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Malwarebytes vs ZoneAlarm 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Malwarebytes
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (14th)
ZoneAlarm
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (20th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Endpoint Security solutions, they serve different purposes. Malwarebytes is designed for Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and holds a mindshare of 1.9%, up 1.7% compared to last year.
ZoneAlarm, on the other hand, focuses on Anti-Malware Tools, holds 2.3% mindshare, up 1.7% since last year.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
Anti-Malware Tools
 

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.
Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable solution that protects computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers
ZoneAlarm doesn't require much maintenance. You only need to update the application when there are any latest updates. ZoneAlarm is deployed on-cloud in our organization. With an increase in the bring your own device concept, ZoneAlarm should be part of every device to help us make the operational work very easy. Overall, I rate ZoneAlarm a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the solution's ability to detect potentially unwanted programs. For some reason, it seems superior to other solutions, or at least in comparison to McAfee."
"The central management of devices from different sites is a very good feature; this has made them much easier to manage."
"The behavior-based detection is very nice, and it combats zero-day threats by looking for anomalous behaviors."
"The most valuable features of Malwarebytes are the EDR and the complete feature set provided."
"The pricing of the product is very good."
"Provides successful ransomware shut down operations."
"The most valuable features of Malwarebytes are the agents, user experience, efficiency of the findings, and MDR features."
"I was very satisfied with Malwarebytes in terms of its antivirus abilities."
"It gives us security for the users' mobiles and ends up protecting us in a significant way."
"The solution maintains reasonable scalability."
"The solution really focused on giving more security than an antivirus."
"It is quick and easy to configure."
"The product's most valuable feature is the detection engine due to its ability to identify threats."
"This antivirus is regularly updated, and the updates can be scheduled."
"ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers."
"The phone access scan stands out as the most valuable feature for me."
 

Cons

"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."
"Malwarebytes is too simplistic. From a SOC IR perspective, it doesn't give you very much data around it. It doesn't tie things or provide SHA-1 and SHA-256 detection information, which makes it hard to do an additional investigation."
"Every once in a while, it gets clobbered by updates from other places. I don't think this should happen."
"I really hate the automatic rebuilding without even asking. It's just an annoyance that they should at least ask me, like a month before they bill me."
"The online reporting needs to be improved. Currently, we have to look at it online, and if we want to download a report, it just downloads as an Excel file. It's just raw information. There needs to be some way to better display it when it's downloaded."
"Strictly in terms of cyber security, the release cycle should be quarterly, at most. It shouldn't be more frequent than that because, for one thing, keeping up with tech support is difficult."
"Notifications are lacking."
"The stability and performance of the solution are areas with shortcomings that need improvement."
"They should release a single update with all the necessary characteristics to avoid being in a cycle of consecutive updates."
"Currently, the client is only available for the Windows Operating System but it would be good if it were released for Mac OS as well."
"The support is not always so effective."
"I would like it to be integrated with the Check Point centralization solution like Infinity Portal. It would be great to be able to manage it through the same website."
"We'd like better performance of the network equipment. There are high-speed environments where an immediate response is required."
"Perhaps the primary area for potential enhancement is to make it faster, ensuring a more seamless experience while maintaining robust security features."
"Some of our users say that the interface is a little bit outdated for 2020, and want it to be more modern and cozy."
"They need to update and improve the features available for Mac."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The price of Malwarebytes is in the middle range compared to other vendors."
"The cost may be something in the ballpark of $20-25 a year per computer."
"Yearly, it is around $50 per client."
"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."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"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."
"I believe the retail price is between $40 and $50 per copy."
"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for ZoneAlarm, which is cheap."
"This is a freeware product and I recommend using it."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is reasonable, with a yearly renewal license costing seventy dollars."
"We use the free version of the software, but it can be upgraded to the paid Extreme Security edition."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
University
12%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Hospitality Company
7%
Government
6%
 

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 ZoneAlarm?
ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers.
What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?
As for improvements, ZoneAlarm enhances Check Point’s solution by having a very efficient engine. The engine checks all components of the device, such as the memory process, to detect and stop thre...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Knutson Construction
Terma, Optix, Samsung Research Amercia, SF Police Credit Union, Independence Care System, Mattias Thomsen, Carmel Partners, Desert Research Institute, CRIF, FXCM Inc, US State Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and others in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.