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ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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

ESET Endpoint Protection Pl...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
100
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (11th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (7th)
WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
26th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is 3.0%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus is 0.3%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

ManojNair2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up with good security and rapidly improving capabilities
In terms of stability, the performance parameters do come into play. It's good on the regular office front, however, on the development side, if somebody is using it in a development environment, they need to make some configuration changes in terms of what directories should be excluded from the real-time scanning. I had to do that kind of stuff. I don't do that with the Microsoft product, for example. It runs, and it scans the entire system with no issues. The solution is stable. Regular updates were available in the product versions. They were updated, and they gave regular signature updates also so that the product checked all the boxes.
PA
Reasonably priced and simple to use
During the product's installation phase, you just put the tool in the right place, and it works. The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. The solution can be deployed in a couple of minutes. The installation process is so basic that I don't even remember what you need to do. You just put the tick marks in the tool and ask the tool to use them. In the rules, where you see the files go through is where you can think over what to do with the files. With the tool, you just need to put it on, and then the default rules make sure that there is some indication that something is wrong.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The primary purpose is to protect computers from viruses and ransomware."
"Easy to use security solution, helps to secure connected devices against viruses in the digital world."
"A feature we like is setting the GUI of ESET Endpoint Security/ESET File Security to silent mode because some servers and clients can have performance issues."
"This solution does not slow down your systems. It is very light."
"The solution is very lightweight and does not consume that much processor in terms of CPU utilization. The centralized management system is very good."
"The performance of the solution is very good it does not impact my hardware and is user-friendly."
"It's easy to set up and quick to deploy."
"If it detects ransomware or something, it can isolate that computer."
"The pricing of the solution is okay. It's not the most expensive option."
"I haven't a problem with anti-virus stability using WatchGuard for over two years."
"It is the most effective on non-encrypted traffic and it is able to determine some threats through deep packet inspection."
"WatchGuard is easy to implement and inexpensive. When we get a bulk-off license, we get a very discounted price that is competitive with alternative or competitor solutions."
"It does its job very well, and it is quite easy to put to use."
 

Cons

"On the solution's website, it is sometimes difficult to figure out how to download the exact product associated with your purchased license."
"The update process can be improved, and there could be an automatic update process when a new version comes out. For system updates or program updates, there could be more automation."
"They could be more aggressive with malware."
"While the pricing is good, they could always lower it a bit."
"When users renew licenses, they should offer a discount."
"They could improve the solution by adding better ransomware features."
"The stability needs to be improved. There are bugs that you have to deal with."
"They need to improve licensing for VMs. When ESET is uninstalled from a VM, the seat stays on the license management server. We have to manually delete the seat from that server because it doesn't know how to handle it. I contacted exclusive ESET support here in Croatia and they told me there is no solution for this yet."
"WatchGuard technical support requires a license."
"The solution isn't what I would consider feature-rich."
"Since WatchGuard acquired Panda, there may be synergies in consolidating both solutions under a single name to reduce customer confusion."
"It doesn't offer the best protection and it's incompatible with a lot of China's websites. It makes a lot of mistakes when it is detecting items as it's not recognizing items correctly."
"There were a little bit of problems with the tool's updates, making it an area where improvements are needed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost is a very reasonable. When compared with other products, the price is low (though not very low)."
"ESET is perfect, if you can afford it."
"The pricing is pretty good."
"Its price is fair. If we compare it with any other retail product, it is a little harder to compete with."
"The pricing can be a bit more flexible."
"Pricing per month, for security services as apps in CEE pricing: up to €2 monthly is OK."
"For 200 or so users, it might cost around $10,000 or so. That is for a first-time purchase. A renewal may come in at $7,000 to $8,000, or around 20% to 30% less. This is a rough estimate of what to expect."
"The price of the solution is very good compared to other solutions."
"For what we use, the tool's price has been reasonable, but it is not the cheapest. The tool has been quite reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ESET Endpoint Security?
ESET Endpoint Security’s most valuable feature is the management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ESET Endpoint Security?
I rate the product’s pricing a three out of ten. It is neither cheap nor expensive for our clients. We use the free version, and there are no additional costs involved.
What needs improvement with ESET Endpoint Security?
The product’s AI implementation feature could be better for learning user behavior. There could be a feature to detect unsecured devices in the network similar to its older version. We need additio...
What needs improvement with WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
It is a basic tool tool, and it does very well for what it is supposed to do. It does simple checks against signatures. I think it is very much what it needs to be, and it is a basic tool that you ...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
The solution is used when you want to handle policies with the file. There are different ways you can use it, like in the firewall rules and in proxy rules, and to secure emails. The tool was used ...
What advice do you have for others considering WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
It is the basic starting tool. We used different tools in the company. In our gateway, we used WatchGuard because we used WatchGuard's firewalls. It was very easy to set it up. It was used so that ...
 

Also Known As

Smart Security, ESET PROTECT Advanced, ESET LiveGuard Advanced, ESET PROTECT Platform
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ERSTE Group Bank, Miller Solutions, Wesleyan University, The Hospital Center of Luxembourg, Deer Valley USD, SPAR, Industrial Federal Credit Union, Honda, City Hall of Palmela, Hays CISD, Lester B Pearson School Board
Star Cargo
Find out what your peers are saying about ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.