Microsoft Defender vs Sophos: EDR / XDR Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Microsoft Defender and Sophos for edr / xdr buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask edr / xdr questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

Sophos leads overall53% cited vs Microsoft Defender 0% across 60 probes.
ChatGPT
Microsoft Defender
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
SophosLeads
4 / 6 probes
67%
Excellent
Perplexity
Microsoft Defender
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
SophosLeads
4 / 6 probes
67%
Excellent
Gemini
Microsoft Defender
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
Sophos
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
Claude
Microsoft Defender
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
SophosLeads
5 / 6 probes
83%
Excellent
Copilot
Microsoft Defender
0 / 6 probes
0%
Invisible
SophosLeads
3 / 6 probes
50%
Excellent
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

Microsoft Defender
Starting price
Free tier
microsoft.com
Sophos
Starting price
Free tier
sophos.com

Key Features

Microsoft Defender

Feature data is being indexed.

Sophos

Feature data is being indexed.

When to choose Microsoft Defender

Choose Microsoft Defender if your team prioritizes its strengths over Sophos's. Full guidance populates as Microsoft Defender's feature data is indexed.

When to choose Sophos

Choose Sophos if your team prioritizes its strengths over Microsoft Defender's. Full guidance populates as Sophos's feature data is indexed.

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