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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)
28th
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 January 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Kaspersky Total Security is 0.7%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 11.3%, down from 15.7% 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

"Kaspersky Total Security provides a good return on investment by improving data security and reducing costs by sixty percent with its robust security features."
"The protection has been top-notch, according to our use case and ISP."
"Kaspersky Total Security is a light agent."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it can be centrally managed, allowing users to know what is happening and what can be expected in the systems."
"Kaspersky is reliable because it checks everything before I want to log in."
"There has been a return on investment for our small and medium business users."
"I am satisfied with the solution's security features because we have been using it for years."
"It performs well. The stability is seamless."
"Defender for Endpoint has significantly reduced our SOC team's workload by automating threat detection and response, allowing them to focus on other critical projects."
"The solution has an easy-to-use interface, is always updated, and is user-friendly."
"It's free. There is no additional cost. It's part of Windows."
"One of the features which differentiates it from other EDR providers is the Automated Investigation and Response, which reduces the workload of SOC analysts or engineers. They don't have to manually investigate each and every alert on the endpoint, since it does so automatically. And you can automate the investigation part."
"The solution integrates very well with Windows applications and Microsoft endpoint products."
"It captures data through machine learning, which is built-in on the back-end. It also provides built-in analytics and a threat intelligence feature. It is a one-stop solution that doesn't require an antivirus because it comes prebuilt into Windows 10."
"It automatically detects intrusion and malware."
 

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."
"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."
"It would be beneficial if the resource usage could be reduced to lessen the burden on devices."
"The authorization process could be faster."
"The solution's automation capabilities is an area where certain improvements are required."
"Its interface needs to be more user-friendly."
"Kaspersky Total Security’s stability and performance need improvement."
"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."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can improve by providing more and different types of reports."
"I miss having an executive dashboard or a simple view for viewing things. Everything is extensive in this solution. Everything is configurable and manageable, but the environment of Microsoft 365 has about 13 administrative dashboards, and in each of the dashboards, there are a gazillion things to set up. It is good for a large enterprise, but for a 200-seat client, you need to see 5% of that."
"Monitoring can always be better, onboarding can be a little bit faster, log collection could be easier, they could streamline the dashboard. They could maybe split it up into different workspaces and have the ability to segment groups a little bit more."
"More integration with different platforms is an area for improvement for this product, and should be included in its next release."
"The end-user also cannot do some advanced actions on it. It's a little bit complicated for our end-user, so it needs to be simplified."
"With regards to the interface, a challenge I found was that there was not enough documentation on how to tune it. I had to read multiple sources on the internet to learn how to configure the tool appropriately."
"Its detection is not as quick. There should also be more frequent updates."
"If the solution could be integrated more with Defender for Cloud, to be more unified, that would help. It is good now, but even more integration could be done with Defender for Cloud. We see two different portals. If Defender for Endpoint could be ported to the CSPM, Defender for Cloud, that would make things even easier for us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a need to renew the license on an annual basis."
"I like this solution due to its cost-free nature"
"The product is not expensive."
"We pay around $30 to $35 for the solution yearly."
"We purchase the product’s yearly license."
"Kaspersky Total Security is an expensive solution."
"Users need to pay a licensing fee for the solution, which is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The pricing of the solution is good."
"When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."
"AV solutions are pretty expensive because they are necessary, not just for protection, but many businesses need them to comply with regulatory bodies and receive accreditation. We recently purchased an E5 license, which gives us access to the entire Microsoft suite. I would say the pricing is competitive; most tools of this kind are similarly priced. There are minor differences between the competitors, but they aren't spectacularly different. Defender for Endpoint makes sense because all our solutions are in the same place, paid for with a single license. The subscription price is around £50 per user per month, though it may have increased slightly."
"We sell this product as part of Office 365 and it is not expensive."
"I recently switched from education to private business, and all I can say is that private business licensing from Microsoft is not cheap until you hit certain quantities or scale. That does not mean that it is not comparable to other industries. It is similar pricing, but it is still crazy to me how much you pay for a client. I feel it is high, but it is in line with other vendors."
"Compared to ESET, the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is on the higher side."
"For most people, the price of the license is not something that they have to worry about."
"The solution is an open source version and was free with a paid version of Windows 10."
"It is so expensive. It isn't cheaper than McAfee or other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
12%
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.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.