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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
197
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (4th)
WithSecure Elements Endpoin...
Ranking in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
47th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 10.5%, down from 13.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response is 0.4%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
 

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.
Nobuaki Kitamura - PeerSpot reviewer
A scalable solution with easy deployment but pricing needs to improve
WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response need to improve pricing.  The product is stable.  WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response is scalable. My company has 800-1000 customers.  We support ourselves.  Positive The tool's deployment is easy; even a salesperson can do…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We have liked the fact that it comes with Microsoft Windows 10 and it is constantly updated with all new virus definitions. It is also updated with new security features on a regular basis."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's WCS function, a content filtering solution, has proven to be the most useful, stable, and reliable option for our current needs."
"It's effective against most types of infection, and the firewall is perfect for protection."
"The ransomware and malware protection is the most valuable feature."
"It is stable and easy to use. Everything is okay, and there are no performance issues."
"Web filtering is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because it effectively maintains security for website access."
"It's very easy to scale because it comes built-in with Windows 10, and you just need to enable it. This can be done on scale using group policies or through Endpoint Manager on cloud or Intune."
"It does not make Windows slow, as compared to all of the third part antiviruses."
"I use the solution to protect our infrastructure. The tool has special frames for banking. There is an additional secure filter for banking-related pages. It protects me from viruses, malware, and attacks."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The product is stable."
"WithSecure includes an encrypted drive that stores a key for accessing the encrypted data."
"The only issue that we have today is with false positives. We have too many false positives with the solution."
"It offers good scalability."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should have more transparency. In the latest edition of Windows, Windows 11, it is a compulsory requirement to connect to a Microsoft account, which in turn has implications for Defender. This should be removed."
"Initially, I experienced performance issues that hampered our servers. However, after setting appropriate exclusions, everything seemed to work fine."
"The solution could be more friendly for end-users, with different type of scans or scheduled scans for it."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not as robust, and you cannot customize it much, so that's a challenge."
"The reporting in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should improve. The solution has limited features."
"I would like to have a dashboard that shows an overview of the results for the enterprise."
"They can improve it on the online protection front since people nowadays are moving online and working from home."
"The solution has minimal customization options, especially compared to Mandiant, so we want to see more scope for customization. A single portal for customization would also be a welcome addition."
"The tool’s mobile version needs to be improved."
"The monthly reporting feature of WithSecure can be improved."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"Its automated functionality could be better."
"WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response is scalable. My company has 800-1000 customers."
"The website rules are too complicated."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This product is included in the pricing for Windows."
"We have seen ROI. Most of the other competing alternatives will cost up to around $30 per user device. We average 400 devices. Therefore, the amount that we save each year is 400 times $30."
"The license for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is included in the license for the Microsoft Windows operating system."
"The cost is high, compared to other products in the market, if you look at it as a separate product. If you look at the cost where it is part of a bundle, the cost is okay."
"The price is higher than others because it is doing more than what the others are doing."
"Licenses depend upon what you are looking for and what kind of security do you want to implement. There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees. When we used to buy Symantec, we used to spend on 100 licenses. We used to spend approximately $2,700 for those many licenses, and they came in packs. To add one more license, I had to buy a pack with a minimum of 10 licenses. I had to spend on nine extra licenses because I can't get a single license, whereas when we go for Microsoft, we can get as many licenses as we want. If I have 100 users today, and tomorrow, I have 90 users, I can release my 10 licenses next month. With any other software vendor, you buy licenses for one year, and you have to stick with that. If today you have 100 licenses, and tomorrow, you have 50, you have already paid for one year's license. You can't go back and tell them that I don't require these 50 licenses because I have lost my 50 users, but with Microsoft Defender, licensing is on a monthly basis. It gives you both options. You can go yearly and save on it, or you can go monthly. You will, again, save on it. It is very fair everywhere."
"You need a license to use this solution."
"Everybody would like to see a lower price on everything. The Slovenian market is basically an SME market with clients having up to 100 seat licenses, comprising 90% of the company. They're very price sensitive. So, the price could be cheaper."
"I rate WithSecure a four out of ten because it's quite economical."
"The solution's price is moderate."
"I would rate the tool’s pricing a three out of ten. Its pricing is competitive."
"WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response's licensing costs are yearly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
20%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 ...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
F-Secure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response, F-Secure Rapid Detection and Response, F-Secure RDR
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Blackfin
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. WithSecure Elements Endpoint Detection and Response and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.