Five-year-old cultivated ginseng was processed into ginseng products through direct extraction, microbial fermentation, and enzymatic hydrolysis. The antioxidant effects of these ginseng products were investigated and compared by measuring their in vitro antioxidant activities and cytoprotective effects. The results showed that all ginseng products prepared using the three methods of interest could scavenge free radicals, and the highest DPPH, ABTS+, and hydroxyl radical scavenging rates were 97.80%, 93.70%, and 99.46%, respectively. The cell survival rate of HepG2 cells was 52.68% after inducing damage with 600 μmol/L H2O2 for 2 h, which satisfied the modeling requirements. The highest cell survival rates (exceeding 95%) were observed when the cells were treated with 200 mg/L ginseng products, regardless of the production method. All three ginseng products could significantly increase the survival rate of damaged HepG2 cells (P<0.01), reduce the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and increase the activity of intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the content of glutathione peroxidase (GSH). In particular, the ginseng products obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis demonstrated the most significant effects, with a cell survival rate of 98.10%. In vitro antioxidant activity and cell experiments demonstrated that ginseng extracts, fermentation products, and hydrolysates prepared using different methods all have apparent antioxidant effects. Among them, ginseng hydrolysates exhibited the most remarkable effects. This study provides a reference for the development of antioxidant ginseng products.