Endpoint Protection

Rapid AI adoption and emerging supplier sovereignty requirements are shaping buyer priorities for endpoint protection products. Buyers should factor in sovereignty objectives, as well as requirements for AI discovery and usage control on corporate endpoints, when selecting vendors.

Market Definition

Gartner defines endpoint protection as security software that protects managed endpoints — including desktop PCs, laptop PCs, virtual desktops, mobile devices and, in some cases, servers — against known and unknown malicious attacks. Endpoint protection equips security teams with the tools necessary to investigate and remediate incidents that evade prevention controls. Endpoint protection products are delivered as software agents deployed to endpoints and connected to centralized security analytics and management consoles.

Endpoint protection provides a defensive security control that protects end-user endpoints against known and unknown malware and fileless attacks using a combination of security techniques, such as static and behavioral analysis. It also uses attack surface reduction capabilities, such as device control, host firewall management and application control to limit exposure to threats. Organizations deploy endpoint protection as part of a defense-in-depth strategy to reduce the endpoint attack surface and minimize the risk of compromise. Its detection and response capabilities help uncover, investigate and remediate threats that evade prevention controls, often as part of broader threat detection, investigation and response (TDIR) products.

Report 2026

Here is a summary of the vendors featured in the Gartner magic quadrant 2026 report.
For the full analysis and detailed insights, you can read the report here and view the magic quadrant graphic here.

Market Status	Market Vendor
Leader	CrowdStrike
Leader	Microsoft
Leader	SentinelOne
Leader	Sophos
Leader	TrendAI
Leader	Palo Alto Networks
Visionary	Bitdefender
Visionary	Check Point Software Technologies
Niche Player	Fortinet
Niche Player	Trellix
Niche Player	WithSecure
Niche Player	Broadcom
Challenger	ESET

Report 2025

Here is a summary of the vendors featured in the Gartner magic quadrant 2025 report.
For the full analysis and detailed insights, you can read the report here and view the magic quadrant graphic here.

Market Status	Market Vendor
Leader	CrowdStrike
Leader	Microsoft
Leader	SentinelOne
Leader	Palo Alto Networks
Leader	Trend Micro
Leader	Sophos
Visionary	Bitdefender
Niche Player	Fortinet
Niche Player	Check Point Software Technologies
Niche Player	WithSecure
Niche Player	Broadcom
Niche Player	Cisco
Niche Player	Cybereason
Challenger	ESET
Challenger	Trellix

Report 2024

Here is a summary of the vendors featured in the Gartner magic quadrant 2024 report.
For the full analysis and detailed insights, you can read the report here and view the magic quadrant graphic here.

Market Status	Market Vendor
Leader	CrowdStrike
Leader	Microsoft
Leader	SentinelOne
Leader	Palo Alto Networks
Leader	Trend Micro
Leader	Sophos
Visionary	Bitdefender
Visionary	Check Point Software Technologies
Visionary	Cisco
Niche Player	Fortinet
Niche Player	WithSecure
Niche Player	Cybereason
Niche Player	Broadcom
Challenger	Trellix
Challenger	ESET