How do they compare?
E3 gives you real identity and device controls — Entra ID P1, Intune, and (since mid-2026) baseline Defender for Office 365. What most E3 buyers don't realize: the actual endpoint detection engine, Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, isn't in E3 at all.
30 minutes · nothing to install · you keep the assessment either way
The E3 vs E5 line most buyers don't know exists
E3 includes Entra ID P1, Intune, and — as of the June–August 2026 rollout — Defender for Office 365 Plan 1. What it does not include: Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (true EDR, automated investigation, threat & vulnerability management) or Defender for Identity. Those are E5-only, full stop.
E3 includes next-gen antivirus and attack-surface-reduction rules — real prevention. What it doesn't include is EDR telemetry, automated investigation, or remediation. An alert fires. Nobody is watching or acting on it without an E5 upgrade or a managed layer on top.
P1 (in E3) gives SSO, MFA, and standard Conditional Access. Risk-based Conditional Access and Identity Protection's sign-in/user risk scoring require Entra ID P2 — E5 or a separate add-on. Defender for Identity (on-prem lateral-movement detection) isn't in E3 at all.
Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 (added to E3 in the 2026 refresh) blocks malicious links and attachments at delivery — a real upgrade. Threat Explorer, automated investigation, and attack simulation training remain Plan 2 / E5-only, so nothing hunts what got through.
Even after the 2026 additions, E3 has zero 24/7 managed detection/response, zero dark-web credential monitoring, and zero built-in awareness training. Compliance Manager in E3 offers only one baseline assessment template — HIPAA/PCI/state-privacy templates require E5 Compliance.
Three reasons to add EntraGuard on top of E3
Defender for Endpoint P1 in E3 will flag a malicious process. It won't investigate, contain, or remediate it. EntraGuard's Detect and Protect run a managed, top-tier EDR engine, operated by our SOC around the clock — the automated containment E3 structurally can't provide without upgrading to E5.
E3's Entra ID P1 stops at "is this the right password." It can't flag an impossible-travel or credential-stuffing login. EntraGuard's Identity catches what P1 structurally cannot see, without requiring an E5 upgrade.
Even with the 2026 additions, E3 has no dark-web monitoring, no training platform, and no single score a board can read. EntraGuard delivers those missing layers through the same portfolio and the same specialist team you already work with — a module added, not a new vendor onboarded.
See exactly which of these 12 layers it covers and which ones are sitting open — including the one most IT admins get wrong.
Every layer E3 leaves open, at any tier below E5
Each layer E3 leaves for your team to add — response, deeper identity risk detection, the layers no M365 tier touches — delivered by the same specialist team, on the same screen you already trust.
EntraGuard's Detect correlates signals across your Microsoft 365 and Entra environment, and our specialists contain what needs containing, day or night. Defender for Endpoint in E3 stops at Plan 1 — real prevention, but no EDR telemetry or automated investigation. An alert fires, and without an E5 upgrade or a managed layer like Detect, nobody is watching to act on it.
EntraGuard's Identity governs your Entra ID access from day one, with deeper MFA and privilege oversight the moment you're ready for it. E3 licenses Entra ID at P1 — SSO, MFA, standard Conditional Access — but risk-based Conditional Access and sign-in risk scoring sit behind Entra ID P2, an E5-only upgrade. P1 can confirm a password. It can't tell you a login looks wrong.
EntraGuard's Protect runs endpoint AV/EDR, email security, patching, dark-web monitoring, and awareness training as one specialist-operated module. Defender for Office 365 P1, added to E3 in the 2026 refresh, blocks malicious links at delivery — real progress. But nothing hunts what gets through, and E3 has zero dark-web monitoring or awareness training, at any tier, E5 included.
Microsoft 365, Entra ID, assets, and controls — unified into one view. The operating core every engagement runs on, whatever Microsoft license tier you're on.
Audit-ready, continuously. E3's Compliance Manager ships one baseline assessment template — HIPAA, PCI, and state-privacy templates require E5 Compliance.
One number your board can use. Secure Score is a real signal in E3 — Insight folds in what Secure Score can't see, and hands it to your board in plain language.
A full SOC, on call. 24/7 monitoring, investigation, and response — purchased separately, same tier as Fractional CISO.
Featured above: Detect, Identity, and Protect — the three products that close E3's starkest, most citable gaps (managed response, identity risk detection, and the layers no M365 tier touches). Identity governance depth and Protect's five capabilities are modular add-ons. Full Managed Security Operations is a separately-purchased managed service, kept distinct from the six-product portfolio.
From EntraGuard clients
"Within thirty days, EntraGuard had rolled out an impressive security program that immediately identified and remediated active vulnerabilities and threats."Noah R. — COO, Staffing & Recruiting Firm
"We have been a happy client since 2009. HIPAA was a breeze — the requirements actually fall short of the policies and protection we already had in place, thanks to them."Glen B. — President, NY-area Medical Practices
"EntraGuard has significantly improved our cybersecurity program. Our compliance efforts are now stronger, with more effective management of cybersecurity."James C. — CFO, NY-area Publishing Company
EntraGuard + Microsoft 365 E3, 2026
EntraGuard runs on top of the M365 E3 you already own. Where a capability is a modular add-on for EntraGuard too, it's marked as such rather than claimed as automatically included.
| Capability | EntraGuard | Microsoft 365 E3 |
|---|---|---|
| Next-gen antivirus & EDR | ProtectModular, specialist-operated | Real AV included, no true EDR (P1 only) |
| 24/7 managed threat hunting & response | DetectBaseline core — full SOC-grade service is separate | No managed SOC in base E3 |
| Threats contained, not just alerted | Default once Detect is active | Alerts fire, no auto-remediation |
| Identity threat protection | IdentityEntra ID P1 core, deeper risk-based governance is an add-on | Conditional Access yes, risk detection no |
| Email security | ProtectModular | Safe Links/Attachments now included (2026), no automation |
| Patch & device management | ProtectModular | OS patching yes, 3rd-party app patching no |
| Dark-web credential monitoring | ProtectModular | Not offered at any M365 tier |
| Security-awareness training | ProtectModular, measured | Not in E3 — Attack Simulation is E5-only |
| Continuous compliance evidence | ComplyModular | One baseline assessment template only |
| Single posture score | InsightCore — reflects what's connected | Secure Score exists, IT-facing and partial |
| A team running it for you | Specialist operation, not self-service | Self-managed by design |
| One vendor, one bill | Yes — one relationship as you add modules | One bill, but closing gaps needs multiple add-ons |
Defender for Endpoint Plan 1 (in E3) covers next-gen AV and attack-surface reduction. EDR telemetry and automated investigation and remediation are Plan 2, E5-only. Entra ID P1 (in E3) lacks risk-based Conditional Access and Identity Protection, both P2-only. Defender for Identity is E5-only. Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 was added to E3 in a June–August 2026 licensing refresh. Plan 2's Threat Explorer, auto-investigation, and Attack Simulation Training remain E5-only. No Microsoft 365 tier, E3 or E5, includes native dark-web credential monitoring. Microsoft's E3/E5 packaging changed twice in the twelve months before this research — confirm current feature scope and list pricing directly with Microsoft or a partner, and confirm this specific tenant has received the 2026 rollout, before publishing. Named products are the property of Microsoft Corporation and are shown to illustrate coverage, not a vendor-run benchmark. EntraGuard is built around Microsoft 365 and Entra, not a replacement for them.
Questions, answered
The watch never sleeps
Give us thirty minutes and we'll show you your own posture — gaps, wins, and the two or three things worth fixing first. You keep the assessment either way.