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Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs Symantec Protection Engine comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Harmony SASE (f...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
14th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (8th), Firewalls (20th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (7th), ZTNA as a Service (8th), ZTNA (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (8th)
Symantec Protection Engine
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Protection Engine is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81)1.0%
Symantec Protection Engine0.7%
Other98.3%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Pre Sales Consultant at Redington Group
Delivers seamless and secure remote access while enhancing security posture
Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) offers strong features, but there are areas that could be improved. One area for improvement is integration with third-party identity providers. It works with standard SAML and SSO, but we would prefer deeper integrations with solutions such as Ping for more advanced identity-based policies. Additionally, a mobile-specific client or lightweight agent would be helpful for securing access from smartphones, especially in BYOD environments. We would appreciate more granular reporting and analytics, including better drill-down capabilities to investigate specific users or app activity. The logs are comprehensive, but filtering them can sometimes feel messy. The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices. Some of the policy configuration steps are nested and could be streamlined.
Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl
Real-time file security has reduced incident tickets and improves threat detection accuracy
The best features of Symantec Protection Engine include machine learning, file reputation, and real-time scanning. It efficiently handles heavy loads through ICAP and cloud-based processing, reducing the burden on endpoints compared to Trend Micro and other endpoint security solutions. Its centralized control is also noteworthy. Through machine learning, it detects both known and unknown malware and malicious URLs, in addition to performing signature-based scans that assist SOC teams in analysis. The solution is highly effective in leveraging both machine learning and file reputation. Regarding centralized control, it offers a unified management console for policy deployment and provides real-time visibility through dashboards, helping save significant administrative time. Symantec Protection Engine has had a positive impact on our organization by enhancing our overall security posture. It effectively blocks a high volume of file-based threats across more than 200 servers, saves SOC analysts time in endpoint remediation, and streamlines compliance processes. It further strengthens security through real-time scanning and machine learning-based quarantine, blocking phishing payloads in SharePoint uploads before they reach endpoints, thereby reducing incidents by 30–40% compared to signature-only tools.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The scalability is good, and I'd give it an eight out of ten."
"Perimeter 81 is very pretty."
"It's improved the security of every single OS in the organization as well as the visibility and security capabilities."
"Harmony Endpoint gives us a complete security package with a lot of security features that regularly require a lot of separate security products and a lot of overhead management."
"Advanced behavior analysis and machine learning algorithms shut down malware before it does damage."
"The Check Point portfolio showcases very strong products."
"Harmony Connect is very stable and its performance is good in the production environment."
"The product’s ability to block phishing sites is valuable."
"Symantec Protection Engine is a cheaper and rock-solid product where basic anti-spam features and threat intelligence are needed."
"Symantec Protection Engine provides me with the option of both cloud and on-premise solutions, which stands out for both me and my clients."
"Symantec Protection Engine has improved my security posture by helping me identify potentially malicious files before they reach users or critical systems, and the automated scanning process has also reduced manual efforts for my team, allowing us to focus on other security tasks and respond to threats more efficiently."
"The operational efficiency with the high-performance scanning of Symantec Protection Engine is very good."
"The biggest advantage of Symantec Protection Engine is that one tool protects all, and it is centrally managed."
"What I appreciate in Symantec Protection Engine is the Virtual Policy Manager (VPM) and the Application Name feature, which are really effective."
"Symantec Protection Engine's been a game-changer for us at Kantar—blocks like 80-85% of file-based threats right at the gateway before they hit our 200 servers, cutting down endpoint incidents big time."
"The best features that I like the most include the threat intelligence network, which is effective in protecting against evolving threats."
 

Cons

"There is a hefty cost"
"Although the interface is user-friendly, further simplification and customization options tailored for non-technical users would benefit smaller firms without dedicated IT teams. Intuitive dashboards and guided setups can help in reducing the learning curve."
"The remote browser isolation is not part of the unified agent, as of now."
"It would be nice to have a notification sound when Perimeter81 disconnects, as I sometimes don't notice when the icon shows that it's disconnected, and I end up wasting time waiting for my browser to load a page that shows an error, usually error 404."
"The user interface on the management portal could be more intuitive, especially when managing multiple sites or remote offices."
"The integration from a management perspective could be improved so that the management can, from an existing Check Point firewall, manage a Harmony firewall through one pane of glass."
"The solution's speed of upload and download is an area where it lacks"
"Support is one of the points of improvement."
"We have scenarios in which Symantec Protection Engine misses some threats, spam, and targeted attacks that Proofpoint can catch with AI security features."
"As for pricing, I would say it is a little expensive compared to competitors, and I think the vendor could achieve more market growth if the pricing were more reasonable."
"I would like to see improvements in reporting and troubleshooting capabilities for Symantec Protection Engine, as more detailed insights and simplified diagnostics would make day-to-day administration easier."
"I have concerns about scalability."
"While I have mentioned many advantages of Symantec Protection Engine, there are areas for improvement, particularly the dashboard features."
"Price is a significant area for improvement. The pricing is quite expensive, and it is particularly high for regular customers."
"For the improvement of Symantec Protection Engine, the engine did not work with their basic engine when I was working, which was almost three or four years before."
"To improve Symantec Protection Engine, I suggest simplifying its integration with other tools, as it is more complex compared to Trend Micro and CrowdStrike."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of the solution's licenses depends on the particular use cases."
"The pricing of Check Point is relatively high when compared to other competitors like Palo Alto and Fortinet. While Palo Alto may be on the higher side in terms of cost, Check Point's pricing is similar to that of Fortinet. In some cases, Check Point offers better value for the features it provides. We initially considered other options but ultimately decided to purchase hardware that came with three years of iOS. This approach eliminated the need for any additional costs associated with Check Point. I would rate it 10 out of 10."
"The solution is priced appropriately considering its uses. For an essential license, a user pays only 30 USD per month. For an enterprise version, the prices can be negotiated with the company."
"The solution's pricing model may not be suitable for smaller companies, as they might find it expensive. Larger companies tend to receive more value due to many users."
"Perimeter 81 charges separately for gateways and VPN connectivity, but compared to Azure, it seemed more reasonable."
"Regarding pricing, I can say that the more the number of users, the less they have to pay."
"The product is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The pricing is good, especially when you compare it to other firewall or UTM solutions from FortiGate or SonicWall, where you would have to invest about four hundred thousand rupees for 100 users over a three-year period."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
16%
Healthcare Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business53
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Large Enterprise4
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Harmony Connect?
I am not aware of the pricing, setup cost, and licensing, but I would say the setup cost is our resource, and we have invested many hours into this project.
What needs improvement with Harmony Connect?
When I'm raising a ticket for Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81), it's a bit technical for non-technical people. It could have been clearer and easier for them to raise a ticket becau...
What is your primary use case for Harmony Connect?
I have experience with this product as a user. Currently, the Check Point product that I worked with mostly was the Firewall, the R81. I'm not working with Check Point WAF, Web Application Firewall...
What needs improvement with Symantec Protection Engine?
For emerging threats, content scanning is not enough anymore. We recently started talking about alternative products such as Proofpoint or other mail gateways which have AI features. Symantec is la...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Protection Engine?
Customers prefer Symantec Protection Engine for the licensing fees over the alternatives. The product has basic protection which is a bit lower than expectations recently, but it is an adequate pro...
 

Also Known As

Check Point Quantum SASE
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aqua Security, Cognito, Multipoint, Kustomer, Postman, Meredith
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs. Symantec Protection Engine and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.