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Endpoint protection · November 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept X
One of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Cloud first on the direct prompt; three named Sophos Intercept X. Microsoft Defender for Cloud was named by twelve of the fourteen models and Sophos Intercept X by fourteen and Microsoft Defender for Cloud carries 16 labels and Sophos Intercept X 50, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in fifteen categories this edition.
Named in six categories this edition.
First-choice share25%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%12%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#4A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels1650A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Defender for Cloud reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Bitdefender GravityZone · Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs SentinelOne Singularity
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the endpoint protection page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Microsoft Defender for CloudFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSophos Intercept X
Direct13
Paraphrase52
Comparative00
Budget-constrained71
Scale-constrained00
Negative006 against Sophos Intercept X
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the November 2026 Edition, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Sophos Intercept X were named in the same answer eighty-four times, of the 719 answers naming Microsoft Defender for Cloud and the 332 naming Sophos Intercept X. In those answers Sophos Intercept X took the first choice five times and Microsoft Defender for Cloud fifty-six.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Sophos Intercept X stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | | ||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | | | |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | ||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | ||
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | ||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Sophos Intercept X first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Cloud on the left and Sophos Intercept X on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Sophos Intercept X stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud first, Sophos Intercept X an alternative
1 of 14 modelsSophos Intercept X was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.MiniMax M2.5CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Cloud alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Intercept X first, Microsoft Defender for Cloud not the choice
3 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Cloud was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Perplexity SonarSophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Qwen 3.7 FlashSophos Intercept X alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint
GLM 4.7 FlashXSophos Intercept X alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Neither was the first choice, one was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Grok 4.20CrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Mistral SmallCrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Sophos Intercept X
DeepSeek V4 FlashMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Muse Glimmer 30BMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint
Gemini 3.5 FlashSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X with MDR
Llama 4 MaverickSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Kimi K2SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
GPT-6 LunaSophos Endpoint with Sophos MDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by thirty-eight points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%#1 of 13Sophos Intercept X11%#2 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Cloud leads by thirteen points.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud25%#1 of 12Sophos Intercept X12%#4 of 12Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud0%#– of 12Sophos Intercept X0%#7 of 12What the models said about Microsoft Defender for Cloud
No label in this category carried a quote.
What the models said about Sophos Intercept X
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“Both could allow arbitrary code execution” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Users report significant performance issues, including slow system performance on older hardware, high resource usage, and a steep learning curve” Mistral Small · negative prompt · soft negative
“Primary Recommendation: Sophos Intercept X - Best balance of features, pricing, and management” GLM 4.7 FlashX · direct prompt · first choice
“For most small businesses, Sophos Intercept X and ESET PROTECT are the best value options” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Bitdefender GravityZoneMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs ESET PROTECTMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept XBitdefender GravityZone vs Sophos Intercept XSophos Intercept X vs SentinelOne SingularitySophos Intercept X vs CrowdStrike FalconSophos Intercept X vs ESET PROTECTAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full endpoint protection standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.