Intercept X Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

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Fortinet Logo
10,056 views|7,518 comparisons
82% willing to recommend
Sophos Logo
20,466 views|17,312 comparisons
95% willing to recommend
Microsoft Logo
60,745 views|47,911 comparisons
94% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 16, 2022

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender For Endpoint and Sophos Intercept X based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of Microsoft Defender For Endpoint provide mixed reviews regarding the solution’s deployment. There are some reviewers who say that the setup is easy and straightforward, while other users feel that the initial setup can be complex (especially in regards to the configuration of extra parts), and the deployment can take up to a few months depending on the size of the organization.

    Users of Sophos Intercept X felt the same; Some users found the deployment to be complex and noted that there is definitely a learning curve, while others who have had previous experience found the deployment to be very easy.
  • Features: Valuable features of Microsoft Defender For Endpoint include holistic integration with all Defender products and MCAS, data leak prevention, high stability, attack surface reduction controls, exploit prevention control, application control, scalability, ransomware, and auto-remediation as well as manual-remediation. There are certain things that users find are lacking. Some users mention that other vendors provide a lot more customization when it comes to integration; Others say they encountered some misbehavior between Microsoft Office Suite and Defender; Still other users feel the GUI could be better optimized, the monitoring could be better, onboarding could be a little faster, log collection could be easier, and that the dashboard could be more streamlined. Some reviewers have also experienced some issues with scalability.

    Valuable features of Sophos Intercept X include easy management, easy administration, reliability, synchronized security, a Linux version option, great scalability and stability, behavioral, non-signature-based threat detection, spam filtering features, web filtering, client isolation for use cases, manuscript response, EDR (Enhanced Data Detection and Response), and DLP (Data Loss Prevention). Some users of Sophos Intercept X say that areas that need improvement include deployment on the cloud (which currently needs to be done manually), and that if you have several different components you are dealing with, each is managed under a different umbrella. Other users mention that when there is an event generated by either the firewall or Intercept X and the originating IP address is the same, they should be merged into a single event rather than two. One other helpful opinion by a user noted that the product does not handle USB products very well.
  • Pricing: Microsoft Defender For Endpoint users say the pricing is good. Some users of Sophos Intercept X say the pricing is reasonable and even offers three different tiers, but other reviewers say they would prefer it if the price was lower.
  • Service and Support: Users of Microsoft Defender For Endpoint have the opinion that service and support are just average. A few users of Sophos Intercept X say they feel the same and wish there were faster response times, while other users of Sophos Intercept X say they have been very good, responsive, and adept.

Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Sophos Intercept X comes out on top. While the Microsoft Defender For Endpoint solution is good, it lacks in certain areas that Sophos Intercept X don’t have to worry about. Overall, users of Sophos Intercept X have mainly positive feedback on the product, agreeing that its set of features is excellent.

To learn more, read our detailed Intercept X Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report (Updated: March 2024).
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"NGAV and EDR features are outstanding.""Fortinet FortiEDR made our clients feel secure and more at ease, knowing that they had an EDR solution that would close the gap in their security posture.""Fortinet has helped free up around 20 percent of our staff's time to help us out.""Ability to get forensics details and also memory exfiltration.""It notifies us if there's any suspicious file on any PC. If any execution or similar kind of thing is happening, it just alerts us. It doesn't only alert. It also blocks the execution until we allow it. We check whether the execution is legitimate or not, and then approve it or keep it blocked. This gives us a little bit of control over this mechanism. Fortinet FortiEDR is also very straightforward and easy to maintain.""It is stable and scalable.""The main thing is that I feel safe. Because the processes that have been used to get a handle on the attackers are much better than other competitors""The solution was relatively easy to deploy."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Pros →

"We have found the pricing to be reasonable.""The thing that I like about it is the synchronized security. You can tie endpoint protection and firewalls and a whole range of other services and products. You can get your servers taken in under this.""I find the security heartbeat feature with synchronized security very useful. It's a very nice feature that allows you to basically switch off an endpoint. When an endpoint has got a virus or something like that, or it's infected or compromised, you can isolate it from the network, but only if you've got an XG Firewall as well. It also provides ease of use. It is the only antivirus that can recognize 25 out of the 36 ransomware and virus techniques that have been often used in terms of the behavior base using heuristics. It's beautiful, utterly amazing. No other antivirus can do that.""A valuable feature offered by Sophos is called Naked Security, and it entails the control managed by the firewall on the site regarding the desktop client interfacing with our cloud client.""The patches on offer are very helpful.""What I have found the most valuable about Sophos Intercept X is the ease of use with management administration and the solution's ability to stop exploits and ransomware.""The most valuable feature is that it literally works. We have reduced a lot of complaints after switching to Sophos.""Very stable solution."

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"It integrates very well with all Windows workstations or other Microsoft Endpoint products. It also works quite well. So far, I have not had any issue that hasn't been sorted out. It doesn't use too many resources, so you don't have to install different things.""The most important feature is the way it monitors the threats and blocks them. About 10 days ago, we were implementing SOC for a particular client. The SOC was not yet implemented, but they had Microsoft Defender. That organization was hit by some ransomware, but the hacker could not succeed. Because of the EDR, the hacker could not install the hacking tools. They were trying to do that, but Microsoft Defender completely blocked that. The hacker could log into the system, but they could not install anything.""The stability keeps getting better and better.""Its threat intelligence feature is beneficial. This solution smoothly integrates with SIEM.""It's pretty easy to scale.""Technical support is good.""It's absolutely free to use.""Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's WCS function, a content filtering solution, has proven to be the most useful, stable, and reliable option for our current needs."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pros →

Cons
"The security should be strong for the cloud. Some applications are on-prem and some are on the cloud. Fortinet should also have strong security for the cloud. There should be more security for the cloud.""The solution is not stable.""Once, we had an event that was locked and blocked, but information about it came to us two or three days later.""The amount of usage, the number of details we get, or the number of options that can be tweaked is limited in comparison to that with other EDR solutions""FortiEDR could add a separate scanning dashboard. In incident management, we prefer to remove the endpoint system from the environment and scan the system. We typically use Symantec for that, but if we want to use FortiEDR for that, then we need a scanning tab to clarify things.""The solution should address emerging threats like SQL injection.""They can include the automation for the realtime updates. We have a network infrastructure with remote sites. Whenever they send updates, they are not automated. We have to go into the console and push those updates. I wish it was more automated. The update file is currently around 31 MB. It could be smaller.""We'd like to see more one-to-one product presentations for the distribution channels."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Cons →

"From the management side, we receive detailed information. Sophos has many features, such as Threat Hunting but that comes with the XDR version of the solution. There's Sophos Intercept X and then there's Sophos Intercept X with XDR technology. We bought the XDR and then now the MTR, Managed Threat Response version available too. They have different packages for clients which gives them different options to pick from. If Sophos could combine more features into one package it would be beneficial.""The cloud management console could be a little more user-friendly.""When there is an event generated by either the firewall or Intercept X, and the originating IP address is the same, these should be merged into a single event rather than two.""The main real-time scanning takes most of the processing power of my notebook.""Intercept X Endpoint is a very heavy solution that consumes a lot of RAM and should be made lighter.""They should keep doing what they're doing. Both of them have entered the EDR/MDR space, and they're keeping up with their competitors. I have a hard time understanding why their capabilities aren't garnering more attention.""The after sales service and support could be improved.""The endpoint detection and response (EDR) technology has room for improvement because the information that it gives us to resolve our problems is poor nowadays."

More Intercept X Endpoint Cons →

"The central management console should be improved because it provides limited options to configure Windows Defender.""They can improve it on the online protection front since people nowadays are moving online and working from home.""Microsoft Windows Defender doesn't have a game mode.""In active mode, it's great that it gives you so much information, but it does record every keystroke so you have a lot of logs... that amount of data logging started to add up in the cost.""It can be more secure.""Defender could be more secure and stable.""The end-user also cannot do some advanced actions on it. It's a little bit complicated for our end-user, so it needs to be simplified.""I would like Microsoft to have some kind of direct integration for USB controls. They have GPO and other controls to control the access of the USB drives on devices, but if there is something that can be directly implemented into the portal, it would be good. There should be a way to control via a cloud portal or something like that in a dynamic way. USB control for data exfiltration would be a good feature to implement. Currently, there are ways to do it, but it involves too many different things. You have to implement it via GPOs and other stuff, and then you move or copy those big files via Defender ATP. If there is a simple way of implementing those features, it would be great."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I know it is tough to get big budget additions up front, but I highly recommend deploying environment wide and adding the forensic service."
  • "There are no issues with the pricing."
  • "The price is comprable to other endpoint security solutions."
  • "The pricing is typical for enterprises and fairly priced."
  • "I'm not familiar with pricing, but it looks a bit costly compared to other vendors I think."
  • "The pricing is good."
  • "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
  • "The hardware costs about €100,000 and about €20,000 annually for access."
  • More Fortinet FortiEDR Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We renew the license for one year at $10,000."
  • "The price is pretty good."
  • "When you start going to the EDR technologies and the MTR, it is a little bit expensive. It's a very good technology, and obviously, you're going to pay for it, but the pricing could do a little bit of work."
  • "We were able to eliminate the ransomware using the one-month, full-featured trial license."
  • "Licensing is based on the number of users. They give a discount for editors who are considered as important members. From what I know, Sophos products are not expensive. If you have a license extension, you just need to contact the editor or partner to change the mode of licensing or extend the license to cover more people."
  • "Intercept X for endpoints is around $35 per user per year. The server version is $95 per server per year."
  • "I find the pricing to be a little bit expensive, although it is acceptable, for now."
  • "The price of this product should be reduced because it is a little high."
  • More Intercept X Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The product is free of charge and comes integrated into Windows."
  • "The solution is free."
  • "This product is included in the pricing for Windows."
  • "If you don't purchase the advanced threat protection then there is no additional charge."
  • "It is affordable and comes in the Office 365 bundle."
  • "Microsoft Defender ATP is expensive."
  • "I pay for it through the Windows Professional or Standard license. It is a one-time cost for me, and I use the same license."
  • "When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection… more »
    Top Answer: Having all monitoring, response, tracking, and mitigation tools in one dashboard provides our analysts and SOC team… more »
    Top Answer:The pricing is significantly high. The implementation of this solution required us to allocate additional funds beyond… more »
    Top Answer:I like that Crowdstrike Falcon allows me to easily correlate data between my firewalls. Its detection and machine… more »
    Top Answer:One of the best features of Sophos Intercept is that it repairs without slowing down the system.
    Top Answer:Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface… more »
    Top Answer:We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior… more »
    Top Answer:The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    enSilo, FortiEDR
    Sophos Intercept X
    Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Learn More
    Interactive Demo
    Fortinet
    Demo Not Available
    Sophos
    Demo Not Available
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiEDR is a real-time endpoint protection, detection, and automated response solution. Its primary purpose is to detect advanced threats to stop breaches and ransomware damage. It is designed to do so in real time, even on an already compromised device, allowing you to respond and remediate incidents automatically so your data can remain protected.

    Fortinet FortiEDR Features

    Fortinet FortiEDR has many valuable key features, including:

    • Easily customizable
    • Real-time proactive risk mitigation & IoT security
    • Pre-infection protection
    • Post-infection protection
    • Track applications and ratings
    • Reduce the attack surface with risk-based proactive policies
    • Achieve analysis of entire log history
    • Optional managed detection and response (MDR) service

    Fortinet FortiEDR Benefits

    Some of the key benefits of using Fortinet FortiEDR include:

    • Protection: Fortinet FortiEDR provides proactive, real-time, automated endpoint protection with the orchestrated incident response across platforms. It stops the breach with real-time postinfection blocking to protect data from exfiltration and ransomware encryption.

    • Single unified console: Fortinet FortiEDR has a single unified console with an intuitive interface, which makes management easier. The solution automates mundane endpoint security tasks so your employees don’t need to do it.

    • Cost savings: With Fortinet FortiEDR you can eliminate post-breach operational expenses and breach damage costs.

    • Flexibility: Fortinet FortiEDR can be deployed on premises or on a secure cloud instance. With Fortinet FortiEDR, endpoints are protected both on- and off-line.

    • Scalability: Because Fortinet can be deployed quickly and has a small footprint, it is easy to scale up to protect hundreds of thousand endpoints.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Fortinet FortiEDR users.

    An Owner at a security firm says, "The features that I have found most valuable are the ability to customize it and to reduce its size. It lets you run in a very small window in terms of memory and resources on legacy cash registers. The customer has literally about 800 cash registers. That was the use case for Fortinet FortiEDR - to get that down into a tiny space. The only way to do that was to use this product because it had that ability to unbundle services that were a surplus.”

    Chandan M., Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, mentions, “The ease of deployment and configuration is valuable. It's very easy compared to other vendors like Sophos. Sophos' configuration is complex. Fortinet is a lot easier to understand. You don't need a lot of admin knowledge to do the configuration.” He also adds, “The security is also very good and the firewall response is good.”

    Harpreet S., Information Technology Support Specialist at Chemtrade Logistics, explains, "It notifies us if there's any suspicious file on any PC. If any execution or similar kind of thing is happening, it just alerts us. It doesn't only alert. It also blocks the execution until we allow it. We check whether the execution is legitimate or not, and then approve it or keep it blocked. This gives us a little bit of control over this mechanism. Fortinet FortiEDR is also very straightforward and easy to maintain."

    DeAndre V., Senior Network Administrator at a financial services firm, states, “The dashboard is easy to follow and use. The deployment and uninstalling were easy. I like the detailed information about the path of a file that might be suspicious. Being able to check that out was easy to follow. Exceptions are easy to create and the interface is easy to follow with a nice appearance.

    Sophos Intercept X Endpoint is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution that combines the power of artificial intelligence (AI) with Sophos' deep expertise in cybersecurity to provide unmatched protection against sophisticated cyber threats, including ransomware, malware, exploits, and zero-day vulnerabilities. Sophos Intercept X Endpoint stands out for its innovative approach to endpoint security, leveraging advanced technologies and expert services to provide comprehensive protection. Its focus on prevention, detection, and response, combined with ease of use and scalability, makes it a preferred choice for organizations looking to strengthen their cybersecurity defenses.

    Harness the Power of a Deep Learning Neural Network

    Achieve unmatched endpoint threat prevention. Intercept X uses deep learning, an advanced form of machine learning to detect both known and unknown malware without relying on signatures.

    Deep learning makes Intercept X smarter, more scalable, and more effective against never-seen-before threats. Intercept X leverages deep learning to outperform endpoint security solutions that use traditional machine learning or signature-based detection alone.

    Stop Ransomware in Its Tracks

    Block ransomware attacks before they wreak havoc on your organization. Intercept X with XDR includes anti-ransomware technology that detects malicious encryption processes and shuts them down before they can spread across your network. It prevents both file-based and master boot record ransomware.

    Any files that were encrypted are rolled back to a safe state, meaning your employees can continue working uninterrupted, with minimal impact to business continuity. You get detailed post-cleanup information, so you can see where the threat got in, what it touched, and when it was blocked.

    Intelligent Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

    The first EDR designed for security analysts and IT administrators

    Intercept X Advanced with EDR allows you to ask any question about what has happened in the past, and what is happening now on your endpoints. Hunt threats to detect active adversaries, or leverage for IT operations to maintain IT security hygiene. When an issue is found remotely respond with precision. By starting with the strongest protection, Intercept X stops breaches before they start. It cuts down the number of items to investigate and saves you time.

    • The strongest protection combined with powerful EDR
    • Add expertise, not headcount
    • Built for IT operations and threat hunting

    Extended Detection and Response (XDR)


    Intercept X Advanced with XDR is the industry’s only XDR solution that synchronizes native endpoint, server, firewall, email, cloud and O365 security. Get a holistic view of your organization’s environment with the richest data set and deep analysis for threat detection, investigation and response for both dedicated SOC teams and IT admins.

    • Cross reference indicators of comprise from multiple data sources to quickly identify, pinpoint and neutralize a threat
    • Use ATP and IPS events from the firewall to investigate suspect hosts and identify unprotected devices across your estate
    • Understand office network issues and which application is causing them
    • Identify unmanaged, guest and IoT devices across your organization’s environment

    Managed Detection and Response

    • Threat Hunting - Proactive 24/7 hunting by our elite team of threat analysts. Determine the potential impact and context of threats to your business.
    • Response - Initiates actions to remotely disrupt, contain, and neutralize threats on your behalf to stop even the most sophisticated threats
    • Continuous Improvement - Get actionable advice for addressing the root cause of recurring incidents to stop them for occurring again

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for organizations. It offers real-time protection against various types of cyber threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

    With its powerful machine-learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks before they can cause any harm. The solution also includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly investigate and respond to security incidents. It provides detailed insights into the attack timeline, enabling security teams to understand the scope and impact of an incident.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint also offers proactive threat hunting, allowing organizations to proactively search for and identify potential threats within their network. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender XDR, to provide a unified and holistic security approach. With its centralized management console, organizations can easily deploy, configure, and monitor the security solution across their entire network.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust and scalable security solution that helps organizations protect their endpoints and data from evolving cyber threats.

    Sample Customers
    Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
    Flexible Systems
    Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm21%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Pharma/Biotech Company5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Manufacturing Company15%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Real Estate/Law Firm6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Government7%
    Construction Company6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization22%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business50%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise34%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise50%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business62%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise21%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise43%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise45%
    Buyer's Guide
    Intercept X Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Intercept X Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Intercept X Endpoint is ranked 7th in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 100 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 182 reviews. Intercept X Endpoint is rated 8.4, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Intercept X Endpoint writes "A standard offering with good threat analysis but reduces machine performance". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". Intercept X Endpoint is most compared with CrowdStrike Falcon, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, SentinelOne Singularity Complete, Fortinet FortiClient and Seqrite Endpoint Security, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet FortiClient. See our Intercept X Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.

    See our list of best Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) vendors and best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) vendors.

    We monitor all Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.