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Fortinet FortiEDR 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
8.3
Fortinet FortiEDR offers enhanced security and ROI with minimal weekly effort, boosting visibility and customer satisfaction over four years.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users report positive ROI from Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, citing cost savings, improved security, and effective system integration.
The return on investment is primarily in time savings and better observability of what's happening.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiEDR's customer service is responsive but faces occasional delays due to broader reach and non-integrated support.
Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's support is generally reliable, with mixed reviews on response time and resolution quality.
For setting up some proper solutions for issues at the customer site, it can take about one week.
Due to our size, we don't have access to direct technical support, but the knowledge base, Microsoft Learn, and the articles available are really good.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiEDR is highly scalable for enterprises, though some limitations exist with external integrations and cloud environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers scalable integration and cloud-based management, but customization may need extra tools in complex settings.
When implemented in a Fortinet environment with an existing firewall, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiManager, it is straightforward to install and scale by adding more EDR for endpoints.
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
It's pretty easy to scale with Microsoft, as they make it easy if you look into the documentation.
Defender's scalability is phenomenal, and it's going to be one of the keys to resolving issues for the SOC.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Fortinet FortiEDR is stable and reliable but requires maintenance, with occasional issues like memory concerns and false alerts.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable, integrates well with Windows, but occasionally has configuration and memory issues.
After that, I stopped scanning the Cisco AnyConnect and switched to Fortinet VPN. Everything worked fine afterward.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiEDR needs improved cloud security, automation, and user interface for better market acceptance and competitive advantage.
Users criticize Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's complex interface, limited integration, and request enhancements in analytics, protection, and support.
Fortinet could consider reducing the minimum order quantity for EDR, currently set at 500 pieces.
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
We have multiple endpoints, and we want to look for signals across tenants.
An additional feature that could be included in the next release is free Copilot.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiEDR offers competitive pricing but may have high setup costs, with potential savings through Fortinet's channel model.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers flexible, cost-effective pricing, especially in E5 bundles, adapting to various enterprise licensing needs.
It's reasonably priced compared to other vendors' similar products.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
The pricing, setup, and licensing were very easy and simple.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiEDR offers robust EDR capabilities, efficient resource use, and seamless integration, ensuring scalable, user-friendly cybersecurity for organizations.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides comprehensive cybersecurity with seamless integration, robust threat analytics, and efficient management across platforms without performance impact.
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features.
Web filtering is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because it effectively maintains security for website access.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiEDR
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
11th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
190
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiEDR is 4.3%, up from 4.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.7%, down from 15.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

Featured Reviews

Jovan Jovanovic - PeerSpot reviewer
Collects valuable endpoint data with good analytics and helpful scalability
This is a question for the partners who implement and install it. I am not involved in the implementation process, so I cannot suggest improvements. As mentioned, this is a query for my presales team, not me. I am part of the security team lead, focusing mainly on sales. Regarding the product, Fortinet could consider reducing the minimum order quantity for EDR, currently set at 500 pieces. In smaller markets like Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Slovenia, it can be challenging to find customers with 500 endpoints. My suggestion to Fortinet would be to lower this minimum order quantity to one.
AnuragSrivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement
One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiEDR?
We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiEDR?
It's reasonably priced compared to other vendors' similar products.
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

enSilo, FortiEDR
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiEDR vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.