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Vulnerability management platforms · November 2026 Edition

Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

Four of fourteen models named Tenable Vulnerability Management first on the direct prompt; zero named Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management. Tenable Vulnerability Management was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management by thirteen and Tenable Vulnerability Management carries 60 labels and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management 31, so the shares are not directly comparable.

Named in seven categories this edition.

Named in one category this edition.

First-choice share19%6%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate15%10%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#5A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels6031A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Tenable Vulnerability Management reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Rapid7 InsightVM was named alongside these two in twelve of the fourteen direct answers. Rapid7 InsightVM vs Tenable Vulnerability Management · Rapid7 InsightVM vs Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management · Tenable Vulnerability Management vs Qualys VMDR

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 vulnerability management platforms page.

By framing

How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Tenable Vulnerability ManagementFirst choices, of fourteen modelsMicrosoft Defender Vulnerability Management
Direct401 against Tenable Vulnerability Management
Paraphrase40
Comparative110
Budget-constrained132 against Tenable Vulnerability Management
Scale-constrained101 against Tenable Vulnerability Management
Negative205 against Tenable Vulnerability Management · 3 against Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management
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, Tenable Vulnerability Management and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management were named in the same answer eighty-three times, of the 196 answers naming Tenable Vulnerability Management and the 104 naming Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management. In those answers Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management took the first choice thirteen times and Tenable Vulnerability Management thirty-six.

Every model, every framing

The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Tenable Vulnerability Management and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management 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
Tenable Vulnerability Management Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Tenable Vulnerability Management on the left and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management on the right.

The direct prompt

The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Tenable Vulnerability Management and Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management stood in it.

Tenable Vulnerability Management first, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management an alternative

4 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Defender Vulnerability Management was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.
GPT-5.4 miniTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: CrowdStrike, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Wiz
Grok 4.20Tenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management, ESET Vulnerability & Patch Mgmt, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Syxsense
Mistral SmallTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: Intruder, ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Qualys VMDR
GPT-6 LunaTenable Vulnerability Management alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM

Neither was the first choice, one was named

8 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.
Gemini 3.5 FlashRapid7 InsightVM, Wiz alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Orca Security, Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Perplexity SonarRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Vicarius vRx, Wiz
DeepSeek V4 FlashManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus, Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Llama 4 MaverickIntruder alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM, Tenable Vulnerability Management
Qwen 3.7 FlashRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Intruder, Tenable Nessus, Tenable Vulnerability Management, Vicarius vRx
Kimi K2Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR
GLM 4.7 FlashXRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management, WithSecure Elements
Muse Glimmer 30BRapid7 InsightVM alternatives: Qualys VMDR, Tenable Vulnerability Management

Neither was named

2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.
Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
MiniMax M2.5Qualys VMDR, Rapid7 InsightVM alternatives: CrowdStrike Falcon Spotlight, Intruder, Tenable Nessus

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 Vulnerability Management leads by two points.
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management9%#2 of 12
Tenable Vulnerability Management8%#4 of 12
The full small business standing →
Mid-marketThe figures above
The order flips: Tenable Vulnerability Management leads at mid-market.
Tenable Vulnerability Management19%#2 of 10
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management6%#5 of 10
The full mid-market standing →
Enterprise
Tenable Vulnerability Management leads by forty-six points.
Tenable Vulnerability Management54%#1 of 9
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management9%#4 of 9
The full enterprise standing →

What the models said about Tenable Vulnerability Management

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

“Avoid: Tenable unless you have specific needs for OT/legacy asset coverage and budget for $10K+ annually.” Kimi K2 · direct prompt · hard negative
“Vendors to watch out for: Traditional tools like Tenable and Qualys historically rely on IP/asset tracking that can become expensive or frustrating to manage” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Tenable or Qualys when remediation automation is a core requirement: Both are strong detection platforms, but remediation may require additional products” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Excellent broad coverage (network, cloud, OT, containers), strong prioritization with threat intel, compliance reporting. Good for hybrid setups; often tops "best overall" lists.” Grok 4.20 · scale prompt · first choice
“Tenable Nessus and Tenable Vulnerability Management rank as the best overall solution due to strong integrations and comprehensive capabilities.” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Tenable Vulnerability Management is the top all-around choice due to its comprehensive coverage and strong market reputation” Mistral Small · paraphrase prompt · first choice

What the models said about Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management

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

“outside a Microsoft-heavy environment: ... customization, reporting, and resource requirements can become problematic in mixed estates” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“as your sole tool in a diverse estate... check coverage for your exact OS versions, software and asset types, and licensing” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · soft negative
“Improving but has had documented inaccuracies... Good for Microsoft-centric setups but less mature for non-Windows assets.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · soft negative
“The best vulnerability management platform for a company with a limited budget is Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
“This is often the top recommendation for small businesses because it is included for free with Microsoft 365 E5 licenses” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
“The Best "Free" or Lowest-Cost Option ... this tool is often included for free” Qwen 3.7 Flash · budget 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.