Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Rapid7 InsightCloudSec: Side-by-Side Comparison (2026)

Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Enterprise security teams already deep in Azure will extract the most value from Microsoft Defender for Cloud, where the integration with Sentinel and native Azure controls eliminates alert fatigue that multicloud deployments typically introduce. Its attack path analysis directly addresses NIST ID.RA risk assessment by surfacing exploitable chains rather than listing vulnerabilities in isolation, and the agentless scanning means you're protected before agents finish rolling out. Skip this if your cloud footprint is genuinely multicloud; AWS and GCP coverage exists but feels bolted on, and you'll spend cycles normalizing alerts across platforms when a pure multicloud CNAPP would save that effort.

Rapid7 InsightCloudSec

Mid-market and enterprise security teams managing multi-cloud infrastructure will get the most from Rapid7 InsightCloudSec because it combines agentless visibility with automated remediation, cutting your mean-time-to-fix on cloud misconfigurations by removing manual triage. The platform covers eight NIST CSF 2.0 functions including continuous monitoring and platform security, with particular strength in CIEM and IaC scanning that most point solutions skip. Skip this if your priority is runtime threat detection over infrastructure posture; InsightCloudSec prioritizes what's exposed and how to fix it, not what's actively exploiting it.