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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs ZoneAlarm 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

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
194
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
ZoneAlarm
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
20th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 16.7%, down from 22.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ZoneAlarm is 2.3%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AnuragSrivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement
One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.
Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable solution that protects computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers
ZoneAlarm doesn't require much maintenance. You only need to update the application when there are any latest updates. ZoneAlarm is deployed on-cloud in our organization. With an increase in the bring your own device concept, ZoneAlarm should be part of every device to help us make the operational work very easy. Overall, I rate ZoneAlarm a nine 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

"It's one of the best antiviruses on the market."
"Updates and upgrades are quite smooth and seamless."
"It can reach our applications and PC activities in the cloud."
"There are some competitive products on the market, but the best is Microsoft Defender because it's very easy to integrate. That's one reason a lot of clients want Microsoft Defender. It's also very easy to implement compared to other solutions."
"The folders and files protection are its most valuable features. These have been valuable because of the increase in ransomware attacks. With these two features, I can ensure that no changes have been made to our system or endpoint folders and files without the user being aware."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to effectively detect threats. It has the EDR feature, endpoint detection and response, and that is very good."
"Defender for Endpoint allows us automatic resolutions if a unit is compromised or if a user clicks a malicious link."
"Defender is a part of Windows; you just need to enable it. There is no need to install anything."
"This antivirus is regularly updated, and the updates can be scheduled."
"It gives us security for the users' mobiles and ends up protecting us in a significant way."
"ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers."
"Personally, I find the Game Mode of the Firewall very useful."
"The product's most valuable feature is the detection engine due to its ability to identify threats."
"The phone access scan stands out as the most valuable feature for me."
"The solution maintains reasonable scalability."
"It is quick and easy to configure."
 

Cons

"The solution can be more user-friendly."
"We'd like the stability to be better."
"Initially, I experienced performance issues that hampered our servers. However, after setting appropriate exclusions, everything seemed to work fine."
"The solution could always be more secure."
"The major area for improvement is the integration with a managed service provider. We use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view. This process has been complicated, though it has gotten better."
"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."
"There is a lot of information to take in, and the portals tend to change quickly due to the fast-paced nature of the industry."
"The product itself does not necessarily need improvement, but the support and implementation of the product are the disaster cases."
"I would like it to be integrated with the Check Point centralization solution like Infinity Portal. It would be great to be able to manage it through the same website."
"Perhaps the primary area for potential enhancement is to make it faster, ensuring a more seamless experience while maintaining robust security features."
"The solution's efficiency in threat containment and overall protection needs improvement."
"ZoneAlarm should be a light application that does not take too much memory in mobile phones."
"They need to update and improve the features available for Mac."
"Some of our users say that the interface is a little bit outdated for 2020, and want it to be more modern and cozy."
"The support is not always so effective."
"Currently, the client is only available for the Windows Operating System but it would be good if it were released for Mac OS as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This solution is part of an enterprise license we have."
"Its price at the moment is very good because you get a lot of value for your money, especially with the subscriptions. If you have the E1, E3, or E5 enterprise subscription, you pay per month per user, and you get almost an infinite number of solutions. If you compare the price to the number of solutions that you get, it is a very good deal."
"It is built into Windows 10. If our clients are using Microsoft Defender, the cost goes away for them."
"The solution comes as part of Microsoft Windows."
"Compared to ESET, the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is on the higher side."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is cost-effective because there's one unified license, and with this unified license, you get the capabilities for your cloud applications, servers, and endpoints as well. Therefore, it saves us a lot of money because the cost with other solutions is for just one piece of OS or maybe an urban environment. The licensing process is not complex as well."
"The cost is high for E5 licenses, but if we go with the E3 license, most of the features are not covered."
"The license cost is around $35 per machine, which is not expensive compared to other products."
"This is a freeware product and I recommend using it."
"We use the free version of the software, but it can be upgraded to the paid Extreme Security edition."
"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for ZoneAlarm, which is cheap."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"The pricing is reasonable, with a yearly renewal license costing seventy dollars."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Hospitality Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about ZoneAlarm?
ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers.
What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?
As for improvements, ZoneAlarm enhances Check Point’s solution by having a very efficient engine. The engine checks all components of the device, such as the memory process, to detect and stop thre...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
No data available
 

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Terma, Optix, Samsung Research Amercia, SF Police Credit Union, Independence Care System, Mattias Thomsen, Carmel Partners, Desert Research Institute, CRIF, FXCM Inc, US State Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. ZoneAlarm and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.