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Malwarebytes vs Microsoft Defender for Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 29, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Malwarebytes
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
36
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
38th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Malwarebytes is 1.6%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 1.9%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Anas Anas - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective threat predictions, simple to deploy, and light on resources
Malwarebytes's initial setup is simple. It is easy to deploy and configure the policies and the configuration. I deployed Malwarebytes for one customer and I did it in under two days. They had approximately 50 users, it took approximately an hour. The steps I took for the implementation were downloading the Malwarebytes management console from the site, installing it, then running the discovery tool, scanning my network, and checking all of the PCs on my network. It's already pre-configured, you don't need to configure anything. The only configuration that I did on the administration console was some of the exclusion from the scan. This is the only rule that I have created. I rate the initial setup of Malwarebytes a ten out of ten.
Tim_Howard - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides good protection against viruses but support needs improvement
The product's initial setup phase wasn't too bad. The product's installation phase wasn't terrible, but it could have been good to club the things in the process, especially for the ones who are doing it for the first time, and it would be good if Microsoft offered users, someone, to talk to who knows the product. You will be gambling if you use Google for the tool because who knows if it really knows what Microsoft Defender for Business is all about. On a scale of one to ten, if ten is the easiest, I rate the setup phase as an eight out of ten. The setup phase was straightforward. As the tool was needed in a small shop, the solution's deployment was done in a couple of days. The solution was deployed in my company with the help of a small team of ten people. I had my head of IT help me in rolling it out in our company.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technical support services are good."
"The most valuable features of the solution are malware scanning and malware removal."
"This solution helps us by providing central management of anti-malware and anti-exploit functionality."
"The solution has a good management interface."
"We have seen a decrease of approximately ninety percent in the number of events."
"The product provides notifications for suspicious events. We have several public access points. The product helps to prevent unauthorized entry. Its most valuable features are pre-installation procedures and a cloud console. The console's interface is simple and can be viewed easily to take action. It covers everything in terms of security threats."
"Malwarebytes is a comprehensive solution for keeping endpoints safe and secure from intruders, viruses, malware and so on."
"The protection is really good with Malwarebytes. It's also user friendly and quite easy to set up."
"It is scalable."
"The security features are valuable because they come with more capabilities that other licenses do not have, including the enterprise license like E3."
"A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is going on. We have a footprint across all of North America, Canada, and Mexico, so we want to make sure that all our endpoints are protected and we are able to look for any anomalous activity."
"The security features are valuable because they come with more capabilities that other licenses do not have, including the enterprise license like E3."
"If you're an Intune user, you can bring in certain capabilities like system-hardening policies, which further enhances the security."
"The solution is effective, continuously improving, and highly regarded, especially with Microsoft's leadership in the industry."
"Microsoft Defender for Business is good for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers solid security flexibility and integration with tools like Microsoft Lighthouse and some other software. It takes some of the features of Defender for Endpoint EDR and provides those services for small and medium-sized business environments."
"I haven't had any problems with the tool's stability."
 

Cons

"The reporting is not as flexible as you would find with other antivirus software."
"The free version is effective, however, the paid version is pricey compared to it."
"The product is a little bit more expensive than the other brands."
"This solution reports far too many false positives!"
"It would be better if updates could be downloaded, and deployed, on-premises to avoid low bandwidth causing issues."
"We have noticed that when the solution is doing the scanning, all the scanning activities make the device heavier. It slows down your machine."
"My clients have frequently encountered some tech support scams where when you go to a particular website, it throws up a fake warning to you and states that you need to call this number."
"We had a little performance problem with the solution, but that's been resolved. Since then, it's been running well."
"Talking with the tool's technician about any problem is very complicated."
"Customer service is not bad, yet not great either, and I would rate it maybe five or six out of ten."
"Defender's threat protection should be fine-tuned to reduce false positives. It could be more targeted, reflecting a continuous evolution in detecting. Also, it could be easier to integrate into other environments."
"It is not quick to make exclusions or specific configurations compared to other antiviruses on the market."
"Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles."
"The tool's support is an area of concern where improvements are needed."
"Additionally, the pricing policy poses a challenge, particularly in multi-year contracts, where other solutions like Trend Micro offer more affordable options."
"The security could always be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe the retail price is between $40 and $50 per copy."
"I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"Its cost is around $60 a machine. The cost of the total solution for 250 people is about $8,500 a year. If we add EDR to it, it will bring that cost up to about $15,000. The cost for Carbon Black is about $25,000, which is $10,000 more, but you get all AI functions with it."
"The price of Malwarebytes is in the middle range compared to other vendors."
"The cost may be something in the ballpark of $20-25 a year per computer."
"I would say that it's affordable. It costs much less than Sentinel One, CrowdStrike, or anything of that nature. But, at the same time, you are getting what you pay for. So I would say it's one of the best when you're comparing traditional NextGen AVs like Webroot that aren't the best in the bunch."
"We expect to pay $1,000 USD a month, depending on the number of users."
"It is really expensive. We've got between 30 and 40 licenses every year, and for the number of licenses that we have, we're finding that Malwarebytes on average costs between $900 and $1,000 more per year than comparable options. We're paying about $3,300 per year for these licenses. There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee."
"The tool's cost has been a little high, but I do not think it was terrible."
"Defender for Business is included by default with an Office 365 premium subscription."
"It has to get more competitive because we are starting to see some of the competitors providing better pricing, and some of it, of course, is to gain market share. The Defender product pricing is probably a little higher than the competitors."
"The tool is cheap, while some other solutions are more expensive. I remember the tool cost about five euros for a workstation or for a user on a monthly basis."
"Since we're a nonprofit, we get pretty good discounts on the tool."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
University
9%
Government
7%
Retailer
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Malwarebytes?
Ten times a day, improved signatures will be downloaded, so it is very up-to-date in terms of malware experience.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Malwarebytes?
Malwarebytes is a bit pricey for some regions, such as Ukraine, since it's priced in US dollars. I prefer to use the paid version, and I am a pay-to-play person.
What needs improvement with Malwarebytes?
There are no built-in backups or integrated backup options, which could be an opportunity. The free version is effective, however, the paid version is pricey compared to it. Other customers have me...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Business?
A few things are valuable. One is the alerting we see when any kind of intrusion is happening, any kind of malware is being deployed across the endpoints, or any kind of suspicious activity is goin...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Business?
The pricing of Microsoft Defender for Business is competitive compared to its peers, though some competitors offer more favorable terms on multi-year contracts. However, single-year pricing remains...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles. Right now, Intune has limitations. Additionally, the pricing policy poses a challen...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Knutson Construction
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Malwarebytes vs. Microsoft Defender for Business and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.