Microsoft Defender vs Securiti
- Microsoft Defender vs Featurespace ARIC Risk Hub
- Microsoft Defender vs Varonis Data Security Platform
- Microsoft Defender vs DataGrail
- Microsoft Defender vs Transcend
- Microsoft Defender vs Doppler
- Microsoft Defender vs Tuta
- Microsoft Defender vs Delinea
- Microsoft Defender vs Envysion
- Microsoft Defender vs Frontegg
- Microsoft Defender vs HashiCorp Boundary
- Very Good Security vs Bitdefender Total Security
- Very Good Security vs Norton 360
- Very Good Security vs 1Password
- Very Good Security vs LastPass
- Very Good Security vs McAfee Total Protection
- Very Good Security vs Proofpoint
- Very Good Security vs CrowdStrike Falcon
- Very Good Security vs Avast One
- Very Good Security vs ESET NOD32 Antivirus
- Very Good Security vs Cybereason Defense Platform
- Very Good Security vs Fortinet FortiGate
- Very Good Security vs VMware Carbon Black
- Very Good Security vs Wireshark
- Very Good Security vs WorkOS
- Very Good Security vs Zscaler Internet Access
- Very Good Security vs Milestone XProtect
- Very Good Security vs Osano
- Very Good Security vs Bitdefender VPN
- Very Good Security vs Baffle
- Very Good Security vs HashiCorp Vault
- Very Good Security vs Feedzai
- Very Good Security vs Securiti
- Very Good Security vs Featurespace ARIC Risk Hub
- Very Good Security vs Varonis Data Security Platform
- Very Good Security vs DataGrail
- Very Good Security vs Transcend
- Very Good Security vs Doppler
- Very Good Security vs Tuta
- Very Good Security vs Delinea
- Very Good Security vs Envysion
- Very Good Security vs Frontegg
- Very Good Security vs HashiCorp Boundary