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ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 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

ESET Endpoint Protection Pl...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
100
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (11th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (6th)
WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
25th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is 3.4%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus is 0.3%, down from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

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.
PA
Reasonably priced and simple to use
During the product's installation phase, you just put the tool in the right place, and it works. The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. The solution can be deployed in a couple of minutes. The installation process is so basic that I don't even remember what you need to do. You just put the tick marks in the tool and ask the tool to use them. In the rules, where you see the files go through is where you can think over what to do with the files. With the tool, you just need to put it on, and then the default rules make sure that there is some indication that something is wrong.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The dashboard is useful for management, and its cost for the features is hard to beat."
"The tool protects everything."
"This solution does not slow down your systems. It is very light."
"It has been working fine. It lets you know when it finds things. We didn't have any incident where the place had to shut down or was taken over by anything. We haven't had any issues that we know of."
"It's light. I almost don't know that I am using it."
"In terms of the current global landscape, it is a great solution."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the management."
"The inspection feature allows complete monitoring"
"WatchGuard is easy to implement and inexpensive. When we get a bulk-off license, we get a very discounted price that is competitive with alternative or competitor solutions."
"The pricing of the solution is okay. It's not the most expensive option."
"I haven't a problem with anti-virus stability using WatchGuard for over two years."
"It does its job very well, and it is quite easy to put to use."
"It is the most effective on non-encrypted traffic and it is able to determine some threats through deep packet inspection."
 

Cons

"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."
"If I were in an environment that required a large-scale deployment then I would choose another solution over ESET."
"The software has room for improvement in terms of CPU and other resource usage."
"ESET Endpoint Security lacks some advanced functionalities and features which would be useful to be interconnected with the solutions we use, such as Microsoft 365."
"The integration capabilities might be lacking a bit."
"I don't know if it's possible but I'm always looking for better protection."
"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 tool needs to explore security possibilities to secure iOS and Mac devices."
"It doesn't offer the best protection and it's incompatible with a lot of China's websites. It makes a lot of mistakes when it is detecting items as it's not recognizing items correctly."
"The solution isn't what I would consider feature-rich."
"Since WatchGuard acquired Panda, there may be synergies in consolidating both solutions under a single name to reduce customer confusion."
"WatchGuard technical support requires a license."
"There were a little bit of problems with the tool's updates, making it an area where improvements are needed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As is the general rule with anything, the solution could be cheaper."
"ESET is cheap."
"I do a two or three-year license for less than $100."
"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 price of the solution is reasonable compared to the other products out there. It is definitely in line with the competition."
"For 200 or so users, it might cost around $10,000 or so. That is for a first-time purchase. A renewal may come in at $7,000 to $8,000, or around 20% to 30% less. This is a rough estimate of what to expect."
"Pricing of ESET Endpoint Security is within the market pricing."
"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."
"For what we use, the tool's price has been reasonable, but it is not the cheapest. The tool has been quite reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
It is a basic tool tool, and it does very well for what it is supposed to do. It does simple checks against signatures. I think it is very much what it needs to be, and it is a basic tool that you ...
What is your primary use case for WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
The solution is used when you want to handle policies with the file. There are different ways you can use it, like in the firewall rules and in proxy rules, and to secure emails. The tool was used ...
What advice do you have for others considering WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus?
It is the basic starting tool. We used different tools in the company. In our gateway, we used WatchGuard because we used WatchGuard's firewalls. It was very easy to set it up. It was used so that ...
 

Also Known As

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

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
Star Cargo
Find out what your peers are saying about ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs. WatchGuard Gateway AntiVirus and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,296 professionals have used our research since 2012.