Index › IT › IT operations and endpoint › Endpoint protection › Small business · November 2026 Edition
Endpoint protection for small business buyers
Asked as “endpoint protection platform”, and as “business antivirus and endpoint security tool”, on behalf of a small B2B company. 55 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, fourteen models each.
Standing · first-choice share
49%
Clear leader
49Microsoft Defender for Cloud11Bitdefender GravityZone11Sophos Intercept X29others
49% of first choices, clear leader.
Since October 2026▼−1Since October 2026: 50% → 49%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.Microsoft Defender for Cloud held the lead, −1 point on 50%, inside the 11-point floor.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
Small business
Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%Clear leader▼−1Since October 2026: 50% → 49%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This pageMid-marketMicrosoft Defender for Cloud25%Contested↗new leaderNew leader since October 2026: Microsoft Defender for Cloud (25%) replaces Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (25% then, 23% now), 2 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.Standing →Enterprise
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint53%Clear leader▲+9Since October 2026: 44% → 53%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.Standing →
Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%Clear leader▼−1Since October 2026: 50% → 49%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This pageMid-marketMicrosoft Defender for Cloud25%Contested↗new leaderNew leader since October 2026: Microsoft Defender for Cloud (25%) replaces Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (25% then, 23% now), 2 points clear, inside the 11-point floor.Standing →EnterpriseMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint53%Clear leader▲+9Since October 2026: 44% → 53%, +9 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.Standing →The standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all fourteen models, for a small B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince October 2026
01Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%2%57endorsed leader▼−1Since October 2026: 50% → 49%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.50% → 49%
Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%2%57endorsed leader▼−1Since October 2026: 50% → 49%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.50% → 49%02
Sophos Intercept X11%9%55accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 7% → 11%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.7% → 11%
Sophos Intercept X11%9%55accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 7% → 11%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.7% → 11%03
Bitdefender GravityZone11%3%37accepted challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 13% → 11%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.13% → 11%
Bitdefender GravityZone11%3%37accepted challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 13% → 11%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.13% → 11%04
Huntress Managed EDR5%3%39accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 10% → 5%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.10% → 5%
Huntress Managed EDR5%3%39accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 10% → 5%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.10% → 5%05Microsoft Defender for Endpoint5%40%10criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 3% → 5%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 5%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint5%40%10criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 3% → 5%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.3% → 5%06
SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint4%30%23criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 4%
SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint4%30%23criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 2% → 4%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 4%07
Avast Business2%58%12criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 2%
Avast Business2%58%12criticized challenger▲+2Since October 2026: 0% → 2%, +2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 2%Show the six products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
12
CrowdStrike Falcon0%44%32criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
CrowdStrike Falcon0%44%32criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%13
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection0%40%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection0%40%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%11
CrowdStrike Falcon Go0%30%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
CrowdStrike Falcon Go0%30%10criticized challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%10
SentinelOne Singularity0%20%15accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
SentinelOne Singularity0%20%15accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%09
Acronis Cyber Protect0%7%14accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Acronis Cyber Protect0%7%14accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%08
ESET PROTECT0%3%34accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
ESET PROTECT0%3%34accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. Both editions asked the same fourteen models. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to head
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Bitdefender GravityZoneMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs Sophos Intercept X
Head-to-head pages are published for mid-market buyers, so these open on mid-market figures, not small business.All twenty-one head-to-head pages: the top seven products, each against each
Microsoft Defender for Cloud vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Cloud vs ESET PROTECTMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Bitdefender GravityZoneMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint vs ESET PROTECTBitdefender GravityZone vs Sophos Intercept XBitdefender GravityZone vs SentinelOne SingularityBitdefender GravityZone vs CrowdStrike FalconBitdefender GravityZone vs ESET PROTECTSophos Intercept X vs SentinelOne SingularitySophos Intercept X vs CrowdStrike FalconSophos Intercept X vs ESET PROTECTSentinelOne Singularity vs CrowdStrike FalconSentinelOne Singularity vs ESET PROTECTCrowdStrike Falcon vs ESET PROTECT
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01020304050607080910111213Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative60%
Key
01Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%
Microsoft Defender for Cloud49%02Sophos Intercept X11%
Sophos Intercept X11%03Bitdefender GravityZone11%
Bitdefender GravityZone11%04Huntress Managed EDR5%
Huntress Managed EDR5%05Microsoft Defender for Endpoint5%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint5%06SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint4%
SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint4%07Avast Business2%
Avast Business2%08ESET PROTECT0%
ESET PROTECT0%09Acronis Cyber Protect0%
Acronis Cyber Protect0%10SentinelOne Singularity0%
SentinelOne Singularity0%11CrowdStrike Falcon Go0%
CrowdStrike Falcon Go0%12CrowdStrike Falcon0%
CrowdStrike Falcon0%13Webroot Business Endpoint Protection0%
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection0%What they warned about
Four of fourteen models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Claude Haiku 4.5, GPT-5.4 mini, Perplexity Sonar, Grok 4.20, Mistral Small, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, Kimi K2, MiniMax M2.5 and Muse Glimmer 30B changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
CrowdStrike Falcon44%
14 of 32 labels negative · 10 of 14 models · 5 hard negative
“CrowdStrike Falcon and Avast Business are two endpoint protection platforms that some AI models recommend avoiding for small businesses” Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt
Avast Business58%
7 of 12 labels negative · 7 of 14 models · 6 hard negative
“the advice from SMB guides is to avoid: ... Suites that lack coverage you need, e.g. Avast Business's lack of mobile” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint30%
7 of 23 labels negative · 6 of 14 models
“vendors such as CrowdStrike Falcon Insight / Falcon Pro, SentinelOne Singularity and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint are often cautioned for small businesses without security staff” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
Symantec Endpoint Security100%
5 of 5 labels negative · 5 of 14 models · 3 hard negative
“Discontinued products – Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEP Cloud) and Symantec Protection Small Business Edition (SBE) have been discontinued” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
What they cite
Fourteen of the fourteen models returned a source list in this edition: five return the pages they cited and nine the search results they consulted.
Sites the answers cite
73 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 784 links across 182 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. 23 of the 252 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category; the method page measures whether that reading tilts an answer.
vendor site · Huntress45 answers · 58 citations · 13 models
vendor site · G244 answers · 57 citations · 12 models
30 answers · 41 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Microsoft26 answers · 37 citations · 11 models
24 answers · 24 citations · 10 models
20 answers · 21 citations · 9 models
17 answers · 17 citations · 9 models
16 answers · 19 citations · 8 models
15 answers · 26 citations · 8 models
14 answers · 16 citations · 10 models
vendor site · Deel14 answers · 14 citations · 9 models
vendor site · Bitdefender11 answers · 16 citations · 6 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
40 answers · 12 models
38 answers · 12 models
26 answers · 10 models
24 answers · 10 models
17 answers · 7 models
15 answers · 8 models
14 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 8 models
11 answers · 7 models
10 answers · 8 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best endpoint protection platform”, “endpoint protection platform”, “endpoint protection platforms”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Defender microsoft.com Microsoft Defender for Cloud 49% | 49% | 659 | 18,100 | 3,525 | 145,358,109 company | $12,455 | 103 |
| Sophos sophos.com Sophos Intercept X 11% | 11% | 304 | 18,100 | 2,046 | 186,716 company | $1,427 | 65 |
| Bitdefender bitdefender.com Bitdefender GravityZone 11% | 11% | 115 | 90,500 | 3,261 | 649,861 company | 93 | |
| Huntress huntress.com Huntress Managed EDR 5% | 5% | 353 | 33,100 | 4,338 | 352,368 company | $15,522 | 120 |
| Microsoft Defender parent site Microsoft Defender for Endpoint 5% | 5% | 264 | 18,100 | 3,525 | |||
| Bitdefender parent site Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security 4%, Bitdefender GravityZone SMB 2% | 5% | 9 | 90,500 | 3,261 | |||
| SentinelOne parent site SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint 4% | 4% | 80 | 33,100 | 1,675 | |||
| Acronis acronis.com Acronis EDR 2%, Acronis Cyber Protect 0% | 2% | 132 | 9,900 | 930 | 166,260 company | 42 | |
| Avira | 2% | ||||||
| Bitdefender Business Security | 2% |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 21 sites; 1 of them are among the sites the models cited here (g2.com). The first result for “best endpoint protection platform” is gartner.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best endpoint protection platform for a small B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which business antivirus and endpoint security tool would you recommend to a small business that sells to other businesses?”Comparative“What are the top endpoint protection platforms for a small team and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best endpoint protection platform for a small company with a tight budget?”Scale-constrained“We are a 30 person company evaluating an endpoint protection platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which endpoint protection platforms should a small business avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business SecurityBitdefender Business Security, Norton Small BusinessChangedagainst: Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sophos Intercept XSophos Intercept XBitdefender GravityZone SMBno first choiceagainst: Microsoft Defender
Three alternatives
Avast Business, ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for CloudOne alternative
Kaspersky Small Office SecurityFour alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointFour alternatives
ESET PROTECT, Malwarebytes for Business, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Norton Small BusinessGPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for CloudBitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for CloudChangedMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloudno first choicenothing named
Five alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon Go, ESET PROTECT, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XFive alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon Go, SentinelOne Singularity for small business, Sophos Central, Sophos Intercept XTwo alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, ESET Endpoint SecurityGemini 3.5 FlashMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for CloudHeldMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: AVG, Avast Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, McAfee Consumer, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Norton, SentinelOne Singularity, Symantec Endpoint Security, Trellix Endpoint Security Suite, VIPRE, Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Four alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X with MDRFive alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos Intercept XFour alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XPerplexity SonarSophos Intercept Xagainst: CrowdStrike FalconMicrosoft Defender for CloudChangedHuntress Managed EDRagainst: CrowdStrike FalconHuntress Managed EDRagainst: SentinelOne Singularity Endpointno first choiceagainst: Acronis Cyber Protect, Check Point Endpoint Security, Check Point Infinity, CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X, WatchGuard Endpoint Security
Three alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for CloudThree alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security, CrowdStrike Falcon Go, ESET PROTECTFour alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for CloudGrok 4.20Microsoft Defender for Cloudagainst: CrowdStrike FalconBitdefender GravityZoneChangedESET PROTECT, Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Endpointagainst: ClamAV, Huntress Managed EDRMicrosoft Defender for Endpointagainst: CrowdStrike Falconagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon, ESET Endpoint Security, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity, Trend Micro Apex One, Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Three alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
ESET Endpoint Security, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for EndpointFive alternatives
ESET PROTECT, Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection, Sophos Intercept X, ThreatDown, Webroot Business Endpoint ProtectionOne alternative
SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMistral SmallAcronis EDR, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XBitdefender GravityZoneChangedagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon Go, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMicrosoft Defender for CloudAvast Business, Avirano first choiceagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon, ManageEngine Endpoint Central, Symantec Endpoint Security, Trend Vision One
One alternative
Huntress Managed EDRTwo alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sophos Intercept XFour alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, ESET PROTECT, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos Intercept XFour alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, ESET PROTECT, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos Intercept XDeepSeek V4 FlashMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for CloudHeldMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: Sophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: AVG, Avast Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, McAfee Endpoint Security, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Symantec Endpoint Security, Trend Micro Apex One, Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Three alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne SingularityThree alternatives
ESET PROTECT, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos Intercept XFive alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, ESET PROTECT, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept XTwo alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, ESET Small Business SecuritySix alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, CrowdStrike Falcon, Cynet CyOps, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept XLlama 4 Maverickno first choiceBitdefender GravityZoneChangedagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon Go, SentinelOne Singularity Endpointno first choiceSophos Intercept Xno first choiceagainst: Avast Business, CrowdStrike Falcon
Two alternatives
ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for CloudTwo alternatives
Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft 365Qwen 3.7 FlashHuntress Managed EDRSentinelOne Singularity EndpointChangedagainst: McAfee, Symantec Endpoint SecurityMicrosoft Defender for CloudSophos Intercept XMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: AVG, Avast Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, McAfee Home, Microsoft Defender, Sophos Intercept X
Three alternatives
Avast Business, NinjaOne, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender for CloudFive alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Central, Sophos Intercept XFour alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, Avast Business, Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for CloudFour alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, Bitdefender GravityZone, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Sophos Intercept X for EndpointsKimi K2Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointMicrosoft Defender for CloudChangedMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon GoMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: Avast Businessno first choiceagainst: Carbon Black, CrowdStrike Falcon, Norton Small Business, Sophos Intercept X, basic McAfee
Two alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, Huntress Managed EDRThree alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos MDRFive alternatives
ESET PROTECT, Huntress Managed EDR, SentinelOne Singularity Control, Sophos Intercept X, ThreatDownTwo alternatives
CrowdStrike Falcon Go, Huntress Managed EDRThree alternatives
CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointGLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for CloudHeldagainst: CrowdStrike FalconHuntress Managed EDRBitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security, Sophos Intercept Xno first choiceagainst: CrowdStrike Falcon, ESET PROTECT, Kaspersky Endpoint Security, Microsoft Defender, Sophos Endpoint Protection, Symantec Endpoint Security
Four alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Malwarebytes for Business, SentinelOne SingularityTwo alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security, Sophos Intercept XSeven alternatives
Acronis Cyber Protect, Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, Datto Endpoint Detection & Response, ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SentinelOne SingularityTwo alternatives
Huntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for CloudMiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sophos Intercept XBitdefender GravityZone, Microsoft Defender for CloudChangedHuntress Managed EDRBitdefender GravityZoneno first choiceagainst: AVG, Avast Business, CrowdStrike Falcon, Microsoft Defender
Three alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, ESET PROTECT, SentinelOne SingularityTwo alternatives
Sophos Central Intercept X, Trend Micro Worry-Free Business SecurityTwo alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Cloud, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointFour alternatives
Avira, ESET PROTECT, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Sophos Endpoint ProtectionGPT-6 LunaMicrosoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for CloudHeldMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: SentinelOne SingularityMicrosoft Defender for Cloudno first choiceagainst: Cisco Secure Endpoint, CrowdStrike, Elastic, Kaspersky Endpoint Security, Trellix Endpoint Security Suite
Two alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, Sophos MDROne alternative
Huntress Managed EDRFour alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon Go, Huntress Managed EDR, Sophos Intercept XOne alternative
Huntress Managed EDRMuse Glimmer 30BHuntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for CloudChangedHuntress Managed EDR, Microsoft Defender for CloudMicrosoft Defender for Cloudagainst: Bitdefender GravityZoneno first choiceagainst: Avast Business, CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint, Trend Micro Apex One, Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Six alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon Go, ManageEngine Endpoint Central, SentinelOne Singularity, Sophos Intercept X, ThreatDown EliteTwo alternatives
Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security, Sophos Intercept XThree alternatives
Acronis EDR from Nexcess / Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity EndpointOne alternative
CrowdStrike Falcon GoBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Eighty-four rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 09:28 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 14:05 | yes | 3 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 13:31 | yes | 9 | 22 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 14:35 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 15:22 | yes | 10 | 13 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 10:41 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 19:29 | yes | 19 | 35 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 14:51 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 17:11 | yes | 5 | 24 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 10:23 | yes | 14 | 21 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 13:47 | yes | 10 | 15 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 15:30 | yes | 15 | 60 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 09:42 | yes | 4 | 15 s |
| Direct recommendation | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 19:26 | yes | 15 | 22 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 12:57 | no | 0 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 13:48 | yes | 3 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 08:53 | no | 0 | 14 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 11:01 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 16:38 | yes | 5 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 13:43 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 13:06 | yes | 20 | 28 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 13:58 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 17:12 | no | 0 | 32 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 15:38 | yes | 19 | 36 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 13:03 | yes | 25 | 60 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 12:52 | no | 0 | 18 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 17:44 | yes | 3 | 12 s |
| Paraphrase | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 10:22 | yes | 14 | 27 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 17:19 | yes | 9 | 8 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 10:12 | yes | 6 | 9 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 12:05 | no | 0 | 20 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 15:30 | yes | 10 | 5 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 16:02 | yes | 5 | 24 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 18:26 | yes | 5 | 8 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 11:09 | yes | 23 | 54 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 15:52 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 10:18 | yes | 10 | 33 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 13:22 | yes | 20 | 80 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 09:54 | yes | 24 | 78 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 08:57 | yes | 8 | 24 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 14:51 | yes | 6 | 22 s |
| Comparative | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 15:52 | yes | 14 | 26 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:09 | yes | 15 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 18:36 | yes | 1 | 7 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 17:40 | yes | 6 | 20 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 14:37 | yes | 10 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 17:15 | yes | 7 | 13 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 09:41 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 13:19 | yes | 24 | 21 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 17:41 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 13:03 | yes | 10 | 81 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 11:22 | yes | 13 | 41 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 11:34 | yes | 25 | 48 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 18:15 | yes | 15 | 54 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 12:28 | yes | 2 | 9 s |
| Budget constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 16:35 | yes | 13 | 23 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:38 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 11:54 | no | 0 | 7 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 09:13 | no | 0 | 16 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 17:46 | yes | 10 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 19:10 | yes | 5 | 13 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 11:18 | no | 0 | 6 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 09:11 | yes | 20 | 32 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 12:46 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 12:04 | yes | 5 | 25 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 13:14 | yes | 14 | 39 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 19:14 | yes | 9 | 32 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 11:01 | no | 0 | 123 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 08:56 | yes | 3 | 11 s |
| Scale constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 14:52 | no | 0 | 1 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 10:50 | yes | 17 | 9 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 16:16 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 12:54 | yes | 15 | 26 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 18:15 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 16:55 | yes | 10 | 13 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 14:03 | yes | 10 | 7 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 18:48 | yes | 22 | 47 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 10:22 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 18:03 | yes | 5 | 31 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 10:35 | yes | 17 | 64 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 10:59 | yes | 25 | 86 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 18:47 | yes | 5 | 39 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 14:23 | yes | 4 | 33 s |
| Negative framing | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 09:17 | yes | 24 | 36 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
ShowHide
Category-scoped readings
Avast Business Security read as Avast Business
BitDefender read as Bitdefender GravityZone
Bitdefender read as Bitdefender GravityZone
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security read as Bitdefender GravityZone
Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business read as Bitdefender GravityZone Small Business Security
Broadcom (Symantec Endpoint Security) read as Symantec Endpoint Security
Cisco read as Cisco Secure Endpoint
CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection read as CrowdStrike Falcon
CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection Platform read as CrowdStrike Falcon
ESET read as ESET PROTECT
ESET PROTECT Entry read as ESET PROTECT
Huntress read as Huntress Managed EDR
Kaspersky read as Kaspersky Endpoint Security
SentinelOne read as SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint
Sophos read as Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Endpoint read as Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Endpoint (Intercept X) read as Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Intercept X for Business read as Sophos Intercept X
Symantec read as Symantec Endpoint Security
Symantec Endpoint Protection (now Broadcom) read as Symantec Endpoint Security
Trellix read as Trellix Endpoint Security Suite
Trend Micro read as Trend Micro Apex One
Webroot read as Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Webroot (OpenText Core Endpoint) read as Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Webroot (now OpenText Core Endpoint Protection) read as Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Unresolved, counted raw
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office
Acronis EDR from Nexcess / Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud
Bitdefender Business Security
Cynet CyOps
Datto Endpoint Detection & Response
Emsisoft
McAfee Consumer
McAfee Home
SentinelOne Singularity for small business
Sophos Central Intercept X
User Management Module - Blue Soft
WatchGuard Endpoint Security
basic McAfee
wisper 360
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.