# Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alternatives: what AI models name instead, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. 293 of the 504 answers in the 2 categories where Microsoft Defender for Endpoint holds a standing named it neither first nor as an alternative; these are the first choices those answers made. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-defender-for-endpoint/alternatives

## Named instead, most often (every category and segment added)

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: 104
- Huntress Managed EDR: 30
- Bitdefender GravityZone: 11
- Sophos Intercept X: 8
- SentinelOne Singularity: 6
- CrowdStrike: 4

## Endpoint detection and response

**Small business**: 73 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #4 of 8 at 4%).

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: first choice in 44 of those 73
- Huntress Managed EDR: first choice in 21 of those 73
- SentinelOne Singularity: first choice in 3 of those 73
- Atomicbit: first choice in 1 of those 73
- Warden: first choice in 1 of those 73

**Mid-market**: 40 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #1 of 10 at 38%).

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: first choice in 10 of those 40
- Huntress Managed EDR: first choice in 2 of those 40
- CrowdStrike Falcon Insight: first choice in 1 of those 40
- Cynet: first choice in 1 of those 40
- Datto EDR: first choice in 1 of those 40
- Rapid7 MDR: first choice in 1 of those 40
- SentinelOne Singularity: first choice in 1 of those 40
- Sophos MDR: first choice in 1 of those 40

**Enterprise**: 29 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #2 of 10 at 40%).

- CrowdStrike Falcon Insight: first choice in 3 of those 29
- CrowdStrike: first choice in 1 of those 29
- Palo Alto Networks Cortex XDR: first choice in 1 of those 29
- SentinelOne Singularity: first choice in 1 of those 29

## Endpoint protection

**Small business**: 79 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #5 of 13 at 5%).

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: first choice in 37 of those 79
- Huntress Managed EDR: first choice in 7 of those 79
- Sophos Intercept X: first choice in 7 of those 79
- Bitdefender GravityZone: first choice in 6 of those 79
- Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security: first choice in 2 of those 79
- SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint: first choice in 2 of those 79
- Avast Business: first choice in 1 of those 79
- Avira: first choice in 1 of those 79

**Mid-market**: 42 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #2 of 12 at 23%).

- Microsoft Defender for Cloud: first choice in 13 of those 42
- Bitdefender GravityZone: first choice in 5 of those 42
- CrowdStrike Falcon: first choice in 1 of those 42
- Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection: first choice in 1 of those 42
- Microsoft Defender: first choice in 1 of those 42
- Sophos Intercept X: first choice in 1 of those 42

**Enterprise**: 30 of 84 answers did not name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is #1 of 12 at 53%).

- CrowdStrike: first choice in 3 of those 30
- Microsoft Defender: first choice in 2 of those 30
- CrowdStrike Falcon: first choice in 1 of those 30
- Microsoft: first choice in 1 of those 30
- SentinelOne Singularity: first choice in 1 of those 30

Published under CC BY 4.0. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.