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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs WithSecure Elements Endpoint 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
210
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (3rd)
WithSecure Elements Endpoin...
Ranking in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
43rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 8.1%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint8.1%
WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection1.0%
Other90.9%
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
 

Featured Reviews

Robert Arbuckle - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time
Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.
Mark Feldman - PeerSpot reviewer
IT-Manager at MKF-Schimanski-ERGIS GmbH
Central console streamlines patch monitoring and device management effortlessly
WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection is good and easy to set up. I provide an installation file for every client through my domain controller and GPO, and it works properly. We have faced no incidents with viruses or network breaches, and it's easy to monitor patches. I can use remote desktop from the central console. The solution also saves my time because, being the only one handling it, I can monitor all devices easily.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been secure and there is zero maintenance required because it updates with Microsoft Windows."
"We had Norton Antivirus before, and with Norton, we didn't have a way to centrally manage a lot of features. Defender allowed us to deploy it from our Office 365 admin console. That is probably the biggest thing that made us go with Defender."
"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."
"The fact that it's from Microsoft, you don't have many false positives, unlike products from other vendors might have."
"The feature I like the most about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is that it's built into Microsoft; the ASR rules have really secured our endpoints."
"Stable endpoint manager, antivirus, and antimalware, with fast technical support and a straightforward setup."
"The stability keeps getting better and better."
"The threat hunting service is very useful for a security professional."
"The most valuable features of WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection are the clear useful portal and overall company protection."
"On the cloud management page, the solution scales up very highly."
"Both incoming and outgoing traffic is protected."
"The notifications and patch management features are valuable."
"WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection is good and easy to set up."
"F-Secure is useful for keeping user machines up-to-date by pushing out security and critical updates."
"We use the product for detecting network vulnerabilities and for software update purposes."
"There is a layer of security to prevent a malicious agent (malware) from interrupting or stopping services, deleting or modifying registry entries or even stopping the antivirus from acting, ensuring that there will be no interruption of protection."
 

Cons

"The file scanning has room for improvement. Many people use macros within their files, so there should be a mechanism that helps us to scan them for malicious payloads."
"I would like to be able to set up any kind of protection I want in the firewall, any IP address or any number."
"Reporting could be improved. I would like to see how many security incidents occurred in the last six months, how many devices were highly exposed to security risks, and how many devices were actually compromised."
"The central management console should be improved because it provides limited options to configure Windows Defender."
"Our team's knowledge of the solution needs to be improved, and Microsoft could do a better job conveying the necessary information to users. We could proactively use the tool more and explore capabilities we are not yet utilizing."
"There is a need for improvement in reducing false positives."
"The solution could use improvement on the interface."
"The solution could be more friendly for end-users, with different type of scans or scheduled scans for it."
"There is no technical support available in the Middle East."
"There could be a dedicated security partner with essential knowledge."
"The program and cloud service management is in English. It's not a problem for me, however, it might be for users who don't speak English or use it regularly."
"One problem is that the solution takes too much RAM from the client."
"Resource consumption is suboptimal and could be improved."
"But the biggest one for us is patch management because this has been our top priority when looking at alternatives. Every solution needs to have patch management, if that's possible. It would cut costs on our side if that feature were included, so we don't need to pay for two separate pieces of software."
"I would like the part of Hash Analysis by external sources to be improved."
"The solution could improve by having more real-time responses. For example, when a license gets removed from a computer it does not update the records of the change. Additionally, when I installed Microsoft Windows Defender I was not able to send licenses through email to our tenants. The integration with other solutions could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is included with Microsoft Windows."
"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."
"It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable and fair."
"Licensing options vary. Some customers buy it as an enterprise agreement and pay yearly. Others buy it as a CSP, so they pay per month. It completely depends on the customer's needs."
"The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows 10."
"As we operate in the educational sector, we are eligible for an educational discount."
"I do not have to purchase antivirus solutions anymore because Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is integrated into Windows and comes free."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can be costly as a standalone solution."
"If you purchase licenses in bulk the price of the licenses can decrease."
"We pay a yearly licensing fee of about €20 per computer."
"The product has average pricing."
"The cost of the solution depends on the size of the company and where the licenses are being ordered from."
"The price is comparable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
23%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business80
Midsize Enterprise40
Large Enterprise92
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise1
 

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 F-Secure Protection Service for Business?
The notifications and patch management features are valuable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F-Secure Protection Service for Business?
The pricing is scalable. We can purchase more licenses if needed. It's a more cost-effective solution compared to Darktrace, which requires a special device purchase.
What needs improvement with F-Secure Protection Service for Business?
One problem is that the solution takes too much RAM from the client. It would help if it used less RAM in future versions.
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
F-Secure Elements Endpoint Protection, F-Secure Protection Service for Business
 

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. WithSecure Elements Endpoint Protection and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,954 professionals have used our research since 2012.