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Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Fortinet FortiEDR vs Symantec Endpoint Security comparison

 

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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.7
Cortex XDR enhances threat prevention, compliance, and cost efficiency, providing rapid ROI and improved security and user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
8.3
Fortinet FortiEDR offers enhanced security and ROI with minimal weekly effort, boosting visibility and customer satisfaction over four years.
Sentiment score
6.2
Symantec Endpoint Security delivers positive ROI by enhancing virus protection, reducing downtime, and improving operational efficiency with minimal disruption.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
I have seen a return on investment with Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, as this product is offered at a minimal cost, and we can find a good ROI from it.
Symantec Endpoint Security filled gaps in our toolset, particularly with the ability to control network firewall on hosts remotely, which was greatly appreciated.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Palo Alto Networks' customer service receives mixed reviews due to language barriers, response times, and inconsistent technical support quality.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiEDR's customer service is responsive but faces occasional delays due to broader reach and non-integrated support.
Sentiment score
6.5
Symantec Endpoint Security's support is praised but varies post-Broadcom, with delays and regional differences affecting effectiveness.
Every vendor has similar support; it depends on how the case is handled and raised.
Their support is efficient and responsive whenever I raise a ticket through my portal.
I would rate technical support from Palo Alto on a scale from one to ten as an eight, as I find it good.
For setting up some proper solutions for issues at the customer site, it can take about one week.
In some cases, it rates as high as ten out of ten, while in others, it can be as low as eight.
There is no support in the German language, which is a problem for many public tenders.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cortex XDR excels in scalability and adaptability across environments, supporting diverse systems with seamless deployment and reliable expansion.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiEDR is highly scalable for enterprises, though some limitations exist with external integrations and cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.7
Symantec Endpoint Security is scalable, user-friendly, and ideal for large organizations, effortlessly integrating with existing systems.
When implemented in a Fortinet environment with an existing firewall, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiManager, it is straightforward to install and scale by adding more EDR for endpoints.
Symantec Endpoint Security is quite scalable, and it is very important for large clients.
The scalability of the servers is good, as it requires computational powers.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is stable and reliable, with quick bug fixes and consistent performance across platforms.
Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiEDR is stable and reliable but requires maintenance, with occasional issues like memory concerns and false alerts.
Sentiment score
7.7
Symantec Endpoint Security is generally reliable, though updates and operating system variations can occasionally disrupt stability and resource usage.
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
For the last 11 months, we haven't faced any outage issues, so it is a stable product.
After that, I stopped scanning the Cisco AnyConnect and switched to Fortinet VPN. Everything worked fine afterward.
I have encountered issues where I had to uninstall and reinstall the product on end users' computers to view the logs again.
Previously, we used to have multiple servers such as GUP servers and numerous servers for pushing updates, but we reduced it and transitioned almost 30,000 devices to CrowdStrike, which was easy to manage.
 

Room For Improvement

Users find Cortex XDR challenging due to integration issues, high memory usage, limited features, and a need for improvements.
Fortinet FortiEDR needs improved cloud security, automation, and user interface for better market acceptance and competitive advantage.
Symantec Endpoint Security faces performance issues, complex management, insufficient threat detection, and compatibility problems affecting usability and support.
The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products.
If the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better.
Cortex XDR could improve its sales support team, including better commission structures and referral programs.
Fortinet could consider reducing the minimum order quantity for EDR, currently set at 500 pieces.
Device management is not very good and I am not enabling it in my organization due to security reasons.
I would like to see improvements in the scanning part of the solution, specifically to enhance the CPU and hard disk usage during scanning and updates to prevent disruption during work hours.
It is cumbersome to use, particularly in handling firewall management.
 

Setup Cost

Cortex XDR offers flexible licensing, valued for complex security needs, but perceived as costly and variable in international markets.
Fortinet FortiEDR offers competitive pricing but may have high setup costs, with potential savings through Fortinet's channel model.
Symantec Endpoint Security is valued for its cost-effective pricing, flexible plans, and discounts for long-term or special contracts.
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
Compared to competitors such as CrowdStrike and Sophos, the pricing of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is similar to CrowdStrike but more expensive than Sophos.
It's reasonably priced compared to other vendors' similar products.
It seems to be half the cost or more affordable than other solutions.
The pricing is very low compared to other companies like SentinelOne and others.
I rate the pricing, setup cost, and licensing around nine out of ten.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR ensures comprehensive protection with AI-driven analytics, multi-layered threat detection, and seamless integration, enhancing security management.
Fortinet FortiEDR offers robust EDR capabilities, efficient resource use, and seamless integration, ensuring scalable, user-friendly cybersecurity for organizations.
Symantec Endpoint Security provides comprehensive protection with device control, intrusion prevention, anti-virus, centralized management, and cross-platform integration.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
The product provides automation responses in case of a threat attack, severity assessments, centralized manageability, and comprehensive compliance features, resulting in reduced costs.
If a user doesn't click any link within 30 days and on the 31st day clicks a new link, Cortex XDR immediately alerts us that this user has clicked on an uncommon link or their behavior is uncommon.
Symantec Endpoint Security offers many valuable features, such as file explosion, application learning, DLP, injection detection, and EDR solutions for traffic control.
The incident response capabilities allow me to resolve authentication and support issues promptly, ensuring the system operates without downtime.
One important feature is the EDR function, necessary for many public customers due to upcoming laws in Germany, which is available through Symantec Endpoint Security Complete.
 

Featured Reviews

NiteshSharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Automated threat response and behavioral control improve security measures
I recommend adding a data loss prevention (DLP) solution to Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. The inclusion of this feature would allow the application of DLP policies alongside antivirus policies via a single agent and console, making it more competitive as other OEMs often offer DLP solutions as part of their antivirus products. Additionally, multi-tenancy and multi-cloud features are not available and should be considered for inclusion.
Jovan Jovanovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Collects valuable endpoint data with good analytics and helpful scalability
This is a question for the partners who implement and install it. I am not involved in the implementation process, so I cannot suggest improvements. As mentioned, this is a query for my presales team, not me. I am part of the security team lead, focusing mainly on sales. Regarding the product, Fortinet could consider reducing the minimum order quantity for EDR, currently set at 500 pieces. In smaller markets like Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Slovenia, it can be challenging to find customers with 500 endpoints. My suggestion to Fortinet would be to lower this minimum order quantity to one.
Kumbesh Rajagopal - PeerSpot reviewer
Management becomes easier with minimal complications, but improvement in support tools needed
Regarding areas of improvement for Symantec Endpoint Security, there are many changes, and the support portal tool is complicated compared to other tools. When trying to get service from Symantec, the process is complex. I'm not sure whether it's because of my project or something else. Though it is easy to manage, easy to get, easy to install, and works efficiently for managing policies, we faced a significant disadvantage. We wanted to add multiple hashes because of numerous new alerts coming, but we could only add them one by one, which is a considerable disadvantage in Symantec.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions th...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface,...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protectio...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiEDR?
We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiEDR?
It's reasonably priced compared to other vendors' similar products.
Which is better - Cortex XDR or Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valu...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior sol...
What do you like most about Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Symantec have everything – documentation, videos, data sheets.
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
enSilo, FortiEDR
Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft and others in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). Updated: January 2025.
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