Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs VirusTotal comparison

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

VirusTotal and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint operate in the cybersecurity space. While VirusTotal provides a supplementary analysis tool ideal for swift malware detection, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint stands out as a more integrated security solution with its broad enterprise-level protection.

Features: VirusTotal offers capabilities like quick malware detection, a vast malware database, and public data sharing for threat intelligence. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, however, provides threat and vulnerability management, endpoint detection and response, and attack surface reduction, making it a comprehensive security suite for broader protection needs.

Room for Improvement: VirusTotal could improve on customer support, better integration with enterprise systems, and offering more insights into threat behavior analysis. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can enhance its reporting and analytics, simplify user interface configurations, and improve integration with non-Microsoft platforms.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deploying Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is seamless due to its integration with Microsoft tools, backed by comprehensive customer service. VirusTotal, being cloud-based, is easy to set up but lacks the strong customer support infrastructure that Microsoft offers.

Pricing and ROI: VirusTotal is budget-friendly with its free malware check version, but its premium services can be costly. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, with its initial high investment, offers substantial ROI through its extensive feature set, integration with Microsoft ecosystems, and long-term security benefits.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. VirusTotal Report (Updated: March 2026).

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. VirusTotal

March 2026

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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

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

213

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (5th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)

VirusTotal

Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 7.8%, down from 17.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 3.3%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	7.8%
VirusTotal	3.3%
Other	88.9%

Anti-Malware Tools

Featured Reviews

Robert Arbuckle

Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time

Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.

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Chinmay Banerjee

Advisor Adtech/Martech/API product/project Engineering at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Helps businesses collect threat data while keeping privacy in mind and apable of detecting, blocking, and removing viruses and malware

There are two gray areas I still need to explore. I have worked with VirusTotal because it easily integrates with over seventy antivirus scanners and blacklisting services. In addition to those there is much scope to improve and add other services or integrations. The areas for improvement are that VirusTotal is not using much AI or generative AI models, while other competitors are starting to build them. For example, VirusTotal's work is based on the setup done by their engineers. If you want to do scanning or protection activities for a specific site, app, or device, that is the area VirusTotal is currently focused on. But other competitors are building AI models that can do things like left-side scanning and provide auto-generated reports. VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved. Secondly, the API is very limited if I want to integrate VirusTotal with other applications. They need to build more connectors and provide support for Webhook connectors for the API. If you can't build your own connector, it's always good to have provisions for Webhook setup connectors across platforms. Thirdly, Kaspersky, a competitor of VirusTotal, is using a methodology called "gatekeeper." A gatekeeper is a security system that protects the inside of a building from outside threats. This is the model Kaspersky is currently using. You have your website set up, but the entire army of VirusTotal or Kaspersky is standing guard, protecting you from the first gate itself. Right now, VirusTotal detects threats from your domain, but it is always better to verify inside the domain and protect it from the first level when people or malware are entering. This first level of protection is lacking in VirusTotal right now. The security bridge and protection gate are missing.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The whole bundle of the product, which is similar to other Microsoft products, is valuable. Ten years ago, you had third-party stuff for different things. You had one solution for email archiving and another third-party one for something else. Nowadays, Microsoft Office covers all the stuff that was formerly covered by third-party solutions. It is the same with antivirus. The functionality is just basic. You have the scanning, and then you also have a kind of cloud-based protection and reporting about your environment. With Microsoft Security Center, you have a complete overview of your environment. You know the software inventory, and you have security recommendations. You can not only see that the antivirus is up to date; you can also see where are the vulnerabilities in your system. Microsoft Security Center tells you where you have old, deprecated software and what kind of CVEs are addressed. It's really cool stuff."

"It's effective against most types of infection, and the firewall is perfect for protection."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is beneficial because we are using Microsoft Windows and all the core solutions are made by Microsoft, such as the authentic platform, operating system, and antivirus protection. It is a heterogeneous environment. We had to use third-party solutions before and update everything separately. For example, the policy for antivirus. With Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, when Microsoft Windows receives updates it will update with it. This is one main advantage of this solution."

"The intelligence mechanisms are good."

"The features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint that I prefer most are the detections. It just works."

"Defender for Endpoint allows us automatic resolutions if a unit is compromised or if a user clicks a malicious link."

"We can react to threats faster and stop them from spreading from one machine to another. It protects from suspicious email attachment downloads. It will lock down the SOC and the workstations."

"It has Kusto Query Language (KQL), so we can use our own queries to find anything."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

"VirusTotal provides 95% to 98% accurate information."

"The feature I like the most is the ability to see the MD5 or SHA-256 signature of the file, and also the composition of the file according to its segments."

"The product is easy to use with coding, such as Python or Java, via its API."

"It can scan the dark web and find if an email ID has been compromised. This is another area that we have not explored yet."

"It allows us to see if there have been previous reports on certain indicators of compromise, providing insights from other security professionals."

"I have never had any problems with stability or bugs while using VirusTotal."

"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."

"The most valuable feature is the worldwide malware information database."

More VirusTotal pros

Cons

"There could be an increase in security for the solution."

"Integrating this with third-party systems has some complexity involved."

"I would like to see improvements made to how it secures activities on web pages."

"They can improve it on the online protection front since people nowadays are moving online and working from home."

"From an audit point of view, our auditors would like to have more reports on how things are used, if things go wrong, and how they went wrong. For example, if something got a warning, "Why?" So, we would like more versatility for tracing and reporting. That would improve the product, as long as the user interface doesn't get bogged down."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by adding more security features."

"We'd like the stability to be better."

"It needs to improve the cybersecurity for lateral movements. For example, when a hacker tries to enter a machine, they try to get the password by doing a lateral movement."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."

"VirusTotal has different versions, and sometimes the parameters of the API are not very clear."

"The platform could improve in the areas of endpoints and networks."

"They can improve the telemetry. Whenever we handle a sample, they cannot provide any information about a victim."

"I would like to see improved correlation with other threat intelligence sources, not just reliant on its own database, to enhance the database of threat intelligence that VirusTotal offers."

"There is room for improvement, particularly in making some of the most useful features more accessible in the non-paid version."

"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."

More VirusTotal cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing models of Microsoft are renowned for being complex. We just purchased the whole E5 stack. With E5 licenses for users, we get access to a bunch of features that are not just related to security. I would rate them a three out of five in terms of pricing."

"Buying individual point products would've cost us a lot more money than one integrated solution that also capitalizes on Teams Voice and things of that nature. Given our size, buying individual products would have easily cost us a million dollars."

"There is no licensing fee."

"The cost is competitive and reasonable because most of the expense is log analytics, storage, and data consumption and ingestion. These things can be throttled and controlled, so they are highly flexible. Defender has a lot of advantages over competing products."

"Licensing options vary. Some customers buy it as an enterprise agreement and pay yearly. Others buy it as a CSP, so they pay per month. It completely depends on the customer's needs."

"AV solutions are pretty expensive because they are necessary, not just for protection, but many businesses need them to comply with regulatory bodies and receive accreditation. We recently purchased an E5 license, which gives us access to the entire Microsoft suite. I would say the pricing is competitive; most tools of this kind are similarly priced. There are minor differences between the competitors, but they aren't spectacularly different. Defender for Endpoint makes sense because all our solutions are in the same place, paid for with a single license. The subscription price is around £50 per user per month, though it may have increased slightly."

"The solution is an open source version and was free with a paid version of Windows 10."

"I'm not too familiar with costs as I'm an architect, though I know about online pricing, as I help two teams with online purchasing and procurement. Nowadays, everyone has an enterprise agreement, such as an E3 license, which we provide to our customers."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."

"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."

"The pricing is very economical."

"The pricing is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

University

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	81
Midsize Enterprise	40
Large Enterprise	95

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...

Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?

We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...

How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?

The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VirusTotal?

I do not know about the pricing or licensing as our organization services VirusTotal for our clients.

What needs improvement with VirusTotal?

I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the categ...

What is your primary use case for VirusTotal?

As I work in an incident response role, my daily task is to mitigate the security alert and perform the analysis part. When any alerts come, I check the IPs from where they originate and the locati...

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Comparisons

Compared 4% of the time

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

F-Secure Total vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

MetaDefender vs VirusTotal

Compared 11% of the time

OPSWAT Filescan Sandbox vs VirusTotal

Compared 8% of the time

ANY.RUN vs VirusTotal

Compared 7% of the time

Recorded Future vs VirusTotal

Compared 5% of the time

Cuckoo Sandbox vs VirusTotal

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

March 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Download VirusTotal product report

Anti-Malware Tools

February 2026

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus

No data available

Interactive Demo

Microsoft

Demo not available

Overview

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.

Microsoft

VirusTotal provides a comprehensive digital security platform by leveraging a vast malware database. It integrates numerous antivirus scanners for robust malware and virus detection, offering valuable insights for threat intelligence and security analysis.

VirusTotal is widely used for malware analysis and cybersecurity investigations, relying on its extensive capabilities in file and IP analysis. It integrates seamlessly with various antivirus engines, ensuring detailed threat intelligence. The platform excels at performing automated reputation checks, gleaning insights from a robust community, and delivering comprehensive information on suspicious activities. With an API system, it facilitates deeper analysis and integration into existing security workflows.

What are the standout features of VirusTotal?

Vast Malware Database: A comprehensive repository for malware intelligence.
Integration with Antivirus Scanners: Collaborates with multiple scanners for enhanced detection.
File and IP Analysis: Detailed insights into files and IP addresses.
Automated Reputation Checks: Efficiently verifies file and domain safety.
Community Insights: Gathers valuable data from an active community.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Threat Intelligence: Informs strategic security decisions with detailed malware data.
Enhanced Detection: Supports comprehensive threat identification and response.
Contextual Analysis: Provides extensive details for thorough investigation of threats.

In sectors like retail, FinTech, and GRC, VirusTotal is integrated into cybersecurity workflows to enhance incident response capabilities. It is invaluable for analyzing phishing websites, inspecting URLs, identifying compromised information, and generating alerts for specific threats. APIs enable deeper examination of suspicious activity, supporting comprehensive cybersecurity operations.

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Information Not Available