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ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

ESET Endpoint Protection Pl...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (6th), Anti-Malware Tools (3rd)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
41st
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is 3.1%, down from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 1.7%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

ManojNair2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 18, 2022
Easy to set up with good security and rapidly improving capabilities
In terms of stability, the performance parameters do come into play. It's good on the regular office front, however, on the development side, if somebody is using it in a development environment, they need to make some configuration changes in terms of what directories should be excluded from the real-time scanning. I had to do that kind of stuff. I don't do that with the Microsoft product, for example. It runs, and it scans the entire system with no issues. The solution is stable. Regular updates were available in the product versions. They were updated, and they gave regular signature updates also so that the product checked all the boxes.
Tim_Howard - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 11, 2024
Provides good protection against viruses but support needs improvement
The product's initial setup phase wasn't too bad. The product's installation phase wasn't terrible, but it could have been good to club the things in the process, especially for the ones who are doing it for the first time, and it would be good if Microsoft offered users, someone, to talk to who knows the product. You will be gambling if you use Google for the tool because who knows if it really knows what Microsoft Defender for Business is all about. On a scale of one to ten, if ten is the easiest, I rate the setup phase as an eight out of ten. The setup phase was straightforward. As the tool was needed in a small shop, the solution's deployment was done in a couple of days. The solution was deployed in my company with the help of a small team of ten people. I had my head of IT help me in rolling it out in our company.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Advanced level endpoint firewall, which helps to block unwanted and malicious traffic."
"The tool offers great detection. You need time only to setup the environment. After that, it is just plug-and-play to get the solution up and running. We can also control the PC remotely from the cloud and get all the information in one place."
"It is absolutely invisible once running."
"I feel the solution to be beneficial in respect of features that I cannot find with SSTM's."
"In terms of the current global landscape, it is a great solution."
"The features seem to be alright."
"The product is good and has a good interface."
"It has a clean and clear interface."
"The solution provides good scalability."
"I haven't had any problems with the tool's stability."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its central console."
"The interface is quite user-friendly."
"If you're an Intune user, you can bring in certain capabilities like system-hardening policies, which further enhances the security."
"Microsoft Defender for Business is good for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers solid security flexibility and integration with tools like Microsoft Lighthouse and some other software. It takes some of the features of Defender for Endpoint EDR and provides those services for small and medium-sized business environments."
"It is scalable."
"A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity."
 

Cons

"They should focus more on the offline market as well. Everybody is connected nowadays, and they want to do everything via cloud or fast internet connections, however, that's still not possible in many situations."
"A few times, we have had problems with downloading an agent. We had to try multiple times and multiple uploads."
"The scalability could be better."
"The use of SQL Server can be improved. At times, there is a bit of challenge while linking it with the Javascript. ESET Endpoint Security requires modern technology or modern equipment on site. You will find it difficult to use ESET Endpoint Security with dual-core machines. If they can add the cloud management feature to their product, it will be much easier. If you look at this COVID situation that we are in right now, people are working from home, so you need to control the computers wherever you are. For example, if you are using any email setup and you are hosting it on your own, all the email traffic will be going through the same network. You need to protect all of your computers from the attack. It is best if you can do it remotely rather than having an IT person to come onsite to manage all computers and metrics etc, which isn't a smart way to do it."
"The detection could be better in ESET Endpoint Security. Sometimes it takes time to detect threats and might be because it's not holding all the memory. There are some features that have to mature. More features might be available in the higher-end product."
"Sometimes, ESET sends alerts within my own network that cause confusion. That is, it might warn about contamination, or that the VM has crashed, but it doesn't go further than that. It just shows me the alert and sometimes I am not sure what to do about it."
"The solution is not ideal for use in large enterprises"
"I used Avira previously and ESET lacks certain aspects in comparison to Avira."
"Talking with the tool's technician about any problem is very complicated."
"The security could always be improved."
"We faced some issues while running some applications on Mac."
"Defender's reporting is rather scattered, and its URL filtering mechanism doesn't really work."
"The biggest one is that Defender needs to be more proactive to the emerging threats. There can be tighter integration with email, especially how it integrates with our email system, which is the Microsoft Outlook suite. There should be the ability to react a lot quicker to emerging threats because sometimes, it takes a few days before some of these new threats are fully identified, and we need that to be a few hours."
"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"Defender's threat protection should be fine-tuned to reduce false positives. It could be more targeted, reflecting a continuous evolution in detecting. Also, it could be easier to integrate into other environments."
"The solution's AI is notorious for false positives, and the time you have to spend training it is ridiculous."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"ESET is perfect, if you can afford it."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to competitors."
"I pay about $100 a year, so it's really cheap. I'm sure that if I need something else beyond more technical support, I'll need to pay more."
"The pricing is pretty good."
"Its price is reasonable."
"ESET is cheap."
"It is not expensive, but it is also not inexpensive."
"The solution costs around $20 or $30 per user per year."
"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."
"The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."
"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."
"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."
"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."
report
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814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ESET Endpoint Security?
ESET Endpoint Security’s most valuable feature is the management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ESET Endpoint Security?
I rate the product’s pricing a three out of ten. It is neither cheap nor expensive for our clients. We use the free version, and there are no additional costs involved.
What needs improvement with ESET Endpoint Security?
The product’s AI implementation feature could be better for learning user behavior. There could be a feature to detect unsecured devices in the network similar to its older version. We need additio...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?
A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed. I have had issues trying to get support or even trying to get to somebody. I often give up chasing the support and end up goi...
 

Also Known As

Smart Security, ESET PROTECT Advanced, ESET LiveGuard Advanced, ESET PROTECT Platform
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
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Find out what your peers are saying about ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. Microsoft Defender for Business and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.