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Fortinet FortiClient 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:
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiClient support receives mixed reviews, praised for helpful service but criticized for delays and competence issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint support varies in responsiveness and effectiveness, with premium plans offering quicker service and better solutions.
Technical support can be logged on Fortinet's support portal.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
3.9
Fortinet FortiClient needs better management, UI, integration, VPN stability, pricing, reporting, AI features, support, and endpoint security.
Sentiment score
5.0
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint faces UI complexity, sluggish updates, high resources, poor integration, and slow support affecting efficiency.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiClient is scalable and adaptable for varying company sizes, with straightforward licensing and generally smooth implementation experiences.
Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers scalable cloud-based security, though some users desire improved dashboard and management features.
We can add more licenses and Fortinet tokens, demonstrating excellent scalability.
 

Setup Cost

No sentiment score available
Fortinet FortiClient offers competitive pricing and value, with costs ranging from $1,500 to $3,000 for comprehensive features.
Sentiment score
7.0
Enterprise users find Microsoft Defender's pricing varies, with cost-effectiveness in bundles but sometimes higher costs for specific features.
FortiClient is cost-effective since the client itself is free with the purchase of Fortinet.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Fortinet FortiClient is highly stable and reliable, with minor bugs and connectivity issues rarely reported and often resolved.
Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, resource-efficient, reliable, though occasional bugs and configuration challenges exist, especially on non-Windows systems.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiClient provides affordable, user-friendly security with VPN, antivirus, and seamless FortiGate integration, ideal for endpoint management.
Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels in integration, threat detection, user-friendly design, and automation, enhancing security and efficiency.
We appreciate its VPN capabilities and the features that offer extra security functionalities like antivirus and malware scanning.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
91
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Compliance (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (2nd)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
186
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 11.7%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Ayman Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhance secure remote access with feature-rich VPN and content filtering
We mainly use FortiClient as a VPN client. Additionally, we use it for anti-malware, anti-spam, and as a content filter. When a user is outside the company, we can use FortiClient as a content filter to control the sites the user can access FortiClient has improved our security posture by…
Sudhen Swami - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to update with good protection and a useful cloud portal
We've mainly used it for endpoints. However, we've also used it for DLP as well. We're also in the process of implementing it for cloud and identity as well. However, it's very good for endpoints, and that's our main focus. The malware protection is good. The visibility it provides is very useful. We can combine visibility with wider security features and alerts around malware, misconfiguration, or any other kinds of threats. The cloud portal is quite good. From there, we are able to see alerts and have colleagues review issues and monitor to see if any patterns arise. It's serving us quite well overall. It allows us to look at other items, like application and browser control. It helps us prioritize threats. We have a process in place now where we can review issues and remediate them effectively. We have been able to integrate a variety of Microsoft security products together. We use Azure AD, for example, and we've begun to implement DLP, among other items. We're looking at labeling and tagging and will expand into that soon. Defender has more stringent system requirements than, for example, Check Point. So when we implemented the Check Point Endpoint agent, that solution didn't mind what version of Windows you were using. When we moved to Defender, Defender had certain system prerequisites that had to be met. So we had to make sure that we're on a minimum version of Windows when we're utilizing Office, and Office has to be a particular version as well. It has more stringent system requirements that have to be met before you can implement it. It works natively together with other Microsoft solutions. Once you get more and more of those different components across the environment, then you start to get better visibility. So, rather than having lots of different solutions, you have fewer solutions and a single vendor solution. That way, you start getting into a position where you get better visibility and integration as well. The standardization is good. It's important. It's helping me with monitoring and learning. Updates and upgrades are quite smooth and seamless. Defender helps us automate routine tasks. Quite a lot of Microsoft is straightforward for us now. Previously, we didn't have enough resources and were unable to look at the alerts. Having this in place makes things a lot more straightforward for us. We have both the technology and the people in place now, alongside the process. We do see the benefits in that, and that's why we're continuing our adoption across the estate in terms of client and server as well. It's helping us avoid looking at multiple dashboards and centralized monitoring. We're not fully there yet. We're getting there. While we haven't witnessed time saving yet, once it's fully deployed, it will. By then, we'll have standardized processes across a single solution. We have saved money, however, as we continue to reduce non-Mircosft systems. Since we won't be using various competing technologies, we can save on licensing costs. We've likely so far saved 15%. While it's hard to estimate exactly how much, the solution has helped us decrease time to detection and time to respond.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
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

FortiClient
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.