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Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
4.7
Barracuda Email Security Gateway prioritizes email safety, providing fewer disruptions despite potential ROI concerns for businesses and service providers.
Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection effectively enhances email security, productivity, and cost-efficiency compared to rivals like AppRiver and Trend.
Training is not required because you do not need to have training on Barracuda Email Security Gateway due to the usability of the product.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Barracuda Email Security Gateway customer support is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though limited by time zones and language.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection support receives mixed reviews, with response times varying based on issue complexity and service level.
From the vendor, I would give the technical support an eight out of ten.
Head of cloud service. at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
If I had to rate the support I received on a scale of ten, I would give it a ten because he went way beyond what was expected for me.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
General Manager at Ambient iT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is scalable for SMBs but may not suit very large enterprises, with varied user opinions.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection efficiently scales from small businesses to large enterprises, offering seamless cloud migration and regular updates.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is reliable and stable, with quick resolutions for minor issues and high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reliable and stable, with rare security incidents, benefiting from good maintenance and occasional third-party support.
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a great platform and a stable platform.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
 

Room For Improvement

Barracuda Email Security Gateway needs upgrades in usability, integration, scalability, support, spam filtering accuracy, and anti-phishing measures.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs improved flexibility, security, user experience, intuitive interface, pricing, support, and integration with other platforms.
Barracuda needs to provide a fast response to any vulnerability on the system.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
When we add mails to email secure Sender Policy Authentication with extended options, all mails must pass this Mail Security Gateway.
Graduate Student at ain shams
If it's considered a phishing email, it should be blocked for all users, not just some.
IT Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 201-500 employees
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
General Manager at Ambient iT
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite feature is the ease with which I can identify if an email is a phishing email or spam email.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

The Barracuda Email Security Gateway is competitively priced, scalable, with varied user opinions and crucial regional market considerations.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection pricing is seen as generally high, but justified by security features and Microsoft's reputation.
Compared to the features and stability, Barracuda Email Security Gateway is affordable in terms of pricing, setup cost, and licensing.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway is cheaper.
Head of cloud service. at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
I find the price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) to be fairly reasonable, and I have no problems with it.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
The pricing is reasonable.
General Manager at Ambient iT
 

Valuable Features

Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers robust spam filtering, advanced threat protection, and user-friendly features for comprehensive email security management.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers robust security features including anti-spam, anti-phishing, malware protection, scalability, and seamless Windows integration.
The threat intelligence or reputation database has helped my team day-to-day by providing insight into who is communicating with us, getting reputations for domains, and stopping bad IP addresses from communicating with our domain and our email users.
Cybersecurity Team Leader at EMAK For Integrated Solutions
The real-time threat intelligence feature is particularly useful as it detects all kinds of threats identified by incoming mails.
Graduate Student at ain shams
The main benefit from Barracuda Email Security Gateway is better security for the email flow.
Head of cloud service. at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
We've benefited from the anti-phishing features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), as it has been quite accurate and has eliminated most of our phishing emails, making it really impressive.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In the last three years, has resulted in no antivirus problems.
Head Of Information Technology at a government with 201-500 employees
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.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda Email Security Ga...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
56
Ranking in other categories
DMARC Authentication Software (4th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (7th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (7th), Anti-Malware Tools (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Barracuda Email Security Gateway is designed for Secure Email Gateway (SEG) and holds a mindshare of 7.3%, up 7.1% compared to last year.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), on the other hand, focuses on Anti-Malware Tools, holds 1.1% mindshare, down 1.5% since last year.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Barracuda Email Security Gateway7.3%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36524.2%
Proofpoint Email Protection20.3%
Other48.2%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
Anti-Malware Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)1.1%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint9.1%
F-Secure Total4.4%
Other85.4%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

MM
Graduate Student at ain shams
Secures email by identifying threats and managing email policies effectively
The intuitive management interface feature makes email security policies very easy to implement as it's all about features that need to be enabled or disabled. Our investigation in any incident or mail is very useful as it provides all details about incoming mails, enabling thorough review and detection. The real-time threat intelligence feature is particularly useful as it detects all kinds of threats identified by incoming mails. The Impersonation license utilizes AI tools. Sometimes some phishing mails are reported as phishing, but they are not actually phishing mails. They are detected due to certain words and languages that appear suspicious but were generated by AI tools. Everyone or an advisor may use it for their own purpose or learning, even though it indicates that the mail detected is phishing when it's not.
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.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Email Gateway (SEG) solutions are best for your needs.
881,036 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Sentinel?
I would suggest that pricing for Barracuda Email Security Gateway rates around seven. It is not too expensive, but it is a considerable cost. Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway ...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Sentinel?
Regarding real-time intelligent features of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway, some spam emails are still being released by the ESG to the end users, so the functionality is not working appropri...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda Sentinel?
My use case for the Barracuda Email Security Gateway is to protect our emails from phishing and spam emails to get them blocked by the ESG.
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement, as at times it doesn't make sense where to go to access certain features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is basically to protect ourselves from phishing emails and to improve our email security.
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

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. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
881,036 professionals have used our research since 2012.