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Symantec Protection Engine vs VirusTotal comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Symantec Protection Engine
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VirusTotal
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Symantec Protection Engine is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 3.1%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VirusTotal3.1%
Symantec Protection Engine0.6%
Other96.3%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl
Real-time file security has reduced incident tickets and improves threat detection accuracy
The best features of Symantec Protection Engine include machine learning, file reputation, and real-time scanning. It efficiently handles heavy loads through ICAP and cloud-based processing, reducing the burden on endpoints compared to Trend Micro and other endpoint security solutions. Its centralized control is also noteworthy. Through machine learning, it detects both known and unknown malware and malicious URLs, in addition to performing signature-based scans that assist SOC teams in analysis. The solution is highly effective in leveraging both machine learning and file reputation. Regarding centralized control, it offers a unified management console for policy deployment and provides real-time visibility through dashboards, helping save significant administrative time. Symantec Protection Engine has had a positive impact on our organization by enhancing our overall security posture. It effectively blocks a high volume of file-based threats across more than 200 servers, saves SOC analysts time in endpoint remediation, and streamlines compliance processes. It further strengthens security through real-time scanning and machine learning-based quarantine, blocking phishing payloads in SharePoint uploads before they reach endpoints, thereby reducing incidents by 30–40% compared to signature-only tools.
reviewer2588199 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Specialist at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Improves security alerts and analysis with comprehensive insights
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 category of websites. The addition of a file selection option to analyze files would also enhance the service.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Symantec Protection Engine's been a game-changer for us at Kantar—blocks like 80-85% of file-based threats right at the gateway before they hit our 200 servers, cutting down endpoint incidents big time."
"Symantec Protection Engine provides me with the option of both cloud and on-premise solutions, which stands out for both me and my clients."
"The operational efficiency with the high-performance scanning of Symantec Protection Engine is very good."
"Symantec Protection Engine has improved my security posture by helping me identify potentially malicious files before they reach users or critical systems, and the automated scanning process has also reduced manual efforts for my team, allowing us to focus on other security tasks and respond to threats more efficiently."
"What I appreciate in Symantec Protection Engine is the Virtual Policy Manager (VPM) and the Application Name feature, which are really effective."
"The best features that I like the most include the threat intelligence network, which is effective in protecting against evolving threats."
"The most valuable feature is the worldwide malware information database."
"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."
"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."
"It is quite simple for anyone if they just want to check some suspicious URLs."
"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 can scan the dark web and find if an email ID has been compromised. This is another area that we have not explored yet."
 

Cons

"For the improvement of Symantec Protection Engine, the engine did not work with their basic engine when I was working, which was almost three or four years before."
"I have concerns about scalability."
"To improve Symantec Protection Engine, I suggest simplifying its integration with other tools, as it is more complex compared to Trend Micro and CrowdStrike."
"I would like to see improvements in reporting and troubleshooting capabilities for Symantec Protection Engine, as more detailed insights and simplified diagnostics would make day-to-day administration easier."
"Price is a significant area for improvement. The pricing is quite expensive, and it is particularly high for regular customers."
"While I have mentioned many advantages of Symantec Protection Engine, there are areas for improvement, particularly the dashboard features."
"I would like to see an improved user interface and some automation."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in making some of the most useful features more accessible in the non-paid version."
"The platform could improve in the areas of endpoints and networks."
"VirusTotal is hard to understand because you need to know Google Docs to create queries, and it doesn't have documentation for that."
"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."
"They can improve the telemetry. Whenever we handle a sample, they cannot provide any information about a victim."
"VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved."
"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The pricing is very economical."
"The pricing is reasonable."
"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."
"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
12%
Healthcare Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Symantec Protection Engine?
While I have mentioned many advantages of Symantec Protection Engine, there are areas for improvement, particularly the dashboard features. I find that some features are not available, leading us t...
What is your primary use case for Symantec Protection Engine?
Clients usually use Symantec Protection Engine primarily for protecting their computers from malware or any kind of attacks, which includes viruses or trojans, as a comprehensive security solution ...
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...
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Protection Engine vs. VirusTotal and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.