We compared Check Point Antivirus and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint based on users' reviews in six categories. We reviewed all of the data and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: Check Point Antivirus impressed users with its diverse set of valuable features like sandboxing, real-time detection, and integration with analytics solutions and the cloud. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels in file protection, encryption, and ransomware defense. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security products. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and scalability.
Room for Improvement: Check Point Antivirus requires quicker customer assistance, better performance of the graphical user interface, enhanced defense against zero-day attacks, and more budget-friendly pricing options. Users say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should improve its central console and auto-recovery feature. Users also requested better reporting capabilities and integration with third-party platforms.
Ease of Deployment: Some users found Check Point’s setup process to be uncomplicated and fast, while others noted that it required several engineers and took around a week to finish. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's setup is straightforward, especially when it’s preloaded on Windows 10. While it can be more complex for larger organizations, it is generally considered simple, particularly for smaller companies or those familiar with Microsoft environments.
Pricing: The price of Check Point Antivirus may vary depending on partnerships and negotiations. Some users consider Check Point's pricing to be expensive but say it is cost-effective. However, it may not be affordable for small or medium-sized companies unless they have sufficient capital. Reviewers say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is fairly priced, noting that it is typically included for free with Windows or Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. However, some users believe that Microsoft's pricing could be more affordable, and others noted that their licensing models can be complex.
ROI: Check Point Antivirus provides added features like a sandbox and VPN licenses, enhancing its value. Users have experienced improved protection and promising growth with Check Point Antivirus, delivering a better ROI than other security options.
Service and Support: User reviews have provided no information about the customer service of Check Point Antivirus so far. Microsoft customer service garnered mixed feedback. Some praised the fast response times and expertise of the support engineers, while others were dissatisfied with slow replies and a lack of coordination among the support teams.
Comparison Results: Check Point Antivirus offers advanced features like sandboxing, real-time detection, and scalability. At the same time, some users say Check Point could be more affordable and improve its GUI performance. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides sophisticated protection against ransomware, easy deployment, and smooth integration with Microsoft solutions. However, Microsoft’s customer support has received middling reviews, and users would like better compatibility with third-party solutions.
"It has zero-day attack protection."
"It is one of the best security solutions in the market today."
"Check Point detects files containing malware, which some users are trying to download or access. Additionally, it can consolidate multiple emails into one."
"It is very easy to manage the Antivirus blade, even for newcomers in our technical support team, which is a key area of interest for us."
"We find the zero-day protection to be an extremely valuable feature of this solution."
"It is a great, cost-effective, and stable security solution to opt for."
"The tool comes with an in-built AI feature, which makes file management easier. It also secures the network from viruses, malware, and phishing attacks."
"The solution does a pretty good job and is easy to use. I am the person maintaining the tool and only one person is required to maintain it. Their configuration portal is user-friendly and anyone can crack it with a little bit of knowledge."
"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."
"Because it has been integrated with the OS, we get the entire software inventories, and we even get access to the registries. Those are the primary features."
"It's not really visible for the user - which is a benefit."
"We have just started to implement it. It is useful for protection from malware and ransomware."
"I find the vulnerability management section of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to be very useful for organizations."
"The most important and the most relevant features of Defender for Endpoint are the malware and ransomware protection."
"Its threat intelligence feature is beneficial. This solution smoothly integrates with SIEM."
"The virus scanning capability is excellent, and it feeds all the logs into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, making them easy to search for."
"They need to add more and more features in the trial version and significantly reduce the pricing for the standard annual subscriptions for the benefit of all."
"Check Point services and antivirus solutions can improve their customer offerings by offering various discounts in their subscription model and they can also reconsider their pricing model as well."
"The automatic updates use my internet during downloads before I authorize them."
"When there are many devices, it is more costly since each device requires unique login credentials."
"An area for improvement in Check Point Antivirus is its price because it's expensive. It would depend on the clients, but sometimes, you'll have clients who don't have many endpoints, so in that case, clients would find the price for Check Point Antivirus to be higher."
"Technical support could be better."
"Filtering the websites that can be visited is important also as there's always a chance to come by sites that, just by clicking, will download malicious threats."
"Check Point Antivirus could be improved by having the gateway automatically run a packet capture on the traffic so that it can be easily uploaded to TAC in the event that there is a false positive or if the traffic is required for further investigation."
"The automation could be simpler on the mitigation side. It has a learning curve. Otherwise, it's pretty easy."
"I'm not too sure of its current capabilities, but I'm pretty sure they are doing a good job on Windows and Mac. However, I'm not sure whether they covered Linux. If I remember correctly, Microsoft Defender didn't have anything proper on Linux back then, but if they have improved it from that aspect, it would already be ticking all the boxes."
"The scalability could be improved - I would rate it between a seven and an eight."
"With increase of cyber threats and cybersecurity issues, I would recommend that the product be developed like an AI product with more features which can counter any threat in the coming eras."
"Integrating this with third-party systems has some complexity involved."
"I would like to see improvements made to how it secures activities on web pages."
"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."
"My main issue with the tool is that there are too many menus. This causes a steep learning curve for those without training or unfamiliar with Defender for Endpoint. From an end-user perspective, the solution is there on the machine and does its job; it works seamlessly. However, as a security professional dealing with it behind the scenes, the learning curve can be steep, but not too steep. Still, it has taken some of my analysts up to a month to get familiar with the product."
More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →
Check Point Antivirus is ranked 6th in Anti-Malware Tools with 50 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Anti-Malware Tools with 182 reviews. Check Point Antivirus is rated 8.6, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Check Point Antivirus writes "Compatible, cost-effective, and highly customizable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". Check Point Antivirus is most compared with ESET Endpoint Protection Platform, CrowdStrike Falcon, VirusTotal and Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, Intercept X Endpoint, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, Trellix Endpoint Security and SentinelOne Singularity Complete. See our Check Point Antivirus vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.
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