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Huntress or Microsoft Defender for Business: do you need both?

Endpoint Index editorial · Updated · prices and lab results re-checked weekly

Huntress Managed EDRHuntress · EDR + MDRFIT SCORE35Microsoft Defender for BusinessMicrosoft · EDRFIT SCORE75
Our answer

For most Microsoft 365 businesses without security staff, the answer is both: Microsoft Defender for Business as the EDR tool at $36.00 per user per year, and Huntress Managed EDR as the 24/7 team that watches it. Huntress says its agent runs alongside Microsoft Defender, and since November 2024 it has ingested Defender for Business events. As of 30 September 2026, buy only one of them when you can say which gap you are closing: missing software or missing people.

Tool and team

Microsoft Defender for Business is software. It includes EDR, device control and protection for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, at up to five devices per user, and is licensed for up to 300 users. Ransomware rollback is not offered: its remediation actions quarantine and remove, but do not restore encrypted files. It also includes nobody to respond. 24/7 managed response is not offered, because Microsoft's Defender Experts services are sold only with enterprise suites.

Huntress Managed EDR is a service with an agent attached. A 24/7 security operations centre investigates what the agent sees, contains threats and removes the attacker's foothold; Huntress advertises an 8-minute mean time to respond (MTTR), a marketing figure rather than a contractual SLA. Ransomware rollback is not offered on Huntress as well, which relies on its analysts instead of automated restore.

The Fit Scores (75 for Microsoft, 35 for Huntress) measure products, and a human SOC counts for one capability point. Microsoft wins that measure clearly. It does not follow that Microsoft alone is the safer choice for a firm with no IT staff.

How the two fit together

Huntress designs Managed EDR to sit next to antivirus, not replace it. Its product page says the agent "runs alongside your existing AV, including Microsoft Defender", and that Huntress manages Microsoft Defender Antivirus (the engine built into Windows) at no additional cost, applying recommended configurations and monitoring for risky exclusions. In November 2024 Huntress announced an integration with Defender for Business, both standalone and inside Microsoft 365 Business Premium, under which its analysts monitor and analyse Defender events.

In practice that gives a Microsoft shop two routes:

  • Defender for Business plus Huntress. Microsoft supplies EDR, device control and phone coverage; Huntress supplies the people.
  • Built-in Defender Antivirus plus Huntress. Cheaper, because you skip the Defender for Business licence, but you give up Microsoft's EDR and mobile coverage.

Neither route restores encrypted files, so keep tested backups whichever you choose.

When Defender for Business alone is enough

Microsoft Defender for Business alone suits a business where someone, in-house or at an MSP, checks the Defender portal every working day and knows how to isolate a machine. It also suits the smallest firms: 10 users cost $360.00 a year, and it is already in Business Premium. Its lab record is current: full protection marks in AV-Test's August 2026 business round, and 98.8% protection with zero false positives from AV-Comparatives over March to June 2026.

When Huntress alone makes sense

Huntress Managed EDR alone suits a business outside Microsoft's licensing: a Google Workspace office, or a fleet with Linux servers, which Huntress covers and Defender for Business handles only through its separate servers add-on at $3 per server instance. Accept the trade-off plainly: Huntress has no independent lab scores to show, so you are buying on the strength of its SOC rather than on test evidence.

Mistakes we see in Microsoft shops

  • Buying Huntress direct for a 15-person firm. Direct and reseller orders carry a 50-endpoint minimum, so you pay for seats you do not have. Through an MSP there is no minimum.
  • Assuming Microsoft watches your alerts. Defender for Business raises incidents; nobody at Microsoft acts on them, and Microsoft sells no managed response for this product. The people come from an IT provider, an MSP or a service such as Huntress.
  • Expecting a BAA from Huntress. Huntress declines to provide BAAs, on the basis that it does not handle health information. Microsoft's public HIPAA scope list does not name Defender for Business either, so ask Microsoft too. A healthcare practice should get its compliance adviser to sign off on that position before relying on Huntress.

Questions to settle first

Check in the Microsoft 365 admin centre whether you already hold Business Premium, because then Defender for Business is paid for. Ask your MSP for its per-endpoint Huntress price, which Huntress does not publish for the channel. Ask Huntress whether the Defender for Business integration is included in Managed EDR or priced separately; the announcement does not say. For scale, 100 Huntress endpoints bought direct list at $9,588.00 a year, and 100 Defender for Business users at $3,600.00.

The facts side by side

Underlined = lower price or higher score
FieldHuntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Business
Price at 10 seatsSold from 50 seats$36.00 per user per year
Price at 100 seats$95.88 per seat per year$36.00 per user per year
Smallest purchase50 seatsNo minimum
Buy onlineNo, through sales or a partnerYes, card checkout
EDRIncludedIncluded
24/7 managed responseIncludedNot offered
Ransomware rollbackNot offeredNot offered
Identity threat detectionNot offeredNot offered
AV-TestNo public result2026-08: protection 6/6
AV-ComparativesNo public result2026-H1: 98.8% protection, 0 false positives
MITRE ATT&CKDid not take part2024: 83.8% analytic coverageDATED
SMB Fit Score35/10075/100

Every Huntress plan, its price and what each one adds: Huntress pricing.

Every Microsoft plan, its price and what each one adds: Microsoft pricing.

Our full verdict: Is Microsoft Defender for Business Enough for a Small Business?

Questions buyers ask

Does Huntress replace Microsoft Defender?

No. Huntress says Managed EDR runs alongside existing antivirus, including Microsoft Defender, and it manages Microsoft Defender Antivirus at no additional cost.

Does Huntress integrate with Defender for Business specifically?

Yes. In November 2024 Huntress announced an integration that lets its analysts monitor and analyse Defender for Business events, for both the standalone licence and Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

Does Microsoft monitor Defender for Business alerts for me?

No. Defender for Business has no managed response, and Microsoft's Defender Experts services are for enterprise suites, not this product. Small businesses get 24/7 monitoring from an IT provider or MSP, or from a managed service such as Huntress.

Will Huntress sign a HIPAA business associate agreement?

No. Huntress says its products do not access, use or disclose health information and so it does not provide BAAs. Microsoft's public list of HIPAA in-scope services does not name Defender for Business, so confirm with Microsoft in writing.

Which one can roll back ransomware damage?

Neither. Microsoft's remediation actions for Defender for Business include no rollback, and Huntress relies on its analysts to contain the attack and guide remediation. Recovery of encrypted files comes from backups in both cases.

Sources

Prices, capabilities and lab results come from the Huntress Managed EDR and Microsoft Defender for Business reports. Each value there carries its source link, the date we checked it and, for prices, a dated screenshot.

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