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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Home 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

Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
198
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
Sophos Home
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
17th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 13.7%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Home is 1.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint13.7%
Sophos Home1.8%
Other84.5%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

NaySan @ Suraj Verma - PeerSpot reviewer
Has effectively blocked sophisticated attacks and malicious activities while providing excellent support
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is very good, but one suggestion is that in some products, we may need to configure security-related settings, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint works completely differently, providing automatic recommendations and actions that we may need to perform ourselves. Regarding the pricing of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, during the last three years, we set up the product and sold it, but we faced difficulties because Microsoft pricing is always the same. For example, whether I purchase Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for one year or for the next three years, the pricing remains constant with no discounts available. In contrast, competing products offer reduced pricing for long-term commitments, which makes it difficult for us in that environment. Microsoft should consider this option to remain competitive, but otherwise, everything else is fine.
Alex Clerici - PeerSpot reviewer
Has good integration with other Sophos products and offers ransomware protection
I expect an improvement with mobile integration. I want mobile devices to have better security, like Sophos Home's total security. Users often need to connect to a cloud platform to manage or change settings, which can be difficult. To improve this, providing minimal local settings could help users. The tool needs to improve its pricing. The current pricing is for medium and enterprise businesses, but it needs to improve for small businesses. The solution's support could also be improved, especially because local support often needs to interact with global support. This can make response times longer than expected.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Integration between Microsoft products is very easy."
"We apply the DLP policies across a range of endpoints and it is very accurate when reporting vulnerabilities, including those in email attachments."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has changed significantly for the better."
"It doesn't cause the slowness of the system, which is one of the reasons why I like it."
"The main features of this solution are that it handles everything by itself and is well integrated."
"What I like most is the protection against phishing emails and anti-spam."
"Defender for Endpoint is a robust solution that works well out-of-the-box."
"One of the valuable features of the solution is the small updates that keep my machine relatively clean from any infections."
"With Sophos Home, it's easy to implement; you just log in and manage the various computers as to what you want to detect."
"The tool's most valuable feature is ransomware protection. Its integration with other Sophos security products is good, and the AI features have made it an efficient product."
 

Cons

"The biggest issue I had with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint was the antivirus and ransomware. I wanted central visibility over all the machines that we operate."
"The application control feature requires improvement."
"The solution needs to improve its ransomware. It's not so good. It could also use some general performance optimization for the computers the solution operates on, to ensure it does not slow down the devices."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is not as robust, and you cannot customize it much, so that's a challenge."
"We would like more customization."
"Threat intelligence has the potential for improvement, particularly by integrating more sources."
"I want Microsoft Defender to have the ability to deal with some issues automatically, so I don't need to address that issue manually."
"I would like to see improvements made to how it secures activities on web pages."
"For homeowners, determining ROI is challenging. With personal emails or maybe a few business emails, if you don't get hacked, then you're good."
"I expect an improvement with mobile integration. I want mobile devices to have better security, like Sophos Home's total security. Users often need to connect to a cloud platform to manage or change settings, which can be difficult. To improve this, providing minimal local settings could help users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free with Windows."
"We have an enterprise agreement so from my perspective, this is a product that ships with Windows and it is not priced standalone."
"The solutions price could be cheaper."
"We are required to pay for the data we ingest, and increasing the data amount incurs additional expenses."
"This is an expensive product and licensing for all Microsoft products is a big issue."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is more affordable compared to some other endpoint solutions."
"The licensing fee is a function of your Office 365 license. The feature set you get is a function of the license as well. There is probably an E2 version, an E3 version, and an E5 version. There are several versions, and not all features are the same. So, you might want to check what features you're expecting because you might get shocked. If you only have an E3 license, the capability isn't the same."
"I'm not too familiar with costs as I'm an architect, though I know about online pricing, as I help two teams with online purchasing and procurement. Nowadays, everyone has an enterprise agreement, such as an E3 license, which we provide to our customers."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Healthcare Company
10%
Retailer
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business79
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise87
No data available
 

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 needs improvement with Sophos Home?
For homeowners, determining ROI is challenging. With personal emails or maybe a few business emails, if you don't get hacked, then you're good. If you do get hacked, then your return on investment ...
What advice do you have for others considering Sophos Home?
I would have to check the new features because AI is constantly evolving, and a lot of these companies come out with their AI products now. For the enterprise side of Sophos, AI MDR is your best op...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Home?
Sophos Home is very cheap, and I find it to be a no-brainer for that type of security.
 

Also Known As

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

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
1. Acer 2. Adidas 3. Aetna 4. Aflac 5. Airbus 6. AIG 7. Amazon 8. American Express 9. American Airlines 10. Amex 11. Apple 12. AT&T 13. Audi 14. Avaya 15. Bank of America 16. Barclays 17. Bayer 18. Ben & Jerry's 19. BMW 20. Boeing 21. Bristol-Myers Squibb 22. Cadbury 23. Campbell Soup 24. Capital One 25. Caterpillar 26. Cisco 27. Coca-Cola 28. Comcast 29. ConocoPhillips 30. Dell 31. Disney 32. Dominion Energy 33. DuPont 34. eBay 35. ExxonMobil 36. FedEx 37. Ford 38. General Electric 39. General Motors 40. Google 42. Halliburton 43. Home Depot 44. Honda 45. Intel 46. Johnson & Johnson 47. JPMorgan Chase 48. Kellogg's 49. KeyCorp 50. Kraft Heinz 52. L'Oréal 53. Lockheed Martin 54. McDonald's 55. Merck 56. Microsoft 57. Morgan Stanley 58. Nike 59. PepsiCo 60. Pfizer 61. Qualcomm 62. RBC 63. Red Bull 64. Reebok 65. Siemens 66. Tesla 67. Toyota 68. Visa 69. Wells Fargo 70. Xerox 71. Yum! Brands
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sophos Home and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.