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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Zscaler Client Connector comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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 Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
197
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
Zscaler Client Connector
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
50th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

John Rallo - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers excellent visibility into vulnerabilities and the attack surface itself
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features. It's helpful to isolate specific devices and get super granular with the features they offer. The visibility into the attack surface is good. It gets highly granular. I don't work on that side, but the people who do tell me they get more visibility.
Carlos Snel - PeerSpot reviewer
Allows our IT department to easily analyze any connection issues
There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available. Additionally, more data centers are required globally to reduce latency, especially in areas like South America and Africa, though this does not directly relate to the Client Connector.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It automatically detects intrusion and malware."
"I find the vulnerability management section of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to be very useful for organizations."
"Within its class I think, it has a high and decent detection rate."
"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."
"A few years ago, when I was using a different product, I was affected by a virus that destroyed everything. Since using Microsoft Defender, I have not had this kind of problem."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is free and part of the licensing stack of other Microsoft products."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's most valuable feature is its ease of use."
"We have liked the fact that it comes with Microsoft Windows 10 and it is constantly updated with all new virus definitions. It is also updated with new security features on a regular basis."
"Zscaler Client Connector is quite scalable, and I would rate its scalability as nine or ten out of ten."
"The solution operates in the background seamlessly without the user noticing."
"I'd rate the solution nine out of ten."
 

Cons

"I would like the solution to be able to prevent unauthorized programs from installing and to block unauthorised URLs which is similar to web filtering product."
"I would like to see the next generation of the tool improved to work with other operating systems, like Linux."
"The GUI is very complex and could be more user friendly."
"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 anti-ransomware features need to be improved upon."
"It would be helpful if they offered video tutorial guides."
"Phishing and Malware detection could be better."
"We encountered some misbehavior between Microsoft Office Suite and Defender. We had issues of old macros being blocked and some stuff going around the usage of Win32 APIs. There is some improvement between the Office products and Defender, and there is a bunch of stuff that you can configure in your antivirus solutions, but you have several baselines, such as security baselines for Edge, security baselines for Defender, and security baselines for MDM. You have configuration profiles as well. So, there a lot of parts where we can configure our antivirus solution, and we're getting conflicting configurations. This is the major part with which we're struggling in this solution. We are having calls and calls with Microsoft for getting rid of all configuration conflicts that we have. That's really the part that needs to be improved."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
"The stability of Zscaler Client Connector needs improvement, as it often disconnects and reconnects."
"There is room for improvement regarding the price of Zscaler Client Connector, as it is one of the most expensive solutions available."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is free of charge and comes integrated into Windows."
"It is affordable and comes in the Office 365 bundle."
"When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."
"The solution is free with Windows."
"The solution comes as a part of Windows 10 and it is covered under its license."
"They are now doing it on an endpoint basis. It is based on the number of endpoints, which is good."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is included with a Microsoft E5 license."
"This solution is part of Windows and comes included with it."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 Zscaler Client Connector?
Zscaler Client Connector is notably costly, with pricing rated at five out of ten in terms of affordability, reflecting the premium pricing of the solution.
What needs improvement with Zscaler Client Connector?
The stability of Zscaler Client Connector needs improvement, as it often disconnects and reconnects. An enhancement to increase stability would be beneficial.
What is your primary use case for Zscaler Client Connector?
I use Zscaler Client Connector ( /products/zscaler-client-connector-reviews ) when working from home to access my work applications. It allows me to connect to the VPN, enabling access to internal ...
 

Also Known As

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Zscaler Client Connector and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.