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Symantec Endpoint Security vs VMware Carbon Black Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 9, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Symantec Endpoint Security delivers positive ROI by enhancing virus protection, reducing downtime, and improving operational efficiency with minimal disruption.
Sentiment score
7.1
Users reported significant ROI with VMware Carbon Black Endpoint, citing reduced malware and ransomware incidents, and 10% cost savings.
Symantec Endpoint Security filled gaps in our toolset, particularly with the ability to control network firewall on hosts remotely, which was greatly appreciated.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Symantec Endpoint Security's support is praised but varies post-Broadcom, with delays and regional differences affecting effectiveness.
Sentiment score
6.4
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint support is generally praised as effective and knowledgeable, but some report delays and issues with tiered support.
In some cases, it rates as high as ten out of ten, while in others, it can be as low as eight.
There is no support in the German language, which is a problem for many public tenders.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Symantec Endpoint Security is scalable, user-friendly, and ideal for large organizations, effortlessly integrating with existing systems.
Sentiment score
7.5
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is highly scalable and adaptable for various enterprises, praised for ease of adding tenants and managing environments.
Symantec Endpoint Security is quite scalable, and it is very important for large clients.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Symantec Endpoint Security is generally reliable, though updates and operating system variations can occasionally disrupt stability and resource usage.
Sentiment score
7.6
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is stable, lightweight, reliable, and highly rated, though minor issues with sensors and updates occasionally occur.
I have encountered issues where I had to uninstall and reinstall the product on end users' computers to view the logs again.
 

Room For Improvement

Symantec Endpoint Security faces performance issues, complex management, insufficient threat detection, and compatibility problems affecting usability and support.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint struggles with mobile support, complex UI, performance issues, inadequate reporting, and insufficient third-party integration.
It is cumbersome to use, particularly in handling firewall management.
I would like to see improvements in the scanning part of the solution, specifically to enhance the CPU and hard disk usage during scanning and updates to prevent disruption during work hours.
Device management is not very good and I am not enabling it in my organization due to security reasons.
 

Setup Cost

Symantec Endpoint Security is valued for its cost-effective pricing, flexible plans, and discounts for long-term or special contracts.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint licensing is seen as expensive and inflexible, with prices ranging from $15 to $7,000 per node.
It seems to be half the cost or more affordable than other solutions.
I rate the pricing, setup cost, and licensing around nine out of ten.
The pricing is very low compared to other companies like SentinelOne and others.
 

Valuable Features

Symantec Endpoint Security provides comprehensive protection with device control, intrusion prevention, anti-virus, centralized management, and cross-platform integration.
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint offers robust remote security with intuitive real-time detection, AI-driven threat response, and centralized cloud control.
A valuable feature of Symantec Endpoint Security is the ability to remotely isolate a computer from the network if it's compromised, either physically or digitally.
Symantec Endpoint Security offers many valuable features, such as file explosion, application learning, DLP, injection detection, and EDR solutions for traffic control.
One important feature is the EDR function, necessary for many public customers due to upcoming laws in Germany, which is available through Symantec Endpoint Security Complete.
 

Categories and Ranking

Symantec Endpoint Security
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
144
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Security Incident Response (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (17th), Ransomware Protection (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Security is 4.0%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is 1.6%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

MohammadAlshatreet - PeerSpot reviewer
Resolve support issues promptly while optimizing system resource usage
I use the solution primarily for scanning and identifying threats, which is essential in determining the percentage of resources used, such as CPU and hard disk. It's important to balance resource consumption to maintain operational efficiency. Furthermore, the incident response capabilities allow me to resolve authentication and support issues promptly, ensuring the system operates without downtime.
KarthikR1 - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has an easy setup but needs to mature on cloud environment security
The maturity of the Kubernetes security is absent in Carbon Black CB Defense. The solution has to mature on container security and a lot of cloud environment security. Security is available only for Windows, while security for Linux and Mac is not very strong. The deadlock issue causes me to put more effort into installing an upgrade. The numerous issues with the environment of the product solution should be addressed. Work orders are taking more than two months to get resolved. There's been one issue open for two months, and the solution they gave is being implemented step by step. Still, it is not meeting the requirements and breaking the system. Hence, our business is completely disturbed.
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Comparison Review

DK
Apr 17, 2019
Symantec opened our eyes to be able to see what's out there, but then we needed Carbon Black to be able to actively fix it
We are a partner in the managed security service provider (MSSP) space. We service hundreds of customers globally. We implement these solutions on behalf of our customers.  With Carbon Black, we've been using them for about six years. We're an MSSP and channel partner with them, as well as an…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which is better - Cortex XDR or Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valuable feature and their speed of integration is very good. The initial setup was ...
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...
What do you like most about Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?
Symantec have everything – documentation, videos, data sheets.
What to choose: an endpoint antivirus, an EDR solution or both?
I can recommend Carbon Black, an award-winning next-gen anti-virus (NGAV) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) security solution. The CB Predictive Security Cloud platform combines multiple hi...
What's the difference between Carbon Black CB Response and Carbon Black CB Defense?
Carbon Black offers two different levels of Endpoint Detection and Response. One is the VM Carbon Black Cloud Endpoint Standard (CB Defense), and the other is the Carbon Black Endpoint Detection an...
What do you like most about Carbon Black CB Defense?
VMware Carbon Black Endpoint is a highly stable solution.
 

Also Known As

Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
Carbon Black CB Defense, Bit9, Confer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
Netflix, Progress Residential, Indeed, Hologic, Gentle Giant, Samsung Research America
Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Endpoint Security vs. VMware Carbon Black Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.