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Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs Fortinet FortiMail comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Sponsored
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)
Check Point Anti-Spam and E...
Ranking in Email Security
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 15.4%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade is 0.8%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 6.2%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Dushyant Trivedi - PeerSpot reviewer
Effectively secures data centers against various threats, including spam emails and provides policy-based control
It is a stable solution. We implemented the solution in HA. This is because the solution is highly available and can withstand hardware failures and software upgrades. Once the solution is implemented, there is no need for any further downtime for the Check Point server. Because once we change any policy, we can break the High Availability (HA) session and define the new policy on the Check Point Security Gateway (SGW) in isolation. This allows us to test the new policy without affecting the production traffic. Once the new policy is tested and active, we can then activate it on the HA pair and bring the HA session back up. This process ensures that we can make changes to the policy without any interruption to the user experience. It is a really stable solution. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
Andras Solt - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonable pricing and good spam filtering but does not offer robust gatekeeping
It's mainly suited for mid-size companies, not for bigger companies like us. We are more than 1,000 people. In fact, we're over 2000 users, so that's why we investigated some other products, and Clearswift, for example. We likely won't increase usage. We're looking at GFI in a year or so.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One of the best features of the tool is its capability to aggregate insights from different workloads, basically from the Office 365 and endpoints part."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 helps people to work remotely. It is a secure solution. We don't need to use our company's computers or get VPN connections to the networks. I can control how they share screens and what they send to the devices. It keeps our organizations confidential and sensitive information safe."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."
"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to protect us from malware."
"It also gives me good visibility because, with Defender, I'm using a Microsoft product to defend Microsoft products. The integration was really seamless and I have wide visibility because it picks up almost everything. Literally, I can see almost every activity that happens, from the e-mail to the workstation itself."
"I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."
"The initial setup is straightforward. You just add the license, click it, and then you can set up the rules. It is quite simple."
"Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade provides an extra level of security against threats and malware along with 2FA support for multiple platform collaboration and integrations in a single click."
"Anti-spam and malware phishing are valuable features of the solution."
"This solution helped us lock down and have our infrastructure easier to manage."
"It's a fairly old solution, however, that has been updated over time to become one of the best manufacturers of security solutions."
"It has several very good features that form an excellent tool."
"Since the engine is made to block by IP, domains, and reputation, we minimized the spam threats that end up in the user's mailbox."
"The policies and port blocking are the most valuable features. We have a significant amount of spam emails passing through our network."
"The tool helps us see the behavior inside our environment, which is important to us. The solution's capacity integration features are great."
"Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature. Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue. Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received. Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail."
"Fortinet utilizes specialized processing units, which network faster and sample more efficiently compared to others."
"The solution can scale."
"The anti-spam functionality is good and works well."
"The anti-spam feature is very valuable."
"The solution is very, very stable."
"The solution is very reliable and very stable."
"Technical support is great. They're available 24/7 and their response time is typically within the hour."
 

Cons

"The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"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."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"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."
"They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"In my book, more and more customized integrations could be made available so that different kinds of mail servers and cloud servers can be internally integrated for real-time system flow and security enablement."
"I think that the pricing for the Check Point products should be reconsidered, as we found it to be quite expensive to purchase and to maintain."
"User experience can be improved."
"Recognizing spammers and spam email sourcing is extremely lagging these days, and the performance could be improved to provide better efficiency."
"They should upgrade support services and make a more user-friendly database."
"The user should be able to perform a real-time search of the objects and see the messages."
"The support language is only English."
"A major area for improvement is within some of the heavily discounted software blade add-ons on top of the current Next Generation Threat Prevention and SandBlast and Next Generation Threat Prevention offerings."
"Fortinet FortiMail should allow more flexibility with the content rules."
"An additional feature that could be added is a pop-up screen notifying you that an email has been blocked, without having to double click on it to take you there it could provide you with a summary explaining why it was on hold or why was it spam when you hover over it with your cursor."
"The solution doesn't scale easily."
"They should add a lot of threat-intelligence feeds from different sources - not only from one source (FortiGuard)."
"I think they need to look into it and improve their signatures. This will help with blocking incoming spam emails."
"Sometimes, authentic emails get blocked by the solution's firewall."
"The solution could be improved by providing a virtual machine facility with a complete set of options in the VM setup."
"Fortinet FortiMail's technical support team has shortcomings and needs improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."
"The pricing has become expensive."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"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."
"Choosing the correct set of licenses is essential because, without the additional software blade licenses, the Check Point gateways are just a stateful firewall."
"I rate the pricing as an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"This is a simple system with a very low cost and basic functions, which surely is ideal for a small company."
"Reasonably priced solution."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"The cost is competitive with other security products on the market."
"For licensing, my company makes yearly payments, which is expensive."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"The price is acceptable for the support license it includes."
"The solution is quite pricey compared to other competitors in the market."
"I find Fortinet FortiMail pricing reasonable. There's no additional cost apart from its standard licensing fees."
"There is a license required for this solution and it is on an annual basis. I am satisfied with the price."
"The pricing is good."
"It is reasonable."
"The annual cost is $55,000."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Security Firm
28%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
Educational Organization
50%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
 

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...
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.
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.
What needs improvement with Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade?
The solution could be improved by reducing false positives, optimizing performance, improving the user interface, and...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade?
The primary use cases for Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade are anti-spam, anti-malware, anti-p...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?
The pricing of Fortinet FortiMail is cheaper compared to Cisco, which was quite expensive.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
The area that could use some improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is the integration process. I would like the integrati...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
FortiMail
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
SF Police Credit Union (SFPCU)
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs. Fortinet FortiMail and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.