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Darktrace vs Sophos Email comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 24, 2024

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
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enhances security, reduces costs, integrates effectively with Microsoft tools, and boosts productivity, offering significant ROI.
Sentiment score
7.3
Darktrace's threat prevention boosts security, saves costs, and offers significant value, especially for online businesses, despite quantification challenges.
Sentiment score
8.7
Sophos Email delivers significant ROI by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing security, particularly benefiting government contracts.
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
Using this solution provides financial benefits by securing from server attacks, which offers indirect savings.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 support is praised for responsiveness, though some users note templated responses and outdated documentation.
Sentiment score
7.6
Darktrace support is praised for its responsive and efficient service, though a few cite improvement areas for complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.4
Sophos Email's customer support receives mixed reviews, praised for basic help but criticized for delays with complex issues.
Customer service and support have been fantastic.
Darktrace provides excellent technical support with a monthly meeting to review platform incidents, ensuring the system functions as expected.
The technical support from Darktrace is of high quality.
The response time and quality are satisfactory.
When I reported a problem with our firewall, they acted promptly and delivered another piece of equipment.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is highly scalable and easily accommodates thousands of users without performance issues, simplifying growth.
Sentiment score
7.6
Darktrace is praised for its scalability, efficiently managing large networks with flexible deployment despite cost concerns, excelling in diverse environments.
Sentiment score
7.3
Sophos Email is highly scalable, supporting diverse user numbers, but faces challenges with licensing costs and technical enhancements.
Since it's cloud-based, it expands easily.
Darktrace has high scalability, and I would rate it a nine out of ten.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is reliable and stable, boasting 99.9% availability and prompt resolutions to minor bugs.
Sentiment score
8.5
Darktrace is highly stable, with users rating it 8-10, citing reliability despite rare minor issues like human error.
Sentiment score
8.1
Sophos Email is a highly stable and reliable tool crucial for daily operations, rated 7-10 by users.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 requires enhancements in virus blocking, phishing detection, integration, scalability, support, and pricing transparency.
Darktrace needs better integration, a simpler interface, automation enhancements, flexible pricing, improved documentation, and expanded notifications.
Sophos Email needs better security, user interface, support, cloud integration, email filtering, setup, compatibility, and reporting features.
I would reduce the cost.
There is no dedicated salesperson in Egypt, and having one would help to improve focus on this market.
There are still some issues with the network capturing or blocking traffic even after implementing exceptions.
The management dashboards and the meter dashboards should be more user-friendly and simple to use for easy management.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is cost-effective for large enterprises but perceived as expensive for smaller businesses.
Darktrace is costly for small businesses but offers flexible plans and pricing varies with devices and modules chosen.
Sophos Email pricing is seen as affordable and cost-effective, especially for large deployments, with mixed feedback on costs and discounts.
The product is considered expensive compared to others.
Sophos Email pricing is a bit high, especially since I purchase through a partner, and they sell it at a higher price since they also seek to make a profit.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides comprehensive protection with seamless integration, simplifying security management and safeguarding remote work environments.
Darktrace excels in AI threat detection, real-time monitoring, and autonomous response, offering seamless integration and an intuitive interface.
Sophos Email offers comprehensive email security with advanced features, AI integration, and user-friendly management for efficient threat protection.
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
The features that are most valuable to me include detection, response with analytics, and network detection.
Darktrace is valuable since it offers full packet capture and detailed metadata.
The most valuable features are the AI and advanced learning tools that distinguish it from other products.
The spam reduction feature in Sophos Email provides comfort when using it.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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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)
Darktrace
Ranking in Email Security
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (4th), AI-Powered Chatbots (2nd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (16th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (12th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (3rd), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
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 February 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.7%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 2.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 2.4%, down from 2.7% 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.
Peter-Murphy - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables proactive threat detection and immediate response through AI monitoring
The most valuable feature of Darktrace is its ability to detect and counter threats before they occur. The autonomous response capability is always enabled, blocking threats immediately without hesitation. Additionally, the Darktrace email platform is a significant asset since it addresses incoming threats before they reach the network, enhancing our security measures. Protecting the business is essential, and ensuring security through 24/7 AI monitoring is invaluable.
NaveedAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides good identity proxy features, but sandboxing and spam control features could be improved
Sophos gives you a feature set to manage your on-premises firewall on the cloud. I just integrated my on-premises firewall into the cloud, and I can manage the tool through the cloud as well if needed. I recommend using Sophos Email as a proxy. For email gateways, I advise choosing mature products with rich feature sets, like Trend Micro or CrowdStrike. The solution's integration with other tools is very simple. I easily integrated Sophos Email with my Active Directory. My organization needs a WAF with a limited feature set, which we use through Sophos. Purchasing additional WAF will be costly, but I get sandboxing and WAF features free of cost with Sophos, which is included in the license. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
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832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Retailer
6%
 

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.
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing u...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet tr...
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?
Sophos Email pricing is a bit high, especially since I purchase through a partner, and they sell it at a higher price...
What needs improvement with Sophos Email?
Email installation could be more user-friendly so that it can be done without involving the partner. If made more use...
 

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.
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.