Carmen Edwards, from the anti-migrant protest, said: “It was all happy, people were dancing, we were singing. There weren’t no far-right.”
Sharon Smith, who had travelled from nearby Harlow, said she wanted to attend the protest to “protect my grandkids”.
She said: “A lot of people showed up; it was good humoured and [there was] music. Everyone wants the same, [which is to] save our children.”
However, Lewis Nielsen, officer at Stand up to Racism, said: “We think it is a quite dangerous situation in Epping.
“They are potentially heading towards the same kind of violence we saw in August last year, so we think it is important that anti-racists and anti-fascists come out and mobilise against them.
“People are right to be angry about the cost-of-living crisis, the NHS, the housing crisis. None of that was caused by the refugees in that hotel.”
Police had put a dispersal order in place from 12:00 BST on Sunday to 08:00 on Monday, covering the town centre, transport hubs and networks.
This gives officers the power to direct anyone suspected of committing anti-social behaviour, or planning to do so, to leave the area or face arrest.
Ten people had earlier been charged with offences in relation to this month’s disorder in the town, with defendants due to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August.
On Saturday, about 400 anti-immigration protesters and 150 counter-protesters gathered for a demonstration outside a hotel in the Norwich area.
Police said no arrests were made there.