KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
KnowBe4 is a security awareness and compliance training and simulated social engineering product. It is used by organizations worldwide to strengthen their security culture and reduce human risk. The product includes a comprehensive suite of awareness and compliance training, real-time user coaching, AI-powered simulated social engineering, crowdsourced anti-phishing defense and an AI suite that enhances human risk management through personalized training and automation. With…
$0.95
per month (billed annually) per seat
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender ATP) is a holistic, cloud delivered endpoint security solution that includes risk-based vulnerability management and assessment, attack surface reduction, behavioral based and cloud-powered next generation protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), automatic investigation and remediation, managed hunting services, rich APIs, and unified security management.
$2.50
per user/per month
Pricing
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Editions & Modules
Silver
$0.95
per month (billed annually) per seat
Gold
$1.10
per month (billed annually) per seat
Platinum
$1.25
per month (billed annually) per seat
Diamond
$1.70
per month (billed annually) per seat
Academic
$2.50
per user/per month
Standalone
$5.20
per user/per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Features
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
8.8
Ratings
3% above category average
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability9.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Security Awareness Training
Comparison of Security Awareness Training features of Product A and Product B
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
8.3
Ratings
2% below category average
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
-
Ratings
Training Content Library8.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Multilingual Training Content9.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Training Gamification8.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Industry-Specific Security Training6.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Individualized Security Training Plans7.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Phishing Simulations9.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Security Reporting8.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with Security Tech Stack8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
-
Ratings
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
8.3
Ratings
3% below category average
Anti-Exploit Technology00 Ratings7.70 Ratings
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)00 Ratings9.10 Ratings
Centralized Management00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Hybrid Deployment Support00 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Infection Remediation00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Vulnerability Management00 Ratings7.30 Ratings
Malware Detection00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
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User Ratings
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(0 ratings)
8.4
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint
Likelihood to Recommend
I don't have any frame of reference for comparison, but the training that I have used has proved impactful for my staff. Since starting KnowBe4 training, we've seen a great increase in the number of phishing attempts, but also a great increase in the number of attempts that have been recognized by staff, and we have thus not been the victim of phishing or other cyberattact vectors
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Because of its integration with Windows, it is very easy to deploy and manage. Any IT department should be able to leverage the software and interface. The admin portal provides weighted recommendations that comprise the Secure Store, offering admins, security teams, and business owners valuable insights into their security footprint without requiring a strong security background. The software would be ideal for small and mid-sized businesses that cannot dedicate resources to security. Larger enterprises would also benefit, but may require the enhanced license.
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Pros
  • Phish tests can be set to various difficulty levels as staff becomes more knowledgeable in catching phish emails.
  • Automated phish tests and training save a lot of admin time. The product can also test for phone and USB stick practices.
  • The phish alert button in Outlook, along with PhishER and PhishFlip allow easy managing and response to actual phishing emails.
  • The interactive training is well designed to cover all types of phishing and safe email and phone behavior.
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  • One, it's crazy lightweight, so compared to some of the competitors that we also have used with our security services, it's really lightweight and so I don't have a lot of overhead on the system that it's running on.
  • It does really fantastic PowerShell integration.
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Cons
  • Campaign settings are overwhelming and non-intuitive
  • While the domains available for sending phishing emails are numerous, they are still often obviously fake
  • Certain features are locked away behind paid addons, when they should be incorporated in the base tool/licence, e.g. PhishER. It's fine that, for example, Compliance+ is an added feature, but PhishER is practically integral to the task KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training performs
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  • So the fact that Defender for Endpoint still works with signatures is actually, I don't know, a little difficult for us because, I mean, since Microsoft trusts those signatures, you can easily inject code. And we've done it many times. To show that you can inject code through vulnerabilities like CV 2013, 99, and 33 but still keep the signature. So because of the trust of those signatures, the malware just kind of slides into the environment without Defender knowing. That's the first part. The second part is that the behavioral analysis is not precisely its Prime. It's not Defender's best capability for endpoints. So, Defender does not identify all behaviors considered by other EDRs in the market.
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Likelihood to Renew
I chose 8 because Microsoft has a version of software bundled in Azure that may fulfill our needs. If this software does not measure up then we will be continuing with Knowbe4. They keep their offerings fresh so training is not redundant this is important when asking for engagement from employees
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Microsoft Defender is closely catching -up in market with existing competitors they have added DLP endpoint & DLP Network and Cloud DLP solution last year with OCR capabilities. I would say Microsoft Defender is not legacy Vendor in end point security, the need to learn from other vendors in market and focus on new XDR technologies, which is going to be new battle for all vendors
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Usability
The training videos we have access to are high quality, and provide a wide variety. The Inside Man videos has a cult following within our organization, and has driven a much greater interest in security awareness. And KB4's willingness to negotiate pricing for us as a nonprofit has been very valuable to us as well.
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Because in terms of the usability is easy to understand, it's easy to manage, obviously you need to have specific skills to do that, but I would say that even the console and the product is walking through the flow that you are looking for on this console.
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Reliability and Availability
There have only been a handful of outages in the 2 years we have had the product. Even during those instances, parts of the system were still operational
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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint chugs along just fine no matter what we throw at it and what systems it's running on. It doesn't take up a lot of resources either, so that's welcomed.
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Performance
Pages load quickly, filter/sort quickly, and don't slow down or freeze. Everything is smooth and very easy to use. There are a places in the UI where you can forget how to get there, but other than that everything is great. We have had no issues using any part of the website.
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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy on memory and resources on clients.
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Support Rating
Tech prod support is great! I did have to ask for a new customer success rep, needed a more experienced person to match my 12 years of experience running Cybersec training programs. Would suggest that more matching of rep level of knowledge to client level knowledge would help.
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Overall support is really good for this product. Since it's a Microsoft product, you will get good support from a number of different resources, including knowledgebase articles on the web, support from Microsoft technicians, and documentation (which tends to very thorough). Also, there is a vast user support community for this product, so user support forums would also be another valuable channel to get help if needed. I don't envision too many people will have issues/problems with the product, as it tends to run good overall.
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In-Person Training
Helpful and knowledgeable account managers have helped us navigate and use the system to our full potential
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
confusing question. I inherited this application so I didnt get any formal training other than the person who was leaving. The CSM provided some later on when I asked in a zoom call
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
The implementation went really well and KnowBe4 was there the whole time on setup to make sure things were setup correctly. The only thing we had to figure out on our own was to script users automatically being added to security groups. So that when they sync to knowBe4 from AD they are placed into the same/correct groups.
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Deployment was handled by our team here and everything went pretty smoothly. We did have a few hiccups in our test group, but that only took a bit to get ironed out.
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Alternatives Considered
KnowBe4 offered a significantly more favorable cost-benefit ratio compared to other solutions. Its seamless integration with our existing infrastructure—particularly Active Directory and email systems—was the most compatible with our operational and security requirements.
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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers strong integration with Microsoft 365 and Azure services, which provide a unified security experience. While McAfee Trellix is known for solid antivirus, Microsoft Defender excels in integration in the ecosystem.
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Scalability
The product scales greatly. As long as you upgrade the license to support the number of users you are needing, adding in those new users is easy. Also getting those users set up with trainings/campaigns is very easy as well
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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easily scaled from small orgs to giant enterprises.
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Return on Investment
  • There is really no way one can make all the needed trainings with in house resources anymore! The cost for this would be way way more than that of any platform!
  • There is no way to even calculate the damage a company would suffer in case of a cybersecurity breach! So the cost for the use of the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training platform if minimal compared to that of a possible breach!
  • The cost of creating content for security awareness training is no longer realistic for a company. This is really no option, and it is in no way comparable to the cost of access to the training material available in the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training platform. Also the training content needs to be constantly updated!
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  • Reduced incidents of security breaches lead to lower remediation costs and avoid potential financial losses and reputational damage.
  • Reduces the need for additional third-party security solutions and training, thereby lowering overall security management costs.
  • Increased efficiency and productivity of IT staff lead to better allocation of resources and cost savings.
  • Reduces the risk of fines and sanctions associated with non-compliance, ensuring business continuity and protecting revenue.
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ScreenShots

KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Screenshots

Screenshot of the Phishing Dashboard. This displays how end users are doing at-a-glance and in comparison to peers across industries with Industry Benchmarking.Screenshot of the Virtual Risk Officer functionality, which helps identify risk to support data-driven decisions about a security awareness plan.Screenshot of KnowBe4's partners, including The Security Awareness Company, Popcorn Training, exploqii, Twist & Shout, El Pescador, CLTRe, Saya University, and MediaPRO. Together, they create security awareness training content available in the ModStore.Screenshot of a security training quiz question showing "Security Moments Series: Spot the Bad Link" asking what Lisa should do when receiving an unexpected email with an HTML attachment, with three answer options and Submit/Cancel buttons.Screenshot of the AIDA Phishing Template Generator interface, which displays a customizable phishing simulation tool with template setup options on the left and a preview of a generated "Annual Bonus Announcement" email featuring a QR code attack vector on the right.Screenshot of the AIDA Configure Training interface, which displays settings for personalized remedial phishing training, including user enrollment options, completion timeframes, knowledge refresher schedules, and notification preferences, with an "Activate Remedial Training" button to implement the configuration.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Screenshots

Screenshot of blocked activitiesScreenshot of Detects & respondsScreenshot of discovers vulnerabilityScreenshot of Eliminates blind spotsScreenshot of Risk management