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Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

Cisco and Microsoft are both solutions in the Email Security category. Cisco is ranked #23 with an average rating of 7.3, while Microsoft is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 1.1% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Microsoft’s 5.7% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Read 16 Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense reviews
  • 2,332 Views
  • 2,332 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Read 61 Microsoft Defender for Office 365 reviews
  • 17,515 Views
  • 12,436 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 compete in the email security space. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense excels in customer support and pricing, while Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers superior features, making it appealing for comprehensive security.

Features: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense provides advanced threat protection, anti-spam filters, and detailed reporting. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is noteworthy for its integration with the Office suite and advanced threat intelligence, offering comprehensive protection against sophisticated threats. It enhances value through seamless security integration within the Microsoft productivity ecosystem.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense could improve by enhancing its integration capabilities with third-party platforms, providing more advanced phishing detection, and simplifying its user interface further. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 might benefit from offering more personalized support, addressing complex deployment challenges for non-Office 365 environments, and reducing its high initial setup costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense offers straightforward deployment and robust customer support, tailoring solutions for various environments. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is streamlined for existing Office 365 users but may require extra support for complex integrations. Its customer service is known for quick resolutions but may lack personalized support like Cisco.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense provides competitive pricing with a focus on strong ROI through reliable security and excellent service. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has potentially higher setup costs but justifies its pricing with rich features that integrate well with Microsoft infrastructures, leading to higher long-term ROI through enhanced productivity and security.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Report (Updated: August 2026).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
August 2026
Download the complete report
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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

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Ranking in Email Security
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (9th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 5.7%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.7%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense1.1%
Other93.2%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

NM
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.
Read full review
Emeka Ndulu - PeerSpot reviewer
Emeka Ndulu
Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Improves threat visibility and response while reducing manual tasks and training users against phishing
I appreciate the attack simulation feature whereby I get to train users and educate them on how to identify phishing emails and spam emails, as well as the anti-spam protection. It gives me visibility into my threat environment and threat landscape to ensure that I am one step ahead of any likelihood of threats within my environment. I get to detect it and respond, so the threat intelligence is very effective. Microsoft security solutions save my time. It saves money because once I protect my environment, I don't lose money. It has decreased my detection time and my time to respond.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product offers protection, email security, anti-spam, and antivirus."
"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan, and this product has helped us to protect our organization from any malware attack in the past."
"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."
"This solution is easy to use."
"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."
"Cisco's technical support is very good."
"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 Cloud Mailbox is used for copying emails, anti-spamming, and securing the company's email, and we really enjoy the anti-spamming capabilities as well as the rejecting of bulk emails, which we can customize by adjusting the variables, and it is very user-friendly."
More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense pros
"The benefit that stands out to me is the ability for multiple individuals to collaborate simultaneously within the same document. Additionally, there is the option to save the document directly in the integrated OneDrive or SharePoint."
"The deployment capability is a great feature."
"The feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 that I like the most is probably the email features specifically, because those are the ones that a typical end user will accidentally click on a link not knowing what it is, and it'll catch it, and then it'll feed it over to Defender and stop the attack from happening before it actually can."
"It also gives the vulnerability status according to the versions you have selected. Let's say you have Google Chrome. It mentions the versions it has, and it updates. Within two hours of an update, it is reflected in the dashboard. That's really nice to have."
"The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient."
"One of our clients didn't have the budget to invest in a SOC team, but we deployed the solution for them, and they now run a SOC with only one analyst."
"I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."
"The technical support is good and quick to resolve issues."
More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros
 

Cons

"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."
"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much."
"The search area has room for improvement."
"This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox."
"We encounter issues while searching for missing emails."
"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."
"Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud."
"The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists."
More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense cons
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"Microsoft wants its well-paying customers to finish testing some of its half-baked products, find bugs, and report bugs back to Microsoft's team, which is a little frustrating for those who have to manage it and roll it up to thousands of people across the organization."
"The certification training for Defender for 365 needs to be deeper and incorporate Sentinel. I took all the security courses except one, and Sentinel isn't included."
"There needs to be an improvement in integrating the product to work across multiple operating systems, and to have better support for non-Microsoft file types."
"Sometimes I have to recategorize things when it takes the wrong step and I do not want it to classify something as suspicious."
"From a development point of view, if I wanted to do development on my actual machine where Defender is, the organization can set certain policies or Defender makes that prohibitive."
"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."
More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
"The solution’s pricing is manageable."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
"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 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

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, I am not very aware of the pricing details.
See all answers
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 product. Some customer requirements, such as sending logs to a Syslog server, ar...
See all answers
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 Defense.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it's actually quite reasonable even on the licensing side as a standalone product. It's very competitive compared to what competitors are ch...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware. We are seeing a lot more malware-less emails that Defender for Offi...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 include email hygiene.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
Compared 15% of the time
Kiteworks vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Logo
Kiteworks vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
Compared 11% of the time
Comodo Secure Email Gateway vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Logo
Comodo Secure Email Gateway vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
Compared 7% of the time
Proofpoint Email Protection vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Logo
Proofpoint Email Protection vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
Compared 6% of the time
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Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Logo
Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Compared 6% of the time
Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Logo
Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Compared 4% of the time
Mimecast Advanced Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Logo
Mimecast Advanced Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Compared 3% of the time
Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Logo
Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Compared 3% of the time
Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Logo
Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Compared 3% of the time
More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
August 2026
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense reportDownload Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
August 2026
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 reportDownload Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

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

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers real-time email security, enhancing threat detection through integration within the Microsoft ecosystem. Its user-friendly interface and central management streamline operations, providing robust protection against phishing, ransomware, and malware.

Defender for Office 365 is focused on efficiently securing email communication by safeguarding against phishing, malware, and spam threats. With its strong integration with other Microsoft services, it is tailored to improve endpoint security and identity protection. Its centralized management tools simplify threat prioritization, while the automated threat response capabilities ensure swift actions against potential risks. Organizations leverage its capabilities to efficiently manage their cybersecurity efforts, particularly in remote work environments, while maintaining a secure system across Office 365 applications and Azure-hosted services.

What are the key features?
  • Real-time Email Protection: Continuously monitors and protects email communications.
  • Safe Attachments and Links: Scans attachments and links for potential threats.
  • Anti-Phishing Measures: Provides tools to detect and block phishing attempts.
  • Integration with Microsoft Services: Seamlessly connects with other Microsoft applications for enhanced security.
  • Automated Threat Responses: Activates immediate responses to detected threats.
What benefits should users expect from reviews?
  • Time Savings: Automates processes to reduce manual threat management efforts.
  • Improved Cybersecurity: Strengthens organizational defenses against various cyber threats.
  • Efficient Remote Work: Enhances protection for remote teams and virtual collaborations.
  • Comprehensive Coverage: Extends protection across Office 365 and Azure services.

Implementations of Defender for Office 365 vary across industries, optimizing email security for sectors such as finance, healthcare, and education. In finance, it aids in protecting sensitive financial data from phishing and fraud. Healthcare benefits from secure communications, ensuring patient data privacy. Educational institutions use it to maintain secure virtual learning environments against cyber threats.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
August 2026
Free Report: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
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