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Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

No sentiment score available
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enhances security, reduces costs, integrates effectively with Microsoft tools, and boosts productivity, offering significant ROI.
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.8
Barracuda Email Protection's support is highly rated for responsiveness and expertise, though European presence is suggested for time zone issues.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 support is praised for responsiveness, though some users note templated responses and outdated documentation.
Customer service and support have been fantastic.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Barracuda Email Protection is highly scalable, efficiently supporting diverse industries with cloud integration and customizable licensing features.
Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is highly scalable and easily accommodates thousands of users without performance issues, simplifying growth.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Barracuda Email Protection is reliable, stable, and secure, praised for strong cybersecurity, incident support, and manageable IT integration.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is reliable and stable, boasting 99.9% availability and prompt resolutions to minor bugs.
 

Room For Improvement

Barracuda Email Protection needs improvements in encryption, integration, pricing, compatibility, employee monitoring, storage, archiving, and customer support.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 requires enhancements in virus blocking, phishing detection, integration, scalability, support, and pricing transparency.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is cost-effective for large enterprises but perceived as expensive for smaller businesses.
 

Valuable Features

Barracuda Email Protection excels in security, ease of use, AI detection, Microsoft 365 integration, and flexible user management.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides comprehensive protection with seamless integration, simplifying security management and safeguarding remote work environments.
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
 

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda Email Protection
Ranking in Email Security
15th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (3rd), Office 365 Protection (4th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 2.7%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 15.8%, down from 20.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Alex Clerici - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient and easier to manage than other products, especially Microsoft products
Regarding Barracuda Email Protection specifically, I'm quite satisfied. I think there's room for improvement in their other products, especially their cloud firewall protection and ZTNA offerings. Moreover, prices could be more granular, especially for the small business area. Typically, in Italy, the majority of our customers are small businesses. It would be better if the prices could be adjusted for small businesses.
Jamie LeClair - PeerSpot reviewer
File-sharing options and ease of collaboration or meetings allow for quick collaborations and chats
I work in my company's IT department, so I use all of the products under Office 365 daily, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams, and all the other components in the product. My company can't make it through a day or go by without using the products offered under Office 365. Some of our manufacturing workers may use Office 365 a lot less, but it is still necessary for things like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. I found Microsoft Teams to be the most valuable feature of the solution, along with all of the products and features offered under Office 365. My organization has remote workers, and we can't run the company without meetings organized with the help of Microsoft Teams.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Construction Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Protection?
I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products.
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 a list price possibly around $40 per user, their market price allows customers t...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Protection?
Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platforms and third-party solutions. The fraud detection capability is not well-develo...
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 various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The pricing is reasonable since it comes integrated with our Office 365 license.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions.
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Essentials
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Protection vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.