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MetaDefender vs Palo Alto Networks VM-Series 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
4.5
MetaDefender enhances security efficiency, reduces threats and costs, and offers significant ROI though costly for smaller environments.
Sentiment score
5.7
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series delivers strong ROI through enhanced security, rapid deployment, and significant time savings despite high pricing.
Having both cloud and on-premise solutions enables effective file sanitization and vulnerability detection while preventing attacks that save costs and protect reputation.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
MetaDefender has positively impacted my organization by reducing the risk of file-based attacks, which has significantly improved our overall defense against phishing and malware delivery techniques.
Manager at Cyvogenix
I believe it is worth the money, as it brings time-saving, cost-saving, and efficiency improvements, especially in large environments.
Network Security Engineer at EMAK For Integrated solutions
Customers can see data within a week, indicating a quick return on investment.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
MetaDefender's customer service is efficient, with quick response times and highly praised support, particularly from technicians like Vlad.
Sentiment score
7.5
Customers appreciate Palo Alto Networks VM-Series support for responsiveness and expertise, despite occasional delays and high premium service costs.
This can save time because many vendors, when they check something and ask for logs, need those logs from the beginning.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
Their customer service team, distribution team, and regional sales managers provide excellent aftercare and set us up for upselling across the entire MetaDefender portfolio.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
I am happy with my interaction and communication with MetaDefender's team.
Infrastructure Securiy & Cyber Engineer at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The support quality could be improved.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Resolving issues promptly.
Head of Sales at Omgea Exim Ltd
They are responsive and provide high-quality assistance.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.8
MetaDefender scales well for enterprises, efficiently managing heavy traffic, despite uncertainty about its maximum limits and potential performance issues.
Sentiment score
7.4
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is scalable, easy to deploy, and suits businesses with positive feedback on flexibility and growth.
You need to do some sizing before installation and understand exactly what you are seeking from the solution and how it fits your organization.
Infrastructure Securiy & Cyber Engineer at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
When you use one database for all instances, you can deploy ten different servers or ten different instances with a separate database for each one.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
We handle vast amounts of traffic from banking, defense, and critical national infrastructure.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
They are easy to upgrade, and with credit licensing, they scale effectively according to demand.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The solution is scalable and can easily handle an increase in the number of users.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
It is easy to use with an excellent graphical user interface and extensive documentation, which contributes to its high scalability.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
MetaDefender is highly stable and reliable with rare issues, scoring 10/10 in performance across multiple data centers.
Sentiment score
8.2
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is highly regarded for stability, reliable performance, and consistent uptime, despite minor navigation delays.
The stability of the system is very high.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
MetaDefender is 100% stable, making it one of the best cybersecurity solutions we offer.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
I find it stable as it maintains good external stability with good availability and no major issues.
Network Security Engineer at EMAK For Integrated solutions
Hardware is generally very stable.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have not experienced any major problems or downtime.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
Perfection is unlikely as the dynamic nature of traffic and constant changes can result in occasional bugs despite regular updates.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Room For Improvement

MetaDefender needs faster scanning, improved UI, better documentation, reduced false positives, easier setup, and more affordable pricing.
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series needs UI updates, better platform integration, scalability, user-friendliness, and improved documentation for broader efficiency.
MetaDefender should have a wizard or general policies that can be used for 80 percent of customers.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
Pricing is an important aspect in catering to customer budgets and is a must-have consideration for organizations.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
Enhanced reporting and audit capabilities are not fully utilized.
Project Engineer at i-Secure Networks & Business Solutions Inc.
Integration with CSIRT across all use levels would make it easier for administrators to stay updated on the blocked entities without manual intervention.
Cyber security consultant at L&T Technology Services
Most customers go for partner-enabled support, which involves multiple layers, leading to delays.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Having those features missing, we are not proposing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to all customers.
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

MetaDefender offers costly multi-layer security, seen as competitive, with $145,000 for three years including servers and support.
Palo Alto VM-Series is costly but reliable, with complex licensing; AWS Marketplace offers scalable subscription options.
When someone attempted to buy from us one instance of OPSWAT, it was about nine thousand dollars for multi-scanning with eight engines and also the CDR module.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
Regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing, I find the pricing for kiosks, cloud, deep CDR, and adaptive sandbox appropriate.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
feedback indicates that our pricing is better than other vendor solutions.
Cybersecurity Architect at Natica IT Consulting
Palo Alto is expensive in terms of pricing, particularly when comparing features to cost.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The cost involves purchasing through a vendor, which might mark up due to the supply chain.
Senior IT Infrastructure Specialist at contemi
Pricing for Palo Alto Networks is higher than other OEMs, but considering the robustness and features, it gains customer trust.
Head of Sales at Omgea Exim Ltd
 

Valuable Features

MetaDefender offers comprehensive security with multi-engine scanning, sandbox analysis, CDR, file reputation, and seamless integration for enhanced data safety.
The VM-Series provides scalable, flexible security with advanced threat management, visibility, and integration features, enhancing network protection.
I believe this is very effective and is the most effective engine of OPSWAT because customers ask for OPSWAT for two main reasons: the CDR capabilities and the multi-scanning engines.
Cyber Security Architect at Diffiesec
MetaDefender's core philosophy of trusting no file means it scans files, rebuilds them, and verifies their reputation, ensuring they contain no malicious content.
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
The integration of multi-scanning and Content Disarm and Reconstruction is truly helpful because we can utilize it in other products such as email integration with ICAP capability, and we are also using it in web scanning.
Project Engineer at i-Secure Networks & Business Solutions Inc.
We use these tools to prevent all known and unknown threats using Palo Alto Networks' Wildfire and other data filtering tools to gather information, analyze traffic, manage malicious traffic, and offer visibility, control, and attack prevention.
Senior Manager Technical Security at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Palo Alto's robust threat intelligence supports new updates, and I can open cases directly with their Threat Intelligence team.
Security Technical Lead at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The DNS security significantly enhances security through visibility and detection, allowing control over crucial traffic like DNS, which is often exploited by ransomware.
Senior Security Consultant at Netsecurity.no
 

Categories and Ranking

MetaDefender
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
16th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (6th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (7th), Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) (6th)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of MetaDefender is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Palo Alto Networks VM-Series is 2.4%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Palo Alto Networks VM-Series2.4%
MetaDefender1.6%
Other96.0%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2805510 - PeerSpot reviewer
Partner Account Manager at a wholesaler/distributor with 51-200 employees
File sanitization has protected critical networks and prevents hidden malware from entering
In my experience, the best features MetaDefender offers include the number of different antivirus engines that can scan files through multi-file scanning, often using 20 to 30 engines, with the top premium package around 33 engines, capturing 80 to 90% of malware in all those files. If any engine detects malware, the file is blocked, which increases detection because different engines catch different malware. When dealing with central government and defense, we find that if there is any kind of malware on the network or the file, whether that is a software file, hard disk file, or a pen drive, it cannot be allowed on the network. This is when we put it into the sandbox and perform file sanitization to ensure that nothing malicious comes into the network. Whenever we are dealing with central government or defense contracts, MetaDefender's core philosophy of trusting no file means it scans files, rebuilds them, and verifies their reputation, ensuring they contain no malicious content. This positively impacts our organization by detecting malware and stopping any kind of data leaks through the network. In terms of measurable outcomes across central government and defense, we are seeing saved time when files go through the antivirus file scanners. In financial services, such as with mortgage applications, the process sends files straight into MetaDefender file scanning that cleans out any malicious content.
MuhammadNadeem - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Has supported urgent deployments and enabled inline threat protection but pricing and features could be more flexible
I am not using Palo Alto Networks VM-Series mostly, but based on my experience, there are some deficiencies in Palo Alto Networks VM-Series. Having those features missing, we are not proposing Palo Alto Networks VM-Series to all customers. However, for urgency and for some solutions that customers need for some of their other sites and subdivisions, we are providing the same.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) solutions are best for your needs.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Healthcare Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise24
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MetaDefender?
I do not find it cost-effective, as the costing is high.
What needs improvement with MetaDefender?
I am not using the expanded file type and archive coverage feature because I was unaware of it. I am not using the enhanced reporting and audit visibility features, and I am unsure about them. Rega...
What is your primary use case for MetaDefender?
The use cases for MetaDefender involve checking an endpoint, such as a laptop or USB, to ensure that they are safe, clean, and meet security policy before they connect to the network. I can use it ...
Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
How does Azure Firewall compare with Palo Alto Networks VM Series?
Both products are very stable and easily scalable. The setup of Azure Firewall is easy and very user-friendly and the overall cost is reasonable. Azure Firewall offers a solid threat awareness, can...
 

Also Known As

OPSWAT MetaDefender, MetaDefender Core
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Warren Rogers Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about MetaDefender vs. Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.