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Microsoft Defender for Business vs Norton Small Business comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 2025

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
8.2
Microsoft Defender for Business boosts ROI with increased productivity, cost savings, improved security, and enhanced business opportunities.
Sentiment score
8.6
Norton Small Business reduces security threat downtime, enhancing productivity, efficiency, and ROI by allowing focus on critical tasks.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
It is pretty good because it offers various features such as Exchange, OfficeSuite, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.4
Microsoft Defender for Business offers prompt support but lacks efficiency, with slower resolutions and mixed user satisfaction ratings.
Sentiment score
9.3
Norton Small Business's technical support is rated excellent for its efficiency, helpfulness, and responsiveness, though some see room for improvement.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Business is praised for scalability, with high ratings, despite configuration challenges across sectors like IT and government.
Sentiment score
8.1
Norton Small Business is highly scalable, allowing easy license expansion and adaptability for diverse business sizes and device platforms.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I find Microsoft Defender for Business to be good and reliable.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Business is stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and occasional bugs, maintaining user satisfaction.
Sentiment score
8.2
Norton Small Business is highly rated for its stability, with minor password manager issues on mobile devices.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
Threat detection capabilities could be improved.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Business needs enhancements in reporting, integration, support efficiency, and pricing, with user-friendliness and communication issues.
Norton Small Business requires better pricing, enhanced features, and fewer notifications to improve user experience and market availability.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Business offers cost-effective pricing within Office 365 Premium, valued for features and nonprofit discounts, despite some competitors.
Norton Small Business offers affordable yearly licenses but frequent upsells for additional features can be a drawback for some.
Single-year pricing remains good.
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
The package with Business Premium is good for what you get for the price.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Business provides scalable, cost-effective security with AI-powered threat detection, easy integration, and user-friendly features.
Norton Small Business offers comprehensive virus protection, secure features, multi-platform compatibility, and 24/7 support via a user-friendly dashboard.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Busi...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
28th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (15th)
Norton Small Business
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
22nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Backup (14th), SSL VPN (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Business is 1.9%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Norton Small Business is 2.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Syed Abid  - PeerSpot reviewer
Advanced threat protection secures diverse workloads with cost-effective deployment
If I need logs and don't have local storage bundled with Defender, I need to add workspace and log analytics, which is costly for storing logs of 2 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB. A default storage of 5 GB for logs should be included with Defender. There are limitations in whitelisting folders and files, and the whitelisting feature for Defender threat protection was deprecated. A straightforward feature for this should be added.
William_Bowers - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a secure and hassle-free environment
One area where Norton 360 could improve is the constant push for upselling. The notifications urging me to buy additional services, like dark web monitoring or a secure browser, can be overwhelming. It feels like they are trying to sell me more than I actually need. I would prefer a more straightforward approach where essential features are included in the base license without constant prompts to purchase extras. While notifications about actions taken for my security are good, they could be more informative, letting me know exactly what they did to protect me without the upsell pitches. Simplifying the user experience and providing clearer information about the actions taken would make Norton 360 more user-friendly for me.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
6%
Government
6%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 is very expensive and not for low-budget organizations. The full suite is quite pricey.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Business?
Pricing could be lowered as it is expensive and not suitable for low-budget organizations. The full suite is on the pricier side. Additionally, the completion of the integration within Microsoft Se...
What do you like most about Norton 360?
The product offers all the essential licenses compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and mobile platforms.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Norton 360?
I have a yearly licensing plan. The cost is not that high. The solution is cost-effective.
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Business vs. Norton Small Business and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.