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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Norton Small Business 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers cost savings, enhanced protection, and efficient threat management, with anticipated future benefits.
Sentiment score
8.6
Norton Small Business reduces security threat downtime, enhancing productivity, efficiency, and ROI by allowing focus on critical tasks.
The return on investment is primarily in time savings and better observability of what's happening.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Support for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint varies, with premium tiers offering quicker responses, while basic support can be slow.
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.
I rate Microsoft support 10 out of 10.
Due to our size, we don't have access to direct technical support, but the knowledge base, Microsoft Learn, and the articles available are really good.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a scalable solution integrating smoothly with Microsoft, ideal for diverse organizational needs and configurations.
Sentiment score
8.1
Norton Small Business is highly scalable, allowing easy license expansion and adaptability for diverse business sizes and device platforms.
We managed to scale it out in a short amount of time, with two months of planning and three months of implementation on 10,000 computers.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is scalable enough to handle various devices across environments, whether they are laptops, Android devices, or operating in hybrid environments.
Defender's scalability is phenomenal, and it's going to be one of the keys to resolving issues for the SOC.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is stable and reliable, with integration ease, despite occasional lags and minor update bugs.
Sentiment score
8.2
Norton Small Business is highly rated for its stability, with minor password manager issues on mobile devices.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint needs frequent updates, improved integration, user-friendly interface, enhanced analytics, and better support documentation.
Norton Small Business requires better pricing, enhanced features, and fewer notifications to improve user experience and market availability.
Repeated interactions are necessary due to Level One's lack of tools and knowledge, hindering efficient problem-solving and negatively impacting our experience with Microsoft support.
We have multiple endpoints, and we want to look for signals across tenants.
Providing more detailed information on how Microsoft Defender for Endpoint detects vulnerabilities.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is cost-effective with bundled licenses, but advanced features may incur additional fees.
Norton Small Business offers affordable yearly licenses but frequent upsells for additional features can be a drawback for some.
Given our extensive Microsoft licensing, transitioning to Defender for Endpoint did not affect licensing costs.
It costs $15 per VM for the P2 plan, which is seen as affordable for customers.
The pricing, setup, and licensing were very easy and simple.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers seamless integration, real-time threat detection, and efficient management, enhancing security with minimal system impact.
Norton Small Business offers comprehensive virus protection, secure features, multi-platform compatibility, and 24/7 support via a user-friendly dashboard.
Automated Investigation and Remediation features are vital for advanced threat protection and beneficial for device protection.
Defender for Endpoint's coverage across different platforms in our environment is pretty good. We have devices running Linux, Mac OS, Windows, iOS, and Android. It covers all of them.
I appreciate how easily Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integrates with our environment and the wide variety of logs it provides compared to other EDR tools.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
192
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
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 Endpoint is 11.1%, down from 15.2% 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

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.
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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842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
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

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 ...
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.
 

Also Known As

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Norton Small Business and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,690 professionals have used our research since 2012.