Barracuda Email Protection vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection comparison

Barracuda Networks and Hornetsecurity are both solutions in the Office 365 Protection category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.8, while Hornetsecurity is ranked #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Additionally, 100% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hornetsecurity users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Barracuda Email Protection and Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection compete in email security solutions. Hornetsecurity holds the upper hand with its extensive feature set, while Barracuda is favored for its affordability and support.

Features: Barracuda Email Protection offers anti-phishing capabilities, an intuitive email encryption process, and ease of customization. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection provides integrated security layers, real-time threat intelligence, and advanced email archiving. Both solutions emphasize ease of use and scalability.

Room for Improvement: Barracuda could enhance its reporting capabilities and offer better integration with external platforms. The policy creation in Barracuda lacks flexibility. Hornetsecurity may improve by offering more competitive pricing, additional user training resources, and expanding its support services. Improvements in user education might also benefit Hornetsecurity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is known for its straightforward deployment and seamless integration into existing systems. Barracuda Email Protection prides itself on easy deployment and strong customer support focused on personalized solutions and quick troubleshooting, making its support services highly-rated.

Pricing and ROI: Barracuda Email Protection is recognized for its cost-effectiveness and strong ROI, appealing to budget-conscious businesses. Although Hornetsecurity requires higher initial investments, it provides a comprehensive security solution, attracting those prioritizing extensive protection despite the costs.

To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda Email Protection vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection Report (Updated: February 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

February 2025

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Helped 845,406 peers since 2012

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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja

Head of Department of Network Communications at Eko electricity

Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis

The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

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LeeMiles

Director, Information Technology at St Albans High School For Girls

Very good threat protection, spam filtering, and cloud backups

Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by default included in certain settings. For instance, for email quarantine, I can't set up a global setting. Users must go through an induction session where I guide them in configuring quarantine alerts rather than having default settings based on group membership. This seems like an oversight since they already use Active Directory details. They should assign policies based on group membership, which configures these settings by default.

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Asif Usmani

Regional Sales Manager at S2

A stable product that provides security and control over spam and phishing emails

I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails. I can monitor and manage it from Hornetsecurity’s console. The live tracking system is valuable. We can track every incoming and outgoing email live. We can decide whether to block, release, or quarantine emails. We can also review the emails before releasing them. The product provides 99.9% coverage for email security.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has improved my organization's security. It makes it easier to manage the infrastructure without the help of third-party applications."

"The basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."

"Defender for 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The value of the cloud is that you aren't alone. Threat intelligence and analytics are shared in the cloud. We don't have to find the solution alone. If you face an unknown threat with traditional solutions like Trend Micro and Symantec, you need to open a case and send your information to them to analyze forensically and identify the source of the attack."

"The most valuable feature is the integration. It's a single console, so we don't have to switch around between multiple products. Another valuable feature is the ease of operations and maintenance."

"The product is not resource-intensive."

"The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."

"We use Microsoft Defender for its ability to integrate with existing business technologies, which is beneficial for protecting business areas."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"The archiving and search features are very good."

"When we got the service, it included the email archiver with unlimited storage."

"We check the reports sometimes to see that frequent attacks and malicious emails are being blocked by the solution."

"Barracuda email protection is stable. I would give it a nine because of its strong cybersecurity features."

"The most valuable features of Barracuda Essentials are it's a trusted name and is rated very high on review sites. It blocks high percentages of spam and junk email and it's in the cloud. They have hardware appliances, but this is in the cloud. The solution is very effective at blocking malware and blocking spam and this is what we are looking for. There's not a whole lot of complexity, you want a solution that is very good at blocking out all of the unwanted emails."

"The most valuable features are security and ease of use."

"We now have a secondary backup of Office 365 that's much easier to retrieve compared to Microsoft. If someone deletes something in Office 365, we can get it back within Office 365, but it's difficult. Barracuda is much easier. There is a lot less management needed using Barracuda. The management becomes much easier for Office 365 and it's no longer on-prem, so there are fewer hours managing on-prem devices, servers, and things of that nature. We don't have network appliances anymore for the backup of our information."

"The most helpful aspect for me is the out-of-the-box configuration, which is fairly good."

More Barracuda Email Protection pros

"I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails."

"The best part is, I rarely have to access the portal as everything is set up and tweaked the way I wanted it. But the feature set is incredibly granular and allows for deep levels of customization."

"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution."

"Backup and restore are precious features."

Cons

"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."

"Sometimes, phishing emails manage to pass through the filter, so the system needs to enhance its phishing email detection capabilities."

"We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email."

"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."

"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."

"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."

"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."

"I am generally satisfied with how it currently is. If I could improve anything, I would reduce the cost."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"Two to three months back, we got fraudulent emails in which someone in the organization was being blamed."

"Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by default included in certain settings."

"The solution's graphical user interface (GUI) could be improved visually."

"There is room for improvement, particularly in reaching out to technical support during deployment."

"The customer service and support could be improved if the support were available directly in Europe. Currently, the support is often managed from India, so we sometimes need to wait due to the time zone difference. It would be quicker and better if the support were provided by European staff."

"They could simplify the licensing and the pricing."

"Barracuda Essentials can improve by continually adding more features."

"The solution's reporting mechanism is a little poor and could be improved."

More Barracuda Email Protection cons

"The pricing is a little high compared to other products."

"A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement."

"I guess I would say maybe quick access to training material for end-users. I know partners have access to this but I as an end-user do not have immediate access to new update information."

"The solution’s pricing is not reasonable."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."

"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."

"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."

"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."

"The product is expensive."

"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."

"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."

"The pricing has become expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"We pay annually. They never charged us for anything else. And they were quite a bit under that $20,000 mark. It was $19,074. And they've been pretty good about not skyrocketing the price or anything like that. It has gone up. It's gone up to $24,000 in 2020."

"Barracuda licensing model is good."

"The solution's pricing is moderate, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The product is expensive."

"Despite a list price possibly around $40 per user, their market price allows customers to easily buy the solution."

"We didn't have to pay a lot for the solution because we got it from a good vendor with a good user volume."

"The price of Barracuda Essentials is better than some of the competing products."

More Barracuda Email Protection pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

24%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

I don't have detailed specifics on pricing, setup cost, or licensing.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

I am generally satisfied with how it currently is. If I could improve anything, I would reduce the cost.

See all answers

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Protection?

Barracuda Email Protection is easy to deploy and maintain. It doesn't require a specialized resource to manage this t...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Email Protection?

Their list price is too high, but in India, the selling price is affordable at around $10 per user per year. Despite ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Protection?

Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by defa...

See all answers

What do you like most about Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?

The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?

A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement.

See all answers

Comparisons

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 14% of the time

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Compared 7% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

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Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 23% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Avanan vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

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Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

Compared 17% of the time

Sophos Email vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

Compared 12% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

Compared 4% of the time

More Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

March 2025

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection

March 2025

Download Barracuda Email Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Office 365 Protection

March 2025

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection report

Download Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection product report

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365

Barracuda Essentials

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

Microsoft

The popularity of Microsoft 365 means criminals test and design their attacks to bypass its native security features. And that means you need additional layers of defense. With Advanced Threat Protection enabled, Barracuda uses multiple layers of detection, including signature, static, and behavioral analysis, along with CPU-emulation sandboxing to accurately detect and block zero-hour targeted attacks and ransomware.

Traditional email gateways use static rules and policies—reputation analysis, block lists, and malicious payloads—to determine if an email is malicious.

Barracuda protects your Microsoft 365 inbox against evasive threats with a powerful AI engine that learns the unique communication patterns within your organization through access to internal and historical emails. Once it understands what legitimate emails looks like for each user, it can detect anomalies that signal malicious intent. This context-based detection is more effective at blocking targeted attacks, which are designed to bypass traditional rule-based email security.

Barracuda Networks

365 Total Protection from Hornetsecurity offers comprehensive protection for Microsoft cloud services – specially developed for Microsoft 365 and seamlessly integrated to provide comprehensive protection for Microsoft cloud services. Easy to set up and extremely intuitive to use, 365 Total Protection simplifies your IT Security management from the very start.

With 365 Total Protection, we offer you two comprehensive packages for your Company Security Management in connection with Microsoft 365. Find the right security version to suit the individual needs of your company with our detailed overview. 365 Total Protection Business offers you a comprehensive security solution with a variety of features that ensure the protection of your email and complete data security for Microsoft 365.

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection fits any M365 plan. Secure your email communication now.

Hornetsecurity

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems

concordia, fraunhofer, mazars

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

February 2025

Free Report: Barracuda Email Protection vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection

Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Protection vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection and other solutions. Updated: February 2025.

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