If you’re looking to protect your company PCs from malware then you could just equip each one with your preferred free antivirus package. You’ll get a reasonable level of protection, and it might well seem like you’re keeping costs to a minimum.

Of course you’ll have to manually install each copy. And train every user in its operation. And rely on them to let you know if there are any problems. And hope they won’t turn off particular functions – or remove the whole package if they think it’s getting in their way. The software may be free, but it could still have some major costs attached.

If you have plenty of systems to protect – 10 or more, let’s say – it could make more sense to choose a business security solution. These can often be remotely installed over the network, and offer a central management console to monitor devices, and create fine-tuned security policies to enforce your preferred settings.

Best of all, the price per installation can sometimes be cheaper than even our recommended best home antivirus packages. So, what’s on offer? We’ve checked out eight of the best business antivirus tools around in order to find out.

Most offer discounts if you buy a two or three-year package, so where possible we ordered them by their 10 PC, two-year package prices to maximise your savings. You can, of course, choose whichever package suits your needs best when buying.

All prices below are for one-year and five end points. You can of course customise these on the vendor’s website.

1. Avast Endpoint Protection Advanced

Platforms: Windows | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, remote management | Users/nodes: 1-100 | Standard licence period: 1-3 years | Trial: 30-days

Easy-to-use

Nicely priced with flexible licensing

Short on features

Protects PCs only

If Avast Endpoint Protection looks cheap, that’s because it’s the most basic business product the company offers – there’s core antivirus, browsing protection and remote management for PCs only. That may well be enough, though, and even if it isn’t, moving up to the Endpoint Plus edition will get you a firewall, spam filter and server protection while still remaining good value.

The web-based management console covers the basics only: remote installations, updates, plus there’s a scheduler for automatic scanning, real-time security alerts, and so on.

The antivirus protection you get is generally rated as good by independent testing, with Avast’s engine blocking 99.7% of threats in AV-Comparative’s September 2016 Real-World Protection report. If value for money and simplicity are key factors, Avast Endpoint Protection could be a sensible choice.

2. Symantec Endpoint Protection

Platforms: Windows, Windows Server, macOS, Linux, Virtual Environments | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, firewall, application control, device control, remote management | Users/nodes: 1-350 | Standard licence period: 1-3 years | Trial: 60-days

Multiple layers of protection

Lots of security policy options

No mobile device protection

It isn’t cheap

Symantec Endpoint Protection’s first benefit is the company’s Insight file reputation technology, an effective way to detect and block even the very latest undiscovered threats.

Other layers of protection include antivirus, behaviour monitoring, intrusion protection, a firewall, and the ‘Power Eraser’ to remove stubborn threats and repair your system.

Symantec’s security policy options are a real highlight. You can set application blacklists or whitelists, control file and Registry access, restrict and control access to external media, and more, then monitor systems and enforce policies from a central console.

While there’s no bundled protection for mobile devices, the package runs just about everywhere else: PCs, Macs, and a host of virtual environments and Linux distros.

Symantec Endpoint Protection isn’t cheap, but if you need its high-end features and policy control options then it still looks like a good deal to us.

3. Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security

Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, firewall, device control, user control, remote management | Users/nodes: 3-50 | Standard licence period: 1-3 years | Trial: 30-days

Lots of features

Granular policy settings

Complex setup

No mobile device support

If reliable protection is a top priority, Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security needs to be on your shortlist. Bitdefender products are loved by the independent testing labs, highly rated for malware detection, removal, performance and usability.

Most of the features work automatically – antimalware, firewall, web advisor, URL filtering – but you can also customise the product to control user actions. You’re able to restrict access to certain websites and applications, block the transmission of sensitive information, remotely deploy the product to unprotected systems, and allow or deny users the ability to modify their security settings.

All this is managed from a central console where you can control and monitor remote users, create and apply custom security policies by user, location (the product adapts when users are outside the company), and more.

4. Avira Antivirus for Endpoint

Platforms: Windows | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, baseline network protection, remote management | Users/nodes: 3-10,000 | Standard licence period: 1-3 years | Trial: 30-days

Reliable protection

Simple to use

Windows-only

A little expensive for what you get

Avira Antivirus for Endpoint is the company’s main small business product. It takes all the core features you’d expect – antivirus, baseline network protection, web filtering – and extends them with file server protection and optimisation, along with application whitelisting and blacklisting.

Avira’s Online Essentials web console lets you manage your devices. This is simpler than some of the high-end competition, but that’s not necessarily a disadvantage, and there’s some useful functionality here: drive partition reports, licence management, remote deployment, and assorted mobile phone tools (antitheft, phone finder, and more).

Avira Antivirus for Endpoint doesn’t have the longest of feature lists, but it’s easy to use, and offers excellent protection, regularly matching competitors like Bitdefender and Kaspersky in AV-Comparative’s Real World tests.

5. Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud 1.0

Platforms: Windows, Windows Server, iOS, Android | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, firewall, device and web controls, remote management | Users/nodes: 10-150 | Standard licence period: 1-3 years | Trial: 30-days

Highly rated in independent testing

Mobile device support

No Mac/Linux support

Relatively expensive

Endpoint Security Cloud is Kaspersky’s latest small business product, which comes ready to protect Windows PCs, file servers, Android and iOS devices.

The desktop side of the package has all the usual quality Kaspersky modules – antivirus, antispam, a firewall, more – but the mobile security technologies are even more impressive. There are tools to detect insecure devices, control password rules, manage camera use, filter unwanted calls and texts, and remotely lock or wipe data from lost devices.

That’s topped off with an easy-to-use web console managing network and Bluetooth configuration, internet access policies, device settings and more.

There’s impressive levels of protection, too. Kaspersky Endpoint Security Cloud came first out of four contenders in AV-Comparatives’ October 2016 Business Security Test, detecting and blocking 100% of known malware and exploits. The package also produced an above-average five false positives, so overall, it put in some impressive results.

Only available through value added resellers and specialist online retailers

6. Webroot SecureAnywhere Business Endpoint Protection

Platforms: Windows, Windows Server, macOS, Virtual Environments | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, outbound firewall, identity and privacy shield, remote management | Users/nodes: 1-249 | Standard licence period: 1 year | Trial: 30-days

Lightweight system footprint

Fast scanning

Core antivirus features only

Mobile support requires a different product

Webroot SecureAnywhere products stand out immediately for being incredibly lightweight: they’re tiny (2MB disk space), install so quickly you’ll barely notice (from 5 seconds), and consume the absolute minimum of system resources.

Scans are fast, too, and because just about everything is done in the cloud, there are no bulky updates or definitions to download – you’re always up-to-date.

Other features include behaviour monitoring, an outbound firewall, along with identity and privacy protection. These don’t always have the power and options of other tools, but they’re implemented with real intelligence, and generally cope well with day-to-day tasks.

A cloud-based console enables tracking all your installations, and the package runs on just about any Windows or macOS system.

Factor in the price and Webroot looks very appealing to us, but it really is a product you need to try for yourself to understand the benefits. If you’re interested, grab a copy of the trial and see what it can do for you.

7. F-Secure Client Security Standard

Platforms: Windows, Windows Server, macOS, Virtual Environments | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, firewall, patch management, device and web controls, remote management | Users/nodes: Varies | Standard licence period: 1 year | Trial: 30-days

Lots of features

Decent detection rates

Too many false positives

Protects PCs only

F-Secure Client Security Standard is a popular endpoint protection tool, highly rated by the independent testing labs.

Antivirus is just the start. There’s also a firewall, intrusion detection, web filtering, online banking protection and device control.

If you need more, the Premium edition adds a software updater to scan for missing patches, and an option to restrict a user’s web access by category. Whatever version you buy may be deployed and managed from a central console.

There are some issues here, in particular the fact that F-Secure’s engine is more likely than most to flag legitimate software as malicious. But overall F-Secure Client Security Standard offers good protection for a reasonable price, and it’s certainly a product worth thinking about.

Only available through value added resellers and specialist online retailers

8. Sophos Endpoint Protection Advanced 10.6

Platforms: Windows, macOS | Features: Antivirus, browsing protection, device control, application control, data control (DLP), remote management | Users/nodes: Varies | Standard licence period: 1 year | Trial: 30-days

Good detection rates

Few false positives

Some PC slowdown can be evident

Relatively high price

Sophos Endpoint Protection Advanced is a powerful tool which uses many technologies to keep you safe. It blocks dangerous URLs, and is capable of detecting and removing exploit code, analysing behaviour to uncover even the very newest threats, and identifying endpoint connections with malicious servers to find compromised systems.

The results can be impressive, with the core engine doing an above-average job of blocking zero day threats, yet raising almost no false alerts at all.

There’s a price to pay for this kind of safety, though: Sophos Endpoint Protection’s background activities can noticeably impact your PC’s performance.

There are some business-friendly features to compensate, including DLP along with device and application control, although other packages give you more at a much lower cost.

Only available through value added resellers and specialist online retailers