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Digital Guardian vs McAfee Complete Data Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 3, 2025

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

Digital Guardian
Ranking in Endpoint Encryption
9th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (11th), Mobile Data Protection (7th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (23rd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (41st)
McAfee Complete Data Protec...
Ranking in Endpoint Encryption
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Endpoint Encryption category, the mindshare of Digital Guardian is 0.9%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of McAfee Complete Data Protection is 7.3%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

Sandeep Jopat - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly customizable, helpful support, and multiple modules available
Digital Guardian is generally considered stable, with its robust data loss prevention capabilities being highly valued by organizations. However, as with any complex software solution, there may be occasional challenges in terms of compatibility with certain operating systems or applications. In such cases, it may be necessary to modify settings or entries within Digital Guardian to ensure optimal performance. Overall, Digital Guardian is a stable solution that can be highly customized to meet the specific needs and requirements of organizations. As with any software solution, regular maintenance and support from a team of experts is necessary to ensure optimal performance and stability.
ObaseunAwoyinfa - PeerSpot reviewer
Encrypts the hard drive, offers data protection policies and effective part of DLP strategy
The only thing that I think could be improved is the data classifier. It's not a very robust classifier, which is where its limitation lies. For example, you see a lot of higher-end solutions where people can classify data more effectively, adding labels like transcription labels and such. McAfee’s classifier doesn't handle all those tasks. It doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as other data classification tools. You can't do things like fingerprinting and other advanced classification methods. However, if you were to make it more robust, the product could become too heavy to run effectively on endpoints and servers. So, to be honest, I can't think of anything else off the top of my head that could be added. I think it's a great solution as it stands. If anyone wants extended data classification, they can leverage other tools like Titus, Fortra's Classifier Suite (previously known as Boldon James Classifier), or even Microsoft AIP if they have the budget. You can also leverage Trellix to enhance your data protection. From my point of view, McAfee Complete Data Protection is one of the best solutions out there, if not the best, to be honest.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have been able to monitor access to files from each of our workstations."
"It has the added advantage of offering forensic analysis."
"The most valuable feature of Digital Guardian is its reputation. They have scored high on the Gartner Magic Quadrant."
"The technical support is really terrific."
"Some of the features that are highly appreciated are its robust data loss prevention capabilities, flexible deployment options, and the ability to monitor data transfer across multiple vectors."
"I like the solution's adaptive inspection and container inspection."
"The feature we call desktop recording is the most valuable aspect of the solution. Not only can we collect data from the user's usage, but we also capture his screenshots when he is trying to steal the data."
"In Digital Guardian, they have the cloud correlation servers that give you visibility work like EBR and the correlation server works very well for security analysis."
"In the configuration, you can restrict a user from accessing a removable drive."
"In addition, it is easy to use, and you can define rules that protect the database beyond the built-in rules of the product. I found another purpose for the product besides the basic things that it does, protecting the database: privileged use, weak authentication, SQL injection and and database platform vulnerability."
"Reporting and encryption are its most valuable features."
"With this solution, the device control is more reliable and more stable."
"I don't need to have any interaction with this product, which means that it is very, very good, and it is doing its job."
"The beauty of McAfee is that they are not looking at encryption from one single standpoint. It is a broader solution."
"The solution is excellent for protecting users from data being exploited. It's also great for preventing data leakage."
"The McAfee Threat Protection and McAfee Web Protection are valuable aspects of the solution. They're better than other features that come with the endpoints."
 

Cons

"Some features on Mac and Linux are not complete currently. For example, some device control features haven't been transferred over to the other systems. If they could have their Windows features also available on Mac and Linux, that would be perfect. Some of our customers have a Mac environment for their RD environment. Having the solution fully capable of handling everything in a Mac environment is crucial."
"I would like to see the workflow, to get all the rules and policies set up, be less complicated."
"The solution has complexities around policy creation and deployment."
"Technical support could be better."
"The room for improvement with Digital Guardian is that it will be better with the Linux agent because it is the only DLP solution for Linux workstations. It still needs to upgrade the agents to the latest version for the Linux kernel."
"When considering potential areas for improvement, it may be beneficial for Digital Guardian to optimize its processes and reduce the computational demands on the system, particularly with regard to high CPU usage. Although Digital Guardian offers numerous benefits, it can consume a substantial amount of RAM and CPU power."
"The initial setup is a bit more complex than other solutions."
"If the client uses Windows 10 or 11 and Microsoft updates the operating system's version, Digital Guardian must update their product to match compatibility."
"They need to segregate McAfee Complete Data Protection for endpoints and servers."
"The refresh feature needs improvement. You need to refresh it manually yt going to the address bar, clicking on it and pressing enter, or pressing F5. There should be a button you can click on to refresh or have it so every five seconds it's refreshing."
"We encountered several problems with the solution's stability."
"There are compatibility issues with the Chrome browser."
"There are some features that do not work with Mac."
"As a new technology, it does need to grow."
"Some clients still receive spam and malware in their attachments, so the data protection isn't working correctly. We have configured it and enabled the features in the client's system, but some policies have failed to work once or twice."
"There's a limited coverage of operating systems. The marketing strategies need to change drastically."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Digital Guardian is on the higher end compared to other vendors."
"If I compare Digital Guardian with Symantec, the license cost is lower, but McAfee can be cheaper than Digital Guardian. It depends on how many licenses you plan to buy and how big the project is. The cost is not so high as Symantec, but not as cheap as McAfee. They can easily sell the solution for price."
"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten because Digital Guardian is expensive."
"The cost was around $300,000."
"The price of Digital Guardian is expensive."
"Digital Guardian has both, subscription and perpetual licenses, but I think when everything (all technologies) will go to the cloud they will only offer subscriptions."
"The solution is affordable"
"The pricing of the cloud offering seems confusing."
"We currently have a contract option with McAfee Complete Data Protection."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price and ten is a high price, I rate the solution a seven."
"The price is good, it's a low-cost solution."
"This solution is reasonably priced."
"I think the price could be a little bit less."
"McAfee Complete Data Protection is a little bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Digital Guardian?
I like the solution's adaptive inspection and container inspection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Digital Guardian?
Technical support is included in the subscription package. But if, during the subscription, our clients want to include the professional services of a Digital Guardian engineer, the price changes. ...
What needs improvement with Digital Guardian?
If the client uses Windows 10 or 11 and Microsoft updates the operating system's version, Digital Guardian must update their product to match compatibility.
Would you choose Microsoft BitLocker or McAfee Complete Data Protection?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protection....
What do you like most about McAfee Complete Data Protection?
It worked for me: it's easy to use and has been very effective.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee Complete Data Protection?
The huge problem I see is pricing. We understand that DLP is not cheap anywhere in the world, but we constantly lose our protection because of pricing. Sometimes, this is because end users prefer t...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Fifth Avenue Theatre, Jabil Circuit
Xcel Energy
Find out what your peers are saying about Digital Guardian vs. McAfee Complete Data Protection and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.