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Kaspersky Total Security 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Kaspersky Total Security
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
27th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
190
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 February 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Kaspersky Total Security is 0.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 11.2%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Ashford Asante - PeerSpot reviewer
A tool with an easy initial setup phase that can be centrally managed by users
What needs to be improved is what my company sends to Kaspersky's team when we are working with it, and then they work on it, which is why we always have updates to take care of the bugs and all those things. You can't have one thing in the solution that needs to be improved. The solution is affordable. For the solution itself, while you are working with it, you come across stuff, that Kaspersky's network helps you deal with since you can send your stuff to Kaspersky's team, and they have access to certain reports, and based on the reports and what what are we doing, the solution is always worked on, so that it can be made the best and efficient application. On a daily basis, the tool is being improved, and I am okay with it. Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business Select is automated. The cloud application for Kaspersky is automated. For the solution needed for individual systems, Kaspersky provides you with a platform that provides internet security. With Kaspersky, you have a platform that allows you to access www.kaspersky.com and see the systems that you have worked on in the past. If you need to do anything with your individual machines indirectly, you can manage it through a centralized system. The solution's automation capabilities is an area where certain improvements are required.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I installed Kaspersky for protection if there is a virus on my computer"
"Kaspersky is reliable because it checks everything before I want to log in."
"The most beneficial feature of Kaspersky Total Security for me is its all-in-one antivirus solution with continuous signature updates for effective malware detection and prevention."
"Kaspersky Total Security provides a good return on investment by improving data security and reducing costs by sixty percent with its robust security features."
"It is a stable product."
"It automatically identifies potential threats in emails, websites, and documents, swiftly blocking or quarantining anything harmful to prevent any damage or infection to my system."
"I respect the solution for its pricing."
"The software is easy to install."
"We use Microsoft Defender for the antivirus."
"Auto-remediation: When the product sees malware, it resolves the issue immediately. This protects the machine."
"It depends on the licensing. Most of the customers have got at least a 365 E3 license, and they can use most of the features of Windows 10 Defender. So, anyone who has got an enterprise license can start using those features. Some of the customers have got E5 licenses, and they can use all advanced features. Customers with E5 licenses use the advanced site protection (ATP) features and web content filtering without going via a proxy, which gives the benefit of replacing the proxy. They can get the benefit of MCAS and integration with Intune and the endpoint manager. It is a kind of single platform for all 365 technologies. It helps customers in managing everything through a unified portal."
"Provides good security features and you can view it in the central console."
"We had Norton Antivirus before, and with Norton, we didn't have a way to centrally manage a lot of features. Defender allowed us to deploy it from our Office 365 admin console. That is probably the biggest thing that made us go with Defender."
"User-friendly, offering safety and security."
"I find the vulnerability management section of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to be very useful for organizations."
"Its real-time security is the most valuable."
 

Cons

"When you get the license number, there isn't a clear section in the program's interface that leads you to renew your license. You have to look and search a lot about it."
"The solution’s security could be improved."
"Enhancing the encryption code, particularly in relation to ransomware would be a great addition for future use."
"The solution’s email protection area should be improved."
"It would be beneficial if the resource usage could be reduced to lessen the burden on devices."
"Kaspersky has to improve its response when there is an incident. They need to respond faster."
"The system can be demanding on resources, making devices busy when running the client application. It would be beneficial if the resource usage could be reduced to lessen the burden on devices."
"Kaspersky Total Security should be easier to manage and improve user interaction. Resetting often requires some experience, which can be a problem for generic users. Web users also encounter some issues that should be improved."
"The biggest issue I had with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was the antivirus and ransomware. I wanted central visibility over all the machines that we operate."
"Localization is always a challenge, especially with new products you typically want. Solutions are designed to be deployed where the most licenses are being consumed, such as in the United States. They focus on US products, devices, and networks. Specialized deployments for other countries would allow for a smoother experience in transition."
"Microsoft Defender in the basic form is not very useful for managing the security environment. The free version is not capable of covering the needs of centralized management, EDR, and behavioral analysis. If you don't have the commercial version, you can't have centralized management and set up the policies and other things. Each client is a standalone installation, which is not useful for security in an enterprise model."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could provide us with a more holistic approach, such as collaboration. They can provide us with an environment from where we can manage all the endpoints from one central location, such as overall management."
"Sometimes, there are different skews. In a basic skew, they should have basic log analysis without the need to integrate with any third-party or SIEM solutions, like Sentinel. This would make it so much easier for users who don't have log collection or log analysis."
"Sometimes, there are difficulties in downloading a file considered as malicious."
"It's not quite a mature solution just yet. It needs more time to grow and develop."
"It is currently more suitable for end-users rather than enterprises with lots of other processes and third-party tools. It needs improvement on that front. We had many issues while integrating it with our enterprise solutions, such as Splunk, and third-party tools. It provides everything via APIs. Other vendors provide integration with third-party tools, but Microsoft doesn't do that. It is also logging too much and is not serialized from the process aspect. It has all the data, but it is not in a proper format or not properly indexed, which doesn't make it easier for enterprises to use this data. Other vendors provide troubleshooting information that can be used to troubleshoot issues, but Microsoft doesn't provide anything like that."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is not expensive."
"There is a need to renew the license on an annual basis."
"We purchase the product’s yearly license."
"The solution's pricing is cheap and better than that of Sophos."
"The pricing of the solution is good."
"We pay around $30 to $35 for the solution yearly."
"Users need to pay a licensing fee for the solution, which is neither cheap nor expensive."
"Kaspersky Total Security is an expensive solution."
"I don't know the standalone costs. It is my understanding that the M365 E5 is $56 a month or something close to that pricing. That would be for the full suite. Just Defender might be $8 a month. I can't say for sure."
"The base price for an E5 license, which includes Enterprise Mobility + Security E5, is $57 per user per month."
"The solution is free."
"The cost is high, compared to other products in the market, if you look at it as a separate product. If you look at the cost where it is part of a bundle, the cost is okay."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can be costly as a standalone solution."
"Pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is competitive. Out of the bundle, you will get a lot of security, if I talk about Microsoft E5, for example, and get a lot of benefits. If the customer goes and purchases a different solution, it will cost more, so pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is quite reasonable at the moment. There isn't any challenge in terms of pricing, for example, I didn't see a customer who pulled back because of the price. Some prices could be negotiable, and sometimes, as a sales point, the two become negotiable, but they don't bill one and pull back because of the pricing. If you have an E5 license, you get everything."
"It is free."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is more affordable compared to some other endpoint solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Educational Organization
7%
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 do you like most about Kaspersky Total Security?
I am satisfied with the solution's security features because we have been using it for years.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Total Security?
The pricing for Kaspersky Total Security is quite affordable, rated at eight out of ten, and all necessary licensing fees are included.
What needs improvement with Kaspersky Total Security?
The system can be demanding on resources, making devices busy when running the client application. It would be beneficial if the resource usage could be reduced to lessen the burden on devices.
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

No data available
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Kaspersky Total Security vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.