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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Trend Micro Smart Protection 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
8.5
Many users saw ROI with Trend Micro Smart Protection, notably long-term, despite one user not observing value yet.
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
7.1
Trend Micro Smart Protection's customer service varies, with quick premium support and slower response times for standard and regional support.
The level-one support seems disconnected from subject matter experts.
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.
 

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
7.9
Trend Micro Smart Protection is highly scalable, supporting diverse businesses and users with seamless expansion across various sectors.
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.
It's pretty easy to scale with Microsoft, as they make it easy if you look into the documentation.
 

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
8.4
Trend Micro Smart Protection is stable and reliable, with few performance issues, although Windows compatibility may vary.
After setting appropriate exclusions, everything seemed to work fine.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint needs frequent updates, improved integration, user-friendly interface, enhanced analytics, and better support documentation.
Trend Micro Smart Protection needs improved insights, management, pricing, support, integration, resource usage, compatibility, compliance, and security features.
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 use Microsoft partners to help govern the platform, and as part of an alliance, we want to gather data from each tenant and combine them for a complete view.
Providing more detailed information on how Microsoft Defender for Endpoint detects vulnerabilities.
We've experienced compatibility issues with Windows endpoint protection.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is cost-effective with bundled licenses, but advanced features may incur additional fees.
Trend Micro Smart Protection's cost, ranging from 50,000 to 6,000 Euros, is often justified by its features and discounts.
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.
However, their pricing is comparable to CrowdStrike.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers seamless integration, real-time threat detection, and efficient management, enhancing security with minimal system impact.
Trend Micro Smart Protection offers robust security features, praised for integration, user-friendliness, scalability, and reliable threat prevention capabilities.
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.
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features.
The most effective features of Trend Micro Smart Protection are its antivirus and malware capabilities.
 

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)
Trend Micro Smart Protection
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
32nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

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 Trend Micro Smart Protection is 0.5%, down 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.
Amey Darekar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers centralized security management and flexibility
The improvements required in the product depend on how it is used, meaning it can be used for endpoint security or email and collaboration security. The web gateway is used along with anti-malware, advanced protection, URL filtering, application control, and data protection. I don't have any improvements to suggest in the tool as of now, and not at least for now, as per my security assessment. There are certain concerns with the product's stability, so it is an area where improvements are required.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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 Trend Micro Smart Protection?
The tool offers centralized security management. The tool's deployment is flexible.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trend Micro Smart Protection?
I'm not involved in licensing, so I have no idea of the cost. However, their pricing is comparable to CrowdStrike. None of these solutions are cheap.
What needs improvement with Trend Micro Smart Protection?
The dashboard could be easier to manage. We've experienced compatibility issues with Windows endpoint protection. More support for malware and botnets would be beneficial.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
Trend Micro Smart Protection Complete
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Blekinge County Council, Bulgarian American Credit Bank, Cancer Research UK, Delacour, Evalueserve, Gulftainer, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital & Atomic-bomb Survivors Hospital, Mazda Motor Logistics Europe, MEDHOST, Nikigolf, Ochsner Health System, SIAX Computing Solutions, Tegen
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Trend Micro Smart Protection and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,388 professionals have used our research since 2012.