Endpoint detection and response · November 2026 Edition
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept X
Eight of fourteen models named Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first on the direct prompt; one named Sophos Intercept X. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Sophos Intercept X by thirteen and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint carries 58 labels and Sophos Intercept X 34, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in seven categories this edition.
Named in six categories this edition.
First-choice share38%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate12%12%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#6A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels5834A 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 modelsSophos Intercept X
Direct81
Paraphrase70
Comparative30
Budget-constrained50
Scale-constrained10
Negative007 against Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · 4 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.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X alternatives: Bitdefender GravityZone EDR, CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint first, Sophos Intercept X an alternative
7 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 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
MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Seceon aiXDR-PMax alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 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
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
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
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by four points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint4%#4 of 8Sophos Intercept X0%#6 of 8Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by thirty-six points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint38%#1 of 10Sophos Intercept X2%#6 of 10Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint leads by forty points.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint40%#2 of 10Sophos Intercept X0%#8 of 10What 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 Sophos Intercept X
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Two of two in this category shown.
“Sophos is often criticized for failing to keep pace with modern, cloud-native EDR standards” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Some models have highlighted system stability risks and DoS vulnerabilities associated with Sophos Intercept X.” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · soft negative
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike Falcon InsightMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Huntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZone EDRMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept XSentinelOne Singularity vs Sophos Intercept XCrowdStrike Falcon Insight vs Sophos Intercept XHuntress Managed EDR vs Sophos Intercept XSophos Intercept X vs Bitdefender GravityZone EDRAll twenty-one head-to-head pages and the full EDR 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.