Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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

Sponsored
 

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
Sophos Email
Ranking in Email Security
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (2nd)
 

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 Sophos Email is 2.6%, down from 2.8% 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.
Adeyemi Adedokun - PeerSpot reviewer
Ensures that there is maximum security enabled for our communication processes
There has been issues when I have interacted with the support in the past, especially regarding technical issues. I have found them responsive for basic queries, but when I have raised issues for complex issues, there is a delay in the response from the support team. During the initial setup, when I faced challenges, the support team took a lot of time to address the issue and escalate it to the required personnel. In another issue raised, I was trying to confirm the status of a domain name. The support team was not able to help me out and provide with the necessary information. I suggest that there should be improvement in the support team towards handling such complex issues and technical concerns.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the ease of use."
"It’s easy to handle integrations, and we don't need a lot of people in our IT team."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."
"Defender is a SaaS platform, so it offers more flexibility. Managing the permissions is easier. The solution's automated detection and response features are scalable."
"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"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."
"The product's scalability is good."
"Check Point Anti-Spam & Email Security software is a modern-day solution for security management and data scrutiny."
"One of the standout features of the product is a significant reduction in false positives, achieved through the implementation of artificial intelligence for detecting malware, phishing attempts, and spam emails."
"It refreshes the dynamic database regularly to ensure IP addresses that no longer misbehave are not blocked by mistake."
"It has provided us with an easy way to avoid invasive mail."
"It has several very good features that form an excellent tool."
"The functionality is better."
"DLP features can help prevent sensitive information from being leaked via email."
"This product integrates well and is easy to manage."
"I would recommend Sophos Email to both end-users and other entities that want to protect their emails."
"I find the comprehensive features of Sophos Email most valuable."
"The solution protects users from phishing links and spam."
"The anti-malware, risk scanning has been pretty spot on."
"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."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"The platform is scalable when installed on server-based systems."
"The best thing about it is the logs."
 

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's Mac functionality requires improvement to deliver the same level of protection found on Windows devices."
"Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features."
"In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"In some situations, it has not been able to pick impersonated emails having no attachments. Technical support definitely has a scope for improvement."
"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."
"About eight months ago, we started to measure the quantity of phishing and spam that we have been receiving, and it has been increasing a lot. That means that protection for our email is not as good as we were expecting."
"If you face any configuration problems, Check Point is the only solution."
"It is expensive but worth it."
"It does not provide for standalone configuration on the security gateway. Instead, you need to have a management server/smart console for managing it."
"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."
"The cost is high when putting through Check Point Blade in your Gateway."
"AI-based threat detection could be enhanced to improve security."
"The ease of use with the user interface could be better as it is very static."
"The user should be able to perform a real-time search of the objects and see the messages."
"The tool's integration becomes an issue when the internet connection is weak."
"The solution's technical support is slow and unresponsive. You need to book time in order to get support."
"There have been some issues with compatibility and effectiveness, particularly when integrating it with our firewall. The main challenge has been email protection, especially due to compatibility issues and difficulties with log access and email relay configuration."
"Their technical support is slow to respond."
"The solution's sandboxing and spam control features could be improved."
"Sophos Email has few improvements to implement, including the handling of incoming emails in the systems. It needs to add additional feature that helps in enhancing the scanning processes of these emails. While adding these features, it should work towards improving the current features also."
"A lot of legit emails get quarantined."
"Sophos Email can improve security."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"The product is very expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"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."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"This is a simple system with a very low cost and basic functions, which surely is ideal for a small company."
"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."
"Reasonably priced solution."
"The cost is competitive with other security products on the market."
"I rate the product pricing a seven out of ten."
"For licensing, my company makes yearly payments, which is expensive."
"The tool's price is reasonable. On a yearly basis, there is a 20 percent increase in prices, but it is not an issue."
"Sophos Email is a little expensive for us, but it's necessary. We have a subscription and renew it every three years."
"It falls somewhere in the middle—it's not excessively expensive nor very cheap."
"The tool's pricing is medium."
"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."
"The pricing could improve by having additional discounts. For example, when customers buy have more than 50 or more users, there should be additional discounts."
"The pricing is quite reasonable, with a fixed cost and no additional charges."
"I rate the price of Sophos Email a four out of five."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

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%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Healthcare Company
7%
Retailer
7%
 

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 do you like most about Sophos Email?
The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.
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 ...
What needs improvement with Sophos Email?
However, the setup was tricky, particularly with the DNS routing between Microsoft Exchange Online and Sophos cloud s...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
Sophos Email Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
SF Police Credit Union (SFPCU)
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,020 professionals have used our research since 2012.