Switching guide
Defender for Cloud alternatives: switching from Defender for Cloud for multi-cloud coverage
Short answer
The highest-scoring alternatives to Defender for Cloud on our coverage weights are Orca Security, Wiz and CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security. Defender for Cloud scores 7.86 and ranks 4 of 9. Before switching, check the rows where Defender for Cloud still scores higher, listed under each alternative below.
Desk research from public vendor pages read in September 2026, updated 2026-10-11. Editorial assessment; we did not run the products.
Why do teams look beyond Defender for Cloud?
- Agentless workload scanning is only in paid tiers.
- Oracle, Alibaba, Tencent and disconnected environments are not named on the pages reviewed.
- From 27 October 2026 Foundational CSPM becomes opt-in for new Azure subscriptions, so teams setting up new subscriptions take a deliberate step either way.
Which alternatives score highest?
- 7 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings and Risk context from day one
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Runtime layer when you need it, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
- 2Wiz4 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Cost visibility before purchase
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings and Cost visibility before purchase
- 5 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Risk context from day one, Runtime layer when you need it and Integrations and reach
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Path to first findings and Cost visibility before purchase
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Risk context from day one and Runtime layer when you need it
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Path to first findings, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
- 4 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Agentless workload depth, Risk context from day one and Runtime layer when you need it
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named, Path to first findings, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
- 3 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud on: Agentless workload depth, Risk context from day one and Runtime layer when you need it
Defender for Cloud scores higher on: Clouds and environments named, Path to first findings, Integrations and reach and Cost visibility before purchase
- 7 of 8
Scores higher than Defender for Cloud 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
- Named on the vendor's pages we reviewed
- Not named on the pages we reviewed (this does not mean unsupported)
What should you check before you switch?
- The per-resource cost of Defender CSPM and Defender for Servers Plan 2 for your estate, from Microsoft's calculator, against the alternative's quote.
- Whether you would lose Defender for Endpoint integration on servers.
- Whether the alternative covers on-premises servers the way Azure Arc does.
When should you stay with Defender for Cloud?
Stay with Defender for Cloud if Azure is your main cloud, you value a free start and a price you can model, and your other clouds are AWS and Google Cloud.
Frequently asked questions
What is the top-scoring alternative to Defender for Cloud?
Orca Security at 9.09 on our default weights. It scores higher than Defender for Cloud on Clouds and environments named, Agentless workload depth, Path to first findings and Risk context from day one.
Which Defender for Cloud alternatives name the most clouds?
Orca Security (7 of 8), Aqua Security (7 of 8) and Palo Alto Networks Cortex Cloud (formerly Prisma Cloud) (5 of 8).
Which Defender for Cloud alternative publishes its pricing?
Orca Security: 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. Wiz: AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Wiz Essential, 100 cloud workloads, $24,000.00; Wiz Advanced, 100 cloud workloads, $38,000.00. Add-ons: Wiz Sensor (100 sensors, for Wiz Advanced) $28,000.00; Wiz Code (100 licenses) $58,500.00; Wiz Defend (300 GB of logs per month, for Wiz Advanced) $18,000.00. Wiz's own site quotes custom prices. CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security: AWS Marketplace, pay as you go (listing combined with Next-Gen SIEM): runtime host protection $0.023 per hour per running host; container protection $0.054 per hour per running worker node; Fargate protection $0.01 per hour per Fargate instance. 30-day free trial with up to $500 in usage credits. CrowdStrike's own pricing page lists endpoint bundles only. Sysdig Secure: AWS Marketplace, 1-month contract: CNAPP Enterprise $72.00 per unit per month (the unit was not captured in our read); 12-month contracts listed as saving up to 17%. Sysdig's own pricing page: licensing by number of hosts, prices by quote. Upwind: AWS Marketplace, 12-month contract: Upwind Cloud Security Platform $30,000.00; Upwind Managed Detection and Response 24/7 Service $6,000.00. The quantity each price covers was not captured in our read. 24-month and 36-month contracts are listed with savings. No price on Upwind's own site.