Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

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Fortinet Logo
10,049 views|7,442 comparisons
82% willing to recommend
Check Point Software Technologies Logo
12,625 views|7,502 comparisons
96% willing to recommend
Microsoft Logo
59,177 views|46,406 comparisons
94% willing to recommend
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Aug 28, 2022

We performed a comparison between Check Point Harmony Endpoint and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions agree that their initial setup is straightforward.
  • Features: Users of both products are happy with their security, stability, and scalability.

    Check Point Harmony users say it is robust, reliable, and has a useful and intuitive single dashboard. Several users mention that its alerting features need improvement.

    Defender for Endpoint users like its automated “Investigation and Response” feature and say it provides good vulnerability assessment. Some Defender for Endpoint users note that its UI needs enhancement.
  • Pricing: Most users of both solutions feel that they are expensive products. Defender for Endpoint does offer a free version.
  • ROI: Reviewers of both solutions report seeing an ROI.
  • Service and Support: Most users of both solutions report being satisfied with the level of support they receive.

Comparison Results: Check Point Harmony has a slight edge in this comparison. According to its reviewers, its interface is friendlier than that of Defender for Endpoint.

To learn more, read our detailed Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report (Updated: March 2024).
769,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
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 analysis, because of the beta structure.""Ability to get forensics details and also memory exfiltration.""Fortinet FortiEDR's firewalling, rule creation, monitoring, and inspection profiles are great.""Additionally, when it comes to EDR, there are more tools available to assist with client work.""The product detects and blocks threats and is more proactive than firewalls.""It is very easy to set up. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a ten out of ten, with ten being very easy to set up.""The setup is pretty simple.""We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Pros →

"Its ease of use is the most valuable feature. We had existing endpoints and it was an easy upgrade process. The interface board is also easy to use.""This software incorporates security AI features and effectively manages bandwidth with its DRS capabilities.""We're able to secure all endpoints and manage them from a single console.""One of the strengths of Harmony is its power to detect threats and keep us safe.""It's pretty complete for preventing threats to endpoints. Its capabilities are great.""The end-user facilities for managing the tool are good.""It's great for securing our endpoints from any external attacks.""The most valuable feature is the integration with CheckPoint's firewalls. You can have one port, and follow the logs from both Endpoint and firewall security."

More Check Point Harmony Endpoint Pros →

"There are a couple of features, such as isolating the devices or connecting the device and connecting live response.""It is easy to use because it is already pre-installed in Windows 10. We don't have to do anything to configure it. You can also configure the firewall by using a group policy so that it can be easily adopted in an environment.""Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to load and it runs quietly in the background, unlike other solutions.""Easy to understand and easy to set up endpoint security solution. It's a multifeatured product with web content filtering and automated investigation features. It also has a fantastic vulnerability management dashboard.""Defender is a part of Windows; you just need to enable it. There is no need to install anything.""It is easy to install and use requiring little maintenance but applying updates.""This product is flexible, and it is very easy to get updates from the Microsoft website.""There are some competitive products on the market, but the best is Microsoft Defender because it's very easy to integrate. That's one reason a lot of clients want Microsoft Defender. It's also very easy to implement compared to other solutions."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pros →

Cons
"I haven't seen the use of AI in the solution.""The solution is not stable.""We've had a lot of false positives; things incorrectly flagged that require manual configuration to allow. Even worse, after we allow a legitimate program, it sometimes gets flagged again after an update. This has caused a lot of extra work for my team.""Detections could be improved.""Once, we had an event that was locked and blocked, but information about it came to us two or three days later.""The SIEM could be improved.""Making the portal mobile friendly would be helpful when I am out of office.""They can include the automation for the realtime updates. We have a network infrastructure with remote sites. Whenever they send updates, they are not automated. We have to go into the console and push those updates. I wish it was more automated. The update file is currently around 31 MB. It could be smaller."

More Fortinet FortiEDR Cons →

"The solutions agent could have better performance, it is a little slow sometimes.""Areas that have room for improvement are the scope of the product and, while I think the support is good, they can improve support as well.""An additional feature I would like to see involves the VPN.""We use a couple of Check Point products, like SmartEvent, and SandBlast Agent is not really integrated into that. We haven't gotten the reports working yet. We are working with the account team and trying. As I said, it's still relatively new in terms of what we're trying to achieve.""They should provide bandwidth regulation, so we can monitor and regulate bandwidth.""Check Point users a pattern-based security module, which is something that can be improved.""There needs to be compatibility with the most recent versions of the various operating systems.""I have a few issues when attempting to install Harmony on some of the machines."

More Check Point Harmony Endpoint Cons →

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can improve by providing more and different types of reports.""There is no behavior analytics for devices and endpoints. There is no behavior-based protection.""Auto recovery is the most important feature that we would need from this solution. For decryption, similar to Malwarebytes, there should be something to be able to recover the data up to the last normal status. Its ability to recover data to the last normal copy must not exceed 5 to 10 minutes.""Its price could be better.""In terms of improvement, they update the platform it seems quite a bit. Every month something is in a new spot or something changed somewhere. There should be less of that.""The integration and effectiveness of email security could be better. It's already built-in to the solution and checks emails, scans the links they contain etc.""Cortex... has good investigation capabilities, out-of-the-box, in case there is an event that you'd like to investigate. It's quite convenient. Microsoft has those capabilities as well, but you need a bit more training on the product to get the basic information that you can get out-of-the-box with Cortex.""There are likely some technical improvements or features that could be added, however, I cannot say, off the top of my head, what they would be."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "I know it is tough to get big budget additions up front, but I highly recommend deploying environment wide and adding the forensic service."
  • "There are no issues with the pricing."
  • "The price is comprable to other endpoint security solutions."
  • "The pricing is typical for enterprises and fairly priced."
  • "I'm not familiar with pricing, but it looks a bit costly compared to other vendors I think."
  • "The pricing is good."
  • "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
  • "The hardware costs about €100,000 and about €20,000 annually for access."
  • More Fortinet FortiEDR Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "In addition to the standard licensing fees, there is a cost for support."
  • "We pay on an annual basis. There are no additional fees, they mostly tell us what we have to pay. We have budgeted for it."
  • "We pay roughly 80,000 Swedish krona per year. When it comes to the firewall, it's roughly 150,000 Swedish krona yearly. There's also maintenance, of course, which is roughly 10,000 krona per month."
  • "I bought them for 12 months and I genuinely cannot remember what I paid for them. I think it's about 100 pounds per user per year, so about 10 pounds a month per person."
  • "The licensing cost for Check Point is $3 USD or $4 USD per end-user."
  • "In terms of licensing, have a buffer zone around your projects in terms of the amount of endpoints that you want to have. You can always have more, but it is best to leave room for a little increase or growth."
  • "The solution is too pricey."
  • "One of the key factors that made us go with this solution was the pricing. On the licensing part, there was an initial complementary set of licenses offered in the initial onboarding package, either 15 or 20. Then, we had some complementary licenses in the initial purchase of the package. That was pretty useful."
  • More Check Point Harmony Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The product is free of charge and comes integrated into Windows."
  • "The solution is free."
  • "This product is included in the pricing for Windows."
  • "If you don't purchase the advanced threat protection then there is no additional charge."
  • "It is affordable and comes in the Office 365 bundle."
  • "Microsoft Defender ATP is expensive."
  • "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."
  • "When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection… more »
    Top Answer:We have FortiEDR installed on all our systems. This protects them from any threats.
    Top Answer:We license it per employee, so as long as the employee count remains the same, the licensing won't change. We have it… more »
    Top Answer:The platform's most valuable features are the ability to build API, which meets our business requirements, and the VPN… more »
    Top Answer:The pricing is reasonable. It is very good for security. We are focused on security. If the security is strong, we do… more »
    Top Answer:From an improvement perspective, the major challenge we've faced with Harmony is the support. While the technical… more »
    Top Answer:Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface… more »
    Top Answer:We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior… more »
    Top Answer:The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push… more »
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    enSilo, FortiEDR
    Check Point Endpoint Security, Endpoint Security, Check Point SandBlast Agent
    Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Learn More
    Interactive Demo
    Overview

    Fortinet FortiEDR is a real-time endpoint protection, detection, and automated response solution. Its primary purpose is to detect advanced threats to stop breaches and ransomware damage. It is designed to do so in real time, even on an already compromised device, allowing you to respond and remediate incidents automatically so your data can remain protected.

    Fortinet FortiEDR Features

    Fortinet FortiEDR has many valuable key features, including:

    • Easily customizable
    • Real-time proactive risk mitigation & IoT security
    • Pre-infection protection
    • Post-infection protection
    • Track applications and ratings
    • Reduce the attack surface with risk-based proactive policies
    • Achieve analysis of entire log history
    • Optional managed detection and response (MDR) service

    Fortinet FortiEDR Benefits

    Some of the key benefits of using Fortinet FortiEDR include:

    • Protection: Fortinet FortiEDR provides proactive, real-time, automated endpoint protection with the orchestrated incident response across platforms. It stops the breach with real-time postinfection blocking to protect data from exfiltration and ransomware encryption.

    • Single unified console: Fortinet FortiEDR has a single unified console with an intuitive interface, which makes management easier. The solution automates mundane endpoint security tasks so your employees don’t need to do it.

    • Cost savings: With Fortinet FortiEDR you can eliminate post-breach operational expenses and breach damage costs.

    • Flexibility: Fortinet FortiEDR can be deployed on premises or on a secure cloud instance. With Fortinet FortiEDR, endpoints are protected both on- and off-line.

    • Scalability: Because Fortinet can be deployed quickly and has a small footprint, it is easy to scale up to protect hundreds of thousand endpoints.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Fortinet FortiEDR users.

    An Owner at a security firm says, "The features that I have found most valuable are the ability to customize it and to reduce its size. It lets you run in a very small window in terms of memory and resources on legacy cash registers. The customer has literally about 800 cash registers. That was the use case for Fortinet FortiEDR - to get that down into a tiny space. The only way to do that was to use this product because it had that ability to unbundle services that were a surplus.”

    Chandan M., Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, mentions, “The ease of deployment and configuration is valuable. It's very easy compared to other vendors like Sophos. Sophos' configuration is complex. Fortinet is a lot easier to understand. You don't need a lot of admin knowledge to do the configuration.” He also adds, “The security is also very good and the firewall response is good.”

    Harpreet S., Information Technology Support Specialist at Chemtrade Logistics, explains, "It notifies us if there's any suspicious file on any PC. If any execution or similar kind of thing is happening, it just alerts us. It doesn't only alert. It also blocks the execution until we allow it. We check whether the execution is legitimate or not, and then approve it or keep it blocked. This gives us a little bit of control over this mechanism. Fortinet FortiEDR is also very straightforward and easy to maintain."

    DeAndre V., Senior Network Administrator at a financial services firm, states, “The dashboard is easy to follow and use. The deployment and uninstalling were easy. I like the detailed information about the path of a file that might be suspicious. Being able to check that out was easy to follow. Exceptions are easy to create and the interface is easy to follow with a nice appearance.

    Check Point Harmony Endpoint is a robust security solution that enables users to use a single piece of software to accomplish tasks that often require the use of multiple pieces of software. It prevents impending threats from doing harm while at the same time enabling users to identify and deal with any harm that results from breaches. 

    Check Point Harmony Endpoint provides users with an excellent total cost of ownership. It combines six security solutions into a single powerful solution. Instead of being unwieldy, it is, in fact, a highly flexible solution. Users can easily manage and deploy it on site in their offices or via the cloud according to their needs. It upgrades effortlessly without ever causing disruptions to the work users are doing. The end result is a high return on a user’s investment.

    Benefits of Check Point Harmony Endpoint

    Some of the benefits of using Check Point Harmony Endpoint include: 

    • The ability to completely protect endpoints from all manner of immediate digital threats. Check Point Harmony Endpoint stops both malware and phishing sites from harming your networks. All files you receive or download are either run through Check Point Harmony Endpoint’s Threat Emulation sandbox, which scans it for malware, or sterilized by a Threat Extraction process. These prevent malware from ever entering your system. It also prevents phishing sites from stealing credentials. The software scans the sites and, if they are found to be malicious, they are locked out of the system. All of this occurs in real time. 
    • The ability to quickly recover from any attack which manages to do damage to your system. Check Point Harmony Endpoint’s automation responds to a threat once it is detected. Any device that is infected is automatically quarantined from the rest of the network and disinfected. This prevents further infection and allows administrators to render the machine safe for use. It also automatically creates reports which break down the nature of the attack and all other relevant details. These reports give users the information that they need to conduct triage and repair the damage done by an attack.

    Check Point Harmony Endpoint offers users a piece of security software which is completely cutting-edge. It stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the raw power of the solution and the usefulness of Check Point Harmony Endpoint’s built-in automation. Check Point Harmony Endpoint has a high ceiling when it comes to dealing with threats. Users are given the ability to decide how aggressively they want to employ it, which creates a great deal of flexibility. Check Point Harmony Endpoint’s automation is constantly running in the background of the program. It creates reports that empower users to take appropriate steps to protect their systems.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Sumit B., a consultant at Cognizant, notes the usefulness of Check Point Harmony Endpoint’s built-in automation. He writes, “SandBlast Agent is always working in the background collecting sensitive data, forensics, and notifying users whenever there is a chance of a brute-force attack into our systems. Otherwise, it has been protecting our data at various geographies along with the endpoints that we set up on the cloud. They have been able to filter out or thwart any attacks from the very word, "Go," and make our work very safe and smooth.”

    A PeerSpot user who serves as a Network Technical Specialist at a manufacturing company adds that “It's pretty complete for preventing threats to endpoints. Its capabilities are great.”

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for organizations. It offers real-time protection against various types of cyber threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

    With its powerful machine-learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks before they can cause any harm. The solution also includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly investigate and respond to security incidents. It provides detailed insights into the attack timeline, enabling security teams to understand the scope and impact of an incident.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint also offers proactive threat hunting, allowing organizations to proactively search for and identify potential threats within their network. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender XDR, to provide a unified and holistic security approach. With its centralized management console, organizations can easily deploy, configure, and monitor the security solution across their entire network.

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust and scalable security solution that helps organizations protect their endpoints and data from evolving cyber threats.

    Sample Customers
    Financial, Healthcare, Legal, Technology, Enterprise, Manufacturing ... 
    Boston Properties, Independence Care System, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), Courtagen Life Sciences, Carmel Partners
    Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm21%
    Comms Service Provider11%
    Manufacturing Company11%
    Healthcare Company5%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Government8%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm18%
    Computer Software Company14%
    Healthcare Company9%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider10%
    Government7%
    Construction Company7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm19%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization22%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government8%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business50%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise34%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise50%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business45%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business33%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise46%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise17%
    Large Enterprise43%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise45%
    Buyer's Guide
    Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    769,236 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Check Point Harmony Endpoint is ranked 8th in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 101 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) with 182 reviews. Check Point Harmony Endpoint is rated 8.8, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Check Point Harmony Endpoint writes "Excellent anti-ransomware protection, zero-day phishing protection, and web browsing filtering". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". Check Point Harmony Endpoint is most compared with CrowdStrike Falcon, Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, Intercept X Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Trend Micro Apex One. See our Check Point Harmony Endpoint vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.

    See our list of best Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) vendors and best Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) 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.