Cloud-first, AI-native Cybersecurity
Grade: A — Score: 95/100
The ESET PROTECT Platform integrates advanced AI-native technologies to deliver next-gen prevention, detection, and proactive threat hunting capabilities. This cloud-first solution ensures that organizations can stay ahead of emerging threats with a robust set of tools designed for modern cybersecurity challenges.
With features like ESET Inspect for threat investigation, incident response capabilities, and vulnerability management, ESET PROTECT streamlines security workflows for IT teams. The platform allows administrators to automate responses to incidents, manage endpoints, and enforce security policies across diverse environments, enhancing operational efficiency.
By minimizing risks through proactive measures and comprehensive threat intelligence, ESET PROTECT helps organizations safeguard their data and maintain compliance with regulatory standards. Its layered security approach addresses various attack vectors, ensuring that businesses are well-protected against both known and unknown threats.
PROTECT Entry: $211/year for 5 devices (first term)
PROTECT Advanced: $275/year for 5 devices (first term)
PROTECT Complete: $287.72/year for 5 devices (first term)
PROTECT Elite: Contact sales (from 25 devices)
PROTECT MDR: Contact sales
Consider switching to CrowdStrike: CrowdStrike offers a similar cloud-native approach with strong emphasis on endpoint protection and threat intelligence.
Both platforms score 4.7/5 on Gartner Peer Insights (CrowdStrike with ~3,000 reviews, ESET with ~1,100). CrowdStrike is cloud-native-only and includes EDR from its lowest tier (Falcon Go at $59.99/device/year), while ESET PROTECT requires the Elite tier (custom pricing) for XDR via ESET Inspect. ESET's core advantage is pricing: the Advanced tier at $55/device/year includes full disk encryption, which CrowdStrike charges separately for. ESET also supports on-premise deployment for air-gapped networks, which CrowdStrike does not offer. CrowdStrike is stronger for organizations that need managed threat hunting and have higher budgets; ESET is stronger for mixed-OS environments where cost-per-device and deployment flexibility matter.
Yes. ESET PROTECT Console is available as a cloud-hosted instance maintained by ESET or as an on-premises installation on your own Windows or Linux server. Both versions share the same core features: policy management, reporting, dynamic groups, and endpoint deployment. The cloud version adds automatic updates, no hardware requirements, and anywhere-access without VPN. The on-prem version supports air-gapped networks and gives full data residency control. You can migrate from on-prem to cloud. ESET is one of the few EPP vendors that still supports full on-prem deployment from the Entry tier.
ESET PROTECT covers Windows (10, 11, Server 2016+), macOS (12+), Linux (Debian, RedHat, Ubuntu, SUSE, Fedora), Android (8.0+), and iOS/iPadOS. The management console itself runs in any modern browser for cloud deployment, or on Windows Server or Linux for on-prem. Server Security supports Windows Server and Linux file servers. Mobile Threat Defense covers Android and iOS with MDM capabilities, and also supports Microsoft Intune, Apple Business Manager, and VMware Workspace ONE for mobile enrollment.
Entry ($211/year for 5 devices) provides endpoint protection, server security, next-gen antivirus, device control, anti-phishing, and ransomware remediation. Advanced ($275/year for 5 devices) adds full disk encryption, cloud sandboxing (ESET LiveGuard), cloud workload protection, and includes Mobile Threat Defense at a 1:1 device ratio. Complete ($287.72/year for 5 devices) adds Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace protection, mail server security, and vulnerability & patch management. Elite and MDR require custom pricing and add XDR (ESET Inspect) and 24/7 managed detection respectively.
ESET Inspect is the platform's XDR component, but it is only included from the Elite tier (custom pricing, minimum 25 devices). It provides root cause analysis with full process trees, IOC search across 30+ indicator types, detection rules mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, and automated incident response. The Entry, Advanced, and Complete tiers include endpoint protection with ransomware remediation and behavioral analysis, but not EDR/XDR. If you need detection and response on a smaller budget, CrowdStrike Falcon includes EDR from its lowest tier, though at a higher per-device cost.
Pricing is nearly identical at the mid-tier: ESET PROTECT Complete costs $287.72/year for 5 devices, while Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security Enterprise runs about $286.99 for comparable coverage. The key differences are deployment and encryption. ESET offers full on-premise deployment from Entry tier and includes full disk encryption from Advanced ($275/year). Bitdefender bundles encryption only in higher tiers. Bitdefender has stronger mobile device management at lower tiers and a more streamlined console that reviewers rate higher for ease of use. ESET has more mature SIEM integrations (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar, Elastic) and broader Linux distribution support.
Yes. ESET PROTECT integrates with major SIEM platforms including Microsoft Sentinel, IBM QRadar, Splunk (announced April 2025), and Elastic Security. It exports data via syslog or REST API in JSON or LEEF format. For RMM/PSA tools, ESET provides dedicated plugins for ConnectWise (including Asio), Kaseya, Datto, and SuperOps. If your RMM is not on that list, you can link it manually via the eRMM function in ESET Endpoint Security. The platform also supports Active Directory synchronization and cloud MDM enrollment through Microsoft Intune, Apple Business Manager, and VMware Workspace ONE.
Yes. ESET runs a dedicated MSP program with 10,000+ MSP partners globally. The program offers daily billing with monthly invoicing (pay only for active seats), self-service seat management, stackable margin discounts, and per-customer filtering in the ESET PROTECT Console. MSPs manage all clients from a single pane of glass with role-based access control. The platform supports RMM/PSA plugins for ConnectWise, Kaseya, Datto, and SuperOps. MSPs can offer any ESET PROTECT tier and scale seats up or down daily without contacting ESET.