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McAfee Application Control vs ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 17, 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

McAfee Application Control
Ranking in Application Control
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Pla...
Ranking in Application Control
1st
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (3rd), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (5th), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (5th), ZTNA as a Service (5th), ZTNA (6th), Ransomware Protection (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Application Control category, the mindshare of McAfee Application Control is 5.7%, down from 5.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform is 15.7%, down from 22.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Control Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform15.7%
McAfee Application Control5.7%
Other78.6%
Application Control
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1437648 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Security Specialist at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Easy to configure, reliable, secure, and has good support
With some specific versions, we are experiencing some issues where the policy configuration has some problems with the parent and child processes. There have been problems with the relationship between the parent and child process, from time to time. I would like to see better reporting and alerting features in the future.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the whitelisting; I can test the applications and we can also predefine rules for Windows, rules for the application and control."
"This is a basic solution; the policy screen is okay, and it's easy to configure."
"We also like the Change Control. We can control how things get executed. It has signatures for different kinds of protocols."
"It does its job well, and it's not causing a lot of trouble."
"Every single feature has been invaluable."
"ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform has definitely saved us on operational costs and expenses by preventing incidents."
"ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform has impacted our organization positively by providing protection and it has been a great tool for us from a security perspective."
"I really enjoy ringfencing and elevation features. It makes my life easier because I do not have to get on a computer to elevate a prompt to allow users to run something they run every day as an admin."
"The control list is the best feature. For our company, it provides value to our customers since they can see we are improving our security."
"The unified alerts are useful."
"ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform has helped my company save on operational costs or expenses by freeing up a lot of time on the IT side of the team."
"Overall, I would rate ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform a ten out of ten."
 

Cons

"The initial setup is not straightforward, it was complex. The manuals don't have all the information you need to deploy it."
"With some specific versions, we are experiencing some issues where the policy configuration has some problems with the parent and child processes."
"I would like to see better reporting and alerting features in the future."
"The intrusion detection features should also be improved. It is a very good feature but it should be maximized."
"It would be beneficial if it became more recognized in the EU to gain respect."
"ThreatLocker could offer more flexible training, like online or offline classes after hours. The fact that they even provide weekly training makes it seem silly to suggest, but some people can't do it during the day, so they want to train after work. They could also start a podcast about issues they see frequently and what requires attention. A podcast would be helpful to keep us all apprised about what's going on and/or offline training for those people who can't train during the week."
"I have not seen a return on investment yet, but there is a small amount of time saved because of fewer dashboards."
"I chose a rating of 9 out of 10 because it is a 10 out of 10 application, but I deducted one point because if there were an AI that could help us create policies, it could be even more useful."
"I have encountered some problems with stability, however, they are resolved quickly."
"I cannot suggest anything that they are not already doing. They should keep adding features as they have been."
"If I have to say what they can improve, one area would be making policy tuning and onboarding simpler for large enterprise environments."
"There could be options for handling a bulk amount of machines simultaneously."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"We have encountered a few challenges regarding pricing, contract renewals, and additions. As we explored adding features like Cyber Hero, it proved to be an increased expense for our clients. This was primarily a mistake on our part due to how we initially priced it to clients."
"ThreatLocker's pricing seems justifiable."
"The pricing is reasonable and normal. I do not have any problems with the cost."
"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."
"I can't complain. Cheaper would always be nice, but I think it's reasonable compared to other software in the cybersecurity market."
"Its price is fair. They have added some additional things to it beyond allowlisting. They are up-charging for them, but in terms of the value we get and the way it impacts us, we get a bang for our buck with ThreatLocker than a lot of our other security tools."
"I believe ThreatLocker's pricing model is fair and flexible, allowing account managers to offer customized deals based on our specific needs."
"I do not deal with pricing, but I assume it is cost-effective for us. We choose a solution based on functionality and affordability."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business59
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
I am not sure about operational or cost expenses because we have not really experienced that.
What needs improvement with ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
When it comes to ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform's policy making, it is very granular, but the moment you zoom out, you have a lot of information or a lot of alerts. However, the moment you zoom i...
What is your primary use case for ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform's main use case for us was data storage access control.We used ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform for identifying the most critical and sensitive information of the o...
 

Also Known As

McAfee Application, Change Control
Protect, Allowlisting, Network Control, Ringfencing
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Contec
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about McAfee Application Control vs. ThreatLocker Zero Trust Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.