Microsoft Defender for Identity vs Silverfort for ITDR
SHORT ANSWER
Editorial assessment · Desk research from public vendor material · Reviewed 2026-09-29
Scores by criterion
Monitors on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other identity providers such as Okta, with sensors on identity infrastructure.
Names brute force, password spraying, credential stuffing, Pass-the-Hash, Pass-the-Ticket, Kerberoasting and DCSync.
Source: Silverfort: ITDR
Higher score: Tie
Positioned for detection, investigation and response; inline blocking at authentication is not described on the overview page.
Blocks, challenges with MFA or ends the session inline, before authentication completes.
Source: Silverfort: ITDR
Higher score: Silverfort
Covers compromised credentials and lateral movement stages; token forging is not singled out on the overview page.
Flags suspicious Kerberos tickets; forged federation tokens are not addressed on the page reviewed.
Source: Silverfort: ITDR
Higher score: Tie
Correlates identity alerts into incidents in the Microsoft Defender portal with remediation actions.
Session termination and MFA challenge as responses; recovery is not part of the product.
Source: Silverfort: ITDR
Higher score: Tie
Posture assessments through Microsoft Secure Score and lateral movement path analysis.
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Long-running Microsoft product; licensing is not stated on the overview page.
Higher score: Microsoft Defender for Identity
Weighted total
Microsoft Defender for Identity 7.0 / 10 · Silverfort 7.6 / 10
Higher score: Silverfort
Where each one scores higher
Microsoft Defender for Identity scores higher on
- posture and attack paths (8 vs 7)
- maturity and buying clarity (7 vs 6)
Silverfort scores higher on
- stopping attacks at sign-in (5 vs 9)
Pricing, side by side
Microsoft Defender for Identity
Licensing is not stated on the overview page.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity
As published on 2026-09-29.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Defender for Identity if detection breadth and posture and attack paths matter most. It scores 9 and 8 on them. Monitors on-premises Active Directory, Entra ID and other identity providers such as Okta, with sensors on identity infrastructure.
Choose Silverfort if detection breadth and stopping attacks at sign-in matter most. It scores 9 and 9 on them. Names brute force, password spraying, credential stuffing, Pass-the-Hash, Pass-the-Ticket, Kerberoasting and DCSync.
Questions
Which scores higher overall, Microsoft Defender for Identity or Silverfort?
On our weights for ITDR, Silverfort scores 7.6 / 10 and Microsoft Defender for Identity 7.0 / 10. Totals are the weighted average of six criterion scores; the weights are listed on the ITDR page.
Where does Microsoft Defender for Identity score higher than Silverfort?
On posture and attack paths; and maturity and buying clarity.
Where does Silverfort score higher than Microsoft Defender for Identity?
On stopping attacks at sign-in.
Related
Sources
- Microsoft Learn: Defender for Identity: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-for-identity/what-is
- Silverfort: ITDR: https://www.silverfort.com/platform/identity-threat-detection-and-response/
- Silverfort platform: https://www.silverfort.com/