ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Symantec Endpoint Security comparison

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Fortinet Logo
10,049 views|7,442 comparisons
82% willing to recommend
ESET Logo
12,166 views|10,130 comparisons
90% willing to recommend
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17,297 views|14,501 comparisons
80% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 23, 2023

We performed a comparison between SEET Endpoint Security and Symantec Endpoint Security based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Features: ESET Endpoint Security is highly regarded for its encryption capabilities, effortless automatic updates, and intuitive interface. Users praised Symantec Endpoint Security for its regular virus signature updates and comprehensive administrator's console. ESET Endpoint Security has room for improvement in terms of faster threat alerts, automation, and ransomware protection. Reviewers said Symantec Endpoint Security could improve its graphical interface, Linux support, and scanning capabilities.

  • Service and Support: ESET's customer service is praised for its helpfulness and quick response. Some users said Symantec customer service was helpful but slow, while others have expressed general dissatisfaction with support.

  • Ease of Deployment: The setup process for ESET Endpoint Security is generally regarded as effortless. Some users said Symantec Endpoint Security was easy to set up, while others struggled with the installation. Deployment time varies depending on the customer’s environment.

  • Pricing: ESET Endpoint Security is considered to be reasonably priced with various licensing options. The cost of Symantec Endpoint Security depends on the licensing terms and necessary security components. While some users find the price acceptable, others believe it could be more affordable.

  • ROI: Some reported a high ROI from ESET Endpoint Security due to cost savings, while others find it difficult to measure its effectiveness. Symantec Endpoint Security demonstrates strong stability and incident prevention, leading to reduced downtime. It offers a favorable return on investment.

Conclusion: Users commend ESET for its strong protection, data encryption, scalability, stability, lightweight design, user-friendly management console, regular updates, and positive feedback. Additionally, users value ESET's reliability, minimal impact on system resources, ease of use, and responsive technical support. On the other hand, Symantec receives varied opinions regarding its initial setup, technical support, integration capabilities, resource usage, and pricing.
To learn more, read our detailed ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. Symantec Endpoint Security Report (Updated: May 2024).
771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: What is the biggest difference between ESET Endpoint Security and Symantec Endpoint Protection?
Answer: I would recommend the SEP which I had been using it for the past 10 yrs of my IT career and we had evaluated like Kaspersky or McAfee but still found that Symantec is still the best solution in AV.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The product detects and blocks threats and is more proactive than firewalls.""Ability to get forensics details and also memory exfiltration.""Fortinet FortiEDR's scalability is quite good, and you can add licenses to the solution.""The most valuable feature is the analysis, because of the beta structure.""The price is low and quite competitive with others.""Having all monitoring, response, tracking, and mitigation tools in one dashboard provides our analysts and SOC team with a comprehensive view at a glance.""The product's initial setup phase is very easy.""This is stable and scalable."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Pros →

"I rate ESET Endpoint Security eight out of 10 for ease of setup. Setting up ESET can be straightforward or complicated depending on the customer's environment. The deployment time varies, but it's typically around five days. We have a team of four or five people involved in the deployment. Only one person is needed for maintenance. The only maintenance is adjusting the configuration of the dashboard.""It hasn't crashed a single time, so it is stable in that sense.""It's a very user-friendly product.""The pricing, if compared to other products, is cheap.""They do a program where you can renew for three years. It's very reasonable, as far as the cost per year, because you can renew for three years. They will also do multiple computers, so I actually protect all my family computers, as well as my work computers, all under one license. This means I only have to deal with re-upping my license once every three years. That's the big thing for me.""The solution's features and pricing are pretty good.""I have found ESET Endpoint Antivirus is light on system resources compared with other antivirus solutions that tend to be very heavy on the computers system resources. Additionally, the solution is very secure.""ESET Endpoint Security’s most valuable feature is the management console."

More ESET Endpoint Protection Platform Pros →

"The solution is easy to use""The scheduled scans and the active protection were the most valuable because it allowed me to have the systems protected in real-time and also be able to schedule scans so that as new definitions would update, machines could be scanned to make sure that everything was in tip-top shape and there was nothing lurking in the background.""Endpoint protection has improved our operations by protecting our servers from potential cyber threats.""The anti-virus and firewall policies are the most valuable features of this solution.""We are using it on 1,600 computers. All the systems and servers are protected with the Symantec solution. Our environment has an uptime of 99.9% because we never had any attack or issue related to viruses. There is zero downtime.""The solution can be scaled to handle different threats.""The antivirus and antimalware features are good.""The most valuable feature for our organization is the antivirus, as our staff is the target of zero-day malware and viruses."

More Symantec Endpoint Security Pros →

Cons
"It takes about two business days for initial support, which is too slow in urgent situations.""The dashboard isn't easy to access and manage.""The solution should address emerging threats like SQL injection.""Making the portal mobile friendly would be helpful when I am out of office.""The support needs improvement.""The solution is not stable.""The SIEM could be improved.""Detections could be improved."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Cons →

"The initial setup of ESET Endpoint Security can be complicated when you get involved with encryption.""After we did the initial setup of ESET Endpoint Security, we had to inform users about popups. This solution comes with an in-built software firewall and there can be some popups coming. We must tell the user not to keep, allow, or block anything. That is the main issue on the user side we have faced. The user's experience may not be as good.""I used Avira previously and ESET lacks certain aspects in comparison to Avira.""We do get false positives.""Its initial setup process could be more straightforward.""ESET Endpoint Security could improve EDR integration.""There are some complexities if you want to manipulate the software.""I would like for ESET to create a central management solution. This would make it practical to use the internet for medium-sized networks."

More ESET Endpoint Protection Platform Cons →

"Automation of tasks should be improved on SEPM. It is currently manual, and we should be able to automate installation and deployment from the client side.""Symantec isn't good in terms of updating customers about updates. You'd normally have to search it out. Sometimes, the update process for the administration and management console can be a bit intimidating, and it can be quite inconvenient to get the updates. That's because when you have to do the update, you have to update the management console, and then you need to update the clients. Their application that's installed on desktops and servers needs to go hand in hand with the management console. Sometimes, it's a bit unwieldy to see that process through.""Is not a full anti-ransomware solution.""As for some features I would like to see, I'd like a retrospective action feature similar to Cisco Secure Endpoint's. Some antiviruses don't allow you to re-scan a product that was in the former scan—for example, if a file was classified as proper, but then for some reason the file was changed, we need an antivirus with retrospective capability. We need EPP and EDR products in a secured environment.""This solution needs better compatibility with services and applications.""It can be improved in terms of features and integration. It should have more advanced features and more integration. Currently, it is just talking to their own solutions. They could add more artificial intelligence, more XDR, and more integration with other vendors so that we can do sharing of information with other vendors.""The solution is very difficult to uninstall. There isn't really a way to uninstall the product at all, which is quite a headache.""The stability was not the best. There were times when antivirus updates broke it. It wasn't necessarily self-updating - at least, not in terms of the virus signatures. It updated in terms of the executable files. Therefore, when Windows updates would come out, they often couldn't be installed, or the computer would hang due to the fact that the updates weren't compatible with the antivirus."

More Symantec Endpoint Security Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I know it is tough to get big budget additions up front, but I highly recommend deploying environment wide and adding the forensic service."
  • "There are no issues with the pricing."
  • "The price is comprable to other endpoint security solutions."
  • "The pricing is typical for enterprises and fairly priced."
  • "I'm not familiar with pricing, but it looks a bit costly compared to other vendors I think."
  • "The pricing is good."
  • "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
  • "The hardware costs about €100,000 and about €20,000 annually for access."
  • More Fortinet FortiEDR Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Pricing per month, for security services as apps in CEE pricing: up to €2 monthly is OK."
  • "ESET is perfect, if you can afford it."
  • "The cost is a very reasonable. When compared with other products, the price is low (though not very low)."
  • "At first, we thought it was a bit expensive, but we negotiated a better price."
  • "This solution is a good value for the money."
  • "Currently, we are running on a three-year license. The pricing might be around $20,000. There aren't any costs above the standard licensing fee."
  • "This is not an expensive product."
  • "It is subjective. I don't think it is expensive. If you can have 10 user licenses for less than $100, I don't think it is expensive."
  • More ESET Endpoint Protection Platform Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I’d say SEP deserves the money."
  • "Regarding the licensing, it was important negotiate a long contract to get a more attractive price, including advanced support in case of crisis."
  • "What we have paid for this product is good value for the work and the services that they are providing to us."
  • "Licensing is per user. Therefore, it makes it easy to do licensing."
  • "It is the better product, even if it is a little on the higher side."
  • "It's not cheap."
  • "Pricing and licensing are important to us when choosing a product."
  • "Pricing and licensing for our country is very good. It's not that expensive and the endpoint security is very good. It's not as cheap as some others, but they are not as good."
  • More Symantec Endpoint Security Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection… more »
    Top Answer:We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats.
    Top Answer:We license it per employee, so as long as the employee count remains the same, the licensing won't change. We have it… more »
    Top Answer:ESET Endpoint Security’s most valuable feature is the management console.
    Top Answer:I rate the product’s pricing a three out of ten. It is neither cheap nor expensive for our clients. We use the free… more »
    Top Answer:The product’s AI implementation feature could be better for learning user behavior. There could be a feature to detect… more »
    Top Answer:Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very… more »
    Top Answer:We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior… more »
    Top Answer:The tool has predefined rules, like which actions to block or allow. This makes it easy because I don't have to figure… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    enSilo, FortiEDR
    Smart Security, ESET PROTECT Advanced, ESET LiveGuard Advanced, ESET PROTECT Platform
    Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiEDR is a real-time endpoint protection, detection, and automated response solution. Its primary purpose is to detect advanced threats to stop breaches and ransomware damage. It is designed to do so in real time, even on an already compromised device, allowing you to respond and remediate incidents automatically so your data can remain protected.

    Fortinet FortiEDR Features

    Fortinet FortiEDR has many valuable key features, including:

    • Easily customizable
    • Real-time proactive risk mitigation & IoT security
    • Pre-infection protection
    • Post-infection protection
    • Track applications and ratings
    • Reduce the attack surface with risk-based proactive policies
    • Achieve analysis of entire log history
    • Optional managed detection and response (MDR) service

    Fortinet FortiEDR Benefits

    Some of the key benefits of using Fortinet FortiEDR include:

    • Protection: Fortinet FortiEDR provides proactive, real-time, automated endpoint protection with the orchestrated incident response across platforms. It stops the breach with real-time postinfection blocking to protect data from exfiltration and ransomware encryption.

    • Single unified console: Fortinet FortiEDR has a single unified console with an intuitive interface, which makes management easier. The solution automates mundane endpoint security tasks so your employees don’t need to do it.

    • Cost savings: With Fortinet FortiEDR you can eliminate post-breach operational expenses and breach damage costs.

    • Flexibility: Fortinet FortiEDR can be deployed on premises or on a secure cloud instance. With Fortinet FortiEDR, endpoints are protected both on- and off-line.

    • Scalability: Because Fortinet can be deployed quickly and has a small footprint, it is easy to scale up to protect hundreds of thousand endpoints.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Fortinet FortiEDR users.

    An Owner at a security firm says, "The features that I have found most valuable are the ability to customize it and to reduce its size. It lets you run in a very small window in terms of memory and resources on legacy cash registers. The customer has literally about 800 cash registers. That was the use case for Fortinet FortiEDR - to get that down into a tiny space. The only way to do that was to use this product because it had that ability to unbundle services that were a surplus.”

    Chandan M., Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, mentions, “The ease of deployment and configuration is valuable. It's very easy compared to other vendors like Sophos. Sophos' configuration is complex. Fortinet is a lot easier to understand. You don't need a lot of admin knowledge to do the configuration.” He also adds, “The security is also very good and the firewall response is good.”

    Harpreet S., Information Technology Support Specialist at Chemtrade Logistics, explains, "It notifies us if there's any suspicious file on any PC. If any execution or similar kind of thing is happening, it just alerts us. It doesn't only alert. It also blocks the execution until we allow it. We check whether the execution is legitimate or not, and then approve it or keep it blocked. This gives us a little bit of control over this mechanism. Fortinet FortiEDR is also very straightforward and easy to maintain."

    DeAndre V., Senior Network Administrator at a financial services firm, states, “The dashboard is easy to follow and use. The deployment and uninstalling were easy. I like the detailed information about the path of a file that might be suspicious. Being able to check that out was easy to follow. Exceptions are easy to create and the interface is easy to follow with a nice appearance.

    ESET Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) is a cybersecurity solution designed to protect businesses of all sizes against a wide array of cyber threats. Its advanced technologies and user-friendly interface provide robust security for endpoint devices, such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, without compromising performance. ESET's approach combines multiple layers of protection, including traditional signature-based detection with advanced heuristic analysis, behavioral monitoring, and machine learning, to effectively counter both known and emerging threats.

    ESET's Endpoint Protection Platform is based on a multi-layered defense strategy, which utilizes various technologies like cloud-based scanning, network attack protection, and exploit blockers. This strategy ensures solid protection against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks, and advanced persistent threats (APTs), offering businesses peace of mind regarding their digital security. ESET's platform protects computers, mobile devices, file servers and virtual environments. It’s available as a standalone product and as a part of a wider enterprise cybersecurity bundle, ESET PROTECT Enterprise, which also includes file server security, disk encryption, a cloud sandbox and EDR.

      ESET PROTECT Advanced

      The ESET PROTECT Advanced provides best-in-class endpoint protection against ransomware & zero-day threats, backed by powerful data security.

      • Leverages a multilayered approach that utilizes multiple technologies working together to balance performance, detection and false positives, and with automated malware removal and mediation.
      • Provides advanced protection for your company’s data passing through all general servers, network file storage including OneDrive, and multi-purpose servers to ensure business continuity.
      • A powerful encryption managed natively by ESET remote management console. It increases your organization's data security that meets compliance regulations.
      • Provides proactive cloud-based threat defense against targeted attacks and new, never-before-seen threat types, especially ransomware.

      Performance and Compatibility

      ESET is widely acclaimed for its light system footprint, ensuring that endpoint protection does not come at the expense of performance. This efficiency is crucial for maintaining operational productivity without sacrificing security. Moreover, ESET's solutions are compatible with a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.

      Centralized Management

      ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is managed via ESET Security Management Center, a centralized management console that provides real-time visibility into on-premise and off-premise endpoints. This simplifies the administration of security policies, streamlines the detection and response processes, and provides detailed reporting capabilities, making it easier for IT professionals to maintain a secure and compliant IT environment.

      Symantec Endpoint Security is a robust and reliable product that provides complete protection against viruses, malware, Trojans, and malicious files. It offers application and device control, ease of use in deploying and updating, a central control console, stability, scalability, auto-discovery capabilities, patch management, endpoint detection and response capabilities, intrusion detection module. 

      The Symantec Global Intelligence Network (GIN) provides threat intelligence and detection across endpoints, email, and web traffic. It has helped organizations reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve security posture. Symantec Endpoint Security is easy to use, has a flexible administration, and offers more value than expected.

      Sample Customers
      Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
      ERSTE Group Bank, Miller Solutions, Wesleyan University, The Hospital Center of Luxembourg, Deer Valley USD, SPAR, Industrial Federal Credit Union, Honda, City Hall of Palmela, Hays CISD, Lester B Pearson School Board
      Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
      Top Industries
      REVIEWERS
      Financial Services Firm21%
      Manufacturing Company11%
      Comms Service Provider11%
      Pharma/Biotech Company5%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company16%
      Government8%
      Manufacturing Company8%
      Financial Services Firm8%
      REVIEWERS
      Manufacturing Company15%
      Non Tech Company11%
      Computer Software Company9%
      Financial Services Firm7%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company18%
      Comms Service Provider10%
      Government6%
      Retailer6%
      REVIEWERS
      Financial Services Firm17%
      Computer Software Company12%
      Manufacturing Company8%
      University5%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company15%
      Financial Services Firm12%
      Manufacturing Company9%
      Government8%
      Company Size
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business52%
      Midsize Enterprise15%
      Large Enterprise33%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business31%
      Midsize Enterprise19%
      Large Enterprise50%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business64%
      Midsize Enterprise16%
      Large Enterprise21%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business42%
      Midsize Enterprise20%
      Large Enterprise38%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business43%
      Midsize Enterprise20%
      Large Enterprise38%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business25%
      Midsize Enterprise16%
      Large Enterprise59%
      Buyer's Guide
      ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. Symantec Endpoint Security
      May 2024
      Find out what your peers are saying about ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. Symantec Endpoint Security and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
      771,157 professionals have used our research since 2012.

      ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is ranked 11th in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 97 reviews while Symantec Endpoint Security is ranked 5th in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 140 reviews. ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is rated 8.2, while Symantec Endpoint Security is rated 7.6. The top reviewer of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform writes "Easy to set up with good security and rapidly improving capabilities". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Symantec Endpoint Security writes "The solution has given us visibility into compliance within our whole system and helped us ensure everything is updated". ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, whereas Symantec Endpoint Security is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, Trend Micro Deep Security and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. See our ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. Symantec Endpoint Security report.

      See our list of best Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) vendors.

      We monitor all Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.