This is a question we get asked frequently and the general answer is: yes, Huntress works great alongside traditional antivirus products! Many organizations use Huntress EDR as an additional layer of security to their existing antivirus like Bitdefender, ESET, Webroot, etc. The only thing to note is that you may need to add Huntress as an excluded/allowed app in your antivirus settings to prevent any false-positives from the naturally thorough monitoring and scanning that the Huntress agent does. Huntress has a great support article on which assets you'll need to exclude: https://support.huntress.io/hc/en-us/articles/4404005178771-Allow-List-Huntress-in-Third-Party-Software-AV-NGAV-DR
Because Huntress is more than an antivirus - its an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution! EDR goes beyond traditional antivirus programs that rely on interval scanning and instead has constant, granular visibility into endpoint behavior to learn what is "normal" and what is "abnormal". EDR aims to catch threats early and quickly - not wait for a nightly scan to quarantine it. Plus, with Huntress you have a 24/7 human-operated SOC watching your back!
Want to learn more about how EDR works and what to look for from a vendor? Read our buyer's guide here.
In our opinion: yes! In 2025, Windows Defender is considered a capable baseline antivirus and has massively improved from it's earlier days. Coupled with Huntress EDR, you've got a solid endpoint security stack. This is especially great for organizations who are on a tighter budget and aren't able to invest in a paid antivirus solution AND an EDR solution. Additionally, Huntress can also integrate tightly with both Defender and Defender for Endpoint to manage scan behavior, hide the Defender UI from users, and feed additional endpoint events and heuristics into Huntress.
Ready to add Huntress EDR to your security stack? Congrats, you've made an excellent choice! As an authorized Huntress reseller, we offer up to 30% off MSRP and can get you up and running quickly. Get an instant quote online or contact us today to learn more!
