# Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 31 judge labels across 1 category by 13 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/microsoft-defender-vulnerability-management

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Vulnerability management platforms](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/security/vulnerability-management-platforms/index.md) | 6% | 5 | 10% | 31 |

## What the models said for it

- "The best vulnerability management platform for a company with a limited budget is Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management" (Llama 4 Maverick, Vuln management)
- "This is often the top recommendation for small businesses because it is included for free with Microsoft 365 E5 licenses" (Mistral Small, Vuln management)
- "The Best "Free" or Lowest-Cost Option ... this tool is often included for free" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, Vuln management)
- "Runner-up: If you're already heavily invested in Microsoft 365, Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management offers incredible value" (Kimi K2, Vuln management)

## And against it

- "outside a Microsoft-heavy environment: ... customization, reporting, and resource requirements can become problematic in mixed estates" (Perplexity Sonar, Vuln management)
- "as your sole tool in a diverse estate... check coverage for your exact OS versions, software and asset types, and licensing" (GPT-6 Luna, Vuln management)
- "Improving but has had documented inaccuracies... Good for Microsoft-centric setups but less mature for non-Windows assets." (Grok 4.20, Vuln management)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mistral Small | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, from 98 of the 104 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- axis-intelligence.com: 52
- softwareadvice.com: 35
- vicarius.io: 32
- tenable.com: 27
- costbench.com: 26
- ciopages.com: 25
- motadata.com: 24
- linfordco.com: 23
- techrepublic.com: 22
- cloudaware.com: 21

### Pages cited

- https://axis-intelligence.com/best-vulnerability-management-tools-tested: 52
- https://softwareadvice.com/vulnerability-management: 26
- https://ciopages.com/buyer-guides/vulnerability-management: 25
- https://motadata.com/blog/vulnerability-management-tools: 24
- https://linfordco.com/blog/choosing-vulnerability-assessment-tools: 23
- https://techrepublic.com/article/top-vulnerability-management-tools: 22
- https://sprinto.com/blog/vulnerability-management-tools: 21
- https://cloudaware.com/blog/best-vulnerability-management-tools: 20

## In its own words

What Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management's own pages state, read 2026-09-28. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Free plan or trial: Try for free (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals/credit-monitoring)

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.