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Fortinet FortiMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cloudflare One
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (13th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (22nd), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (13th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (9th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th), Access Management (11th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (9th), ZTNA (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (9th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (3rd)
Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (13th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.7%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 2.9%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 3.2%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail2.9%
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)3.2%
Cloudflare One1.7%
Other92.2%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

CV
Network Architect at IP Dimension
Cloud security has improved remote access and has reduced costs for smaller client sites
I have used Cloudflare One's Identity-Aware Proxy, and it is quite straightforward from what I have seen so far. The app registration on the Azure side integrates fully into Cloudflare, and I am very satisfied with that part because it is easy to set up. The integration of Cloudflare One's Secure Web Gateway and Zero Trust Network Access works without any issues. That part is pretty automatic, and if you complete the rest of the setup, it comes together by itself with no issues from my side. What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection. The hops get shorter and you get better latency. We have done testing to see if it is better. One thing that we did notice with our proof of concept with our current client is that they have people connecting from the UK. When they used their previous VPN solution, uploading CAD drawings and other files to the server took a long time. They mentioned that it is much quicker on Cloudflare One's solution. I definitely believe that is part of the improved performance, and I am satisfied with that as well. What is nice about Cloudflare One is that it makes the setup easier and also easier to train technicians to maintain it. Compared to legacy systems, we do not need to get fancy firewalls in place that are costly. That is definitely also a cost-saver with Cloudflare One.
Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl
Targeted email filtering has reduced spam and phishing and now saves significant investigation time
The best features of Fortinet FortiMail include its techniques and tactics, which are highly effective compared to other solutions such as Microsoft 365. Although Fortinet FortiMail may not be as advanced in some aspects, it is well recognized for its strong performance in handling spam and phishing. It performs thorough mail scanning and also offers a sandboxing feature that enhances protection. Fortinet FortiMail has had a positive impact on my organization by significantly reducing unwanted email activities such as spam and phishing. It provides accurate detection and generates results that often exceed what can be achieved through manual analysis. Since deploying Fortinet FortiMail, I have observed a reduction in investigation time by at least 20 to 30 percent.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Enables me to work from two locations."
"The blocking feature is very good."
"What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection."
"It will take the blow rather than our applications should an attack occur."
"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."
"We mostly use Cloudflare WAF, and gets basic Cloudflaire DDoS, caching as extra bonus . We like the factor these features are all integrated into 1 console, simple to manage."
"Cloudflare Access is a stable solution."
"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."
"With the Fortinet FortiMail solution, you have a lot of advantages because of the effectiveness of security."
"It has a very high level of security through special licensing with solutions like FortiGuard, sandboxing solutions in the cloud, and URL rewriting solutions."
"Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature. Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue. Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received. Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail."
"The stability and performance of the solution have been great, and we have not had any problems since we have been using it."
"It is a very reliable program and it works great."
"The anti-spam functionality is good and works well."
"The Fabric aspect of the solution is excellent, with more accuracy in the classification, and all the other functions and features on FortiMail are great; I love them all."
"FortiMail is a stable product."
"We use the solution in all our environments. We use it for remedy tickets and give them updates. It was our main communication point."
"It has a really nice web-based administration console."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) nine out of ten."
"It's all running in the backend, so it doesn't affect the app functionality."
"With Microsoft Exchange Online Protection, if malware is attached to a mailer, it's very easy to go into the incident alert and find out what's happening with that identity and the mail."
"Overall, I think it's really a great product."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is the best email solution with more features and robust security, making it ideal for corporate use."
"It is an easy solution."
 

Cons

"Cloudflare One is not very powerful, but for what we require, it is basic and sufficient."
"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."
"Feedback could be enhanced."
"When there are any dynamic changes in complex applications, the tool takes a lot of time, making its analytics-related area a major matter of concern where improvements are needed."
"The software has automated alerts, but the automated alerts are not available in the mobile app."
"I would like them to include a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."
"Automation could be improved where you can easily add a TLS and SSL certificate to an application or web app if the developer did not include it."
"The free plan has limitations. For example, I can only set up three rules, and the application firewall is unavailable."
"Header inspection and containerization, like on-prem premises sandboxing, need enhancement."
"It can be somewhat difficult to prepare precise or very deep rules to improve security, though the product is very good."
"The product could incorporate even more artificial intelligence to enhance the functionality, but it is a competetive and intelligent product as it."
"The IDE feature in Fortinet is not as good as the rest of the product because it's very difficult to deploy it."
"Online support sometimes takes up to a week to get back to you."
"The UI could be better."
"The only drawback to this solution is that the firmware is frequently updated, and each update results in downtime."
"The product's cybersecurity features could be better."
"It would be helpful for customers if Plan 1 features were included with EOP."
"Online Protection has an issue in that it doesn't provide an option to stop impersonation."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
"The security features could be better and more secure in the next release."
"Our company faces difficulty with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because it's too big, clunky, and difficult for a small client to implement quickly and easily."
"We would like the solution to have more in-built intelligence in the way that it reviews potential security risks, rather than our team constantly having to update the policies."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
"The solution can be complex at times. It would be nice to have the on-server version. It needs to improve the stability as well."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The prices are slightly expensive."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."
"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."
"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."
"I have no information on pricing for the competition because right now, my company is working only with Fortinet, but I can say that in general, the price for Fortinet FortiMail was accepted by the customers easily. The POC is also important when a customer is buying a solution. The customer wants to see how the product runs, and as Fortinet FortiMail is a stable product that runs without big issues, it has a bigger chance of getting chosen by customers over its competitors, even if its price may be a little higher. Pricing for the solution is competitive. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's a little bit higher, but it isn't far from what other solutions charge."
"The product's licensing part depends on the number of mailboxes and the hard disk needed by customers. The cost of the license depends on the number of mailboxes and the number of emails."
"The pricing is good."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"Price-wise, the solution is not far from Microsoft ATP. So, it is affordable."
"The tool is very expensive."
"The solution is reasonably priced compared to one of its competitors."
"The solution is quite pricey compared to other competitors in the market."
"The solution falls on the higher or more expensive side of the spectrum."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection's pricing is a little bit more because its price has recently increased."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"The product's pricing is competitive for the US market."
"It's a high price."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"It is a low-price solution."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?
In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...
What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?
Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they ...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail?
I do have a partnership with Fortinet. I have been both a partner and reseller.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company,...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My experience with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is from an end-user perspective, and I do not have admi...
 

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform
FortiMail
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

23andMe
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
906,418 professionals have used our research since 2012.