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Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs MetaDefender Email Security Solutions comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 2024

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

Barracuda Email Security Ga...
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
DMARC Authentication Software (2nd)
MetaDefender Email Security...
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (25th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Security Gateway is 10.3%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MetaDefender Email Security Solutions is 2.5%, down from 3.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Mohammed Shah Newaj - PeerSpot reviewer
Instantly blocked and reduced our spam emails
The solution has to improve in a very specific way. When we allow our customers to send or scan email through our Barracuda Email Security Gateway, we are permitting their email server IP address, but not any domain. One of our customers has an email server where they are hosting five domains within their server. They are sending and receiving email through that server by using Barracuda Email Security Gateway. Therefore, we allow their IP address to send email through our Barracuda Email Security Gateway, then we declare MX for receiving email on behalf of our customers. After receiving the email, we deliver it to the specific IP address of the customer. Since we are only allowing the IP address, if an incident happens within a customer's email server or an email server gets compromised, then it starts sending spam. That creates a huge problem for the solution as it allows all emails because the customer's IP address is allowed to relay email through our Barracuda Email Security Gateway. Barracuda should add an option where it can add multiple domains, such as abc.com, bbc.com, and cbc.com. Therefore, this domains' emails will be allowed and other domains' emails will not be relayed through Barracuda Email Security Gateway. Whereas, if you allow the IP address, then any of the domain's emails will be relayed through Barracuda Email Security Gateway. That is the drawback that I have observed. So, Barracuda should work on this.
Aaron Alornyenu - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us stay compliant, has excellent malware detection, and is stable
The solution helped our organization stay 100 percent compliant with industry standards. MetaDefender Email Security can be set to be very aggressive for identifying attacks. This can be done based on how we want it. If we set it to this level, most of our emails will be blocked because the system will block anything that looks suspicious. We will also need to set the spam severity. This is the severity of everything, including phishing, spoofing, and other types of attacks. I would give the solution's ability to identify attacks a nine out of ten. MetaDefender helps us improve our spam catch rate. Any spam we receive is usually due to user subscriptions. We can specify rules of exclusion to meet our requirements as well. It also detects and blocks the links with suspicious codes. MetaDefender Email Security's multi-scanning capabilities for malware detection work based on how we set the parameters. The solution perfectly detects malware. MetaDefender can identify and disarm emails in zero-day attacks.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway is the cloud ATP functionality not available on the on-premise version. Most of the zero-day attacks can be mitigated with ATP. Additionally, the reporting functionality is good."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway has features like identify the spam source, rules to avoid some specific spams and then reschedule. And there are some other features like the email continuity, the email server and gateway site, which can relay the mail kit. The solution is user-friendly.These kind of features are the most valuable."
"Before this solution, we didn't have any separate feature for protecting our emails. We used to only have a firewall but now we have email security. It has a graphical interface and we can see the log every time. We can see that the performance is fine."
"It is lightweight, and we can filter all of our inbound and outbound emails. We have controls for rate control, quarantine, and tagging. We can see whether an email is a spam email or a phishing email."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use."
"The link protection and anti-phishing features are great."
"The security protection is the best and it's GUI is user-friendly."
"It is a very stable solution."
"The most valuable feature is called summary reconstruction which is used to deliver encrypted files to users."
"The most valuable feature of MetaDefender Email Security is the CDR. Customers purchase this solution specifically for data communication, as the other features can be obtained through other technologies that most customers already possess. Therefore, data communication serves as the foundation for the platform."
"The sanitization is very good."
 

Cons

"The pricing needs improvement."
"Some of the phishing emails are not being blocked. Another problem is that we are not able to manage the date and time in our time zone."
"Barracuda should add an option where it can add multiple domains, such as abc.com, bbc.com, and cbc.com. Therefore, this domains' emails will be allowed and other domains' emails will not be relayed through Barracuda Email Security Gateway. Whereas, if you allow the IP address, then any of the domain's emails will be relayed through Barracuda Email Security Gateway. That is the drawback that I have observed. So, Barracuda should work on this."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway can improve email detection. We have some emails that are bypassing the threat scanning. There are some impersonation emails passing through."
"Barracuda has shown difficulty in providing us with the solutions we sought."
"The pricing is a little bit high, and it is causing the company to rethink renewal. If they could lower the pricing, that would be ideal."
"The solution could improve by adding DomainKeys (DKIM) functionality. This is something that is essentially required nowadays for outbound security. They do not have it on their on-premise solution appliance but they have alternate arrangements for their cloud solution."
"The downsides of the solution stem from the fact that it is an expensive product, and one may see too many false positives when using it, making them both areas where improvements are required."
"Although the number of AV engines is good, it could be better."
"They offer a feature called SmartLink neutralization. I have tried it before. It seemed to work most of the time; however, I had a few users for whom it just wouldn't work. Whenever they click on a link, it stays on the MetaDefender page, saying that it's scanning it and never moves forward."
"The DLP should be upgraded and has room for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As far as advanced email security systems, this product is mid-range on the pricing scale."
"We find the solution's pricing okay."
"The price of Barracuda Email Security Gateway is approximately $17 per user annually."
"We have a long agreement with Barracuda Email Security Gateway. We're very pleased with the cost and the solution. The cost is in the average range for this type of solution."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a cost-effective solution."
"The regular pricing was initially very reasonable, but three years ago, Barracuda revised their price list and SKUs, resulting in a significant doubling of the standard prices."
"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is an affordable solution that caters to small, midsize, and high-end businesses with great revenue."
"According to our customers, the price of MetaDefender is high and it continues to increase by almost 15 percent each year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.
What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway should include ATP in the next release.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MetaDefender Email Security Solutions?
We paid for a three-year agreement. The cost is kind of high. For smaller companies, it may be outside of their budget. However, for us, management knows how important this product is. It's worth t...
What needs improvement with MetaDefender Email Security Solutions?
They offer a feature called SmartLink neutralization. I have tried it before. It seemed to work most of the time; however, I had a few users for whom it just wouldn't work. Whenever they click on a...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
OPSWAT MetaDefender Email Security, MetaDefender Email Gateway Security, MetaDefender Email Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
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Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. MetaDefender Email Security Solutions and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.