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McAfee Complete Data Protection vs Symantec Endpoint Encryption comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 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

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
Symantec Endpoint Encryption
Ranking in Endpoint Encryption
5th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Endpoint Encryption category, the mindshare of McAfee Complete Data Protection is 7.1%, down from 10.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Encryption is 9.7%, down from 10.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Bharath Kumar Gajula - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust data protection with user-friendly deployment, competitive pricing, and comprehensive features like customizable alerts and effective detection capabilities but needs GUI improvements
The stability is relatively good. Occasionally, certain clients may experience disconnection from the management servers, requiring a manual process to rectify. Even in instances where the link is severed, restoring client connectivity can be challenging, sometimes necessitating the uninstallation and reinstallation of the software. Additionally, when clients go out of sync, we do not receive alerts, indicating an area for potential improvement. I would rate it seven 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 am satisfied with the customer service/technical support."
"Complete Data Protection lets us define roles in our data products. It helps us identify something suspicious on the client's device."
"McAfee Complete Data Protection provides stability and is a good product."
"The interface is very good. You can create and manage your own dashboard."
"The console of the EDR is totally in the cloud."
"The solution is excellent for protecting users from data being exploited. It's also great for preventing data leakage."
"The solution is easy to deploy and manage"
"We can scale the solution."
"It is stable."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Its management is good, and it is also scalable and mostly stable."
"We find the dashboard, endpoint mobile encryption, and email encryption valuable."
"The most valuable feature is that it works in the background so that the end-users are not aware of what is happening on the laptop."
"This product is a solid, all-in-one solution for enterprise data management."
"The encryption feature is very good."
"We use it for protecting accounts, which is its most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"They could be better in terms of Complete Data Protection."
"Though there may be some ransomware detection modules now in McAfee Complete Data Protection, it's a field that McAfee should focus on, particularly having integration with some EDR or other add-ons. This is so McAfee Complete Data Protection would have more accuracy in detecting new ransomware in the market. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for its pricing to be more cost-effective because some competitors have cheaper pricing, so McAfee Complete Data Protection can't compete. Sometimes, some new vendors offer other solutions rather than McAfee Complete Data Protection, to win customers over, and this is a loss for McAfee."
"The solution needs a next generation or AI firewall that doesn't rely on signatures to detect traits."
"There was an option for SQL setup in the older versions of this product and it has been removed, but we would like to see it made available as an add-on."
"The product must improve endpoint encryption."
"It is difficult to manage."
"A better GUI platform would make it easier to present information to management; I would not need to fix the data before I present it."
"The dashboard is not user-friendly"
"One feature that is lacking is integration with Symantec Information Centric (ICT). As it is now, I don't see how to integrate the encryption with ICT, and in my opinion this is an area that certainly requires encryption, even though it's no longer supported by Broadcom."
"I would like to see some features or functionality enhanced in Symantec Endpoint Encryption."
"I do not find the environment to be very user-friendly."
"It's a bit difficult to get good support. Their response times are really bad."
"We would like some advanced security protection features."
"There are other solutions in the market that have new features. The feature could improve."
"More features need to be included in the encryption software."
"The initial setup is a bit complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"McAfee Complete Data Protection is a little bit expensive."
"The licensing is yearly."
"The pricing of the cloud offering seems confusing."
"The solution is affordable"
"The solution is more expensive than one of its competitors."
"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."
"This solution is reasonably priced."
"I think the price could be a little bit less."
"It can be expensive. However, if you plan to scale or are at a large enterprise company, this product could be what you need."
"Although the performance and stability of this solution are good, our challenge is the price tag. You buy the solution once, but you also have to keep on buying the licenses yearly."
"Depending on how many modules you will use (up to five) the licensing will be more expensive."
"The solution is good, but it is more expensive than other solutions in the market. Other solutions, such as BitLocker are less expensive."
"The pricing is fair but there is variability in our area that needs to be addressed."
"The license is not very expensive."
"They have two solutions for encryption including Symantec Endpoint Encryption and PGP Endpoint Encryption. With one PGP license, you can deploy the two solutions. The PGP license gives you two options."
"Considering the fluctuation in exchange rates in our part of the world, we find it generally affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
How does Microsoft BitLocker compare with Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and it successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protecti...
What do you like most about Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
Antivirus, URL filtering, and firewall protection are the most effective features for data protection.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
I am not sure about the pricing and licensing cost of Symantec Endpoint Encryption.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Symantec Drive Encryption
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Xcel Energy
Citrix Systems Inc., City of Lansing, Commercial & Industrial Property, France T_l_visions, Fujian Mobile Co. Ltd., Group Lotus plc, Hall Booth Smith & Slover, P.C. (HBSS), Portugal Telecom, PostFinance, Public Pension Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about McAfee Complete Data Protection vs. Symantec Endpoint Encryption and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
861,803 professionals have used our research since 2012.