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ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

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
6.4
ESET Endpoint Protection is cost-effective, prevents attacks, reduces recovery costs, though ROI can be challenging to quantify.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Business boosts productivity, saves up to 30% on budgets, and expands sales through integrated Microsoft services.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
It is pretty good because it offers various features such as Exchange, OfficeSuite, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
ESET Endpoint Protection Platform generally provides good support, with regional variations in response times and user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
5.6
Microsoft's customer service is often seen as helpful but challenging to contact, with varied ratings and slow response times.
Normally, I cannot give a ten for support of all brands, as it is not always possible to get full support from companies.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
There are challenges with the knowledge and experience of the support staff.
It is generally rated a seven out of ten for support skills and response time.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
ESET Endpoint Protection is scalable for small to mid-sized companies, but larger enterprises may face database and hardware challenges.
Sentiment score
8.2
Microsoft Defender for Business is highly scalable and reliable, effectively serving diverse industries despite potential configuration delays.
In terms of scalability, I can rate it eight or nine out of ten.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I find Microsoft Defender for Business to be good and reliable.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Users find ESET Endpoint Protection stable and reliable, with high ratings despite occasional upgrade and configuration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Business offers reliable stability with minor issues, earning user ratings of eight to ten.
In terms of stability, I can rate it at nine out of ten.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Threat detection capabilities could be improved.
 

Room For Improvement

ESET Endpoint Protection needs better CPU efficiency, simplified installation, improved iOS/Mac support, and enhanced security features for users.
Microsoft Defender for Business needs improvements in customization, integration, user interface, management, support, and multi-year contract pricing.
A lightweight version of ESET might be beneficial as many of our clients have older CPUs and RAM.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
 

Setup Cost

ESET Endpoint Protection Platform provides flexible, cost-effective licensing for businesses, though setup complexity and price perceptions vary.
Microsoft Defender for Business offers comprehensive security with competitive pricing and integration benefits within Office 365 premium subscriptions.
The pricing of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is a bit high compared to other competitors.
The package with Business Premium is good for what you get for the price.
I consider Microsoft Defender to be expensive, however, it offers considerable value for the features provided.
Single-year pricing remains good.
 

Valuable Features

ESET Endpoint Protection offers lightweight antivirus, real-time detection, centralized management, and affordability with minimal resource impact and effective multi-device protection.
Microsoft Defender for Business provides seamless security integration with AI-driven threat detection, user-friendly setup, and extensive monitoring capabilities.
The primary purpose is to protect computers from viruses and ransomware.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
The security features are valuable because they come with more capabilities that other licenses do not have, including the enterprise license like E3.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
 

Categories and Ranking

ESET Endpoint Protection Pl...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
100
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (6th), Anti-Malware Tools (4th)
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
32nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is 2.9%, down from 3.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 1.9%, 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
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.
Vincent Gagnon - PeerSpot reviewer
Better security with comprehensive features but has a high cost
I have a lot of clients and I use Microsoft Defender for Business when we have certain types of licenses. It comes with Microsoft Business Premium. However, it is not available for many of my clients due to the high license cost, which makes it difficult to sell. I have a couple of clients who use…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Retailer
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 package with Business Premium is good for what you get for the price. The standalone license's cost is a bit higher, and I would rate it as an eight out of ten for pricing.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
It is not quick to make exclusions or specific configurations compared to other antiviruses on the market. It is less quick than Microsoft Defender or other antivirus solutions.
 

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: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.