Symantec Endpoint Security vs Tanium comparison

Broadcom and Tanium are both solutions in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category. Broadcom is ranked #9 with an average rating of 6.9, while Tanium is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.3. Broadcom holds a 3.7% mindshare in EPP, compared to Tanium’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of Broadcom users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 81% of Tanium users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

Symantec Endpoint Security and Tanium compete in the endpoint protection category. Tanium seems to have the upper hand in real-time data aggregation and threat hunting, making it more suitable for vulnerability management.

Features: Symantec Endpoint Security offers anti-virus, anti-spyware, and intrusion prevention across multiple platforms like Windows, Mac, and Linux. Users value its comprehensive threat protection and network-based intrusion prevention. Tanium is recognized for real-time data aggregation, inventory management, and threat hunting capabilities, which are useful in risk identification and patching processes.

Room for Improvement: Symantec is criticized for being resource-intensive during scans and having a complex management interface. Users seek faster updates and better ransomware protection. Tanium faces challenges with managing false positives and complex pricing, and users desire improved scalability and reporting capabilities, particularly in larger organizations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Symantec uses an on-premises deployment model with hybrid and cloud options, but customer service quality varies post-acquisition by Broadcom, with reports of delays and responsiveness issues. Tanium also supports public, private, and hybrid cloud deployments and is noted for better customer satisfaction, though its setup can be more involved.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec is viewed as expensive but provides a favorable return on investment with strong security features and flexible pricing that includes discounts for non-profits. Tanium is generally pricier but is justified by its capabilities and performance. Despite the costs, both solutions offer a positive ROI, with Symantec praised for reducing downtime and increasing efficiencies and Tanium appreciated for its comprehensive capabilities and more agile nature.

To learn more, read our detailed Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium

August 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 908,834 peers since 2012

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

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.9%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Endpoint Security is 3.7%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tanium is 2.5%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.9%
Symantec Endpoint Security	3.7%
Tanium	2.5%
Other	89.9%

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk

Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration

Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.

Read full review

Kumbesh Rajagopal

Senior Security Delivery Analyst at Accenture

Management becomes easier with minimal complications, but improvement in support tools needed

Regarding areas of improvement for Symantec Endpoint Security, there are many changes, and the support portal tool is complicated compared to other tools. When trying to get service from Symantec, the process is complex. I'm not sure whether it's because of my project or something else. Though it is easy to manage, easy to get, easy to install, and works efficiently for managing policies, we faced a significant disadvantage. We wanted to add multiple hashes because of numerous new alerts coming, but we could only add them one by one, which is a considerable disadvantage in Symantec.

Read full review

Sandeepraj Gatla

Dfir Analyst at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Endpoint monitoring has strengthened incident response and provides rapid isolation and forensics

Tanium provides an endpoint which is isolated from the network and environment. We can easily search its logs and history and connect remotely directly to that particular device which has been isolated from the network. We can search for the history and logs, including audit logs and event logs. The complete activity of the user or owner of the device is visible to us. We can see the artifacts of particular USB transfers internally for official use. We can not only connect remotely but also see the device status and how many failures have occurred within the network so far. We can see the IP address, how many times it has changed its IP address, and how many times it was connected to VPN or external VPN or internal VPN and what has been searched while on VPN. We can block the IOCs or IP addresses as well. We can block domains, hashes, SHA values, SHA-256, SHA-1, SHA-5 and MD5. Although I am not completely involved in the automation team, we do have that team and I have worked in some CERT recently. Tanium is more useful while we are in the CERT because most of the times when we are on high alert, Tanium does play a main role for that particular incident or any high case. Tanium is a simple tool and we can easily integrate it to many devices and it is a mandatory tool to secure an endpoint. It is mandatory to give any RDP connection and the tool should be present in the particular device. It is completely mandatory and it is in the policy as well.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's very stable. I've never experienced downtime for the ASM console or ASM core."

"Has great threat detection capabilities."

"Cortex is a very good total solution on the endpoints."

"The positive impacts I see from Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks include a complete 360-degree view of our security posture altogether, being a uniform platform where we are ingesting logs from multiple resources."

"The most valuable feature of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is its machine-learning capabilities. Additionally, there is full integration with other solutions."

"Cortex is the best tool for endpoint detection, and I have used it to verify hashes or domains to identify malicious activity, trigger playbooks that automate and gather endpoint logs, block malicious processes, and update incident tickets, showcasing end-to-end processes with automation in investigation and reducing the analysis workflow."

"Once you become familiar with it, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is a more powerful tool and I would say that I prefer it over MDE because it is a stronger tool for me."

"Cortex XDR alerts us on the dashboard when there's a threat, which allows us to restrict that user and helps secure our infrastructure."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"I like the firewall and the intrusion prevention features, and just the basic anti-malware and anti-virus seems to be pretty effective as well."

"Symantec have everything – documentation, videos, data sheets."

"The solution is constantly getting updated with the latest definitions, it's easy to get it across to all clients, the agent installation is very easy and the agent will talk to the server, and it is very easy to manage everything in relation to the implementation and processing."

"Endpoint Protection is the next generation. It covers antivirus, spamware, ransomware..."

"Almost all threats are detected by Symantec, which is a very good feature."

"The product is a good antivirus in terms of the fact that it can do real-time scanning and scheduling, we can plan scans for the weekend, we can also control it on the server for all the clients it manages, and the solution gets real-time updates of virus definition files from the internet."

"Endpoint protection has improved our operations by protecting our servers from potential cyber threats."

"No maintenance is required after a successful installation phase."

More Symantec Endpoint Security pros

"Tanium is highly scalable."

"The interrogation piece was the most valuable feature because it was very detailed."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the consolidation of all historical data on device endpoints, security drivers, firmware, and Software version gaps."

"For inventory purposes, it's from one of the best things on the scene, as you can get live inventory."

"Tanium's most valuable feature is its instant discovery aspect."

"I'm not so familiar with the tool but I like the interaction of the console to the picture. Patching is the primary model I have been focusing on for the last couple of weeks. So I have created a proof of concept environment and have been checking the available features."

"The security features are very valuable."

"Tanium is stable and it is also lightweight."

More Tanium pros

Cons

"When it comes to core analysis, and security analysis, Cortex needs to provide more information."

"The solution should enhance the ADR and reporting."

"The onboarding process could be better."

"I have seen lagging with Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. There was one time when we faced a threat actor trying to gain access to our system. When our team utilized the tool, we were all on the same dashboard and we faced a lag issue at that time of around five minutes, which was quite significant."

"The solution needs better reports. I think they should let the customer go in and customize the reports."

"They are charging for Network Traffic Analyzer (NTA) services, so if the per GB data could be provided at a certain level free of cost or at the same cost which the customer is taking for the entire bundle, that would be better."

"There are some limitations on the Traps agents."

"On the pricing aspect, Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks needs to have a more reasonable rate, particularly for customers in Sri Lanka and Asian countries."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"If a machine is infected by ransomware, it's hard to recover the data. We don't have any data on the client, so we're not overly concerned about that. Still, it would be nice to have this feature if there are any future problems."

"The Symantec agent is bulky in comparison to various vendors. It creates stability issues."

"Every time an OS comes out, I have to upgrade the Symantec product. They don't know how to patch it. If they would produce a patch instead of uninstalling or installing over the current version and rebooting I'd be a lot happier with the product."

"The bottom line is that when it comes to management, reliability of management, reporting, alerting, installation, and licensing, if these don't work reliably you can't trust the product's security capability."

"I would like to be able to migrate to the cloud so that the end-users outside the company offices don't need a VPN to connect to the Symantec server to update the policies. They should be able to connect to the admin center directly through the internet to get updated policies. There is some integration issue with the other security appliances or tools. Other hardware, firewall, or Network Detection and Response (NDR) solution vendors are not willing to integrate with Symantec. They only mention products from other vendors such as CrowdStrike and Carbon Black. Symantec is not there. Symantec should work on integration with products from other security vendors."

"The biggest thing I would like to see is malware remediation, if there is some kind of outbreak. We'd like to see better remediation and better detection and response. It's pretty good at capturing things, but it doesn't stop everything, so better machine learning would be helpful."

"It could use more feature parity between what is offered with their on-prem console as well as their hosted console."

"I think Symantec, like many of its competitors, doesn't have comprehensive built-in reporting."

More Symantec Endpoint Security cons

"The main issues are the network connection because different customers have issues with their networks. It's difficult implementing this type of solution because the network is the main feature in the architecture for these types of solutions. Tanium could improve by creating some network optimization."

"The problem or challenge is a pre-sales and go-to strategy for the SMB market delivered through a channel or model. It's very convoluted and vague, which leads to some confusion about the various types of modules, and the device-to-seat cost is extremely difficult to calculate."

"We set a policy to block USB access. The moment a device is being set up on the network, I apply the policy, but it does not come into effect immediately."

"In my opinion, sometimes it takes a long time to give solutions or resolve the issue."

"They could improve the UI."

"The solution lacks mobility."

"Tanium required local admin or root rights on Mac devices, which did not comply with our security policies. This made the solution less suitable for our restrictive environment."

"The most painful thing is the interface. It's a bit unclear sometimes."

More Tanium cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution could be reduced. I have customers that have voiced that the solution is good for the value but if I want to sell more of the solution the price reduction would help."

"Our license will require renewal in August, after which the maintenance will continue as usual."

"The price is on the higher side, but it's okay."

"The tool's price is moderate."

"This is an expensive solution."

"Traps pays for itself within the first 16 months of a three-year subscription. This is attributed to OPEX savings, as security teams spent less time trying to identify and isolate malware for analysis as a result of a reduction in malware incidents, false positives, and breach avoidance."

"The solution has one subscription for endpoint protection and one subscription for detection and response. The two licenses combined give you the BRO version."

"The cost of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is $55 to $90 USD per endpoint per month."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"We receive a discounted price for this solution because we are a non-profit organization."

"Each annual client license is around 1200 or 1600 INR."

"I’d say SEP deserves the money."

"This is not the cheapest product and I know others that are most cost-effective, although it is difficult to compare because it depends on the features."

"It is normal. If you are an educational institute, they give you a very good discount. If you are coming from the banking side, they may or may not give you a discount. I'm working with seven companies, and normally, they get a 65% to 70% discount on everything."

"Its price is reasonable."

"The EDR options are costlier than other products."

"We have some customers on a one-year license and others on a three-year license."

More Symantec Endpoint Security pricing and cost advice

"It's an expensive solution. It would be nice if the cost were lower."

"The solution is expensive but it's a good investment."

"It is higher than some competitors in the market."

"The solution offers value for money."

"The product's pricing differs from region to region depending on negotiations and the number of endpoints."

"Tanium is a more expensive solution in Latin America than some of the competitors, such as BigFix."

"There is an annual license required to use this solution."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	54

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	69
Midsize Enterprise	32
Large Enterprise	63

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...

See all answers

Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions th...

See all answers

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,...

See all answers

Which is better - Cortex XDR or Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?

Aqua Security is easy to use and very manageable. Its main focus is on Kubernetes and Docker. Security is a very valu...

See all answers

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 sol...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Symantec End-User Endpoint Security?

Symantec Endpoint Security's pricing is better than most offerings based on my research. It seems to be half the cost...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Tanium?

While there is always room for improvement, I am pleased with Tanium.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Tanium?

The primary use case for Tanium ( /products/tanium-reviews ) is compliance, patching, and inventory as part of the co...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Tanium?

For smaller companies, Tanium is quite a big investment, and one needs to have a considerable setup to make it econom...

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 13% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Qualys Context XDR vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 2% of the time

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks Competitors

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Symantec Endpoint Security

Compared 9% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Symantec Endpoint Security

Compared 5% of the time

Morphisec vs Symantec Endpoint Security

Compared 5% of the time

Kaspersky Next XDR Optimum vs Symantec Endpoint Security

Compared 4% of the time

Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs Symantec Endpoint Security

Compared 3% of the time

More Symantec Endpoint Security Competitors

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Tanium

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Tanium

Compared 4% of the time

BigFix vs Tanium

Compared 3% of the time

NinjaOne vs Tanium

Compared 3% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Tanium

Compared 2% of the time

More Tanium Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

August 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Endpoint Security

July 2026

Download Symantec Endpoint Security product report

Buyer's Guide

Tanium

July 2026

Download Tanium product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

Symantec EPP, Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP)

Tanium Inc Cloud, Tanium XEM

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

Symantec Endpoint Security is a comprehensive protection tool designed for antimalware and antivirus defense. Providing centralized management and smooth deployment, it effectively secures environments from small businesses to extensive networks.

Symantec Endpoint Security serves organizations by offering robust protection with features like rapid deployment and centralized management, critical for securing workstations and servers. While appreciated for efficient resource utilization and stable operation, some users report issues with virus detection and cumbersome updates. Pricing is often considered high. It is a popular choice among IT consultants, academic institutions, and service providers for its ability to manage broad and varied security needs efficiently.

What are the key features of Symantec Endpoint Security?

Centralized Management: Streamlines security operations for ease of handling across networks.
Malware and Antivirus Protection: Provides real-time threat detection and EDR capabilities.
Application and Device Control: Manages access and control policies effectively.
SONAR and IPS: Enhances proactive malware scanning and intrusion prevention.
Active Directory Integration: Supports seamless integration with existing systems.

What benefits should be considered when evaluating Symantec Endpoint Security?

Reliable Support: Offers assistance which, while helpful, can vary in effectiveness.
Advanced Reporting: Enables detailed security analysis, though customization is limited.
Efficient Resource Usage: Provides stable performance across platforms with minimal impact.
Proactive Scanning: Ensures threats are detected early, enhancing security measures.

In industries like academia and IT consulting, Symantec Endpoint Security fulfills specific needs for robust endpoint protection. Its centralized management and application control make it suitable for educational institutions managing large network systems, while service providers benefit from its flexible deployment options.

Broadcom

Tanium offers robust endpoint protection, patching, and inventory management, consolidating the functions of tools like BigFix with capabilities in incident response, network security, and cloud or on-premise deployments.

Known for real-time capabilities, Tanium provides detailed analytics, security features, and device management. Users benefit from quick implementation, real-time updates, and patching campaigns. Despite its strengths, integration and custom plugin expansion remain areas to improve, along with data visualization and network optimization. Reporting enhancements and user training could advance its usability, and some UI elements may require updates for clarity and security.

What are the essential features of Tanium?

Detailed Analytics: Provides actionable insights for better decision-making.
Security Capabilities: Offers strong defense measures against threats.
Real-Time Queries: Facilitates immediate information access.
Patch Management: Streamlines software updates across devices.
Device Management: Efficiently handles comprehensive inventory and monitoring tasks.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies complex IT tasks.
Scalability: Adapts to growing IT infrastructure needs.
Integration Flexibility: Merges with existing systems effortlessly.
Real-Time Updates: Ensures current data availability for informed actions.

Tanium's deployment spans industries focusing on endpoint protection and compliance, ensuring reliable device and server management in settings where safety and quick adaptation are critical. Organizations use it for application deployment, compliance checks, and integrating it as an EDR solution, enhancing overall security and operational efficiencies.

Tanium

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Audio Visual Dynamics, Red Deer Advocate, Asia Pacific Telecom Co. Ltd., Kibbutz Ein Gedi, and AMETEK, Inc.

JPMorgan Chase, eBay, Amazon, US Bank, MetLife, pwc, Cerner, Delphi, MGM Grand, New York Life

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium

August 2026

Free Report: Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium

Find out what your peers are saying about Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Symantec Endpoint Security vs. Tanium report.

See our list of best Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) vendors.

We monitor all Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.