The 12 Best Antivirus (Endpoint Protection) Software for Business, Compared and Priced

Best value overall: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint if you hold Microsoft 365 E5, you already own competitive enterprise endpoint protection and the marginal cost is zero.

Best published pricing: Bitdefender and ESET, both of which let you budget without a sales call.

Best detection: CrowdStrike. Best cleanup tool: Malwarebytes.

One vendor on the standard comparison list cannot legally be sold in the United States. Details below, along with pricing models for all twelve.

Full Comparison Table

Vendor	Pricing model	Published pricing?	EDR tier included?	macOS / Linux	Free tier	Best for
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	Per user, in M365 tiers	Yes	P2 / E5	Good / Good	Defender AV in Windows	M365 E5 estates
Bitdefender	Per endpoint / year	Yes	Tiered	Full / Full	Trial	Best detection per pound
CrowdStrike	Per endpoint, modular	Partial (SMB)	Tiered	Full / Full	Trial	Best detection overall
Malwarebytes	Per endpoint / year	Yes	Tiered	Full / Partial	Scanner	Remediation and cleanup
Trend Micro	Per endpoint / workload	Partial	Yes	Full / Full	Trial	Server and cloud workloads
OpenText (Webroot)	Per endpoint / year	Yes	Limited	Full / Limited	Trial	Lightest agent, MSP channel
SentinelOne	Per endpoint, tiered	Partial	Yes	Full / Full	Trial	Autonomous response
WatchGuard (Panda)	Per endpoint / year	Partial	Tiered	Full / Full	Trial	SMB with WatchGuard firewalls
Sophos	Per user / endpoint	Partial (SMB)	Yes	Full / Full	Trial	Teams without security staff
Emsisoft	Per endpoint / year	Yes	Limited	Limited / No	Trial	Budget business protection
ESET	Per endpoint / year	Yes	Tiered	Full / Full	Trial	Lightest footprint
Kaspersky	Per endpoint / year	Yes (where available)	Yes	Full / Full	Trial	Check jurisdiction first

Two Things to Resolve Before You Compare Prices

Kaspersky cannot legally be sold or updated in the United States. The US Commerce Department issued a determination prohibiting Kaspersky sales prohibition from selling software or providing updates to US customers, and the company exited the US market.

Its detection technology has historically tested well and it remains available in many other jurisdictions, but any price comparison that includes it for a US business is not a real comparison.

Readers elsewhere should check current national guidance and any customer contractual requirements before considering it.

Two brands on this list belong to larger owners. Panda Security is part of WatchGuard, and Webroot is part of OpenText.

Both products remain in market and are listed under their current owners here. Comparison articles that still list Panda and WatchGuard, or Webroot and OpenText, as separate options are working from outdated sources.

The 2026 Business Endpoint Protection Scorecard

Rank	Vendor	Detection (30%)	EDR depth (20%)	Management (20%)	Pricing transparency (15%)	Platform coverage (15%)	Total
1	CrowdStrike	10	10	8	5	9	8.8
2	Bitdefender	9	8	8	10	9	8.8
3	Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	9	9	7	9	8	8.5
4	SentinelOne	9	10	8	5	9	8.5
5	Sophos	8	8	10	6	9	8.3
6	ESET	8	7	8	10	9	8.2
7	Trend Micro	8	8	7	6	9	7.8
8	WatchGuard (Panda)	7	7	8	7	8	7.4
9	Malwarebytes	8	6	8	10	7	7.7
10	OpenText (Webroot)	6	5	8	10	6	6.8
11	Emsisoft	7	5	7	10	5	6.8
12	Kaspersky	9	8	8	8	9	8.5

Weighted averages rounded to one decimal. Rank reflects overall buyer fit including the market notes above, not score alone — Kaspersky is ranked last on availability grounds, not capability.

How We Scored

A structured research-based evaluation, not a lab test, and we make no testing claims. Independent results published by AV-Comparatives, AV-TEST, and MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations informed the detection assessment; we conducted no testing of our own. Five criteria:

• Detection (30%) — prevention and detection quality against real-world threats.

• EDR depth (20%) — investigation, hunting, telemetry retention, and response at the tier you’d actually buy.

• Management (20%) — console usability and how much security expertise it assumes.

• Pricing transparency (15%) — whether you can budget without a sales process. This matters more than vendors like, and it’s why several smaller names score well here.

• Platform coverage (15%) — Windows, macOS, Linux, and server parity.

What Business Endpoint Protection Actually Costs

Pricing transparency in this category is unusually good at the lower end. Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, Webroot, Emsisoft, and Microsoft publish list pricing you can look up. CrowdStrike and SentinelOne publish small-business entry pricing but move to quotes above that. Sophos, Trend Micro, and WatchGuard are largely partner-quoted.

Everything is per endpoint or per user, per year, and tiered by EDR depth. The single biggest driver of quote variation is which tier includes detection and response, telemetry retention, and managed services. A “per endpoint” price without the tier specified tells you nothing.

If you hold Microsoft 365 E5, run the numbers before buying anything. Defender for Endpoint P2 is included, and it performs competitively in independent evaluations.

Organizations routinely buy a third-party endpoint platform while paying for one they already own.

The legitimate reasons to buy anyway are macOS or Linux depth, a preference against vendor concentration, or a specific capability Defender lacks but make it a decision rather than an oversight.

Retention length is the hidden cost. Base tiers commonly include short telemetry retention. If your incident response process needs 30 or 90 days of endpoint history, price that explicitly it’s where quotes diverge most sharply.

Cheapest credible options: Microsoft Defender if E5 is already held; ESET, Bitdefender, or Emsisoft at published pricing for small business; Webroot where agent weight matters and budget is tight.

The Twelve, Scored

CrowdStrike — 8.8/10

Perfect detection and EDR scores. The richest endpoint telemetry available, elite threat intelligence, and OverWatch managed hunting

Cost profile: per-endpoint modular subscription; published SMB entry pricing, quotes above that. Modules accumulate.

Watch for: the July 2024 faulty content update that caused widespread Windows failures established a question you should now ask every vendor can you control rollout rings, delay content updates on critical systems, and what is the documented rollback procedure? CrowdStrike made substantial changes afterward; ask anyway, and ask everyone.

Image ALT: CrowdStrike Falcon endpoint protection detection timeline

Bitdefender — 8.8/10

Tied at the top through a different route: near-leading detection combined with a perfect pricing transparency score. Its GravityZone EDR platform features engines that are widely licensed by other vendors, which highlights its underlying quality.

Cost profile: published per-endpoint pricing across SMB and mid-market tiers; GravityZone EDR available at accessible cost.

Watch for: threat intelligence and managed hunting depth below CrowdStrike; fewer large-enterprise references.

Image ALT: Bitdefender GravityZone business endpoint protection console

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint — 8.5/10

Strong detection and EDR at effectively zero marginal cost for E5 organizations, with correlation across identity, email, and cloud that integrates seamlessly into a Zero Trust architecture.

Cost profile: included in Microsoft 365 E5; standalone P1/P2 tiers with published list pricing; Defender for Business for smaller organizations.

Watch for: full EDR requires P2 or E5 licensing confusion is the most common problem here; macOS and Linux capability trails Windows.

Image ALT: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint security centre incident view

SentinelOne — 8.5/10

A perfect EDR depth score, driven by on-agent autonomous response technology and one-click rollback of ransomware damage on Windows.

Cost profile: per-endpoint tiered subscription; some published pricing at the lower tiers, quotes above.

Watch for: automated response needs tuning to avoid disrupting legitimate software; the platform has broadened considerably, so scope your licence.

Image ALT: SentinelOne Singularity autonomous response and rollback

Sophos — 8.3/10

The only perfect management score. Sophos is the platform a two-person IT team can genuinely operate, with a clear escalation path into Sophos MDR security operations.

Cost profile: per-user or per-endpoint, mostly partner-quoted with published SMB guidance.

Watch for: detection engineering trails the top tier; the February 2025 Secureworks acquisition adds Counter Threat Unit research depth but raises reasonable portfolio-positioning questions.

Image ALT: Sophos Central endpoint protection unified management

ESET — 8.2/10

A perfect pricing transparency score plus the lightest agent here, which matters on older hardware and virtual desktops.

Cost profile: published per-endpoint pricing across tiers; on-premises console option available at no extra licensing cost.

Watch for: EDR and managed hunting depth trail the cloud-native leaders; smaller North American enterprise presence.

Image ALT: ESET PROTECT business endpoint security console

Trend Micro — 7.8/10

Strong across detection and platform coverage, with dedicated cloud workload support and server protection in this list.

Cost profile: per-endpoint or per-workload credits within Vision One; partly published, largely quoted.

Watch for: platform breadth makes licence scoping genuinely difficult; endpoint-only buyers may be over-specified.

Image ALT: Trend Micro Vision One endpoint and workload protection

Malwarebytes — 7.7/10

Perfect pricing transparency and genuinely excellent at the category others under-serve: adware, browser hijackers, and potentially unwanted programs, providing lightweight business endpoint protection.

Cost profile: published per-endpoint pricing; free on-demand scanner for cleanup.

Watch for: EDR depth is the lowest of the serious contenders; historically a remediation tool that grew into prevention, and it still shows.

Image ALT: Malwarebytes business endpoint protection and remediation

WatchGuard (Panda) — 7.4/10

Panda’s endpoint technology under WatchGuard, sensible for organizations already running WatchGuard firewalls and wanting unified management.

Cost profile: per-endpoint annual licensing, largely partner-quoted.

Watch for: detection scores trail the leaders; deepest value only inside a WatchGuard estate; confirm current product naming post-acquisition.

Image ALT: WatchGuard endpoint security formerly Panda console

OpenText (Webroot) — 6.8/10

Perfect pricing transparency and an exceptionally light cloud-based agent, supported by attractive MSP channel economics.

Cost profile: published per-endpoint pricing; strong MSP channel economics.

Watch for: detection depth well below the leaders; limited EDR; verify the current product roadmap under OpenText ownership.

Image ALT: Webroot OpenText cloud endpoint protection console

Emsisoft — 6.8/10

Published pricing and solid dual-engine detection at genuinely low cost, aimed squarely at small business budgets.

Cost profile: published per-endpoint pricing, among the lowest here.

Watch for: Emsisoft has narrowed its product focus in recent years verify the current business product line and support commitments before purchasing; limited macOS and no meaningful Linux coverage; minimal EDR.

Image ALT: Emsisoft business security dual-engine protection

Kaspersky — 8.5/10 capability, availability restricted

Strong detection and EDR capability, scored on merit but the US Commerce Department prohibited Kaspersky endpoint security sales and updates for US customers, and the company exited the US market. Several other governments restrict public sector use.

Cost profile: published pricing where available.

Watch for: US organizations should not evaluate it. Readers elsewhere should check current national guidance and customer contractual requirements.

Image ALT: Kaspersky endpoint security for business console

How to Compare Endpoint Protection Quotes

Specify the tier before you compare any price. “Per endpoint per year” is meaningless without knowing which tier includes EDR, how long telemetry is retained, and whether managed services are bundled. Write down your required capabilities and have each vendor confirm the tier in writing.

Check your Microsoft licensing first. Defender for Endpoint P2 ships with Microsoft 365 E5. This is the single most commonly overlooked saving in the category.

Ask about update staging — all of them. Can you define rollout rings? Can you delay content updates on critical systems? What’s the rollback procedure and how long does it take? This became a standard due diligence question in 2024 and it applies to every vendor here.

Price three years, not one. Introductory discounts in this category are substantial and renewal increases are routine. Ask for the year-two and year-three price in the same document.

Test on your non-Windows endpoints. Mac and Linux coverage varies far more than the “supported” column suggests. If a meaningful share of your estate is non-Windows, that’s where your evaluation should focus.

Common mistakes: buying premium endpoint protection while leaving identity and access unmanaged; running two real-time agents during migration without exclusions; and buying an EDR tier nobody has time to monitor when MDR would have been the better spend.

Cost-Focused FAQ

How much does business antivirus cost?

Business endpoint protection is priced per endpoint or per user per year, tiered by EDR depth and retention.

Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, Webroot, Emsisoft, and Microsoft publish list pricing; CrowdStrike and SentinelOne publish small-business entry pricing; Sophos, Trend Micro, and WatchGuard are largely partner-quoted.

Multi-year and multi-thousand-seat commitments attract meaningful discounts.

Which business antivirus is cheapest?

If you hold Microsoft 365 E5, Defender for Endpoint is effectively free and genuinely competitive that’s the cheapest credible option by a wide margin.

Among standalone products, Emsisoft, Webroot, and ESET publish the lowest business pricing, with correspondingly reduced EDR capability.

Is Kaspersky banned?

The US Commerce Department prohibited Kaspersky from selling software or providing updates to US customers, and the company exited the US market. Several other governments have restricted its use in public sector contexts.

Organizations outside the US should check current national guidance and any customer contractual requirements before considering it.

Is Microsoft Defender good enough to replace paid antivirus?

For most business use, yes. Defender for Endpoint performs competitively in independent evaluations and integrates deeply with Entra ID and the wider Microsoft stack.

The reasons to buy elsewhere are macOS or Linux depth, a deliberate choice against vendor concentration, or a specific capability gap not detection quality.

Is there free business antivirus?

Not properly. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows at no cost and provides real baseline protection, and Malwarebytes offers a free on-demand scanner for cleanup.

Genuine business endpoint protection with central management, reporting, and EDR requires a licence free consumer products generally prohibit commercial use.

What is the difference between antivirus and EDR pricing?

They are usually the same agent at different licensing tiers. The prevention tier stops known and predictable threats; the EDR tier adds telemetry recording, investigation tooling, threat hunting, and response actions.

The EDR tier typically costs substantially more, and telemetry retention length is the main variable within it.

Bottom Line

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the value answer for any organization holding Microsoft 365 E5 check this before you buy anything else.

Bitdefender and ESET are the best options when you want to budget from published pricing rather than a sales process, and Bitdefender’s detection genuinely competes with the premium tier.

CrowdStrike and SentinelOne are worth their premium for organizations that will use the EDR depth.

Sophos is the pick when nobody on the team is a security specialist. And whichever you choose, ask about update staging that’s the question this category earned the hard way.

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