# Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Palo Alto Prisma Cloud

| Attribute | Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Palo Alto Prisma Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 50.7 (25% (low)) | 46.7 (26% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Provides continuous protection across cloud infrastructure and applications throughout their entire lifecycle, from initial code development through runtime execution. | A comprehensive cloud security platform that provides visibility into cloud assets, enforces compliance policies, detects and blocks threats in real time, and protects applications across their entire lifecycle from code development through production deployment. |
| features.capabilities | `{"cspm":true,"iac_scanning":true,"runtime_protection":true}` | `{"ciem":true,"cspm":true,"cwpp":true,"iac_scanning":true,"cloud_coverage":"AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (five large","agentless_scanning":true,"runtime_protection":true,"compliance_frameworks":"Supports more than 75 compliance standards"}` |
| integrations.count | - | 19 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Black Duck"},{"name":"Coverity"},{"name":"Checkmarx"},{"name":"GitLab"},{"name":"HashiCorp"},{"name":"Semgrep"},{"name":"Snyk"},{"name":"Veracode"},{"name":"Cortex Cloud"},{"name":"Cortex XDR"},{"name":"Cortex XSOAR"},{"name":"Cortex XSIAM"},{"name":"Cortex Xpanse"},{"name":"Cortex XDS"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure"},{"name":"Google Cloud"},{"name":"Alibaba Cloud"},{"name":"Oracle Cloud Infrastructure"}]` |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/defender-for-cloud","retrievedAt":"2026-08-01T14:01:36.697Z"}` | `{"type":"quote","sourceUrl":"https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/prisma/cloud","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T13:46:16.817Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | - |
| pricing.model | commercial | quote |
| pricing.price_level | low | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | no | no |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |

## Capabilities (Cloud Security Software)

| Capability | Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Palo Alto Prisma Cloud |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Posture** |  |  |
| CSPM (posture / misconfig) | ✓ | ✓ |
| KSPM (Kubernetes posture) | - | - |
| **Workload** |  |  |
| CWPP (workload protection) | - | ✓ |
| **Entitlements** |  |  |
| CIEM (entitlements) | - | ✓ |
| **Data** |  |  |
| DSPM (data posture) | - | - |
| **Pipeline** |  |  |
| IaC / pipeline scanning | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Agentless scanning | - | ✓ |
| **Runtime** |  |  |
| Runtime protection | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Coverage** |  |  |
| Cloud coverage | - | AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (five large |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| Compliance frameworks assessed | - | Supports more than 75 compliance standards |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-core scanner available | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:50:22.724Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*