# cybee and Microsoft Defender. What each is built for.

> What Microsoft Defender for Business and cybee are each built for: your licence, which Macs run protection, how settings stay safe and what a client can check.

Page: https://cybee.ai/compare/microsoft-defender/ (cybee vs Microsoft Defender: Mac security scope)

- [Compare](https://cybee.ai/compare/)

- Microsoft Defender

compare

A Microsoft licence is where the answer starts. Protection from cybee is free. Check which Defender product you have, which Macs run it and who handles its alerts, then compare the work that remains.

cybee and Microsoft Defender for Business vendor pages checked 18.09.2026

In one minute

- Microsoft Defender for Business protects a company’s computers. You can buy it on its own, and it comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Microsoft lists Mac support.

- Paying for a Microsoft subscription does not, by itself, mean Defender runs on every Mac.

- cybee is protection you run by asking your AI assistant. It is free for every Mac, and the Proof plan gives a client one dated link.

- If Defender already covers what your clients ask, keep it. This page compares jobs, not detection results.

cybee AG, Zürich Founded by [Hekuran Doli and Kristian Kabashi](https://cybee.ai/about/#founders) [Best of Swiss Apps Hall of Fame 2025](https://cybee.ai/about/#recognition) [The Pitch by Deel, Global Top 100 of about 40,000 startups](https://cybee.ai/about/#recognition)

## A licence is one thing. A protected Mac is another.

Your client asks about the Macs on their project, not about your subscription. The answer they want covers every Mac, with dates.

before a deal

### A client asks about every project Mac.

“Is protection running on every project Mac?”

A purchase record shows a subscription. It does not show that each Mac is protected.

at renewal

### Your insurer asks what watches your Macs.

One agency of about ten people answered its insurer’s questionnaire overnight. The item that mattered on the form was protection that watches what programs do.

on a review

### A partner or an auditor asks for proof.

Not how things should be. How they were, on which Mac, since when.

## Who handles each job. As each product describes it.

The Microsoft column repeats only what Microsoft’s own pages say. If you already need Microsoft 365 Business Premium, compare the extra work and cost, not the price of the whole suite.

What each product does. Microsoft details from its own pages, checked 18.09.2026.

| The job | Defender for Business | cybee |
|---|---|---|
| Built for the job it exists to do | Security for a business’s computers, sold on its own and included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. | Protecting the Macs a small team works on, and proving it when a client, an insurer or a partner asks. |
| Protection stops bad software while it runs | Endpoint security, with Mac support listed. Its Mac documentation describes prevention, investigation and response across the relevant Defender products. | Watches what programs do on supported Macs, checks files against known bad software and stops suspicious activity. Free |
| Safer settings the Mac’s own safety switches | Configuration features depend on your plan and on how your Macs are set up. | Checks 118 settings against a public list of the safest Mac settings. The Proof plan sets them and keeps them on. Free Proof plan |
| Day to day who runs it, and where | Microsoft’s security administration workflow. | You ask your AI assistant and review what it finds. A change you ask for waits until the person who uses that Mac says yes. cybee has no dashboard. Free |
| What your client receives when someone asks for proof | Review the reporting in your subscription against the client’s request. | A dated Trust Passport that says which Macs it covers, with a seal your client can check. Proof plan |
| How it is sold what you pay for | On its own, and included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Other Defender products have their own scope and licensing. | Protection is free for every Mac. The Proof plan costs CHF 9 per Mac per month, or 90 a year, excluding tax. |

**Q:** What is Defender for Business?

### Defender for Business, in plain words.

Microsoft Defender for Business is Microsoft’s security product for the computers in a business. You can buy it on its own, and it is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Other Defender products have their own scope and licensing.

Microsoft lists Mac support for it. Its Mac documentation describes prevention, investigation, response and security posture features across the relevant Defender products. Another Microsoft subscription does not, by itself, mean this product is set up on your Macs.

[Defender for Business, on learn.microsoft.com](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-business/mdb-overview)

**Q:** What does endpoint protection mean?

### Protection for the computers people work on.

An endpoint is a computer someone works on, such as a Mac. Endpoint protection watches that computer and stops bad software while it runs.

Both products are built for this job on Macs. This page does not say which does it better, and it does not test either one.

**Q:** Where do the 118 checks come from?

### Where the checks come from.

Your Mac has many security settings. Some are off, and some get switched off over time.

cybee checks them against the CIS Benchmark, a public, industry maintained list of the safest settings for macOS. Many compliance frameworks accept it as a baseline for secure settings. On the Proof plan, cybee sets them that way and switches them back if anyone changes them.

**Q:** What is a Trust Passport?

### The Trust Passport.

The Trust Passport is a dated record of how your Macs are protected. Your client or insurer opens it through one link and sees what holds, since when, and what cybee could not see. It is not a certification or an audit, and it does not answer for your policies, your people or your cloud. It says so on the page.

Sealed means the record carries a fingerprint, a short code made from its content. Your client can compare it with the copy cybee sealed and see whether anything was changed afterwards. That shows the record was not edited. It does not check the facts a second time.

## Make the decision on one task. The one your client just sent.

a client asks

### “Is protection running on every project Mac?” Three steps, any tool.

1

Licensed.

Find the Defender product your subscription includes.

2

Installed and reporting.

Check the actual Macs, their permissions and what each one reported recently.

3

Ready to share.

Use the report that answers the client’s question, with dates and exceptions.

A purchase record proves a subscription. It does not prove every Mac is protected.

Before you add a tool

cybee can help with Mac settings and a record your client can read. It connects Google Workspace accounts today, and Microsoft 365 is in build. Keep your existing protection while you check that both can run together.

Figure: Step 2 in cybee: every Mac, the one open item and a record id, in one answer.

## Keep what works. Add only what is missing.

Choose by the job that is still open. One of these four will sound like your team.

Keep Defender

### Defender runs on your Macs, someone handles its alerts, and its reports answer your clients.

Keep it. Adding software may not help, and two tools doing one job is more to look after.

Check first, then decide

### You have the licence, but you are not sure every Mac runs Defender and reports.

Check the actual Macs and what they reported recently. If the gap stays open, a dated record from cybee is one way to close it. Write to us and ask Microsoft before you run both.

Start with cybee

### Nobody runs security for you, and your team works on Macs.

Protection is free for every Mac, and you run it by asking your AI assistant. Add the Proof plan when someone asks you for proof.

Not cybee alone, yet

### Your team works in Microsoft 365, or on Windows computers.

cybee connects Google Workspace accounts today. Microsoft 365 and Windows are in build, so keep what covers them.

Where cybee stops

It is not a certification or an audit. No security team watches your Macs for you. cybee stops bad software while it runs and sends an alert. A change to a setting waits for a yes from the person who uses that Mac. It runs on Macs with an Apple chip (M1 or newer). Windows, Linux and Microsoft 365 are not supported today. This page compares jobs, not detection results.

## Free for every Mac. You pay when you need to prove it.

The protection is free because we want every Mac in a small company protected. We earn money when a company has to prove it.

### Free

Free

Forever. Unlimited Macs and people.

- Stops bad software while it runs

- Alerts in macOS, Slack, Teams and SMS

- 118 safety checks on each Mac

- Apps, extensions and AI agents listed

- “Am I safe?” answers in your AI assistant

- Google Workspace account activity

- Email support within one working day

[Start free](https://cybee.ai/docs/install/)

### Proof plan

CHF 9 per Mac per month, or 90 a year

Everything in Free, plus:

- Weak settings fixed and kept fixed

- The sealed Trust Passport

- Security training, completion recorded

- Incident response plan

- Chat support

[Install, then start the 14 day trial](https://cybee.ai/docs/install/)

The 14 day trial starts in your AI assistant, after cybee is installed. Ask for a Proof plan feature, such as the Trust Passport. The link arrives in the chat and leads to Stripe, the payment service.

Per Mac, excluding tax. The same number in CHF, EUR, USD and GBP. Runs on Macs with an Apple chip, M1 or newer. Macs with an Intel chip are not supported. To check a Mac, open the Apple menu and choose About This Mac. [All plan details](https://cybee.ai/pricing/)

## Before you choose.

**Q:** Is Defender for Business the same as Microsoft 365?

No. It is a security product for the computers in a business. You can buy it on its own, and it is included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium. Check your exact subscription, and which Macs are set up with it.

**Q:** Does cybee monitor our Microsoft 365 accounts?

No. Google Workspace is the account service cybee connects today. Microsoft 365 is in build.

**Q:** Can cybee and Defender run on the same Mac?

Keep your existing protection while you check. Before you run both on one Mac, write to us and ask Microsoft, and name your versions. Agree first which tool sets each setting.

**Q:** What is free, and what does the Proof plan add?

Protection, the settings checks, the list of AI tools on each Mac and Google Workspace visibility are free. The Proof plan adds safer settings kept on, the sealed Trust Passport and security training, with a 14 day trial. It costs CHF 9 per Mac per month, or 90 a year, excluding tax. To try it, ask your AI assistant for the Trust Passport and use the Stripe link it sends. [See the trial and plans](https://cybee.ai/pricing/#trial)

**Q:** What does the Trust Passport show?

Which Macs were checked and when, including gaps. Its seal can be checked against cybee’s copy. It is not an independent audit or a certification. Google Workspace accounts have a separate record.

**Q:** What leaves my Mac?

Detection, checks and fixes run on the Mac. What leaves it is security information: events, which settings are on, which apps, browser extensions and AI agents are installed, what the agents are connected to and what cybee recorded them doing. Never the contents of your files, and never passwords or tokens. cybee AG is a Swiss company, hosted in Europe. [Security and privacy details](https://cybee.ai/security/)

## Check what you buy. Licences change.

This comparison rests on Microsoft’s own pages, checked on 18.09.2026. Confirm the licence, Mac support and your quote before you decide.

[Defender for Business overview Microsoft’s own description of the product.](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-business/mdb-overview) [Requirements What it needs, including the Macs it supports.](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-business/mdb-requirements) [Defender on macOS Its documentation for Macs, across the Defender products.](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/microsoft-defender-endpoint-mac)

## Where to go next.

[Client questionnaires Turn the facts on your Macs into an answer a client can check.](https://cybee.ai/use-cases/security-questionnaires/) [How cybee works Protection, safer settings and proof, in plain words.](https://cybee.ai/product/) [Pricing Every plan detail, the trial and the arithmetic per Mac.](https://cybee.ai/pricing/) [compare cybee and CrowdStrike Falcon packages, and the Mac evidence around them.](https://cybee.ai/compare/crowdstrike/) [compare cybee and Bitdefender GravityZone, and the work that remains around it.](https://cybee.ai/compare/bitdefender/) [compare All comparisons What other tools are built for, and where cybee fits.](https://cybee.ai/compare/)

## Your next client will ask. Be ready.

`curl -sSf https://get.cybee.dev | sh`

Run it in Terminal, a chat, your IDE or a CLI. Keep working where you started.

Free for every Mac with an Apple chip · Asks before it changes your Mac [What it installs](https://cybee.ai/docs/install/#see) [Read the install script](https://get.cybee.dev)