How to choose endpoint security for a small business

Executive summary

The cheapest endpoint security product is rarely the right one for a small business, because what you pay for is how much of the security work the product does without you. Ten seats can cost as little as $300.00 a year (Webroot Business Endpoint Protection). List prices across the 17 products tracked here run from $30.00 to $179.99 per endpoint or user per year, checked as of 2026-10-02.

Three kinds of product compete for the same budget:

• Antivirus, or endpoint protection (EPP). Blocks known and suspicious malware on its own. Cheap, and it asks almost nothing of you. It cannot tell you what an intruder did after getting in.
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR). Records activity on each device so an attack can be traced and contained, and in many products rolled back. Someone has to read the alerts.
• Managed EDR or MDR. The vendor's analysts read those alerts day and night and contain what they find. Only 3 of the 17 products here put that service in the base price.

For a business under 25 people with no IT staff, one question settles most of the decision: who will respond to an alert at 2am? If the honest answer is "nobody", buy managed response, or buy an EPP product and accept that it only blocks. The mistake to avoid is a third path: paying for a full EDR console that nobody opens.

What is endpoint security, and what does a small business need?

Endpoint security is software on each laptop, desktop and server that stops malicious code and records what happens on the device. For a small business it replaces the consumer antivirus that shipped with the PC. The business editions add a single console showing every device, company-wide policy (blocking USB drives, for example) and per-seat licensing under one account.

The market has three layers, each built on the one below:

The layers are not quality grades. A well-tested EPP product stops most commodity malware without anyone touching it. EDR and MDR earn their price on the attacks that slip past blocking, where an intruder uses legitimate admin tools or a stolen password, and they earn it only when someone responds.

Why does a small business need more than free antivirus in 2026?

Small businesses are in scope for the same attacks as everyone else. Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found ransomware in 48% of all breaches, and found that 31% of breaches now start with a software vulnerability, overtaking stolen passwords as the top way in. IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026 put the global average breach at $4.99 million, a record and 12% higher than a year earlier. A ten-person firm will lose less than that in absolute terms. It also has far less cash to absorb whatever it does lose.

Free and consumer antivirus falls short in two ways that matter to an employer:

1. No central view. You cannot confirm that the laptop a departing employee took home is still protected.
2. No policy control. You cannot block USB storage, force updates or cut an infected machine off the network remotely.

Read the licence as well. Many consumer products are licensed for personal use only.

Which endpoint security vendors should a small business consider?

The table below orders every product in the database by SMB Fit Score. The score weighs four things: independent test evidence (35%), price level and transparency (25%), how easily a small team can run the product (25%) and capability coverage (15%). A product with no published price loses points for that by design, even if it detects well, because a buyer cannot compare what they cannot see.

#	Product	Price at 10 seats	24/7 managed response	Min seats	SMB Fit Score
01	Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security	$38.50 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	3	78
02	ESET PROTECT Core	$54.90 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	5	77
03	Microsoft Defender for Business	$36.00 /user/yr	Not offered	1	75
04	Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security Premium	$88.00 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	5	74
05	Avast Ultimate Business Security	$56.77 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	1	72
06	Acronis Cyber Protect	$85.00 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	1	70
07	CrowdStrike Falcon Go	$59.99 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	1	62
08	Webroot Business Endpoint Protection	$30.00 /endpoint/yr	Add-on	5	55
09	ThreatDown Elite	$99.00 /endpoint/yr	Included	5	52
10	ThreatDown Advanced	$79.00 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	5	51
11	Sophos Endpoint	Quote only	Not offered	1	42
12	SentinelOne Singularity Control	$79.99 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	5	37
13	Huntress Managed EDR	Min 50 seats	Included	50	35
14	Cynet	Quote only	Included	1	34
15	SentinelOne Singularity Complete	$179.99 /endpoint/yr	Not offered	5	33
16	WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360	Quote only	Add-on	1	27
17	Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Advanced	Quote only	Not offered	Not stated	24

Read the ranking in three bands:

• Self-serve endpoint protection. Low per-seat prices, bought online in minutes, little to manage. The strongest fit for very small teams that want protection without a project.
• EDR platforms. Deeper detection and investigation, with the alerts left to you: the vendor's own managed response is a paid add-on for only 1 of the 8 EDR products here. They suit a business with an IT person or a managed service provider (MSP). Our comparison of EDR for small businesses weighs them against each other.
• Managed EDR and MDR bundles. The 3 products with analysts in the base price cost the most per seat. They replace work a small business would otherwise leave undone.

How should a small business evaluate endpoint security?

Ask five questions, in this order. The early ones remove more candidates than the later ones.

1. Who will respond to alerts?

This fixes the category before price enters the conversation. With no IT staff and no MSP, rule out self-managed EDR unless someone is contracted to watch it: the vendor, where it sells managed response, or an outside provider. With an MSP, confirm the product has multi-tenant management and connects to the MSP's remote-management tools; each product page records both.

2. What will it cost at your seat count, all-in?

The headline per-seat price is where the sums start, not where they end. Check four things:

• Seat minimums. 7 of the 17 products have a minimum purchase above one seat. Huntress Managed EDR bought direct or from a reseller carries a 50-endpoint minimum, so a 10-person firm buying that way pays for the whole minimum; through an MSP, Huntress sets no minimum, and the MSP sets the price.
• The unit. Microsoft licenses Defender for Business per user. Most rivals price per device, so a person with a laptop and a desktop counts once with Microsoft and twice elsewhere.
• Add-ons. Managed response, patching and email security are often extra.
• Renewal terms. SentinelOne's Master Subscription Agreement (section 11.1) renews at 120% of the last order if the customer neither gives notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before the term ends nor issues a renewal purchase order. That clause is recorded on the SentinelOne Singularity Complete page.

3. Is there independent evidence it works?

Three test programmes matter for business endpoint products. AV-Test scores protection, performance and usability out of 6. AV-Comparatives runs a twice-yearly Business Security Test that reports protection rates and false alarms. MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations replay a simulated attack and publish what each EDR product saw at each step, without ranking anyone.

A product with no public results is untested in public, which is different from weak. You are taking the vendor's word for it. Results older than 18 months count as dated here. The guide to reading lab results explains what each score does and does not tell you.

4. Can your team run it?

For a business without security staff, three things decide this: can you buy it online, can you deploy it in an afternoon, and can you then leave it alone? 10 of the 17 products can be bought without a sales call. Check the free-trial length too, and whether the console is written for a security analyst or for an office manager.

5. What does the contract commit you to?

Annual prepayment is standard and auto-renewal is common. Write down the cancellation notice window and any renewal uplift before you sign; every product page records them under "How much does it cost?".

A selection process that works in a week

1. Day 1: Decide who responds to alerts. That picks the category.
2. Day 1: Filter to products that sell at your seat count and meet your compliance needs.
3. Day 2: Shortlist three, at least one with recent independent test results.
4. Days 2 to 6: Trial them side by side on two or three real machines. Time the deployment and count the alerts that needed a human.
5. Day 7: Compare three-year cost at your seat count, add-ons and renewal terms included, and buy.

How much does endpoint security cost a small business?

Among vendors that publish prices, a year of 10 seats costs between $300.00 (Webroot Business Endpoint Protection) and $1,799.90 (SentinelOne Singularity Complete). The median list price is $69.50 per endpoint or user per year, and 4 of the 17 products publish no price at all.

The six products below mark the steps in that range, from the cheapest self-serve antivirus to the most expensive EDR:

Product	Per unit per month	10 seats / yr	25 seats / yr	100 seats / yr
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection	$2.50 /endpoint/mo	$300.00	$750.00	$3,000.00
Microsoft Defender for Business	$3.00 /user/mo	$360.00	$900.00	$3,600.00
ThreatDown Advanced	$6.58 /endpoint/mo	$790.00	Via sales (online up to 20)	Via sales (online up to 20)
ThreatDown Elite	$8.25 /endpoint/mo	$990.00	Via sales (online up to 20)	Via sales (online up to 20)
SentinelOne Singularity Complete	$15.00 /endpoint/mo	$1,799.90	$4,499.75	$17,999.00
Huntress Managed EDR	Min 50 seats	Min 50 seats	Min 50 seats	$9,588.00

Four things move the number:

• Managed response. Analysts are the expensive part. The cheapest bundle with 24/7 response included is $99.00 per seat per year, against $30.00 for the cheapest antivirus.
• Seat volume. Most vendors charge a flat rate: only 3 of the 9 with 10-seat and 100-seat prices discount the larger order.
• Pricing unit. Per-user and per-device prices cannot be compared until you count devices per person.
• Quote-only pricing. Vendors that hide prices sell through resellers and MSPs, so the price depends on the partner. Get two quotes.

The full table at 10, 25 and 100 seats is in what endpoint security costs a small business in 2026.

How long does it take to deploy endpoint security?

For a business under 50 devices, deployment takes hours. Nearly every product here is cloud-managed: you open an account, send an install link, and each device reports into the console within minutes. Four jobs take the time:

1. Removing the old antivirus. Two real-time scanners on one machine slow it down and fight each other. Uninstall the old product first, or use the new vendor's removal tool.
2. Finding every device. The laptop that is rarely in the office is the one that gets missed. Reconcile the console against your asset list before you call the rollout finished.
3. Setting policy once. Turn on automatic updates and tamper protection, block USB storage if nobody needs it, then leave the defaults alone.
4. Naming who gets the alerts. Even a fully automatic product sends a weekly report and the occasional critical warning. One named person should read them.

What is changing in endpoint security in 2026?

• Attackers exploit software faster. Verizon's 2026 DBIR has vulnerabilities overtaking stolen passwords as the leading initial access route. Products with vulnerability assessment or patch management gain value; check the capability matrix on each product page.
• Ransomware is everywhere, but payouts are shrinking. The same report ties ransomware to nearly half of breaches while payments fall. Recovery, such as ransomware rollback, matters more when refusing to pay is the plan.
• AI is on both sides. IBM's 2026 report records a 56% rise in AI-driven attacks, and a $1.93 million average saving for organisations using security AI and automation extensively. For a small business, "AI-powered" on a vendor's homepage is worth less than a current lab result.
• Managed response has come down-market. Bundles priced per seat for small businesses now sit alongside enterprise MDR. The managed-response ranking tracks them.

Which endpoint security is best for my type of business?

Under 25 devices, no IT staff

Buy automatic blocking you can purchase online and forget. An EPP product with strong, recent lab results is usually enough. If you hold sensitive client data and nobody can respond to alerts, step up to a managed bundle instead of a bare EDR console. Start from the antivirus ranking.

Already paying for Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Check before you buy anything. Microsoft Defender for Business is included in Business Premium, according to Microsoft's product page, so many small firms already own an EDR licence they have never switched on. The Microsoft Defender for Business page records what it lacks, including ransomware rollback and 24/7 managed response, which Microsoft does not sell for this product.

25 to 250 devices, run by an MSP

Look for multi-tenant management, integration with your MSP's remote-monitoring (RMM) and ticketing (PSA) tools, and whether the MSP resells a managed service. EDR platforms fit here because the MSP is the responder. Start from the EDR ranking.

Regulated: healthcare, finance, legal, defence supply chain

If you handle health data, get a signed HIPAA Business Associate Agreement before deployment. 4 of the 17 products are recorded as offering one. Two managed bundles fall short here. Huntress says it does not provide BAAs because its products do not access, use or disclose health information, and ThreatDown's maker Malwarebytes does not sign them because its products are not designed to handle ePHI. Check PCI DSS support, CMMC relevance and FedRAMP status in the same table:

Product	HIPAA BAA	Supports PCI DSS	CMMC-relevant	FedRAMP
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	unknown
ESET PROTECT Core	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	none
Microsoft Defender for Business	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	unknown
Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security Premium	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	unknown
Avast Ultimate Business Security	No	Unknown	Unknown	none
Acronis Cyber Protect	Yes	Yes	Unknown	none
CrowdStrike Falcon Go	Unknown	Yes	Yes	authorized
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	none
ThreatDown Elite	No	Yes	Unknown	none
ThreatDown Advanced	No	Yes	Unknown	none
Sophos Endpoint	Unknown	Yes	Yes	none
SentinelOne Singularity Control	Yes	Yes	Yes	authorized
Huntress Managed EDR	No	Unknown	Yes	none
Cynet	Unknown	Yes	Yes	none
SentinelOne Singularity Complete	Yes	Yes	Yes	authorized
WatchGuard Endpoint Security 360	Unknown	Yes	Unknown	none
Trend Micro Worry-Free Services Advanced	Yes	Unknown	Unknown	none

What is the business case for endpoint security?

The case rests on three numbers you can estimate yourself:

1. Avoided loss. IBM's $4.99 million average overstates what a 10-person firm would lose. A small fraction of it still dwarfs a four-figure licence.
2. Insurance. If you hold or plan to buy cyber cover, read the application form. Its questions about endpoint protection and response tell you what the insurer expects to see.
3. Staff time. A product that blocks automatically and alerts rarely costs almost nothing to run. A console nobody understands costs attention you do not have.

Frequently asked questions

Recommendations

1. Decide who responds before comparing products. That single choice rules out whole categories.
2. Compare the total at your real seat count, minimums, add-ons and renewal terms included, never the headline per-seat price.
3. Favour products with recent independent test results. Read "no public results" as unverified.
4. Check what you already own. Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers have Defender for Business in the bundle.
5. Trial two or three products on real machines. Deployment time and alert volume are costs no price list shows.
6. Diary the renewal notice date the day you sign. Our prices are re-checked against each vendor's page by a weekly automated job, and any change is logged in the changelog.

Methodology and caveats

This guide pulls every price, seat count, capability, compliance flag and score from the Endpoint Index database at every build, so the figures here and on the product pages cannot drift apart. On a product page, each value carries its source link, its last verification date and, where one exists, an archived screenshot.

• Prices are US dollar list prices from the vendor's own store, calculator or pricing page. Promotions, reseller discounts and taxes are excluded. Quote-only products appear in rankings without a price.
• Lab results come from AV-Test, AV-Comparatives and MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations. Anything older than 18 months is marked dated and adds nothing to the score.
• The SMB Fit Score rates suitability for a small-business buyer. It is not a measure of raw security strength, and the same published formula applies to every product.
• Coverage. The database holds 17 products from 14 vendors, not the whole market. Listing is free; vendors can ask to be added.
• Commercial relationships. Some product pages carry affiliate links. No payment changes a score, a rank, an inclusion or a sentence in this guide.

Use this guide as information, not as procurement or legal advice, and confirm prices and contract terms with the vendor before you buy.

Sources

1. Verizon. 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report. Ransomware in 48% of breaches; 31% of breaches starting with a software vulnerability. Checked 2026-09-30.
2. IBM Security. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026. $4.99 million average breach cost, 56% rise in AI-driven attacks, $1.93 million saving from extensive security AI and automation. Checked 2026-09-30.
3. SentinelOne. Master Subscription Agreement, section 11.1. Renewal at 120% without 30 days' notice.
4. Microsoft. Microsoft Defender for Business. Standalone pricing and inclusion in Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
5. AV-Test Institute. Tests of business endpoint protection.
6. AV-Comparatives. Business Security Test 2026 (March to June).
7. MITRE. ATT&CK Evaluations: Enterprise results.
8. Endpoint Index. Product pages for each product named, with per-value sources and verification dates. Last price verification in this dataset: 2026-10-02.