Endpoint Index
What you get for the money
Microsoft Defender for Business and CrowdStrike Falcon Go are not the same kind of product, and that is the first thing to settle. Defender for Business includes endpoint detection and response: EDR is included. On Falcon Go, EDR is not offered. Falcon Go bundles CrowdStrike's antivirus engine (Falcon Prevent), device control and mobile protection, and CrowdStrike's own pricing page puts EDR in Falcon Enterprise, two plans up.
The prices point the same way. Defender for Business is $36.00 per user per year, and one user licence covers up to five devices. Falcon Go is $59.99 per endpoint per year, counted per device. A business whose staff each use more than one computer pays CrowdStrike for every computer and Microsoft for every person. At 100 seats the annual totals are $3,600.00 for Microsoft and $5,999.00 for CrowdStrike, before counting that difference in units.
Many Microsoft 365 customers already own Defender for Business: it is part of Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Check the admin centre before you buy anything.
What the lab results say, and about which product
Microsoft Defender scored 6 out of 6 for protection in AV-Test's August 2026 business round and 98.8% protection with no false positives in AV-Comparatives' first-half 2026 business test.
CrowdStrike scored 98.5% protection with 8 false positives in that AV-Comparatives test, tested as Falcon Enterprise, and has no AV-Test business result. In MITRE's 2025 evaluation CrowdStrike's platform detected 89 of 90 substeps on the first run, one of the strongest results in the round. That result measures detection and response, which Falcon Go does not include, so it tells you about the engine rather than about the plan you would be buying. The lab results scorecard shows every product's latest round.
On the evidence that applies to the plans themselves, protection is close and Microsoft raised fewer false alarms.
Who should choose CrowdStrike Falcon Go
- A business that does not run on Microsoft 365. Defender for Business is managed from Microsoft's admin tools; outside that world, its main convenience disappears.
- Linux desktops or servers in the fleet. Linux is included with Falcon Go. Microsoft covers Linux only as a server, through the separate Defender for Business servers add-on.
- Monthly billing. CrowdStrike lets you pay monthly or annually and refunds an annual plan cancelled within 30 days. Microsoft bills annually and refunds only part of the fee in the first 7 days.
- A 15-day trial bought by card, with no sales call, from one device up to 100.
Who should choose Microsoft Defender for Business
Most Microsoft 365 offices with someone technical to read alerts. EDR is included, the price per user is lower, and it carries the fresher lab results. The 300-user ceiling is the limit to plan around: above it Microsoft recommends Defender for Endpoint.
What neither one does
Neither includes 24/7 managed response. Microsoft's Defender Experts services do not cover Defender for Business, and CrowdStrike sells managed detection and response in Falcon Complete, not Falcon Go. Neither offers ransomware rollback: ransomware recovery on either depends on your backups. If nobody will watch the alerts, compare products with managed response included instead.
Contract terms to check
Both renew automatically. CrowdStrike renews at its then-current price, which its order terms say may differ from what you paid. Microsoft renews annually; cancelling deletes the subscription's data, so export anything you need first. Falcon Go stops at 100 devices, so a growing business buying it today should know the next plan up costs more and adds the EDR it may want by then. The CrowdStrike pricing guide and the Defender for Business pricing guide show every plan.