Head to head
Aqua vs Defender for Cloud: which reaches your whole cloud estate faster?
Short answer
On our coverage weights Defender for Cloud scores 7.86 against 7.45 for Aqua. Aqua scores higher on clouds and environments named and runtime layer when you need it; Defender for Cloud scores higher on agentless workload depth, path to first findings, integrations and reach and cost visibility before purchase. They tie on risk context from day one. Aqua names 7 of 8 environments and Defender for Cloud names 4.
Defender for Cloud's free tier covers posture only. Its agentless workload scanning is in the paid Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers Plan 2 tiers, which is what its agentless score reflects.
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial assessment; we did not run the products.
How do the scores compare?
| Criterion | Aqua | Defender for Cloud | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and environments named 20% | 10.0 | 7.5 | Aqua |
| Agentless workload depth 25% | 6.8 | 7.4 | Defender for Cloud |
| Path to first findings 15% | 5.5 | 8.0 | Defender for Cloud |
| Risk context from day one 15% | 7.8 | 7.8 | Tie |
| Runtime layer when you need it 10% | 9.0 | 8.0 | Aqua |
| Integrations and reach 7% | 7.6 | 8.6 | Defender for Cloud |
| Cost visibility before purchase 8% | 4.0 | 9.2 | Defender for Cloud |
| Total | 7.45 | 7.86 | Defender for Cloud |
Aqua
Defender for Cloud
Which environments does each name?
Aqua Security
Aqua's pricing page lists "Support of AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle and Alibaba Cloud environments"; its platform page names public, private and disconnected environments and states FedRAMP High authorization.
Source: Aqua pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Microsoft documents Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, and on-premises servers through Azure Arc.
Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender for Servers overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
- Named on the vendor's pages we reviewed
- Not named on the pages we reviewed (this does not mean unsupported)
Named by both: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. Only Aqua: Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Disconnected (air-gapped). Only Defender for Cloud: none.
How does each see workloads?
- Coverage model
- Agentless posture visibility; the platform's depth comes from kernel-layer runtime enforcement.
- Runtime layer
- Kernel-layer enforcement that blocks attacks without killing the container and preserves memory evidence.
- Path to first findings
- Agentless posture first; workload depth needs the enforcement layer.
Aqua
- Coverage model
- Free Foundational CSPM for posture; agentless VM, secrets and Kubernetes scanning only in the paid Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers Plan 2 tiers.
- Runtime layer
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint EDR through Defender for Servers Plan 1 and Plan 2.
- Path to first findings
- Foundational CSPM is free; AWS and Google Cloud are added as connectors. Microsoft states that from 27 October 2026 Foundational CSPM becomes opt-in for new Azure subscriptions. Paid plans have a 30-day free trial.
Defender for Cloud
What does each cost?
Aqua
Not published No list prices. Aqua says Dev Security pricing "is based on the number of code repositories" and Cloud Security is priced by workloads (EC2 instances, Fargate containers, Lambda functions); trial and demo on request.
Source: Aqua pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026
Defender for Cloud
Published list prices (USD, monthly, East/Central US): Foundational CSPM free; Defender CSPM $5.11 per billable resource; Defender for Servers Plan 1 $4.906 and Plan 2 $14.60 per server; Defender for Containers $6.8693 per vCore; Defender for Storage $10 per storage account; Defender for AI Services $0.0008 per 1,000 tokens. Free for the first 30 days; 1-year pre-purchase commit units save up to 22%.
Source: Azure: Defender for Cloud pricing (per-plan list prices) · Read 11 Oct 2026
What does each claim?
Aqua
Defender for Cloud
No speed, count or customer figure from Defender for Cloud is quoted on this site.
Which should you choose?
Choose Aqua if
you value coverage of the most clouds and environments and a deep runtime sensor for detection and blocking.
Best fit: Teams with private or disconnected environments and container pipelines.
Choose Defender for Cloud if
you value a price you can model before talking to sales and integrations and platform reach.
Best fit: Azure-first teams that also run AWS or Google Cloud and want to start free and model cost before buying.
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher for multi-cloud coverage, Aqua or Defender for Cloud?
Defender for Cloud scores 7.86 against 7.45 on our default weights. With equal weights the order is Defender for Cloud first (8.07 against 7.24). The coverage calculator lets you set your own weights.
Which clouds do Aqua and Defender for Cloud name?
Aqua: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, On-premises or private cloud and Disconnected (air-gapped). Aqua's pricing page lists "Support of AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle and Alibaba Cloud environments"; its platform page names public, private and disconnected environments and states FedRAMP High authorization. Defender for Cloud: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. Microsoft documents Azure, AWS and Google Cloud, and on-premises servers through Azure Arc.
Which is cheaper?
Aqua: Not published. Defender for Cloud: Published list prices (USD, monthly, East/Central US): Foundational CSPM free; Defender CSPM $5.11 per billable resource; Defender for Servers Plan 1 $4.906 and Plan 2 $14.60 per server; Defender for Containers $6.8693 per vCore; Defender for Storage $10 per storage account; Defender for AI Services $0.0008 per 1,000 tokens. Free for the first 30 days; 1-year pre-purchase commit units save up to 22%. Neither figure is a quote for your estate.