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Malwarebytes vs Symantec Endpoint Security Complete comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 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

Malwarebytes
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Endpoint Security ...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
37th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Malwarebytes is 2.0%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Security Complete is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Anas Anas - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective threat predictions, simple to deploy, and light on resources
Malwarebytes's initial setup is simple. It is easy to deploy and configure the policies and the configuration. I deployed Malwarebytes for one customer and I did it in under two days. They had approximately 50 users, it took approximately an hour. The steps I took for the implementation were downloading the Malwarebytes management console from the site, installing it, then running the discovery tool, scanning my network, and checking all of the PCs on my network. It's already pre-configured, you don't need to configure anything. The only configuration that I did on the administration console was some of the exclusion from the scan. This is the only rule that I have created. I rate the initial setup of Malwarebytes a ten out of ten.
Livin Sunil - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides comprehensive protection with a need for a more intuitive interface
Security Complete comes with antivirus plus EDR, which is a convergence of antivirus and EDR. I have both the antivirus and EDR features constantly, allowing my team's customers to conduct detailed analyses of where attacks have occurred or if any malicious files are present, which devices or files have been targeted. It provides a greater level of view, making it easy for my team to mitigate those particular attacks.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"This solution helps us by providing central management of anti-malware and anti-exploit functionality."
"The most valuable features of the solution are malware scanning and malware removal."
"The most valuable feature is that it stops malware, which is important."
"The solution is very good at scanning."
"The technical support services are good."
"We have seen a decrease of approximately ninety percent in the number of events."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that I can use it wherever I want, be it at the office, at home, or even outside."
"Being able to cloud manage it from just a cloud login is valuable. We can get to it from anywhere, which is really helpful. The fact that we can remediate from the cloud console is one of our favorite features."
"It protects emails and messages shared between users."
"The most valuable features of Symantec Endpoint Security Complete for me are sandboxing and its threat-hunting capabilities."
"It is a very reliable product."
"Endpoint security platform that provides protection for Active Directory environments, file servers, etc., and offers excellent technical support."
"One of the most valuable features includes elements such as host libraries."
"I am impressed with the tool's detection response."
"I like that Symantec can update directories."
"The SONAR feature is valuable as it offers real-time protection and threat rejection."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the way it is deployed, in terms of being able to distribute it. Right now we have to get our hands on a machine to deploy it. It would be nice if there was an easier system."
"They should make it faster, less taxing on the processor."
"It's not good in search hunting."
"The product has major problems in almost every facet of setup and use including setup, configuration, lack of functionality, lack of stability, false positives, questionable reporting, inability to protect from randsomeware and poor technical support and development."
"The free version is effective, however, the paid version is pricey compared to it."
"I would like to see a little more detail in the log. So, when an event occurs, I'd like to know not just when it happened and on what device, but what activity was taking place on the machine at the time so that we can drill down. If we get a false positive, we have to do a lot of research and go back and forth with our end-users to know why it was a false positive. So, having a little more detail around detections and events would probably be my most asked feature."
"A solution must be installed in the main gateway to give an overview of the incoming and outgoing traffic. The technical support team's response time should be faster."
"Every once in a while, it gets clobbered by updates from other places. I don't think this should happen."
"The solution is a pretty expensive product. While it provides good service, considering the price, it is hard to tell about the benefits."
"There are some limitations from the cloud security point of view."
"Installation and packaging for Symantec Endpoint Security Complete should be improved. Its console is also confusing, so that's another area for improvement."
"Symantec Endpoint Security Complete does not cover everything on the cloud. It does not cover the workstation emails. There are risks associated with it."
"They could improve the user interface."
"The deployment of Symantec components could be improved."
"Symantec Endpoint Security Complete could improve by integrating more easily with other Symantec security products."
"The solution should include automatic updates."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its cost is around $60 a machine. The cost of the total solution for 250 people is about $8,500 a year. If we add EDR to it, it will bring that cost up to about $15,000. The cost for Carbon Black is about $25,000, which is $10,000 more, but you get all AI functions with it."
"Malwarebytes is a cost-effective product."
"I would say that it's affordable. It costs much less than Sentinel One, CrowdStrike, or anything of that nature. But, at the same time, you are getting what you pay for. So I would say it's one of the best when you're comparing traditional NextGen AVs like Webroot that aren't the best in the bunch."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price and ten is a high price, I rate the product's pricing a seven."
"The cost may be something in the ballpark of $20-25 a year per computer."
"The platform pricing is competitive with other antivirus products."
"It is really expensive. We've got between 30 and 40 licenses every year, and for the number of licenses that we have, we're finding that Malwarebytes on average costs between $900 and $1,000 more per year than comparable options. We're paying about $3,300 per year for these licenses. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."
"We expect to pay $1,000 USD a month, depending on the number of users."
"I'm recommending going with three-year licensing, rather than the yearly licensing option for this product."
"License renewal is not a straightforward process. I have a three-year subscription. It takes a long time to renew the license after three years. It is not proactive on that. The solution is expensive for the coverage that it does. I have to include other products to complement the protection that Symantec Endpoint Security Complete does not cover. We have to pay 18 euros. There are no additional support or maintenance costs."
"In terms of costs, Symantec Endpoint Security Complete has become costlier compared to how much it was in the past. The cost of the product is very high now. The customer needs to pay extra for additional features, but not for technical support. For example, if you need an email gateway or if you are looking for URL filtering, you have to pay extra, and that's where the costs for Symantec Endpoint Security Complete become higher."
"The product's pricing is dependent on partnership levels. The solution's price is competitive compared to other solutions."
"Symantec Endpoint Security Complete is not expensive."
"It's cost-effective and well-suited for smaller to midrange companies."
"The pricing is good. It's good value for the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
University
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Malwarebytes?
Ten times a day, improved signatures will be downloaded, so it is very up-to-date in terms of malware experience.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Malwarebytes?
I really hate the automatic rebilling without officially confirming it with me. It's an annoyance and they should at least confirm with me, like a month before they bill me.
What needs improvement with Malwarebytes?
It takes up too much space when it's trying to run in the background.
What do you like most about Symantec Endpoint Security Complete?
The solution prevents any damage from viruses and provides risk mitigation for virus threats.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Endpoint Security Complete?
Symantec Endpoint Security Full/Complete license is not expensive and advise using the full feature.
What needs improvement with Symantec Endpoint Security Complete?
They could improve the user interface. Currently, everything is pretty good, however, when it comes to the Maniac and Protection, there could be enhancements.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Knutson Construction
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Malwarebytes vs. Symantec Endpoint Security Complete and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,155 professionals have used our research since 2012.