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McAfee Complete Data Protection vs Microsoft BitLocker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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

McAfee Complete Data Protec...
Ranking in Endpoint Encryption
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
33
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft BitLocker
Ranking in Endpoint Encryption
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Data Protection (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Endpoint Encryption category, the mindshare of McAfee Complete Data Protection is 7.6%, down from 10.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft BitLocker is 40.2%, up from 39.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

ObaseunAwoyinfa - PeerSpot reviewer
Encrypts the hard drive, offers data protection policies and effective part of DLP strategy
The only thing that I think could be improved is the data classifier. It's not a very robust classifier, which is where its limitation lies. For example, you see a lot of higher-end solutions where people can classify data more effectively, adding labels like transcription labels and such. McAfee’s classifier doesn't handle all those tasks. It doesn’t offer the same level of functionality as other data classification tools. You can't do things like fingerprinting and other advanced classification methods. However, if you were to make it more robust, the product could become too heavy to run effectively on endpoints and servers. So, to be honest, I can't think of anything else off the top of my head that could be added. I think it's a great solution as it stands. If anyone wants extended data classification, they can leverage other tools like Titus, Fortra's Classifier Suite (previously known as Boldon James Classifier), or even Microsoft AIP if they have the budget. You can also leverage Trellix to enhance your data protection. From my point of view, McAfee Complete Data Protection is one of the best solutions out there, if not the best, to be honest.
Douglas Curry - PeerSpot reviewer
Users can easily deploy and manage it
The solution's most valuable feature is that it is simple to deploy and manage. I can't say what features of the tool I like since it is very much a deploy-and-forget product. We don't use any advanced features of the tool in my company. The tool's recovery options are good, especially since it integrates with Active Directory, making everything a simple process. The product's integration capabilities are good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It provides encryption, data protection, and DLP, all under one roof. The deployment, scalability, and reporting is too good. My clients are satisfied with the stability of the product. The solution is highly scalable. The technical support's response time and turnaround time as the solution provider are excellent. The availability of great back-end support and process support makes the product great. The initial setup is straightforward, with simple configurations. I recommend the solution."
"With respect to data loss prevention, I think it is helpful to the customer."
"It works seamlessly as long as it's well configured and the policies have been put properly."
"With this solution, the device control is more reliable and more stable."
"With proper policies and configuration, it prevents sending corporate data to both cloud storage or to flash drives and data extraction."
"The interface is user-friendly and it provides a large number of options."
"McAfee Complete Data Protection provides stability and is a good product."
"I am satisfied with the customer service/technical support."
"It is easy to use. It is usually easy to recover someone's privacy. The manageability is much easier than McAfee. I think that Microsoft is a leader in this area. We are in the Microsoft school so our judgment of McAfee will be a little bit unfair as we recommend Microsoft all the time because of the easy manageability and support. I think that McAfee is designed for a different customer and every time we open a ticket with their support, it takes a very, very long time. The main difference is just the manageability and support. In terms of the solution itself or the functionality, I know that McAfee is very strong, but manageability and support, for us, is much more important. It's strengthens the solution for us."
"The initial setup is very simple."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the protection and ease of use."
"It comes bundled with other Microsoft solutions."
"The tool has improved the starting up of our notebooks and end-user devices."
"The tool is stable."
"The platform provides good performance."
"There's a lot of manageability within the solution. This is very helpful."
 

Cons

"The price is a little high and could be better."
"They need to segregate McAfee Complete Data Protection for endpoints and servers."
"There are some features that do not work with Mac."
"The solution's pricing could be better."
"Initial setup was complex."
"The product must improve endpoint encryption."
"Though there may be some ransomware detection modules now in McAfee Complete Data Protection, it's a field that McAfee should focus on, particularly having integration with some EDR or other add-ons. This is so McAfee Complete Data Protection would have more accuracy in detecting new ransomware in the market. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for its pricing to be more cost-effective because some competitors have cheaper pricing, so McAfee Complete Data Protection can't compete. Sometimes, some new vendors offer other solutions rather than McAfee Complete Data Protection, to win customers over, and this is a loss for McAfee."
"There are compatibility issues with the Chrome browser."
"Lacks a portal that can be managed rather than just existing."
"BitLocker should be available on standard Windows. We need to spend money on a Pro license to get BitLocker because it's essential to protect our customers' data. We don't want that to fall into the wrong hands."
"The solution needs to have better protection and improve its pricing."
"Instead of integrating with a third party, Microsoft BitLocker should have its own mechanism to safeguard the systems when they are not accessible for a long time."
"The only thing that could be slightly improved is the occasional stability issue."
"The people at the first level of support refer you to articles that do not pertain to the problem at hand."
"Microsoft BitLocker needs to be an all-inclusive solution. For example, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) cryptoprocessor is required to use Bitlocker with your computer which keeps Bitlocker from adoption beyond Windows."
"The solution should have a better user interface and dashboard."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing is yearly."
"McAfee Complete Data Protection is a little bit expensive."
"I think the price could be a little bit less."
"The solution is affordable"
"This solution is reasonably priced."
"The pricing is better than that of some competing products."
"The pricing of the cloud offering seems confusing."
"The price is good, it's a low-cost solution."
"The tool is cheap compared to the products offered by competitors. If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the tool's price as one."
"For reasons unknown, Microsoft products seem to be getting more expensive."
"I think it's reasonably priced because I've never heard any complaints from my company about its costs."
"We didn't pay for additional licenses since the solution is built into Windows."
"It is free. It is enabled as part of the operating system. Once you have an operating system license, you're licensed for Bitlocker."
"We can activate the product at no cost."
"This solution is included with Microsoft Server and my clients did not have to pay for anything extra."
"It operates on a subscription model on an annual basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Government
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Would you choose Microsoft BitLocker or McAfee Complete Data Protection?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protection....
What do you like most about McAfee Complete Data Protection?
It worked for me: it's easy to use and has been very effective.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee Complete Data Protection?
The huge problem I see is pricing. We understand that DLP is not cheap anywhere in the world, but we constantly lose our protection because of pricing. Sometimes, this is because end users prefer t...
What should one take into account when replacing PGP with Microsoft BitLocker?
Beware to make backup of useful data, then use reverse decryption policy from Symantec panel/McAfee ePO to decrypt the DE partitions while it is sometimes more straightforward and faster to reinsta...
How does Microsoft BitLocker compare with Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and it successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protecti...
What do you like most about Microsoft BitLocker?
Microsoft BitLocker's most valuable feature is endpoint encryption, and it's quite easy to manage.
 

Also Known As

No data available
BitLocker, MS BitLocker
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Xcel Energy
ACV, Proaxis Therapy, Choice Hotels International, adnymics GmbH, Intermedia, NMBS/SNCB
Find out what your peers are saying about McAfee Complete Data Protection vs. Microsoft BitLocker and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,772 professionals have used our research since 2012.