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ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform vs VMware Carbon Black App Control comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 11, 2026

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

ThreatLocker Zero Trust End...
Ranking in Application Control
1st
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (4th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (6th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (7th), ZTNA (4th), Ransomware Protection (1st)
VMware Carbon Black App Con...
Ranking in Application Control
5th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Application Control category, the mindshare of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is 19.7%, up from 13.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Carbon Black App Control is 12.1%, down from 25.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Control Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform19.7%
VMware Carbon Black App Control12.1%
Other68.2%
Application Control
 

Featured Reviews

Santo Joy - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Cyber Security at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Security controls have been strengthened with granular application, ringfencing, and access policies
The features of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that I like the most are the Ringfencing, elevation control, storage control, and application whitelisting functionality. For examples of how these features benefit my company, we were looking for a solution across various vendors to actually implement application whitelisting controls. ThreatLocker's agent, which is very lightweight and does not use much CPU or RAM, helped us achieve that solution. Ringfencing was an add-on that ticked off a lot of Australian framework security controls, which is the reason we chose it. My impression of the allowlisting feature in terms of managing which software, scripts, and libraries run on my devices is that ThreatLocker's community page has a lot of information around this, which is very helpful. Not only that, the Cyber Hero support that ThreatLocker provides gives us insights and best practices, helping us achieve that solution and guiding us to the right platform. The impact of Ringfencing on controlling the behavior of approved applications has been a big winner for us because it is something that many other platforms do not provide as a functionality. Having that allowed us to identify what applications talk to each other, which is something that many other platforms do not do. The network control feature impacts my ability to manage network traffic across my endpoints and servers. We have not used this widely across all our partners, but wherever required, we use it. It has been an easy solution for those customers to get that control implemented. The elevation feature's role in facilitating just-in-time administrative access for approved applications shows that elevation control helps in many use cases involving remote control platforms, door usage, and security system platforms that require local admins. There are many solutions that provide this functionality, but the licensing cost seems to be expensive, and it also adds another solution into the mix. Rather than doing that, we try to use ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform to achieve that control. Regarding the storage control feature, I have used it. The primary function is USB blocking, which is very widely adopted, and also just locking down and allowing certain users to access certain file locations helps us there. When it comes to enforcing policy-driven access over various storage devices, it depends on the business risk adapted by the companies that we support, but generally the use case is USB and external storage devices where companies know that is a risk, but they do not have appropriate solutions. There are EDR platforms that claim to do this, but ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform does it at an advanced level. My assessment of the efficiency of the real-time threat intelligence and category controls employed by Web Control in blocking malicious and non-compliant sites leads me to think that Web Control is another functionality within ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform that is an add-on on top of the current set. That is another solution that we use based on what is required for the company, but again, that is not widely adapted yet for our partners.
AM
Cybersecurity Consultant at KAFD DMC
We can isolate problem machines and limit their access
We use App Control to scan the network for virtual machines that have unauthorized applications. We can isolate the problem VMs and control application access.  More than two years. I rate Carbon Black App Control 10 out of 10 for stability. I rate App Control six out of 10 for scalability.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The application control is a key feature of ThreatLocker."
"Zero-Touch is the future, and ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is the easiest way to accomplish that."
"Ringfencing is a valuable feature."
"The Zero Trust factor is valuable because it blocks everything. That helps us to stay ahead of bad actors. We do not have to be in recovery mode."
"ThreatLocker's VDI environment, coupled with the ringfencing capabilities of policies, gives us confidence."
"The great thing is that if you get a malicious email and you try to run something, ThreatLocker is not going to let it do anything. It is not going to let anything infect your network."
"Every single feature has been invaluable."
"The most valuable feature is its learning capability."
"All the functions within VMware Carbon Black App Control are valuable."
"I use the console to check for threats and I find it to be very user-friendly."
"If any malicious activity, like VAT viruses, anything RNE, ZOD malware, or something similar, comes in we know that unless we approve it, it's going to be blocked."
"The API integration is good."
"The effectiveness of application whitelisting is very good."
"The visibility, reporting, and the ability to stop or prevent malicious or undesired applications from being installed are the most valuable features."
"We use App Control to scan the network for virtual machines that have unauthorized applications. We can isolate the problem VMs and control application access."
"The visibility is valuable."
 

Cons

"I find that the learning mode is too accessible. Technicians sometimes default to it instead of manually building policy controls. I would prefer the learning mode to be harder to access, ideally hidden behind a layer that requires creating at least one policy first before using the learning mode as a supplement."
"ThreatLocker Allowlisting needs to improve its user interface and overall workflow."
"In my opinion, it is a love-hate relationship with ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform; everybody hates it because it causes so much need for user input to request to allow applications, but it is a necessary evil because security is paramount and it is the most important feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform."
"We use other vendors for other components. I'd like one vendor to control all aspects of the business, including backup, EDR solutions, email monitoring, and control, rather than using multiple vendors."
"I cannot suggest anything that they are not already doing. They should keep adding features as they have been."
"I actually have a gripe with the allowlisting feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform."
"I believe ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform could be improved with a mobile version, as many clients work off their phones, downloading all kinds of things on their mobile devices."
"It is a little frustrating on my end since I like to go as quickly as I possibly can, and it slows me down."
"The initial setup is somewhat complex."
"Carbon Black does not use the database for identifying the file, the fields, or malware."
"I rate App Control six out of 10 for scalability."
"I would like to see the addition of some more features that are in other, similar solutions."
"Its setup is very complex, and it requires guidance from the support team, but it is well worth the effort."
"The reporting is not good and needs to be improved."
"The solution should have overhead in keeping lists of applications that you want don't want to run."
"Another issue is that even sometimes if you approve, for example, Adobe as a publisher, you say any product or anything that's from Adobe has to run. It generally runs, but especially in a large environment and with a lot of users, sometimes, due to some certification validation issues or some other issue, it might stop the process from running. Genuine processes like Adobe and Chrome can get blocked. so that needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Others say ThreatLocker is too expensive, and I tell them they're dreaming. It's well-priced for what it does."
"I can't complain. Cheaper would always be nice, but I think it's reasonable compared to other software in the cybersecurity market."
"So far, it has been great. I have no complaints. Of course, everybody wishes it was cheaper."
"Although the pricing seems good, there have been inconsistencies in contract negotiations."
"I believe ThreatLocker's pricing model is fair and flexible, allowing account managers to offer customized deals based on our specific needs."
"The pricing works fine for me. It's very reasonably priced."
"We have not had any real issues with the pricing. As they have added more features, due to the way our contracts are structured with our customers, we have had to hold off on adopting the new features because they do add costs."
"The price is very reasonable, and we have been able to integrate ThreatLocker with all of our clients."
"Its price is reasonable and what is expected for these types of products."
"We pay a fee for support, which is renewed annually."
"The pricing for this product is competitive and our customers who told us that often, Carbon Back is the cheaper solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business48
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
Pricing, setup costs, and licensing have been pretty accessible and manageable. It was not too expensive to get started, especially at a small scale for a smaller MSP. It is very accessible, easy t...
What needs improvement with ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
Going with the theme of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform being a one-stop shop where they have just about everything, and they have a really good product stack as is. However, t...
What is your primary use case for ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
We're a managed service provider, mostly dealing with small business office environments, so ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is used in the context of many different tools. It'...
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Also Known As

Protect, Allowlisting, Network Control, Ringfencing
CB Protection, Carbon Black CB Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Kaas Tailored, Core-Mark, Indeed, Hologic, Landmark Credit Union, Project Worldwide
Find out what your peers are saying about ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform vs. VMware Carbon Black App Control and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
883,712 professionals have used our research since 2012.