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ESET Endpoint Protection Platform vs Microsoft BitLocker comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

ESET Endpoint Protection Pl...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
101
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (18th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (8th), Anti-Malware Tools (6th)
Microsoft BitLocker
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Encryption (1st), Mobile Data Protection (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Endpoint Security solutions, they serve different purposes. ESET Endpoint Protection Platform is designed for Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and holds a mindshare of 3.0%, down 3.5% compared to last year.
Microsoft BitLocker, on the other hand, focuses on Endpoint Encryption, holds 39.1% mindshare, down 39.7% since last year.
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)
Endpoint Encryption
 

Featured Reviews

ManojNair2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up with good security and rapidly improving capabilities
In terms of stability, the performance parameters do come into play. It's good on the regular office front, however, on the development side, if somebody is using it in a development environment, they need to make some configuration changes in terms of what directories should be excluded from the real-time scanning. I had to do that kind of stuff. I don't do that with the Microsoft product, for example. It runs, and it scans the entire system with no issues. The solution is stable. Regular updates were available in the product versions. They were updated, and they gave regular signature updates also so that the product checked all the boxes.
Douglas Curry - PeerSpot reviewer
Users can easily deploy and manage it
The solution's most valuable feature is that it is simple to deploy and manage. I can't say what features of the tool I like since it is very much a deploy-and-forget product. We don't use any advanced features of the tool in my company. The tool's recovery options are good, especially since it integrates with Active Directory, making everything a simple process. The product's integration capabilities are good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"ESET Endpoint Security is stable, I did not have any issues with it."
"The pricing, if compared to other products, is cheap."
"In terms of stability, I can rate it at nine out of ten."
"Technical support has been very good. They're quick to respond to any problems."
"A feature we like is setting the GUI of ESET Endpoint Security/ESET File Security to silent mode because some servers and clients can have performance issues."
"The most valuable features of ESET Endpoint Antivirus are that it is lightweight, it will not take up too much CPU and memory of the server or workstation. The detection is good and easy to use."
"The protection and device control features are the most valuable. I found its user interface and integration pretty good. It is very user friendly as compared to other products."
"The most valuable features are the sandbox, mail scanning, sandboxing attachments, files, and that it responds to VPN porting."
"The hard drive encryption is very good."
"Microsoft BitLocker's most valuable features are stability and simplicity in terms of usage."
"There's a lot of manageability within the solution. This is very helpful."
"I liked the way it works with our Microsoft tools. As we roll out Intune, we can validate if the device has been encrypted, and if not, we can push it down. It is pretty simple to deploy."
"The manageability of it is a valuable feature."
"It's a straightforward solution for encryption."
"The most important aspect of this solution is that if your laptop gets stolen, the information is encrypted."
"The most valuable feature is the authentication process which is very fast."
 

Cons

"I don't know if it's possible but I'm always looking for better protection."
"While we see dangers within our security system, it would help if there were popups that could immediately alert us or the user of the endpoint that something was detected."
"The tool needs to explore security possibilities to secure iOS and Mac devices."
"They could improve the solution by adding better ransomware features."
"While it is cheap, ESET Endpoint Protection Platform sometimes makes the computer run slower and takes backup, which affects system performance."
"When users renew licenses, they should offer a discount."
"Data Leak Protection is is what we are searching for at the moment. It is not included with ESET."
"They can improve ransomware protection, and there should be cloud sandboxing for Mac."
"It would be good if Microsoft offered improved recovery options or if it could automate the recovery options a bit."
"It's possible that the time it takes to pull items in to BitLocker could be reduced a bit."
"The solution needs to have better protection and improve its pricing."
"My experience with the billing system at Microsoft was very frustrating."
"The biggest one for us is revoking access. So, even though someone downloads something to a device, we want the ability to cloak that device or data and bring it back or make that data unusable for that person. Currently, BitLocker doesn't give us that ability. It basically encrypts it. We're seeing if identity management or IAM allows us to do that. We're kind of looking at third-party software that does that for us."
"The deployment process regarding prerequisites and automation could be easy to understand."
"The solution should offer encryption for other items such as shared folders, removable media, etc."
"The initial setup is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of ESET Endpoint Antivirus could be lower. From a customer's perspective, it is expensive."
"ESET is perfect, if you can afford it."
"It's a cost-effective product"
"I rate the product's price as seven or eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive."
"I do a two or three-year license for less than $100."
"The price of ESET Endpoint Security is affordable."
"The price of the solution is reasonable compared to competitors."
"You need to pay for the ESET Endpoint Antivirus license monthly or yearly, whichever you choose."
"The product's cost is included in Windows."
"It operates on a subscription model on an annual basis."
"I don't know the costs. In terms of Microsoft licensing, we are at E3 on the business, and we're in the process of pricing out and moving to E5. So, a lot of this is included within our licensing agreements."
"We already use Microsoft products, and Microsoft BitLocker is an add-on product that is free of cost for us."
"The solution is expensive."
"It's not about pricing, because we are working with Enterprise companies that already have Windows Enterprise, so BitLocker comes already included as a Windows feature. It's free for Enterprise users. The price is only for deployment. The customer will pay for McAfee, however."
"BitLocker is already in Windows 10 and its price has already been "paid"."
"For reasons unknown, Microsoft products seem to be getting more expensive."
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Answers from the Community

TK
Jan 11, 2022
Jan 11, 2022
Are you in a regulated industry? If so using the native BitLocker is not enough to prove compliance. You will need to use something like BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) which is part of MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack) or another tool that will manage Bitlocker and give you proof the device is encrypted in the event of a lost or stolen device. You also need to enforc...
See 2 answers
MB
Jan 11, 2022
I guess the solution depends upon a couple of things for us and how we currently approach this for our clients.   We have both in place around a variety of small clients. As 99% of our systems have Windows Pro, they have BitLocker, therefore this would now be the first choice.   However, if the client requires centralised management and control we would then advise ESET.  And that is the core to this for us, if they need central management, control, recovery - ESET every time.   If it is just encryption and there is no need to control/recover and a simple reformat would work (and loss of history/data is not an issue), then BitLocker is ok.
James OConnor - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 11, 2022
Are you in a regulated industry?  If so using the native BitLocker is not enough to prove compliance.  You will need to use something like BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) which is part of MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack) or another tool that will manage Bitlocker and give you proof the device is encrypted in the event of a lost or stolen device.  You also need to enforce secure password management, user training on passwords and regular password changes. If you have Microsoft 365 Business premium you have additional controls over Bitlocker; or, M365 E3/E5, Windows Enterprise E3/E5 all have MDOP... Other Bitlocker management can be found with SOPHOS and I believe TrendMicro as well. Another tool to consider, especially for laptops, is ABSOLUTE software.  It is built into the BIOS of the major laptop brands and just needs the key to activate it... Also, ESET is a quality product for encryption.  It gives you additional options for less than some of the Microsoft alternatives.   BitLocker is just not FREE if you are in a regulated industry since it needs management to truly be secure the device and prove compliance. I hope some of this helps.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about ESET Endpoint Security?
ESET Endpoint Security’s most valuable feature is the management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ESET Endpoint Security?
I rate the product’s pricing a three out of ten. It is neither cheap nor expensive for our clients. We use the free version, and there are no additional costs involved.
What needs improvement with ESET Endpoint Security?
The product’s AI implementation feature could be better for learning user behavior. There could be a feature to detect unsecured devices in the network similar to its older version. We need additio...
What should one take into account when replacing PGP with Microsoft BitLocker?
Beware to make backup of useful data, then use reverse decryption policy from Symantec panel/McAfee ePO to decrypt the DE partitions while it is sometimes more straightforward and faster to reinsta...
Would you choose Microsoft BitLocker or McAfee Complete Data Protection?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protection....
How does Microsoft BitLocker compare with Symantec Endpoint Encryption?
Microsoft BitLocker is very intuitive and easy to maintain. It is basically the global standard solution for drive encryption and it successfully fulfills regulatory needs in terms of data protecti...
 

Also Known As

Smart Security, ESET PROTECT Advanced, ESET LiveGuard Advanced, ESET PROTECT Platform
BitLocker, MS BitLocker
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ERSTE Group Bank, Miller Solutions, Wesleyan University, The Hospital Center of Luxembourg, Deer Valley USD, SPAR, Industrial Federal Credit Union, Honda, City Hall of Palmela, Hays CISD, Lester B Pearson School Board
ACV, Proaxis Therapy, Choice Hotels International, adnymics GmbH, Intermedia, NMBS/SNCB
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, CrowdStrike, SentinelOne and others in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP). Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.