Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs Fortra&#39;s Agari comparison

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Fortra's Agari

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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

Cloudflare One

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Agari is 0.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cloudflare One	1.7%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense	1.1%
Fortra's Agari	0.7%
Other	96.5%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Cobe Van Coller

Network Architect at IP Dimension

Cloud security has improved remote access and has reduced costs for smaller client sites

I have used Cloudflare One's Identity-Aware Proxy, and it is quite straightforward from what I have seen so far. The app registration on the Azure side integrates fully into Cloudflare, and I am very satisfied with that part because it is easy to set up. The integration of Cloudflare One's Secure Web Gateway and Zero Trust Network Access works without any issues. That part is pretty automatic, and if you complete the rest of the setup, it comes together by itself with no issues from my side. What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection. The hops get shorter and you get better latency. We have done testing to see if it is better. One thing that we did notice with our proof of concept with our current client is that they have people connecting from the UK. When they used their previous VPN solution, uploading CAD drawings and other files to the server took a long time. They mentioned that it is much quicker on Cloudflare One's solution. I definitely believe that is part of the improved performance, and I am satisfied with that as well. What is nice about Cloudflare One is that it makes the setup easier and also easier to train technicians to maintain it. Compared to legacy systems, we do not need to get fancy firewalls in place that are costly. That is definitely also a cost-saver with Cloudflare One.

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Nipuna Madhubhashana

Enginner at Millennium Information Technologies

Has faced challenges with configuration, taking actions, and learning curve but benefits from centralized management and good technical support

We have deployed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense in two customer environments. It is still in development as a new product. Some customer requirements, such as sending logs to a Syslog server, are limited as ETD only supports sending audit logs. Customers have requirements for other system logs as well, which should be developed from their side. Another customer request is to restrict the IPs that can log in, which cannot be done from Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense yet. Any user with login details can log in. We can restrict the IPs in Cloud Mail Gateways, but not from Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense. It would be beneficial to improve this feature. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense can take actions, such as requesting O365 to quarantine mail. In that case, the customer requires notification to the recipient from Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense. This option would be valuable if available. The real-time threat intelligence of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is an AI-based classification. It took one to two months to optimize the classification, but we still experience some false positives. Reducing the learning period would be beneficial. The learning curve shows that in the beginning, there are numerous false positives. For one month, we had to reclassify the false positives manually until the system learned. Reducing the learning time would be much better. Additional features desired in the next release include IP restrictions and user logging IP restrictions, ensuring only the customer environment can log in to Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense. Logs forwarding needs improvement as currently it only has audit logs. In Cloud Mail Gateway, we can create an IPsec tunnel to forward logs. However, in Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense, there is no option, and we must do API integration to send logs. Only SIM can get logs; Syslog cannot retrieve them.

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Tom Foal

CTO at Klaatu IT Security Ltd

Helps to detect and generate reports on phishing emails and saves from email compromises

We use the solution for marketing and brand protection. I am impressed with the tool's discovery capabilities which help me find out who is sending the emails on the company's behalf. I also find the ability to detect and generate reports on phishing emails a valuable feature. The product's…

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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

"The simplicity of the solution is its valuable features as almost no effort was needed to learn the configurations. It is also one of the cheapest firewalls available in this category."

"It's a perfect solution from my perspective; it's easy to understand and easy to configure."

"I'm very satisfied with the environment and the dashboard."

"Using Cloudflare One makes my work quite easy because for DDoS protection, all I need to do is understand the OSI model and click; it makes it easier than trying to write a command line or use a Linux command."

"The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good."

"Cloudflare, in my opinion, was easy to implement."

"Cloudflare DDoS is better than its competitors for its security, deployment, and scalability."

"It's the endpoint exposition. We don't need to expose our VPN server to the internet and need a zero-test solution. I can apply some conditional access to the endpoint that's connecting to our network to check their security policies or the security condition of their workstation. Once the workstation is trying to connect to my internal network, then I would like to check the discrete condition of these endpoints that are trying to access my internal network. We created some conditional access. We have CrowdStrike, to check if the CrowdStrike is installed, to check if it's updated, and to check for Windows updates. We created some conditional policies to check it."

More Cloudflare One pros

"Currently, the ease of deployment is the low-hanging fruit for Cisco email security."

"It has an efficient email filtering feature."

"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."

"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."

"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can handle a complete portfolio, which is required to protect any kind of attack coming from emails. However, it does not have advanced phishing, but it is available through Cisco. If you compare Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox with the competition, in the competition you have to have one or two solutions together to address the customer's requirement, whereas Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox is addressing everything, such as web domain and email protection. If there is any kind of challenge it will come across through email."

"Overall, it's certainly a very good idea to integrate another layer on top of Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection."

"The ability to see east-west traffic is its most valuable feature. Traditionally, email defense focuses on north-south, inbound-outbound, egress-ingress traffic. With Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, it's able to quickly identify, track, tag, and categorize emails that are internal. That can typically give us visibility into if there's an internal compromised account (for example). Someone can then use that internal compromised account to email additional accounts with either malicious software or links, but internal within that Office tenant. Effectively, that email message never leaves the tenant. Any of the mail gateways really do not have any method or way of seeing this traffic since it's not leaving the environment."

"Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense's best features include user management of graymail, enhancing security awareness by allowing users to manage cold calls, sales-based items, and ensuring email compliance."

More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense pros

"They are very flexible as far as feature requests go."

"Agari offers very good brand protection and they are the core founder of the DMARC standard."

"Agari gives us visibility of our domain security, helps us manage our SPF, DKIM and DMARC records, prevents spoofing of our domains for phishing and ensures that our marketing and other emails are received correctly and not rejected as spam."

"If spam or some kind of malicious email gets past Mimecast and gets into our email environment, we can go into Agari and we can search for it."

"I am impressed with the tool's discovery capabilities which help me find out who is sending the emails on the company's behalf. I also find the ability to detect and generate reports on phishing emails a valuable feature."

"It comes with a lot of helpful tips for complicated areas."

"It is really important for large companies to have the brand protection that is provided by Agari."

Cons

"I would like them to include a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."

"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."

"Operating and tuning the product is difficult."

"The response time for support must be reduced."

"Cloudflare One is not very powerful, but for what we require, it is basic and sufficient."

"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."

"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."

More Cloudflare One cons

"The behavioral analysis capability of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is not particularly helpful for identifying new, evolving threats within my company, as it keeps flagging legitimate emails as malicious."

"The learning curve shows that in the beginning, there are numerous false positives. For one month, we had to reclassify the false positives manually until the system learned."

"The pricing could always be better."

"The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists."

"The product's complexity at times results in redundant rule sets that are difficult to untangle, highlighting the need for streamlined management systems and a more user-centric approach to system configuration."

"The search area has room for improvement."

"The solution is a bit expensive. It could be cheaper."

"Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud."

More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense cons

"The product's user interface is clunky. We have difficulty in finding what we need. I would also like to see automation in the onboarding processes."

"The protocol is quite complicated, which may not be something that could be improved, but it would be better if it was simplified."

"Some customers in the financial sector do not like the cloud solution because they don't want data to be transferred to a US-based cloud."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."

"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."

"The solution is not that expensive."

"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."

"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox does not have any competition with Sophos, Trend Micro, or other vendors of the world. However, there is a pricing premium for the solution. One has to look at it from that angle that while they are buying Cisco, there will be a premium, and Cisco justifies that premium value. That's why they're charging a high price."

"The solution’s pricing is manageable."

"It is expensive compared to other vendors."

"The tool is not expensive and I would rate its pricing a four out of ten."

"The price of the licensing is based on the volume of email."

"The pricing depends on the number of users; per how many mailboxes you have, but they're pretty negotiable with that, too."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Marketing Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Outsourcing Company

Construction Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	7

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Pricing is competitive. Akamai is more expensive, in my view.

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...

What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Secure Email Threat Defense?

Comparatively with other products, the pricing of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is normal. As a technical guide, ...

What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?

We have deployed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense in two customer environments. It is still in development as a new ...

What is your primary use case for Secure Email Threat Defense?

We are working with Cloud Mail Gateway and on-premise mail gateways. We have worked with Cisco Secure Email Threat De...

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Product Reports

Cloudflare One

Download Cloudflare One product report

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Download Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense product report

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense report

Download Fortra's Agari product report

Email Security

July 2026

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense

No data available

Overview

Cloudflare One is a comprehensive platform for security, performance, and connectivity. It provides features like rate limiting, DDoS protection, and application access, tailored to enhance user experience while securing internet access and accelerating communications.

Designed to integrate security measures with ease of use and scalability, Cloudflare One offers a secure web gateway and zero trust network access. These features ensure seamless setup and operation, making connectivity reliable and protected. Users appreciate its integrated console, intuitive interface, and the ability to manage risk effectively. It offers straightforward deployment, improves latency, and boasts cost-effectiveness. While its onboarding process and documentation need enhancement, its value in content delivery and application shielding is notable. Despite challenges in integrating Cloudflare Access with existing VPNs and the need for better automation and support, it remains vital for DNS and infrastructure protection.

What features make Cloudflare One stand out?

Rate Limiting: Controls the traffic rate to prevent abuse.
DDoS Protection: Shields applications from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Secure Web Gateway: Provides secure internet access with seamless operation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure, application-based connectivity without relying on traditional VPNs.
Access for Connectivity: Facilitates access to internal applications securely.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Security: Robust measures for DNS and browsing protection.
Performance: Enhanced site accessibility and communication speed.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing for its features.
Ease of Deployment: Straightforward and efficient setup process.

In industries like finance, retail, and technology, Cloudflare One is crucial for enabling secure remote access and protecting web applications against dynamic threats. It supports compliance access policies and enhances content delivery, playing a key role in safeguarding digital infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense offers robust email security with features like east-west traffic visibility and seamless SaaS deployment. It enhances cloud email protection by integrating Threat Grid sandboxing and AMP for malware defense, supported by Cisco Talos threat intelligence.

Enhancing email security for Microsoft 365 and cloud emails, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense acts as an email gateway, blocking phishing, malware, and business email compromise. Users benefit from a centralized management console, efficient graymail administration, and strong filtering capabilities. Despite its strengths, it requires improvements in integration, spam detection accuracy, and enhances phishing protection.

What are the most important features of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense?

East-West Traffic Visibility: Offers insight into email tenant interactions.
SaaS Application Deployment: Simplifies deployment processes.
Threat Grid Sandboxing: Provides advanced malware protection.
AMP Integration: Enhances malware defense capabilities.
Anti-Spam and Antivirus: Powered by Cisco Talos threat intelligence.
Cloud Mailbox Features: Includes robust email filtering and management.

What benefits or ROI should be evaluated in reviews?

Enhanced Security: Provides protection against advanced threats.
Operational Efficiency: Reduces reliance on help desk services.
User-Friendly Management: Streamlines email administration tasks.
Improved Email Filtering: Ensures effective threat blocking.

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is highly applicable in industries requiring stringent data protection, such as finance and healthcare. It serves cloud-based environments by closely monitoring email activity to prevent unauthorized access and breaches. Tailored deployment options cater to both on-premise and cloud architectures, allowing flexible integration in existing workflows.

Cisco

Fortra's Agari is an advanced solution designed to protect organizations from email-based cyber threats. It employs sophisticated threat detection and response capabilities to secure business communications and enhance security measures.

Businesses seeking reliable email security turn to Fortra's Agari for its powerful blend of threat intelligence and analytics. Aimed at safeguarding enterprises against phishing attacks and email fraud, it leverages cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to identify and neutralize threats in real time. By providing a robust defense layer, it allows companies to maintain data integrity and secure communication channels, enhancing cybersecurity posture against evolving threats.

What are the key features offered?

Threat Detection: Utilizes advanced algorithms to detect and mitigate phishing threats swiftly.
Email Authentication: Ensures legitimacy of incoming emails to prevent spoofing and fraud.
Real-time Analytics: Provides detailed insights into email traffic and potential threat vectors.
Threat Response: Automates responses to detected threats to minimize intervention time.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrates with existing IT infrastructures to enhance security layers.

What benefits or ROI can users expect?

Enhanced Security: Reduces risk of email-based attacks, safeguarding sensitive information.
Operational Efficiency: Automation minimizes manual intervention, streamlining response processes.
Cost Savings: Prevention of data breaches avoids potential financial losses.
Reputation Protection: Maintains brand integrity by preventing fraudulent activities.
Compliance Assurance: Aids in adhering to regulatory standards for data protection.

In financial services, Fortra's Agari plays a crucial role in preventing identity fraud and securing client communications. In healthcare, it ensures patient data confidentiality by thwarting phishing attempts. Industries with valuable digital assets utilize Fortra's Agari to prevent unauthorized access and protect stakeholder interests.

Fortra

Sample Customers

23andMe

Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom

NACHA

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Fortra's Agari