SIDE BY SIDE · FACTS ONLY

Lansweeper vs Defender EASM: asset inventory facts side by side

SHORT ANSWER

Lansweeper describes 3 of the five approaches on the pages we read and Defender EASM describes 2; they differ on CAASM aggregation, Agent-based inventory, External attack surface management, CMDB-centred inventory and Exposure management. On collection, Lansweeper offers its own agent and also works without one and Defender EASM works without new agents. Many estates run two of these approaches together, so the question is often which pair, not which one; we do not score either.

By The Inventory Desk · CAASM Finder · Published 2026-10-11

Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.

How do their approaches compare?

Top bar: Lansweeper
Lower bar, lighter: Microsoft Defender EASM

Full bar: described on the vendor's pages we read
Hatched bar: described with a condition (another product, a higher tier, or part of the approach)
Stub: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)

The bars show what each vendor's own pages describe, or how your answers weigh the five approaches. They are not a measure of how well a product works.

What are the facts, side by side?

From each vendor's own pages. Differs marks rows where the recorded status or check value differs.
Fact	Lansweeper	Microsoft Defender EASM
Positioning	An IT asset discovery and inventory product with three systems for the three places Lansweeper says assets live: the network including OT, off-network laptops, and cloud.	Microsoft's external attack surface management service, run as an Azure resource, with a prebuilt inventory, recursive discovery from seeds and billing on the Azure bill.
Deployment	Agentless scanning with passive detection on by default, an optional IT agent for remote laptops, and a traffic sensor. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	An Azure resource. Cross-tenant resource access, including Azure Lighthouse, is not supported. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
CAASM aggregationDiffers	With a condition Its own discovery does most of the work; shown integrations include ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, Microsoft Sentinel, Splunk and Armis, and duplicates merge on MAC address, serial number and hostname. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Agent-based inventoryDiffers	Described Agentless scanning and passive detection by default, plus an optional IT agent for laptops that rarely touch the network. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
External attack surface managementDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	Described A prebuilt inventory for many organisations plus recursive discovery from seeds you supply. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026
CMDB-centred inventoryDiffers	With a condition Feeds ITSM and CMDB tools such as ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, HaloITSM, Freshservice and TOPdesk. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.
Exposure managementDiffers	Not in our sources Not described on the pages we read.	With a condition Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene on external assets; remediation happens downstream through Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Servers and network devicesDiffers	Matches The network, including OT, is one of its three discovery systems. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Cloud workloadsDiffers	Partly Cloud discovery is documented; providers are not named on the product page. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
SaaS applicationsDiffers	Partly AI usage tracking is documented; broader SaaS discovery is not. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Identities as assets	Not in our sources	Not in our sources
Off-network laptopsDiffers	Matches Off-network laptops are one of its three discovery systems, through an optional agent. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
OT and IoT devicesDiffers	Matches IT, OT, cloud and IoT. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Internet-facing discoveryDiffers	Not in our sources	Matches Prebuilt inventory and recursive discovery from seeds. Source: Microsoft Learn: what is discovery · Read 27 Sep 2026
Offers its own agentDiffers	Matches Optional IT agent. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Works without new agents	Matches Agentless scanning; passive detection runs by default. Source: Lansweeper product · Read 27 Sep 2026	Matches An Azure service that discovers from seeds and a prebuilt inventory. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
Merges records from several sourcesDiffers	Partly Deduplicates on MAC address, serial number and hostname. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Feeds or updates a CMDBDiffers	Matches ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, HaloITSM, Freshservice and TOPdesk are shown integrations. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Not in our sources
Cross-source queries and reportsDiffers	Not in our sources	Partly Dashboards for vulnerabilities, compliance and hygiene. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM overview · Read 27 Sep 2026
Workflows, tickets or actions	Partly Sends inventory to ITSM tools; actions of its own are not described. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Partly Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer trigger remediation actions downstream. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price or pricing basis publishedDiffers	Matches Starter from €270 and Pro from €474 a month, billed annually; free up to 100 assets; Enterprise from 10,000 assets. Source: Lansweeper pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	Partly Billable assets are defined (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) and charged on the Azure bill; Microsoft's pricing page showed no rate when we read it. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026
Free tier or trial	Matches 14 days of full access, then free up to 100 assets. Source: Lansweeper pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	Matches A 30-day free trial, then Azure billing. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026
Platform it is part of	None	Microsoft: Native to Azure, billed on the Azure bill, with a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: Defender EASM documentation · Read 27 Sep 2026
Integrations	Jira Service Management, ServiceNow, HaloITSM, Freshservice, TOPdesk, Microsoft Sentinel, Splunk and Armis. Source: Lansweeper homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026	Data connections to Log Analytics and Azure Data Explorer, and a Security Copilot integration in preview. Source: Microsoft Learn: data connections · Read 27 Sep 2026
Price	Published, billed annually: Starter from €270 a month (2,000 assets, one installation, service desk ticket-enrichment integrations only); Pro from €474 a month (2,000 assets expandable to 9,000, up to three installations, all integrations); Enterprise custom from 10,000 assets with full API access; free up to 100 assets after a 14-day trial. Prices were shown to us in euros and may vary by location. Source: Lansweeper pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026	Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure. Source: Microsoft Learn: understanding billable assets · Read 27 Sep 2026

Where do they differ?

CAASM aggregation: Lansweeper describes it with a condition; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Agent-based inventory: Lansweeper describes it; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
External attack surface management: Lansweeper is not in our sources; Defender EASM describes it.
CMDB-centred inventory: Lansweeper describes it with a condition; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Exposure management: Lansweeper is not in our sources; Defender EASM describes it with a condition.
Servers and network devices: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Cloud workloads: Lansweeper partly matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
SaaS applications: Lansweeper partly matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Off-network laptops: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
OT and IoT devices: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Internet-facing discovery: Lansweeper is not in our sources; Defender EASM matches.
Offers its own agent: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Merges records from several sources: Lansweeper partly matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Feeds or updates a CMDB: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM is not in our sources.
Cross-source queries and reports: Lansweeper is not in our sources; Defender EASM partly matches.
Price or pricing basis published: Lansweeper matches; Defender EASM partly matches.

Can they work together?

Yes, on the pages we read:

Microsoft Sentinel is a shown integration, and discovery connectors import from Intune and SCCM.
Source: Lansweeper pricing · Read 11 Oct 2026

Choose Lansweeper if

You want to find what is on the network yourself, including OT, without going through sales first
You need off-network laptops covered with a light, optional agent

Choose Defender EASM if

You are on Azure and want an external inventory without a sales call
You want an outside-in baseline before choosing an inventory platform

Which limits should you check?

Lansweeper

SaaS coverage is limited to AI usage tracking on the pages we read, and identities are not described.
Merging what many security tools report is not described; deduplication uses MAC address, serial number and hostname.

Defender EASM

External assets only: internal devices, SaaS apps and identities are not covered.
No built-in remediation workflow, and no cross-tenant resource access for groups with several Azure tenants.

Put Lansweeper and Defender EASM in the asset census with others Run the finder

Questions people ask

Is Lansweeper or Defender EASM better?

Neither is scored on this site. Lansweeper describes 3 of five approaches and Defender EASM 2 on the pages we read, and they differ on 16 recorded facts. Which fits depends on where your assets live, whether you can install agents, your CMDB and your tools; the finder checks those.

Do Lansweeper and Defender EASM work with a CMDB?

Lansweeper: Matches. ServiceNow, Jira Service Management, HaloITSM, Freshservice and TOPdesk are shown integrations. Defender EASM: Not in our sources.

Do Lansweeper or Defender EASM publish prices?

Lansweeper: Published, billed annually: Starter from €270 a month (2,000 assets, one installation, service desk ticket-enrichment integrations only); Pro from €474 a month (2,000 assets expandable to 9,000, up to three installations, all integrations); Enterprise custom from 10,000 assets with full API access; free up to 100 assets after a 14-day trial. Prices were shown to us in euros and may vary by location. Defender EASM: Billed through Azure on billable assets (approved host:IP combinations, domains and IP addresses) after a 30-day free trial. Microsoft's pricing page did not show a rate when we read it; check it for the current figure.