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Bitdefender GravityZone EDR vs Microsoft Defender for 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Bitdefender GravityZone EDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
192
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Bitdefender GravityZone EDR is 2.7%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.6%, down from 14.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

AMBARISH PATKAR - PeerSpot reviewer
Centralized control effectively manages devices while updates require powered-on systems
I use Bitdefender GravityZone EDR for the grooming industry. It is primarily utilized for the office environment The features I find most effective for threat detection include centralized control policy distribution and the control of independent devices, such as printers, laptops, and desktops…
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The setup was easy."
"It is a good anti-malware product that is highly stable."
"The cloud management is easy and useful, especially in our case when we have multiple offices in different locations."
"The solution is probably one of the top five, best security solutions on the market at the moment."
"We have clients who are also migrating from other anti-virus solutions to GravityZone because of the ease of use, ease of installation and the fact that it can be deployed in the cloud and the same software; you can actually install on other server or workstation. It automatically knows what it's protecting."
"The most valuable features are the solution's thorough detection and ease of use."
"Bitdefender GravityZone EDR's installation is straightforward."
"The most valuable feature of Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra is the ETX and ETM endpoint protection."
"One of the main features is the solution is very light on resources and we do not have any problems with it."
"The solution's threat protection is mostly AI and machine-learning based. That is the most important feature of the product. It also offers centralized management so I can remotely manage devices."
"This software is easy to use."
"It's a Microsoft product; it's easier to deploy this product than other options."
"The patch updates and version updates are very good. Those happen on an automated basis whenever I'm connecting to the organization network, either through LAN or through the VPN."
"The most valuable feature is that we can use the solution right out of the box without too much configuration."
"Automatic scanning and cleaning of viruses is the best and most valuable feature helping this tool to thrive. If any viruses are found, they are cleaned automatically."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust platform."
 

Cons

"The product fails to provide guides to its users...I want the tool to offer some guides and hands-on training that can guide users who want to learn more about the product without the vendor's help."
"For many, the problems come mostly when they start tweaking or short-cutting - particularly for patch management."
"This solution would be improved if it included antivirus functionality. You currently need to install a plug-in to Outlook for each email to be scanned."
"The one thing that we are missing and want to see is user analytics. So, that is what I'm really interested in: behavior analytics and end user behavior."
"I would like to see the capability for remote installation added, in particular for servers."
"When patching devices for updates, if a device is not switched on, it does not provide information dynamically."
"Occasionally websites are unnecessarily blocked due to monitoring software on those sites."
"If we could directly push the agent to the script, it'll be very good."
"Microsoft Windows Defender doesn't have a game mode."
"The interface could be improved."
"The initial setup can be a bit complex."
"I personally haven't experienced any pain points, but some of my coworkers feel that it isn't secure enough."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can improve by providing more and different types of reports."
"The system can always be simplified and have a better integration check. More detailed reports would be good. When it does the integrated check, it just shows if the system is okay but I want to know what happened."
"It is using a large space in your memory all the time. While an antivirus will use some of your memory, if they could reduce the load of the antivirus to some extent that would be good."
"Integrating this with third-party systems has some complexity involved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We take the subscription. Only we're taking that GravityZone and protection of the environment and the system. We didn't subscribe to the detection response."
"Each endpoint device we purchased came with its own license."
"When I first started using this solution I was paying $80 annually. I did not pay any additional fees. There are other solutions that are cheaper on the market."
"I rate the product's price a four on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high."
"Price-wise, Bitdefender GravityZone EDR is a bit expensive in the Philippines."
"There are some differences. It's more cost-effective, yet it provides the same functionalities as Defender. That's why I've been exploring the comparisons. We pay for it annually, and it's a per-seat payment."
"Bitdefender GravityZone EDR is cost-effective and has the best pricing."
"I have very good pricing for the solution, which is one of the reasons why I am not switching to other products. I rate the tool's pricing a two out of ten."
"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."
"It is affordable and comes in the Office 365 bundle."
"We went for Microsoft Defender once we were informed that it would be part of our Office 365 package. So, we combined the licensing for the OS with Office 365. Yeah. We thought it was a good bargain."
"The subscription is part of Windows, so we don't have to pay anything extra for this product."
"The price was a problem for me three years ago, but they improved their E3, E5, and a la carte licensing. In other words, you have to get all of E5. That used to be a problem because you had E3, Defender, and guardrails, but you needed an E5 license to get the management suite and the analytics. It's more flexible now. You can switch from a la carte to the entire suite when it starts to make sense. It's becoming more economically competitive to go that route."
"Licensing options vary. Some customers buy it as an enterprise agreement and pay yearly. Others buy it as a CSP, so they pay per month. It completely depends on the customer's needs."
"We have seen ROI. Most of the other competing alternatives will cost up to around $30 per user device. We average 400 devices. Therefore, the amount that we save each year is 400 times $30."
"The price of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is reasonable. Other solutions are more expensive, such as ClowdStrike."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Government
5%
Educational Organization
5%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra?
The cost is reasonable, with the license costing approximately six to eight dollars per user.
What needs improvement with Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra?
When patching devices for updates, if a device is not switched on, it does not provide information dynamically.
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 ...
 

Also Known As

Bitdefender GravityZone Ultra, Bitdefender GravityZone
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mentor Graphics, Rudersdal Kommune
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Bitdefender GravityZone EDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.