Introduction
Although the true market share of security applications often remains hidden, software vendors will claim to dominate a market based on their sales numbers vs. the reported sales numbers of their competitors. However, as a unique alternative, we are able to present the following report based purely on the detection of the applications that tens of thousands of users actually have installed on their endpoints.
Because application detection relies on the
detection capabilities of the OESIS Framework,
data is limited to applications that are included in the framework’s
libraries. Antivirus vendors looking for inclusion in the OESIS
Framework are free to partner with OPSWAT through the OESIS OK
Certification Program, which offers interoperability certification for security applications.
The following charts break the data down by both vendor and product.
Antivirus Vendor Data
This graph breaks the data down by
vendor. Though it might not be expected, companies that offer free products
represent a majority of the market.
It is interesting to note that
Microsoft, not typically associated with antivirus application success,
has captured a significant share with their recent antivirus solutions.
And that brand awareness, even with the significant amount Symantec and
McAfee have does not necessarily translate into having the most
installs.
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Antivirus Product Data
This graph breaks the data down into individual products. Note that specific versions have, for the most part, been eliminated. That is to say, as long as the product name has stayed the same, the data has been combined. For example, AVG Anti-Virus Free would include version 8, 8.5 and 9.
Here we see the free products capturing the top 4 spots. Also worth noting is that Kaspersky’s Internet Security product suite is more popular than its individual antivirus application. Kaspersky is unique in this regard. Symantec’s success on the vendor chart is explained by the appearance of 5 different Symantec products on this graph: Norton AntiVirus, Norton Internet Security, Symantec AntiVirus, Symantec Endpoint Protection and Norton 360.
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Antivirus Vendor Data by Continent
This graph breaks the data down by
the vendor's primary nationality. European vendors, which include: AVAST, Avira, AVG, ESET, Panda, BitDefender, G Data and Sophos total just over 50% of the market.
Whereas US-based vendors, which include: Symantec, Microsoft, McAfee, PC Tools and Sunbelt make up just over 30%.
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Conclusions
It is useful to see the sheer variety of vendors that are occupying a 1-6% antivirus application market share. Though, in the United States, Symantec and McAfee are often positioned as the top choices, the reality is that competition is alive and well in this highly-fragmented sector. Innovations in anti-malware products are therefore, likely partially a function of the increasing variety/intelligence of malware authors as well as a desire to stay afloat in a highly competitive marketplace.
European vendors, which include: AVAST, Avira, AVG, ESET, Panda, BitDefender, G Data and Sophos total just over 50% of the market. Whereas US-based vendors, which include: Symantec, Microsoft, McAfee, PC Tools (acquired by Symantec), Sunbelt and Comodo make up just over 30%.
Microsoft has established itself as a significant competitor in the
security application space, making the WA-based giant a legitimate
challenger to pure-play security
players Symantec
and McAfee.
42% of the product market is controlled by free products, while vendors that primarily offer a free product have a 48% market share. It would appear that end users have as much faith in the ability of free antivirus applications to keep them secure as they do paid antivirus.
The Research
Out of the 50 million endpoints that employ the OESIS Framework, OPSWAT collected data from tens of thousands of volunteers. The information collected from OPSWAT’s various tools had a high rate of correlation. That is to say, when comparing reports, despite these tools having different uses, percentages of antivirus product usage were consistent. This consistency would suggest our data has a high degree of reliability.
Contact and Reproduction Information
Please contact sales@opswat.com for more information on AppRemover, the OESIS Framework, the OESIS OK Certification Program or questions about additional market share data.
Parties interested in hosting this report are free to do so as long as credit is given to OPSWAT, Inc. and a link is provided to http://www.oesisok.com.
A PDF version of the report is available for download 
here.
Reports
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