Best endpoint security software (worth paying for?)

We asked 10 models: Which endpoint security products are actually worth paying for? Each named its own top 10.

Asked 4 ways: List request · Buyer asking for advice · Search query · Worth paying for?. Share of voice pools every wording.

Agreement between models: 79%
Same model, run twice: 90%
Different picks: 19

When agreement between models is well below a model's agreement with itself, the split reflects real differences in taste rather than randomness.

The consensus

Each cell is the position that model gave the pick; blank means it left the pick off. Click a row for each model's reasoning.

#	Pick	Listed by	Claude Haiku 5.5	GPT-6 Luna	Gemini 4 Argon	Qwen 3.8 Flash	DeepSeek V4 Pro	GLM-5.3	Kimi K3	MiniMax M3	Mistral Large 4	Nemotron 3 Ultra
1	CrowdStrike Falcon	10/10	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Claude Haiku 5.5 (#1) Strong detection efficacy, lightweight agent, and mature threat intelligence across platforms. Gemini 4 Argon (#1) Unmatched threat hunting, lightweight agent, and industry-leading detection efficacy. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#1) Industry gold standard detection, but premium pricing. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#1) Gold standard for EDR, fastest threat detection and response with unmatched threat intelligence. GLM-5.3 (#1) Best detection and threat hunting; expensive but worth it Kimi K3 (#1) Best detection efficacy, lightweight agent, mature threat intel. MiniMax M3 (#1) Best detection, lightweight agent, strong threat intel Mistral Large 4 (#1) Best-in-class EDR with industry-leading threat detection and response. Nemotron 3 Ultra (#1) Best cloud-native EDR with unmatched threat intelligence GPT-6 Luna (#2) Best-in-class detection and response with lightweight agents and a mature security platform.
2	SentinelOne	10/10	2	3	2	2	3	2	3	3	2	2
Claude Haiku 5.5 (#2) Autonomous response and rollback capabilities that hold up well in ransomware testing. Gemini 4 Argon (#2) Autonomous AI-driven prevention and one-click rollback make it exceptional for lean teams. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#2) Best autonomous prevention and EDR, low analyst overhead. GLM-5.3 (#2) Strong autonomous response, often cheaper than CrowdStrike Mistral Large 4 (#2) Autonomous AI protection that stops threats without human intervention. Nemotron 3 Ultra (#2) Autonomous AI-driven protection with rollback capability GPT-6 Luna (#3) Powerful autonomous response and rollback, with consistently strong endpoint detection. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#3) Autonomous AI-driven prevention, strong ransomware rollback and one-click remediation. Kimi K3 (#3) Strong autonomous response and rollback, great for lean teams. MiniMax M3 (#3) Strong AI-driven detection, autonomous rollback, good ransomware defense
3	Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	10/10	3	1	3	3	2	3	2	2	3	3
GPT-6 Luna (#1) Strong protection, excellent Windows integration, and compelling value when already licensed. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#2) Deep OS integration, excellent value if already in Microsoft 365 E5 ecosystem. Kimi K3 (#2) Excellent value if you're already in Microsoft 365 ecosystem. MiniMax M3 (#2) Excellent value, native Windows integration, solid EDR Claude Haiku 5.5 (#3) Excellent value for Microsoft-centric shops with deep OS integration and solid results. Gemini 4 Argon (#3) Deep native Windows integration and massive value if you already pay for Microsoft licensing. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#3) Incredible value for Microsoft shops; near-top detection. GLM-5.3 (#3) Excellent value if you're already licensed via Microsoft E5 Mistral Large 4 (#3) Deep Windows integration, excellent value, seamless enterprise deployment. Nemotron 3 Ultra (#3) Deep Windows integration, great value in M365 E5
4	Sophos Intercept X	10/10	4	6	5	5	5	4	5	6	4	6
Claude Haiku 5.5 (#4) Consistently strong protection with good anti-ransomware features for mid-sized businesses. GLM-5.3 (#4) Great mid-market option with strong managed services Mistral Large 4 (#4) Strong ransomware protection with easy management for mid-market teams. Gemini 4 Argon (#5) Superior anti-ransomware exploit prevention and straightforward management for mid-market organizations. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#5) Strong ransomware protection, easy managed console. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#5) Excellent ransomware protection, deep learning engine, and affordable for SMBs. Kimi K3 (#5) Best ransomware protection and value for mid-market. GPT-6 Luna (#6) Effective protection and approachable management, especially for lean IT teams. MiniMax M3 (#6) Excellent ransomware protection, managed threat response option Nemotron 3 Ultra (#6) Great anti-exploit tech, excellent for mid-market
5	Bitdefender GravityZone	10/10	7	4	6	4	7	7	6	4	7	7
GPT-6 Luna (#4) Excellent malware prevention and broad features at competitive prices. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#4) Top detection with light agent, great SMB value. MiniMax M3 (#4) Top-rated malware engine, great value for midmarket Gemini 4 Argon (#6) Consistently tops independent malware detection tests with minimal system performance impact. Kimi K3 (#6) Highest prevention scores with minimal false positives. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#7) Top-tier detection scores with low performance overhead and flexible deployment options. GLM-5.3 (#7) High detection rates at a very competitive price Mistral Large 4 (#7) Powerful prevention engine with low system impact, great SMB choice. Nemotron 3 Ultra (#7) High detection rates, low system impact, good value
6	Cortex XDR	8/10	6		4	9	4	5	4		5	4
Gemini 4 Argon (#4) Best-in-class cross-data correlation combining endpoint, network, and cloud telemetry. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#4) Best-in-class cross-layer telemetry, tight integration with their firewalls and cloud. Kimi K3 (#4) Deep network-endpoint correlation if you own Palo Alto firewalls. Nemotron 3 Ultra (#4) Excellent cross-layer detection, strong Palo Alto ecosystem GLM-5.3 (#5) Strong for shops already invested in Palo Alto networks Mistral Large 4 (#5) Superior correlation across endpoint, network, and cloud data sources. Claude Haiku 5.5 (#6) Strong detection and investigation tooling, best suited to organizations already invested in Palo Alto. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#9) Excellent XDR correlation if you run Palo Alto gear.
7	Trend Vision One	6/10	5		7	10	8	6		5
Claude Haiku 5.5 (#5) Broad visibility across endpoints, email, and cloud, though the console can feel busy. MiniMax M3 (#5) Strong XDR, good email and endpoint coverage GLM-5.3 (#6) Long test history, broad platform coverage, reliable XDR Gemini 4 Argon (#7) Strong hybrid cloud workload protection paired with actionable XDR risk insights.
8	ESET PROTECT	7/10	8	5	10		6	9		7	8
GPT-6 Luna (#5) Reliable, low-impact endpoint security with practical centralized administration. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#6) Lightweight footprint, strong offline protection, and superb false-positive rate. MiniMax M3 (#7) Lightweight, very low false positives, strong heuristic detection Claude Haiku 5.5 (#8) Very light on resources and reliable detection, especially for budget-conscious organizations. Mistral Large 4 (#8) Lightweight, dependable, and cost-effective for resource-constrained environments. GLM-5.3 (#9) Lightweight and cheap; lighter feature set than leaders Gemini 4 Argon (#10) Rock-solid, low-overhead endpoint protection with a remarkably low false-positive rate.
9	Trend Micro Apex One	5/10		7		7			7		6	5
Nemotron 3 Ultra (#5) Strong ransomware protection, good management console Mistral Large 4 (#6) Reliable protection with solid vulnerability management capabilities built in. GPT-6 Luna (#7) Broad threat prevention and useful controls for established enterprise environments. Qwen 3.8 Flash (#7) Solid mix of endpoint plus server workload coverage. Kimi K3 (#7) Reliable hybrid protection for on-prem and cloud endpoints.
10	Carbon Black Cloud	6/10				6	10	8	10	9	9
GLM-5.3 (#8) Still solid but has lagged since Broadcom acquisition turmoil Mistral Large 4 (#9) Mature EDR with strong threat hunting and investigation tools. DeepSeek V4 Pro (#10) Strong behavioral analytics and threat hunting, VMware ecosystem synergy. Kimi K3 (#10) Highly configurable policies and strong application control.
11	Trellix Endpoint Security	3/10		8			9			8
GPT-6 Luna (#8) Comprehensive endpoint controls that can make sense in existing Trellix deployments. MiniMax M3 (#8) Solid EDR with strong forensics and policy controls DeepSeek V4 Pro (#9) Mature anti-malware engine with strong DLP and forensics from McAfee lineage.
12	Cisco Secure Endpoint	3/10		10	8						10
Gemini 4 Argon (#8) Worthwhile for Cisco-heavy shops needing seamless network and endpoint threat correlation.
13	Huntress	2/10			9				8
No reasons recorded.
14	Kaspersky Endpoint Security	2/10	9									8
Nemotron 3 Ultra (#8) Top-tier detection engine, despite geopolitical concerns Claude Haiku 5.5 (#9) Excellent detection, but geopolitical and regulatory concerns make it a hard sell for many buyers.
15	Cybereason	3/10						10	9			10
Kimi K3 (#9) Superior operation-centric detection for complex attack chains. GLM-5.3 (#10) Excellent investigation tooling, though smaller vendor risk

4 lower-scoring picks are not shown; every ballot below lists them in full.

Most divisive

Picks most models listed, at very different positions

Cortex XDR#4 for Gemini 4 Argon #9 for Qwen 3.8 Flash
Trend Vision One#5 for Claude Haiku 5.5 #10 for Qwen 3.8 Flash
ESET PROTECT#5 for GPT-6 Luna #10 for Gemini 4 Argon

Hot takes

Picks that appear on only one ballot

Webroot Business Endpoint Protection at #8, only Qwen 3.8 Flash
ESET Endpoint Security at #10, only Claude Haiku 5.5
Malwarebytes Nebula at #10, only MiniMax M3

Every ballot

Hover a pick to find it on the other ballots. Marked picks appear on no other ballot.

Claude Haiku 5.5

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Sophos Intercept X
Trend Vision One
Cortex XDR
Bitdefender GravityZone
ESET PROTECT
Kaspersky Endpoint Security
ESET Endpoint Security

95% with consensus · 92% self-consistent

GPT-6 Luna

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Bitdefender GravityZone
ESET PROTECT
Sophos Intercept X
Trend Micro Apex One
Trellix Endpoint Security
Malwarebytes
Cisco Secure Endpoint

64% with consensus · 95% self-consistent

Gemini 4 Argon

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Cortex XDR
Sophos Intercept X
Bitdefender GravityZone
Trend Vision One
Cisco Secure Endpoint
Huntress
ESET PROTECT

92% with consensus · 96% self-consistent

Qwen 3.8 Flash

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Bitdefender GravityZone
Sophos Intercept X
Carbon Black Cloud
Trend Micro Apex One
Webroot Business Endpoint Protection
Cortex XDR
Trend Vision One

89% with consensus · 70% self-consistent

DeepSeek V4 Pro

CrowdStrike Falcon
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
SentinelOne
Cortex XDR
Sophos Intercept X
ESET PROTECT
Bitdefender GravityZone
Trend Vision One
Trellix Endpoint Security
Carbon Black Cloud

84% with consensus · 84% self-consistent

GLM-5.3

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Sophos Intercept X
Cortex XDR
Trend Vision One
Bitdefender GravityZone
Carbon Black Cloud
ESET PROTECT
Cybereason

94% with consensus · 92% self-consistent

Kimi K3

CrowdStrike Falcon
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
SentinelOne
Cortex XDR
Sophos Intercept X
Bitdefender GravityZone
Trend Micro Apex One
Huntress
Cybereason
Carbon Black Cloud

83% with consensus · 89% self-consistent

MiniMax M3

CrowdStrike Falcon
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
SentinelOne
Bitdefender GravityZone
Trend Vision One
Sophos Intercept X
ESET PROTECT
Trellix Endpoint Security
Carbon Black Cloud
Malwarebytes Nebula

82% with consensus · 94% self-consistent

Mistral Large 4

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Sophos Intercept X
Cortex XDR
Trend Micro Apex One
Bitdefender GravityZone
ESET PROTECT
Carbon Black Cloud
Cisco Secure Endpoint

93% with consensus · 91% self-consistent

Nemotron 3 Ultra

CrowdStrike Falcon
SentinelOne
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Cortex XDR
Trend Micro Apex One
Sophos Intercept X
Bitdefender GravityZone
Kaspersky Endpoint Security
Malwarebytes
Cybereason

85% with consensus · 98% self-consistent

Who agrees with whom

Overlap between two models' lists, weighted toward the top · 100 means identical · Color runs from 58 (lightest) to 95 (darkest)

	Claude Haiku 5.5	GPT-6 Luna	Gemini 4 Argon	Qwen 3.8 Flash	DeepSeek V4 Pro	GLM-5.3	Kimi K3	MiniMax M3	Mistral Large 4	Nemotron 3 Ultra
Claude Haiku 5.5		59	90	83	84	95	79	81	91	85
GPT-6 Luna	59		60	67	70	58	69	76	63	62
Gemini 4 Argon	90	60		85	87	92	87	78	89	89
Qwen 3.8 Flash	83	67	85		77	85	81	81	87	84
DeepSeek V4 Pro	84	70	87	77		85	92	87	84	82
GLM-5.3	95	58	92	85	85		82	80	94	87
Kimi K3	79	69	87	81	92	82		81	85	86
MiniMax M3	81	76	78	81	87	80	81		76	72
Mistral Large 4	91	63	89	87	84	94	85	76		91
Nemotron 3 Ultra	85	62	89	84	82	87	86	72	91