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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
7.3
Organizations achieve financial gains and efficiency by using Microsoft Defender, eliminating third-party solutions, and enhancing security management.
Sentiment score
8.5
Many users saw ROI with Trend Micro Smart Protection, notably long-term, despite one user not observing value yet.
Without detection and protection measures, organizations would face substantial payments and reputational damage, including the necessity to inform customers about data breaches, potentially leading to loss of business.
We have seen a return on investment when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it saves labor by reducing the need for staff to focus on it.
The biggest return on investment for me when using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the time saving.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft's Defender for Endpoint support is generally effective but experiences vary; premium options offer swift, knowledgeable assistance.
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
7.6
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint efficiently scales with diverse enterprises, integrates seamlessly with Microsoft products, supporting growth effectively.
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.
Compatibility is its main feature.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is praised for stability, efficiency, and low resource impact, despite minor occasional bugs.
Sentiment score
8.4
Trend Micro Smart Protection is stable and reliable, with few performance issues, although Windows compatibility may vary.
I haven't seen any outages with Microsoft.
I rate Defender 10 out of 10 for stability.
Defender for Endpoint is extremely stable.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint struggles with support, integration, UI, performance issues, and lacks essential features and platform support.
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 offers cost-effective, flexible pricing options integrated with Microsoft services, including discounts for education and volume.
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 protection, and automated response, ensuring robust security with minimal impact.
Trend Micro Smart Protection offers robust security features, praised for integration, user-friendliness, scalability, and reliable threat prevention capabilities.
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.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides a unified management interface allowing customers to manage their on-premises and hybrid infrastructures from a single pane.
One of the best features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its database for identifying zero-day attacks or malware attacks.
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
197
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
Trend Micro Smart Protection
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
30th
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 July 2025, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.4%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trend Micro Smart Protection is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

John Rallo - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers excellent visibility into vulnerabilities and the attack surface itself
Attack surface reduction and limiting attack surface vectors are valuable features. It's helpful to isolate specific devices and get super granular with the features they offer. The visibility into the attack surface is good. It gets highly granular. I don't work on that side, but the people who do tell me they get more visibility.
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
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Performing Arts
7%
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: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.