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Endpoint detection and response · November 2026 Edition

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Huntress Managed EDR

Eight of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; two named Huntress Managed EDR. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Huntress Managed EDR by thirteen and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint carries 58 labels and Huntress Managed EDR 26, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Named in seven categories this edition.

Huntress Managed EDR

accepted challenger

Named in seven categories this edition.

First-choice share38%7%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate12%4%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#5A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels5826A count; the two differ.
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.SentinelOne Singularity was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne Singularity · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon Insight

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 detection and response 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 modelsHuntress Managed EDR
Direct82
Paraphrase70
Comparative30
Budget-constrained51
Scale-constrained11
Negative007 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · 1 against Huntress Managed EDR
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 Huntress Managed EDR were named in the same answer fifty-nine times, of the 324 answers naming Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and the 367 naming Huntress Managed EDR. In those answers Huntress Managed EDR took the first choice eight times and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint nineteen.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Huntress Managed EDR stood in it.
ModelDirectParaphraseComparativeBudget-constrainedScale-constrainedNegative
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 Huntress Managed EDR first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on the left and Huntress Managed EDR on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Huntress Managed EDR stood in it.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, Huntress Managed EDR an alternative

8 of 14 modelsHuntress Managed EDR was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Grok 4.20CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Sophos Intercept X
Mistral SmallBitdefender GravityZone EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Seceon aiXDR-PMax, Sophos Intercept X
Llama 4 MaverickMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Seceon aiXDR-PMax, Sophos Intercept X
Qwen 3.7 FlashMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Kimi K2Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity
GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity
MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Seceon aiXDR-PMax alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X

Huntress Managed EDR first, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an alternative

2 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
Perplexity SonarHuntress Managed EDR alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos MDR
DeepSeek V4 FlashHuntress Managed EDR alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity

Neither was the first choice, one was named

3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Gemini 3.5 FlashCrowdStrike, SentinelOne Singularity alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X
GPT-6 LunaCrowdStrike Falcon with Falcon Complete MDR alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity
Muse Glimmer 30BCrowdStrike Falcon Insight alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Seceon aiXDR-PMax, SentinelOne Singularity

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
Huntress Managed EDR leads by twenty-six points.
Huntress Managed EDR30%#2 of 8
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint4%#4 of 8
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads at mid-market.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint38%#1 of 10
Huntress Managed EDR7%#5 of 10
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by forty points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint40%#2 of 10
Huntress Managed EDR0%#9 of 10
The full enterprise standing →

What 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. Six of six in this category shown.

“many companies depend on a single provider like CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender or SentinelOne, and that "banking on, or consolidating services with a single provider can create downstream risk"” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · soft negative
“Unmanaged Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or basic SentinelOne deployments: Strong tools can still fail if nobody monitors and responds to alerts.” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“it's frequently called out in red team circles for bypasses using common LOLBins... Avoid as a standalone if your org has heavy custom tooling” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“If you're a Microsoft shop, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint may already be partially bundled with E5 or Business Premium licenses. At $3–$5/user/month it's often the most cost-effective starting point.” DeepSeek V4 Flash · scale prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies with limited security teams, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint or Seceon aiXDR-PMax would be the strongest starting points.” MiniMax M2.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Bitdefender GravityZone EDR are top choices due to their balance of cost, effectiveness, and ease of use” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice

What the models said about Huntress Managed EDR

Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.

“Huntress Managed EDR (Avoid if You Need Full Control)” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · hard negative
“Purpose-built for companies without SOCs. Bundles tool + humans. Often the best fit for 500-person companies.” Kimi K2 · scale prompt · first choice
Also compared

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.