Barracuda Email Protection vs Sophos Email comparison

Barracuda Networks and Sophos are both solutions in the Email Security category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.6, while Sophos is ranked #11 with an average rating of 7.9. Barracuda Networks holds a 2.7% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Sophos’s 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Barracuda Email Protection and Sophos Email compete in the email protection domain. Barracuda Email Protection has an advantage in ease of deployment and customer support, while Sophos Email stands out with advanced features and higher ROI.

Features: Barracuda Email Protection offers robust spam filtering, data loss prevention, and a user-friendly experience with easy configuration. Sophos Email provides advanced threat protection, detailed reporting, and real-time threat intelligence to suit complex security needs.

Room for Improvement: Barracuda Email Protection could improve its reporting features and enhance integration with other security solutions. Additionally, its initial pricing might not suit larger enterprises prioritizing extensive features. Meanwhile, Sophos Email's deployment can be complex, and occasionally users experience false positives in threat detection, which could be refined. Improving the simplicity of integration with existing infrastructure is another area for enhancement for Sophos.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Barracuda Email Protection is known for quick deployment and responsive support, making it favorable for businesses seeking ease of use. Sophos Email, although more complex to deploy, offers comprehensive support and a thorough onboarding process to manage its advanced features effectively.

Pricing and ROI: Barracuda Email Protection is often cost-effective with a lower initial setup cost, providing a quick ROI for smaller businesses. Conversely, Sophos Email requires a higher upfront investment but delivers substantial long-term value and higher ROI, particularly for enterprises focusing on comprehensive security measures.

To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda Email Protection vs. Sophos Email Report (Updated: November 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Sophos Email

November 2024

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Helped 824,053 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 15.8%, down from 20.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 2.7%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 3.1%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Jamie LeClair

IT Collaboration Services Manager at Dow

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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Alex Clerici

System Integrator IT Manager at Tecnimex S.r.l.

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.

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NaveedAli

Senior manager IT infrastructure at Machine Learning 1 Limited ·

Provides good identity proxy features, but sandboxing and spam control features could be improved

Sophos gives you a feature set to manage your on-premises firewall on the cloud. I just integrated my on-premises firewall into the cloud, and I can manage the tool through the cloud as well if needed. I recommend using Sophos Email as a proxy. For email gateways, I advise choosing mature products with rich feature sets, like Trend Micro or CrowdStrike. The solution's integration with other tools is very simple. I easily integrated Sophos Email with my Active Directory. My organization needs a WAF with a limited feature set, which we use through Sophos. Purchasing additional WAF will be costly, but I get sandboxing and WAF features free of cost with Sophos, which is included in the license. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

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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's most valuable feature is its performance."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."

"Since we have started using the solution, there have been fewer compromises."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links."

"The initial setup is straightforward. You just add the license, click it, and then you can set up the rules. It is quite simple."

"The product is not resource-intensive."

"Our customers are satisfied with Defender for 365 because Microsoft products are easy to use and customize to meet the client's needs. Everything is in one place, so we can adjust policies as needed for phishing, DLP, ATP, or any other security features that our clients want to apply."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"The solution's most valuable feature is impersonation detection."

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

"I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products."

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

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

"The most valuable aspect includes attempts to spoof or compromise domains from external sources."

"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 archiving and search features are very good."

More Barracuda Email Protection pros

"Sophos Email offers encryption and malware protection, provides visibility into emails, has 99% accuracy in catching spam, enhances organizational safety, integrates with various vendors like Microsoft, is deployable with any email service, prevents data loss, features authentication rules, synchronizes with Active Directory and Azure, and includes a self-service portal. The product is very flexible."

"The tool's most valuable feature is the anti-spam detection filter. Its threat email intelligence features help to identify email data."

"When you say email security, it's about everything, incoming email, outgoing email, spam, phishing emails, unwanted marketing emails. You can set rules, but the main feature of Sophos Email is to make sure you don't get hacked. 95% of people who are hacked do not get hacked by typing the router password. They are hacked from the inside out, which means they send you a document that is a zero-day attack, you open it, nothing happens, but technically the attack is running in the background of your computer. This is how they gain access to your PC."

"Our client recently received many emails, and their employees didn't realize these emails were phishing attempts. Consequently, they clicked on them and fell victim to the attack. Therefore, it is important to secure their system with Sophos Email Security."

"Sophos Email is in the cloud and integrated with its firewall."

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"The speed and stability were fine."

"It has enhanced our approach to tackling malware and spam. It is a reliable product with a good user interface."

More Sophos Email pros

Cons

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

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

"There needs to be an improvement in integrating the product to work across multiple operating systems, and to have better support for non-Microsoft file types."

"The certification training for Defender for 365 needs to be deeper and incorporate Sentinel. I took all the security courses except one, and Sentinel isn't included."

"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 must improve the overall management style, including the GUI. It also needs to change the filters so that it is easy to whitelist and blacklist data."

"Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features."

"The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"The product must enable bulk user management."

"I would like to see better integration with other products."

"The policies are set up in Barracuda by default; we don't have any control over them."

"Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platforms and third-party solutions."

"I would like to see some additional functionality in terms of employee monitoring, as part of a work-from-home security solution."

"Sometimes it is somewhat laggy, especially on the Archiver side. It should have improved performance on their Message Archiver."

"The technology works on a supervised engine, but it would be better if it ran on an unsupervised engine."

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

More Barracuda Email Protection cons

"Sophos Email could improve DLP features."

"Sophos Email can improve mail security."

"Lacks visibility into spam emails."

"Sophos Email needs to increase the number of promos."

"Enhancing rule creation and customization features would provide users with greater control over their email security settings."

"The tool's pricing is expensive. In its future release, the tool should make reporting easier to view."

"The security of the solution could improve."

"The installation of Sophos Email could be easier. It's a bit difficult because setting up the email virtually requires some bit of technical knowledge."

More Sophos Email cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."

"The product is very expensive."

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."

"It's a user-base subscription."

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

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"Barracuda licensing model is good."

"Price-wise, this product is middle-of-the-road."

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

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

"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."

"The price is similar to that of Microsoft 365."

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

"The product is expensive."

More Barracuda Email Protection pricing and cost advice

"There is an additional fee for their central managed console."

"Sophos Email is priced lower than its competitors."

"Most of our clients are on a perpetual license. If there is a budget issue, they can choose a subscription. However, most of the clients choose the perpetual license."

"We use exchange licenses, for which we get immediate support from Sophos."

"The pricing is affordable, so I’d rate it around a four out of ten on the pricing scale. We pay about fifty pounds a month, including hardware so that costs may differ without it."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"The solution is expensive."

"Sophos Email is neither cheap nor expensive."

More Sophos Email pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.

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824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

17%

Construction Company

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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?

The pricing is reasonable since it comes integrated with our Office 365 license.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Protection?

I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products.

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?

Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platfo...

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos Email?

The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Email?

The pricing is affordable, so I’d rate it around a four out of ten on the pricing scale. We pay about fifty pounds a ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Email?

However, the setup was tricky, particularly with the DNS routing between Microsoft Exchange Online and Sophos cloud s...

See all answers

Comparisons

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 3% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Competitors

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 28% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

More Barracuda Email Protection Competitors

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Sophos Email

Compared 9% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Sophos Email

Compared 8% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 6% of the time

Perception Point Advanced Email Security vs Sophos Email

Compared 4% of the time

Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Sophos Email

Compared 4% of the time

More Sophos Email Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

December 2024

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection

December 2024

Download Barracuda Email Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email

November 2024

Download Sophos Email product report

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365

Barracuda Essentials

Sophos Email Security

Learn More

Microsoft

Barracuda Networks

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Sophos

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.

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.

Sophos Email is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and data loss. It offers robust protection against malware, phishing attacks, and spam, ensuring that only legitimate emails reach users' inboxes.

With advanced threat intelligence and machine learning algorithms, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks in real-time. Additionally, it provides encryption and data loss prevention capabilities to safeguard sensitive information.

The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized control. Sophos Email offers seamless integration with popular email platforms, ensuring uninterrupted communication while maintaining security.

With its comprehensive features and proactive approach, Sophos Email is a reliable choice for organizations looking to enhance their email security.

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

Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Sophos Email

November 2024

Free Report: Barracuda Email Protection vs. Sophos Email

Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Protection vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: November 2024.

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We monitor all Email Security reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.