Microsoft Defendervs
1Password
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Microsoft Defender
Always-on protection for you and your family's data and devices
As of 29 August 2026, Microsoft Defender starts at $12/month. Microsoft's antivirus and threat protection, bundled free into Windows and sold as paid add-ons for individuals and businesses. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity.
Overview
What Microsoft Defender does
Microsoft's antivirus and threat protection, bundled free into Windows and sold as paid add-ons for individuals and businesses.
What people use it for
- Endpoint security and threat protection
- Identity and access security
- Email threat protection
- SaaS application security monitoring
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Microsoft Defender
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Microsoft DefendervsBitdefender Total Security
Bitdefender Total Security: The world's #1 rated antivirus
- Microsoft DefendervsLastPass
LastPass: Simplify online life with LastPass password manager
- Microsoft DefendervsNorton 360
Norton 360: Powerful protection against evolving threats
Pricing
What Microsoft Defender costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Microsoft Defender Suite
$12 /mo
- Endpoint protection
- Identity threat detection
- Email security
- SaaS application monitoring
- Requires Microsoft 365 E3 or equivalent base licensing
Microsoft 365 E5 with Defender
$60 /mo
- Includes Defender Suite
- Microsoft Teams included
- Comprehensive security and compliance
- Advanced analytics
- AI capabilities
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Add-on
$2 /mo
- Vulnerability scanning and management
- One-month free trial available
- Annual commitment required
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceIs 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.
SourceKeep looking
Where to go from Microsoft Defender
- Microsoft Defender alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Microsoft Defender pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Microsoft Defender badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Cybersecurity softwareThe full category
- Best Cybersecurity softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Cybersecurity software for
Compare Microsoft Defender with
- Bitdefender Total Security
- Norton 360
- 1Password
- LastPass
- McAfee Total Protection
- Proofpoint
- CrowdStrike Falcon
- Avast One
- ESET NOD32 Antivirus
- Cybereason Defense Platform
- Fortinet FortiGate
- VMware Carbon Black
- Wireshark
- WorkOS
- Zscaler Internet Access
- Milestone XProtect
- Osano
- Bitdefender VPN
Other Cybersecurity software
Email security and data protection suite from a private company owned by Thoma Bravo, licensed per user with modules sold separately.
From $6/mo14 researched notesStop breaches with AI-native cybersecurity
Free, then $7.99/device/month12 researched notesAI-driven endpoint protection and detection
From $50/yr11 researched notesNext-generation firewall with AI-powered threat protection
From $500/yr10 researched notesCloud-delivered endpoint protection and EDR, now owned by Broadcom and positioned alongside Symantec.
14 researched notesDeveloper platform for enterprise-ready authentication and identity.
From $125/one-time per connection13 researched notesOpen platform video management software with perpetual per-device licences
Free, then $109/one-time12 researched notesConsent management and data privacy platform with a published self-serve tier
Free, then $199/mo12 researched notesConsumer VPN sold by Bitdefender that runs on network infrastructure licensed from a third party rather than its own.
14 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Microsoft Defender, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Microsoft Defender pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Microsoft Defender
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Microsoft Defender badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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