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Endpoint protection · November 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept X
Four of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; three named Sophos Intercept X. Both were named by all fourteen models and both carry 50 labels, so the shares below are directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in six categories this edition.
First-choice share23%12%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate8%12%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#4A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels5050Equal, which is what makes the shares comparable.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.CrowdStrike Falcon was named alongside these two in ten of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept X · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZone
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 EndpointFirst choices, of fourteen modelsSophos Intercept X
Direct43
Paraphrase42
Comparative20
Budget-constrained21
Scale-constrained20
Negative104 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · 6 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 Endpoint and Sophos Intercept X were named in the same answer 146 times, of the 324 answers naming Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and the 332 naming Sophos Intercept X. In those answers Sophos Intercept X took the first choice seven times and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint fifty-one.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 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 Endpoint Sophos Intercept X first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 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 Endpoint and Sophos Intercept X stood in it.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, Sophos Intercept X an alternative
4 of 14 modelsSophos Intercept X was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint
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
Sophos Intercept X first, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an alternative
3 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint 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
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Gemini 3.5 FlashSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X with MDR
Grok 4.20CrowdStrike Falcon alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Llama 4 MaverickSentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Kimi K2SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
MiniMax M2.5CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Cloud alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone, Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR, Sophos Intercept X
GPT-6 LunaSophos Endpoint with Sophos MDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Neither was named
1 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
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
Sophos Intercept X leads by five points.
Sophos Intercept X11%#2 of 13Microsoft Defender for Endpoint5%#5 of 13Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads at mid-market.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint23%#2 of 12Sophos Intercept X12%#4 of 12Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by fifty-three points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint53%#1 of 12Sophos Intercept X0%#7 of 12What the models said about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.
“While leading enterprise EDRs (CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne, Palo Alto Cortex XDR) are highly effective, you must evaluate vendor operational maturity.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Defender is usually the most natural choice because it connects closely with Intune, Entra ID, Microsoft Sentinel, and Microsoft 365 security workflows.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
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 Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZoneMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs ESET PROTECTBitdefender 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.