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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
197
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
Sophos Home
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
24th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 16.7%, down from 22.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Home is 1.7%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

AnuragSrivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement
One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.
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

"The virus scanning capability is excellent, and it feeds all the logs into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, making them easy to search for."
"I like the real-time protection features. Windows Defender will detect if there's a threat like a Trojan or something like that but Kaspersky lets it run normally."
"Offers good protection."
"Defender should be fine for home use. It has all the basic functionality you need. I can't speak to how well it works as an enterprise solution because I'm not in the space."
"File protection is the most valuable feature. Antivirus security on the Level OS, Microsoft Defender, and Microsoft Guard for 2019."
"I like Defender's reporting and logging features. The email alerts are also helpful. It's hard sometimes to sift through the email, especially if you're an IT firm managing hundreds if not thousands of endpoints, but we find email reporting useful. For example, last Tuesday, we learned of new vulnerabilities that were discovered as a result of the previous patches. The endpoints without those patches triggered alerts in Defender."
"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 an enterprise solution that provides a centralized console and it supports all the platforms that we use, including Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android."
"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

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by making the reporting better."
"It can be more secure."
"Threat intelligence has the potential for improvement, particularly by integrating more sources."
"I have accounts for administrators and corporate employees, but I also have accounts for students. I can't split these types of accounts. I need a separate configuration for both... I need to research how I can get alerts for only the administrative machines."
"There is no behavior analytics for devices and endpoints. There is no behavior-based protection."
"I would like to have a dashboard that shows an overview of the results for the enterprise."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by providing more user-friendly dashboards. They may be complicated for some."
"The solution could use improvement on the interface."
"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

"Licensing fees are paid annually through a partner."
"There is an annual license required."
"The solution is included with Microsoft Windows."
"The solution is free with Windows."
"I pay for it through the Windows Professional or Standard license. It is a one-time cost for me, and I use the same license."
"Its price is fair. It has approximately the same price as the other products such as Kaspersky. It is much cheaper than Malwarebytes."
"The solution is free and comes with Windows."
"Because Microsoft Defender comes as an add-on, it can be a bit expensive if you're trying to buying it separately. Another option is to upgrade, but the enterprise licenses for Microsoft can also be quite a bit pricey. Overall, the cost of Microsoft Defender compared to that of other endpoint detection solutions is slightly higher."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
24%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
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?
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 chang...
What advice do you have for others considering Sophos Home?
I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten. I suggest every user read up on cybersecurity aspects before adopting any solution.
 

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, SentinelOne, VirusTotal and others in Anti-Malware Tools. Updated: January 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.