Head to head
Defender for Cloud vs Orca: which reaches your whole cloud estate faster?
Short answer
On our coverage weights Orca scores 9.09 against 7.86 for Defender for Cloud. Defender for Cloud scores higher on runtime layer when you need it, integrations and reach and cost visibility before purchase; Orca scores higher on clouds and environments named, agentless workload depth, path to first findings and risk context from day one. Defender for Cloud names 4 of 8 environments and Orca names 7.
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 | Defender for Cloud | Orca | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clouds and environments named 20% | 7.5 | 10.0 | Orca |
| Agentless workload depth 25% | 7.4 | 9.8 | Orca |
| Path to first findings 15% | 8.0 | 9.0 | Orca |
| Risk context from day one 15% | 7.8 | 9.6 | Orca |
| Runtime layer when you need it 10% | 8.0 | 7.6 | Defender for Cloud |
| Integrations and reach 7% | 8.6 | 8.2 | Defender for Cloud |
| Cost visibility before purchase 8% | 9.2 | 6.5 | Defender for Cloud |
| Total | 7.86 | 9.09 | Orca |
Defender for Cloud
Orca
Which environments does each name?
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
Orca Security
The platform page names AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud. The Orca Sensor page names public cloud, private cloud and on-premises.
Source: Orca Security platform 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 Defender for Cloud: none. Only Orca: Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud.
How does each see workloads?
- 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
- Coverage model
- Agentless SideScanning reads each workload's runtime block storage and rebuilds its file system in a read-only view, covering Linux and Windows VMs, containers and images, and serverless.
- Runtime layer
- Orca Sensor, eBPF-based, for Linux, Kubernetes and Windows; can be configured to terminate processes and shows which vulnerable packages actually execute. Optional.
- Path to first findings
- Agentless connection to each cloud account; Orca states SideScanning "deploys in minutes". No agent rollout is needed for the first inventory.
Orca
What does each cost?
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
Orca
AWS Marketplace lists four contract tiers by concurrent EC2 workloads: Small (up to 100) $7,000.00, Small-Medium (300) $12,000.00, Medium (500) $17,000.00, Large (1,000) $30,000.00. The listing has 1-month and 12-month tabs; we did not capture which term these figures belong to, so confirm the term on the listing. No price on Orca's own site.
Source: AWS Marketplace: Orca Security CNAPP Cloud Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026
What does each claim?
Defender for Cloud
No speed, count or customer figure from Defender for Cloud is quoted on this site.
Orca
Which should you choose?
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.
Choose Orca if
you value coverage of the most clouds and environments and deep agentless reads of every workload.
Best fit: Teams with workloads across several clouds, including Oracle, Alibaba or Tencent, who need a full agentless inventory before any agent rollout.
Frequently asked questions
Which scores higher for multi-cloud coverage, Defender for Cloud or Orca?
Orca scores 9.09 against 7.86 on our default weights. With equal weights the order is Orca first (8.67 against 8.07). The coverage calculator lets you set your own weights.
Which clouds do Defender for Cloud and Orca name?
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. Orca: On the pages we reviewed: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud and On-premises or private cloud. The platform page names AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud. The Orca Sensor page names public cloud, private cloud and on-premises.
Which is cheaper?
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%. Orca: AWS Marketplace lists four contract tiers by concurrent EC2 workloads: Small (up to 100) $7,000.00, Small-Medium (300) $12,000.00, Medium (500) $17,000.00, Large (1,000) $30,000.00. The listing has 1-month and 12-month tabs; we did not capture which term these figures belong to, so confirm the term on the listing. No price on Orca's own site. Neither figure is a quote for your estate.