Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Symantec Endpoint Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jan 2, 2023

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions say they are easy and straightforward to deploy. 
  • Features: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint users say the solution is very robust and works well out of the box. Users appreciate the very large intuitive database of places or sites on the internet that should be avoided, which is continuously being updated. However, users feel the solution should provide better support for other third-party products.

    Symantec Endpoint Detection and Response offers great application and device control. Users say the solution has great blocking features and is also very effective for malware detection and antivirus purposes. Many users feel that reporting and scanning capabilities could be improved.
  • Pricing: Users of both solutions say the pricing is fair and reasonable.
  • Service and Support: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint users feel the service and support are good. Symantec users say the service has declined and needs immediate improvement. 

Comparison Results: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the industry leader for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions. It is very well integrated and can handle almost anything. Users can control everything through a very intuitive central console. The solution works continuously and uses next-generation AI to keep every endpoint safe at all times. Symantec users say it can be a bit buggy and is complex to learn, making it less desirable. 

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Symantec Endpoint Security Report (Updated: September 2023).
735,226 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
"Fortinet is very user-friendly for customers.""he solution is an anti-malware product that integrates well with other vendor products such as firewalls, SIEM, etc. It captures threat intelligence and gives you better visibility. The product also has sandboxing features.""The console is easy to read. I also like the scanning part and the ability to move assets from one to the other.""Forensics is a valuable feature of Fortinet FortiEDR.""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.""Fortinet has helped free up around 20 percent of our staff's time to help us out.""It is a scalable solution...The initial setup of Fortinet FortiEDR was straightforward.""The price is low and quite competitive with others."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Pros →

"The most valuable feature is that it comes with the package, so there is no additional installation of third-party software. It's also easy to use.""It automatically detects intrusion and malware.""Defender is a part of Windows; you just need to enable it. There is no need to install anything.""Defender for Endpoint is a robust solution that works well out-of-the-box.""We are able to productively integrate with existing on-prem, hybrid, or cloud applications.""The technical support from Microsoft is very good. We are part of the Microsoft Suite, and from being part of this we have consistent news regarding Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.""Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's most valuable feature is its ease of use.""Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust platform."

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"The mobile application is valuable. You are able to see the reports of intrusions and the like on mobile devices. That is one of the coolest aspects.""The solution is easy to use.""Symantec is very user-friendly, the interface and functions are very simple for everyone to understand. Additionally, it's a very robust system.""The scheduled scans and the active protection were the most valuable because it allowed me to have the systems protected in real-time and also be able to schedule scans so that as new definitions would update, machines could be scanned to make sure that everything was in tip-top shape and there was nothing lurking in the background.""What I like most about Symantec is the intrusion detection module. If you are scanning the environment, it will flag a possible intruder and tell you the IP and where the attack is coming from. Traditional antivirus solutions will never flag that. If you have a traditional SIEM, you might be able to pick that up. Symantec is a holistic endpoint security solution, so when you scan an endpoint, Symantec will let you know that something is happening to it.""The dashboard view and reporting are valuable. It is stable and easy to integrate, and it provides custom options.""We are using it on 1,600 computers. All the systems and servers are protected with the Symantec solution. Our environment has an uptime of 99.9% because we never had any attack or issue related to viruses. There is zero downtime.""It just works. We have a console, and I can see it at a glance. I don't have any problems with it at all."

More Symantec Endpoint Security Pros →

Cons
"The dashboard isn't easy to access and manage.""The solution is not stable.""ZTNA can improve latency.""We find the solution to be a bit expensive.""The solution should address emerging threats like SQL injection.""The solution's installation from a central installation server could be improved because the engineers had a little bit of trouble getting it installed from a central location.""Cannot be used on mobile devices with a secure connection.""Once, we had an event that was locked and blocked, but information about it came to us two or three days later."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Cons →

"In the next release, I would like to see better management reporting.""Sometimes, there are different skews. In a basic skew, they should have basic log analysis without the need to integrate with any third-party or SIEM solutions, like Sentinel. This would make it so much easier for users who don't have log collection or log analysis.""The application control feature requires improvement.""Microsoft Defender for Endpoint does not offer default templates for alerts, requiring us to configure everything ourselves to avoid numerous false positives.""Right now, there's a portal for Azure, portals for Microsoft Office, and portals for endpoints. It would be good to have only one portal and integrate everything.""In India at least, it seems to be a bit more expensive than other options.""The time it takes to restore the application could be improved. It has a lot of dependencies. It's not like the Microsoft security that comes with the OS. Updating through the command prompt, most of the time, it takes some time to download some of these dependencies.""In terms of the architecture of the management infrastructure, we found that other technologies are more simple. Microsoft Defender could be simpler too."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Cons →

"In a few cases, when we enable the IPS/IDS feature, there are performance-related issues on the end devices. If we run quite a few features of Symantec, especially the IPS/IDF, it consumes a lot of processing and memory capacity.""Symantec Endpoint Security can improve management because it is difficult to do. It is not a straightforward tool to use. Additionally, the dashboards and reports could be better. It is difficult to understand what exactly is your current status.""It should support the next-generation IPS. Currently, it supports only IPS.""The support from Symantec has been poor in my experience. They did not have the knowledge to help us with the issues we were facing.""There is no local support for Symantec products in Hong Kong.""Automation of tasks should be improved on SEPM. It is currently manual, and we should be able to automate installation and deployment from the client side.""They provide the updates of the client, and those clients need a reboot after the upgrade, which is something we don't like. We don't like to reboot the server after the upgrade because we have live applications. If we do a reboot, it can impact the business as well.""Symantec's application security module needs some improvement. You need to create a lot of fingerprints for application security. For instance, let's say I have different brands of ATMs in my environment, like Wincor and NCR. I use GRG to deploy an application control to whitelist some applications. I have to get the exact image of the different models of ATMs. When I tested in the past, some machines would not connect to the server without that."

More Symantec Endpoint Security Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "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."
  • "Fortinet FortiEDR has a yearly subscription."
  • "It's not cheap, but it's not expensive either."
  • More Fortinet FortiEDR Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I don't know the standalone costs. It is my understanding that the M365 E5 is $56 a month or something close to that pricing. That would be for the full suite. Just Defender might be $8 a month. I can't say for sure."
  • "The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows 10."
  • "When customers haven't deployed the solution and don't have licenses, it can be expensive to start from scratch."
  • "I do not have to purchase antivirus solutions anymore because Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is integrated into Windows and comes free."
  • "It came with Windows."
  • "We pay a yearly license for Microsoft Defender. We also have a support contract with them."
  • "The solution is free with Windows."
  • "You do not need to pay any additional costs for antivirus and anti-malware solutions for endpoint protection."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price of Symantec End-User Endpoint Security is okay. When comparing the price of this solution is not expensive."
  • "Its price is fair."
  • "We have some customers on a one-year license and others on a three-year license."
  • "The licensing terms can range from subscription-based to perpetual, to annual, to tri-annual."
  • "It could be cheaper."
  • "This is not the cheapest product and I know others that are most cost-effective, although it is difficult to compare because it depends on the features."
  • "I am not sure of the initial cost, but the yearly renewals are quite affordable, which is a good thing. The price seems to have come down in recent years, and with the alternatives that are out there, such as Microsoft Defender, it needs to maintain that affordability to make it attractive."
  • "Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
  • More Symantec Endpoint Security 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:Fortinet FortiEDR made our clients feel secure and more at ease, knowing that they had an EDR solution that would close… more »
    Top Answer:The price is on the higher side. It's in the upper quadrant. The hardware costs about €100,000 and about €20,000… more »
    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 »
    Top Answer:Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    enSilo, FortiEDR
    Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
    Learn More
    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.

    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 365 Defender, 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.

    Symantec Endpoint Security is a robust and reliable product that provides complete protection against viruses, malware, Trojans, and malicious files. It offers application and device control, ease of use in deploying and updating, a central control console, stability, scalability, auto-discovery capabilities, patch management, endpoint detection and response capabilities, intrusion detection module. 

    The Symantec Global Intelligence Network (GIN) provides threat intelligence and detection across endpoints, email, and web traffic. It has helped organizations reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve security posture. Symantec Endpoint Security is easy to use, has a flexible administration, and offers more value than expected.

    Offer
    Learn more about Fortinet FortiEDR
    Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
    Learn more about Symantec Endpoint Security
    Sample Customers
    Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
    Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
    Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm24%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Educational Organization6%
    Media Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm17%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    University7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm11%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Government8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise41%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise50%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise31%
    Large Enterprise47%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business41%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise39%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business24%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise61%
    Buyer's Guide
    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Symantec Endpoint Security
    September 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Symantec Endpoint Security and other solutions. Updated: September 2023.
    735,226 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in EPP (Endpoint Protection for Business) with 96 reviews while Symantec Endpoint Security is ranked 6th in EPP (Endpoint Protection for Business) with 38 reviews. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.2, while Symantec Endpoint Security is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "You can access all your security data and telemetry from a single pane of glass". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Endpoint Security writes "The solution has given us visibility into compliance within our whole system and helped us ensure everything is updated". Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Intercept X Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, whereas Symantec Endpoint Security is most compared with CrowdStrike Falcon, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro Deep Security and Symantec Endpoint Security Enterprise. See our Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Symantec Endpoint Security report.

    See our list of best EPP (Endpoint Protection for Business) vendors.

    We monitor all EPP (Endpoint Protection for Business) 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.