Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs ZoneAlarm comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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 Anti-Malware Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
190
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)
ZoneAlarm
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 17.4%, down from 23.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ZoneAlarm is 2.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

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.
Nagendra Nekkala - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable solution that protects computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers
ZoneAlarm doesn't require much maintenance. You only need to update the application when there are any latest updates. ZoneAlarm is deployed on-cloud in our organization. With an increase in the bring your own device concept, ZoneAlarm should be part of every device to help us make the operational work very easy. Overall, I rate ZoneAlarm a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the features which differentiates it from other EDR providers is the Automated Investigation and Response, which reduces the workload of SOC analysts or engineers. They don't have to manually investigate each and every alert on the endpoint, since it does so automatically. And you can automate the investigation part."
"The main features of this solution are that it handles everything by itself and is well integrated."
"The performance of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been good."
"Web filtering is the most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because it effectively maintains security for website access."
"Defender's analytics are much better than CrowdStrike's."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is quite good. We haven't really experienced any issues with it."
"The antivirus features are very useful."
"I like that Defender is integrated and doesn't have a third-party payload trying to advertise subscription renewal."
"It is easy to use through interfaces and easy to configure each of the customizations we created based on the characteristics that we wanted."
"This antivirus is regularly updated, and the updates can be scheduled."
"It is quick and easy to configure."
"Personally, I find the Game Mode of the Firewall very useful."
"The product's most valuable feature is the detection engine due to its ability to identify threats."
"It gives us security for the users' mobiles and ends up protecting us in a significant way."
"The solution maintains reasonable scalability."
"The solution really focused on giving more security than an antivirus."
 

Cons

"I am not sure if I will be using this product in the future because of the price."
"There is a need for improvement in reducing false positives."
"It makes your Surface devices hot. It is resource-intensive. It strains your CPU, not more than other file scanners around, but it also does a lot more. When you are transmitting files or data, it is continuously scanning the traffic and analyzing it bit by bit to see what's going on, and that, of course, is costly in terms of CPU. It is CPU intensive, and if you are on battery, it drains your battery fast. That's the only drawback that it has."
"The documentation could be better. When they update their manuals, sometimes they refer to products by their old names, so it is a little confusing. For example, the documentation might still say "Advanced Threat Protection" instead of Defender for Endpoint."
"The detection of viruses could be a little bit better."
"There is a lot of information to take in, and the portals tend to change quickly due to the fast-paced nature of the industry."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by making the reporting better."
"Right now, the solution provides some recommendations on the dashboard but we don't have any priorities. It's a mix of all the vulnerabilities and all the security recommendations. I would like to see some priority or categorization of high, medium, and low so that we can fix the high ones first."
"Perhaps the primary area for potential enhancement is to make it faster, ensuring a more seamless experience while maintaining robust security features."
"We'd like better performance of the network equipment. There are high-speed environments where an immediate response is required."
"ZoneAlarm should be a light application that does not take too much memory in mobile phones."
"They need to update and improve the features available for Mac."
"I would like it to be integrated with the Check Point centralization solution like Infinity Portal. It would be great to be able to manage it through the same website."
"Currently, the client is only available for the Windows Operating System but it would be good if it were released for Mac OS as well."
"They should release a single update with all the necessary characteristics to avoid being in a cycle of consecutive updates."
"Some of our users say that the interface is a little bit outdated for 2020, and want it to be more modern and cozy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft has different plans for buying this product. The price depends on the configuration of the full set of products that you buy and on the licensing program in your contract."
"We are using the free version."
"For me, the pricing is very good, but for management it's very expensive. Other solutions are less expensive. But when I present all the information and all the reports they say, "Well, it's expensive, but the cost-benefit is very good.""
"Compared to ESET, the pricing for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is on the higher side."
"We went for Microsoft Defender once we were informed that it would be part of our Office 365 package. So, we combined the licensing for the OS with Office 365. Yeah. We thought it was a good bargain."
"Licensing fees are paid annually through a partner."
"We have a bundle where the price includes all Microsoft products."
"The normal, standalone model, is not expensive, but the enterprise model that includes the bundle with email and some web protection, is a bit more expensive."
"We have to pay a yearly licensing fee for ZoneAlarm, which is cheap."
"The pricing is reasonable, with a yearly renewal license costing seventy dollars."
"This is a freeware product and I recommend using it."
"We use the free version of the software, but it can be upgraded to the paid Extreme Security edition."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Anti-Malware Tools solutions are best for your needs.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
28%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
6%
 

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 ZoneAlarm?
ZoneAlarm protects all computers from viruses, spyware, and hackers.
What needs improvement with ZoneAlarm?
As for improvements, ZoneAlarm enhances Check Point’s solution by having a very efficient engine. The engine checks all components of the device, such as the memory process, to detect and stop thre...
 

Also Known As

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

Interactive Demo

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Terma, Optix, Samsung Research Amercia, SF Police Credit Union, Independence Care System, Mattias Thomsen, Carmel Partners, Desert Research Institute, CRIF, FXCM Inc, US State Agency
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. ZoneAlarm and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.