Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Zscaler Internet Access

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender ATP) is a holistic, cloud delivered endpoint security solution that includes risk-based vulnerability management and assessment, attack surface reduction, behavioral based and cloud-powered next generation protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), automatic investigation and remediation, managed hunting services, rich APIs, and unified security management.
$2.50
per user/per month
Zscaler Internet Access
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zscaler Internet Access™ (ZIA) is a secure web gateway (SWG), delivering cloud native cyberthreat protection and zero trust access to the internet and SaaS apps.N/A
Pricing
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Editions & Modules
Academic
$2.50
per user/per month
Standalone
$5.20
per user/per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Chose Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is on par or exceeds the competitor products and provides an enterprise grade EDR solution. Based on the savings by bundling Microsoft products under the E5 license and the benefits it provides; it is an excellent choice for customers looking for …
Chose Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
I would say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a little behind compared to those two market leaders in the space. However, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to deploy and manage for windows devices and the cost is more reasonable.
Zscaler Internet Access
Chose Zscaler Internet Access
it works better and integrates better with the rest of my security stack.
Chose Zscaler Internet Access
Zscaler Intenet Access proved to be superior and the difference for us was the speed of policy delivery since your policy is applied in a web console and is effective in a matter of seconds. Another point to congratulate the solution is its compatibility with different …
Features
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Endpoint Security
Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
8.7
77 Ratings
3% above category average
Zscaler Internet Access
10.0
2 Ratings
10% above category average
Anti-Exploit Technology8.874 Ratings00 Ratings
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)9.176 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Centralized Management8.876 Ratings00 Ratings
Hybrid Deployment Support7.210 Ratings00 Ratings
Infection Remediation9.074 Ratings00 Ratings
Vulnerability Management8.671 Ratings00 Ratings
Malware Detection9.175 Ratings00 Ratings
Identity Management
Comparison of Identity Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
5.0
2 Ratings
56% below category average
Multi-Factor Authentication00 Ratings5.02 Ratings
Threat Intelligence
Comparison of Threat Intelligence features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.4
137 Ratings
8% above category average
Network Analytics00 Ratings8.4137 Ratings
Threat Recognition00 Ratings8.2134 Ratings
Vulnerability Classification00 Ratings8.4120 Ratings
Automated Alerts and Reporting00 Ratings8.4130 Ratings
Threat Analysis00 Ratings8.8128 Ratings
Threat Intelligence Reporting00 Ratings8.6127 Ratings
Automated Threat Identification00 Ratings8.5124 Ratings
Zero Trust Security
Comparison of Zero Trust Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
-
Ratings
Zscaler Internet Access
8.9
160 Ratings
2% above category average
Continuous Verification00 Ratings8.6147 Ratings
Secure Web Gateways00 Ratings8.9142 Ratings
Network Flow Control00 Ratings8.8132 Ratings
Network Traffic Analysis00 Ratings8.6133 Ratings
Segmentation Leveraging00 Ratings8.1119 Ratings
Admin Access Control00 Ratings9.0141 Ratings
Network Data Encryption00 Ratings8.9129 Ratings
Network Topology Mapping00 Ratings10.02 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Small Businesses
ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker
Score 9.4 out of 10
ThreatLocker
ThreatLocker
Score 9.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT)
BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT)
Score 9.1 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management
BeyondTrust Endpoint Privilege Management
Score 9.9 out of 10
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Palo Alto Networks Prisma Access
Score 8.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(136 ratings)
8.9
(183 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.4
(10 ratings)
8.0
(4 ratings)
Usability
8.7
(11 ratings)
8.4
(167 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Performance
9.1
(1 ratings)
5.5
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(7 ratings)
8.2
(8 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.3
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Configurability
8.2
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft Defender for EndpointZscaler Internet Access
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
It is well integrated with the Microsoft Admin center providing a quick way to find everything you're looking for. However, if there is a problem that needs addressed, you may have to click through a few more pages to find the solution. It will definitely let you know what's going on in your environment.
Read full review
Zscaler
It's best suited for a distributed remote workforce, securing internet access for users from anywhere. Suitable for highly regulated industries, such as banking and Healthcare. Not a good fit for an organisation where most of its legacy is in an on-premises environment. Bandwidth-intensive industries like media/entertainment firms.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • One, it's crazy lightweight, so compared to some of the competitors that we also have used with our security services, it's really lightweight and so I don't have a lot of overhead on the system that it's running on.
  • It does really fantastic PowerShell integration.
Read full review
Zscaler
  • Single Pane of Glass Management - Everything is very easy to access and monitor the entire environment from an internet security perspective.
  • Install Flexibility - We can and do install Zscaler Internet Access on both our client devices as well as our SD-WAN appliances and servers. This allows us to control internet security even on devices without an agent in our networks.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • So the fact that Defender for Endpoint still works with signatures is actually, I don't know, a little difficult for us because, I mean, since Microsoft trusts those signatures, you can easily inject code. And we've done it many times. To show that you can inject code through vulnerabilities like CV 2013, 99, and 33 but still keep the signature. So because of the trust of those signatures, the malware just kind of slides into the environment without Defender knowing. That's the first part. The second part is that the behavioral analysis is not precisely its Prime. It's not Defender's best capability for endpoints. So, Defender does not identify all behaviors considered by other EDRs in the market.
Read full review
Zscaler
  • The logs feel kind of lack luster
  • When issues are arising with SSL Inspection, logs show everything working despite end user experience
  • Could use some kind of global find functionality or something that would allow you to search the entire configuration for matching URLs and the like
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
Cost add-ons for Security features is nickel and diming the process to keep pace with cybercrime. Limited Education budgets require us to be more pro-active in finding cost-effective measures to protect our devices, staff and students. Defender is a strong, well-featured product that is pricing itself out of the education market
Read full review
Zscaler
While Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) delivers critical value in cloud security and RBI compliance, I rate renewal likelihood 7/10 due to evolving needs versus platform limitations. Below is my rationale:
Key Gaps:
1. Advanced Threat Costs:
ZIA’s add-ons (e.g., Advanced DLP, Sandboxing) incur 35%+ cost premiums – straining budgets as transaction volumes (UPI/iMobile) grow 50% YoY.
2. API Banking Scalability:
ZIA’s API rate limits throttle real-time policy sync during UPI peaks (10K+ TPS), forcing workarounds for finacle integrations.
3. RBI Future-Proofing:
Limited native support for upcoming digital rupee (CBDC) security rules requires custom development, increasing compliance overhead.
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
It offers multiple security features and integrates well with Microsoft ecosystems. A workflow for threat detection, investigation, automated remediation, and a centralized dashboard is an added advantage. This application is mainly designed for experienced users; new users may feel challenged.
Read full review
Zscaler
The application is easy to install and configure on all Windows devices. To troubleshoot any internet issue, we can easily collect all the relevant logs from Zscaler and check the exact issue. The only problem is with the uninstall, as a dedicated crew needs to provide the password.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint chugs along just fine no matter what we throw at it and what systems it's running on. It doesn't take up a lot of resources either, so that's welcomed.
Read full review
Zscaler
No answers on this topic
Performance
Microsoft
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy on memory and resources on clients.
Read full review
Zscaler
There are often performance issues reported
Read full review
Support Rating
Microsoft
The first time I tried to onboard my macOS endpoints to MDE I struggled for quite a bit. I had to reach out to Microsoft's MDE support team. The tech was very helpful in walking me through the steps during a screen share session
Read full review
Zscaler
Zscaler's ZIA support is quick and knowledgable. They respond within 1-2 hours of you submitting your ticket. They are very thorough and are typically ready to jump on a live troubleshooting session. Our ZIA platform and how we use is it unique so at times tickets can be open for weeks but we alway get quality support compared to other unrelated product support in our enterprise
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
Deployment was handled by our team here and everything went pretty smoothly. We did have a few hiccups in our test group, but that only took a bit to get ironed out.
Read full review
Zscaler
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Defender is far easier to deploy and manage than Sophos and tends to work without as many issues. The threat assessment portal provides an in-depth view of the organization's security posture, whereas Sophos only shows the patching status of the PCs. We did need Intune to get many of the control features (disabling USB drives) that Sophos offered out of the box.
Read full review
Zscaler
Zscaler Intenet Access outperformed the competition due to its lightning-fast policy delivery and cross-compatibility. It is easy to track employee usage and block unnecessary websites, reducing company internet usage. Zscalar installed on every system increases cloud-based software bandwidth, decreasing user turnaround time and increasing efficiency.
Read full review
Scalability
Microsoft
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easily scaled from small orgs to giant enterprises.
Read full review
Zscaler
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Reduced incidents of security breaches lead to lower remediation costs and avoid potential financial losses and reputational damage.
  • Reduces the need for additional third-party security solutions and training, thereby lowering overall security management costs.
  • Increased efficiency and productivity of IT staff lead to better allocation of resources and cost savings.
  • Reduces the risk of fines and sanctions associated with non-compliance, ensuring business continuity and protecting revenue.
Read full review
Zscaler
  • Has allowed us to remove other products that were suboptimal
  • Saved us money overall by stacking it with other Zscaler products
  • Created a more secure work environment for our users through intelligent internet policies that are not needlessly restrictive while still maintaining security best practices
Read full review
ScreenShots

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Screenshots

Screenshot of blocked activitiesScreenshot of Detects & respondsScreenshot of discovers vulnerabilityScreenshot of Eliminates blind spotsScreenshot of Risk management

Zscaler Internet Access Screenshots

Screenshot of an overview of Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), a cloud native security service edge (SSE) solution that builds on a decade of secure web gateway leadership. Offered as a scalable SaaS platform through Zscaler's security cloud, it replaces legacy network security solutions, preventing advanced attacks and data loss with a comprehensive zero trust approach. ZIA is integrated into the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ to provide superior defense-in-depth, secure connectivity, end user experience, and administrative visibility and control.