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Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Symantec Endpoint Security 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
7.6
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks offers ROI with fewer breaches, reduced incidents, enhanced security, and compliance benefits within 16 months.
Sentiment score
7.3
Symantec Endpoint Security provides cost-effective protection, reducing downtime and boosting reputation with high detection rates and automated processes.
They appreciate the rich telemetry data from the solution, as it provides in-depth threat identification.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Cortex XDR customer service receives mixed reviews, citing regional differences in responsiveness, communication, and expertise quality.
Sentiment score
7.9
Symantec Endpoint Security's customer service is praised but has varied feedback, citing slower response since Broadcom's takeover.
Every vendor has similar support; it depends on how the case is handled and raised.
In some cases, it rates as high as ten out of ten, while in others, it can be as low as eight.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks efficiently scales for medium to large businesses, supporting numerous users and endpoints seamlessly.
Sentiment score
7.9
Symantec Endpoint Security is highly scalable and adaptable for diverse industries, though smaller deployments may face complexity.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Cortex XDR is highly stable and reliable, with user satisfaction scores between eight and ten out of ten.
Sentiment score
8.7
Symantec Endpoint Security is generally stable and reliable, despite occasional update issues and concerns post-Broadcom acquisition.
Cortex XDR is stable, offering high quality and reliable performance.
 

Room For Improvement

Cortex XDR requires improved functionality, user interface, integration, and pricing, while addressing performance, false positives, and compatibility issues.
Symantec Endpoint Security needs better detection, lower resource use, simpler management, improved support, and competitive pricing for broader adoption.
Cortex XDR could improve its sales support team, including better commission structures and referral programs.
Device management is not very good and I am not enabling it in my organization due to security reasons.
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.
 

Setup Cost

Cortex XDR offers flexible but costly licensing, accommodating varying business sizes with yearly or monthly payment options.
Symantec Endpoint Security is priced reasonably but higher, with value appreciated; discounts and licensing structures affect overall costs.
Cortex XDR is perceived as expensive by some customers, yet offers dynamic pricing.
The pricing is very low compared to other companies like SentinelOne and others.
I rate the pricing, setup cost, and licensing around nine out of ten.
 

Valuable Features

Cortex XDR provides advanced threat detection, integration, and ease of use, excelling in real-time prevention and incident investigation.
Symantec Endpoint Security provides comprehensive threat protection and easy management, supporting multiple platforms with real-time updates and scalability.
It incorporates AI for normal behavior detection, distinguishing unusual operations.
Symantec Endpoint Security offers many valuable features, such as file explosion, application learning, DLP, injection detection, and EDR solutions for traffic control.
The incident response capabilities allow me to resolve authentication and support issues promptly, ensuring the system operates without downtime.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (7th), Ransomware Protection (2nd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (4th)
Symantec Endpoint Security
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
142
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 4.2%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Security is 4.1%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Q&A Highlights

NC
Oct 06, 2021
 

Featured Reviews

Mohammad Qaw - PeerSpot reviewer
Perfect correlation and XDR capabilities for network traffic plus endpoint security
The solution should force customers to integrate with network traffic to see the full benefits of XDR. If you are not integrating it or feeding in your network traffic, then you are just buying a normal antivirus which doesn't make any sense. You are paying double the price to use the antivirus feature or to say you have XDR, but in reality you are not using it. The solution should include an on-premises option because some customers want only on-premises. It would be hard, but good to do if possible. Open XDR would be beneficial in the future. Right now, the solution is Closed XDR so cannot communicate with the few new vendors in the Open XDR market.
Hakeem_Abdulkareem - PeerSpot reviewer
The solution has given us visibility into compliance within our whole system and helped us ensure everything is updated
Symantec's application security module needs some improvement. You need to create a lot of fingerprints for application security. For instance, let's say I have different brands of ATMs in my environment, like Wincor and NCR. I use GRG to deploy an application control to whitelist some applications. I have to get the exact image of the different models of ATMs. When I tested in the past, some machines would not connect to the server without that. Only the approved software on the ATM should run. Anything outside that should not even come up at all. We did this so that an outside person doesn't introduce malicious software to the ATM. That's the essence of locking down with application control. Using Symantec for application control has been hectic, so I use Carbon Black to do the lockdown. Checking that data security will work fine with Carbon Black. Carbon Black worked fine. Setting up approval in Carbon Black works differently than Symantec. In Symantec, we first need the fingerprints of the applications running underneath. Before setting up Carbon Black, you first install the agent, allowing it to learn the environment. It will analyze all the software's behavior and provide recommendations for what should be allowed. It's more straightforward, whereas configuring application control in Symantec is a bit cumbersome.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. The ability to reverse damage caused by ransomware with minimal interruptions to...
Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions that are very scalable, secure, and user-friendly. Cortex XDR by Palo Alto offers ...
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 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.
 

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps
Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank
Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs. Symantec Endpoint Security and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.