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

Fortinet FortiMail vs IceWarp comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
Fortinet FortiMail
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (6th)
IceWarp
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Email Applications (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Email Security
Email Applications
 

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.
Nigus Machin Amare - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers advanced protection from email-based attacks and consistently blocks spam
The most valuable features are Fortinet FortiMail ( /products/fortinet-fortimail-reviews )'s ability to protect from advanced features of email-based attacks, including protection against ransomware and malware attacks. It is especially effective in blocking spam through standards like wrong source IP for email-based attacks. Its high scalability and stability, especially for financial institutions, are noteworthy.
AvinashLotke - PeerSpot reviewer
Useful for collaboration and storage but improvement is needed in API integration
The solution has traditional SSL integration, SAML, and Federation Services. In its latest version, it added SAML integration. However, it needs to work on API integration, especially for dashboards or integration with SAP for log and data system management. It doesn't yet have the kind of API that Google and Microsoft provide for synchronizing users with Active Directory. I think IceWarp needs to improve in a few areas. They have two types of admin consoles - a web-based one and a remote one. I'd like to see these combined into a single web-based admin console. The log reading and information system also needs improvement. The current way of showing incoming and outgoing logs isn't very clear. For new users, it's hard to understand these logs, especially compared to Office 365 and other systems with easier-to-read logs. They should also add an export option to get all logs with a single click whenever we need them.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."
"Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content."
"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 product's scalability is good."
"The basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"The product is not resource-intensive."
"The solution is very reliable and very stable."
"It is a scalable solution."
"The solution is very, very stable."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiMail are its virus outbreak prevention and FortiSandbox integration."
"The solution can scale."
"FortiMail effectively filters all emails coming to our mail server, blocking malicious ones automatically."
"They have a feature called CDR, Content Disarm, Reconstruction, click protection, and DLP for encryption purposes."
"The spam filtering is great."
"IceWarp has multiple applications that are easy to use for many people."
"The solution is easy to manage and includes features such as smart documents and the archiving of user data."
"The product is used very extensively in my company since we have around 1,500 users using it. Also, there is no requirement for any administrators to manage the product by the people who own the solution."
"The TeamChat feature has been really good for our email management. It lets us collaborate, share files, and invite guests like Google Spaces or Microsoft Teams. I like the two-factor authentication for security. However, they need to improve their document collaboration tools, as their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint features are basic compared to Microsoft and Google."
"An effective, functional, very good tool for controlling resources."
"The solution's voice services work well for our company."
"It has great communication capabilities for team chatting and web conferences."
"The solution has a very good log-in to the UI when compared to other solutions."
 

Cons

"The product must provide better malware detection."
"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."
"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."
"The logging information is sometimes not clear or easy to understand."
"I have little to say about possible improvements, but the configuration for content blocking could be better. So, for example, if the email includes the line "You have a Bitcoin", I would like it to be easier to block it before it enters an inbox. Fortinet could maybe offer better or simpler help on how to do this properly."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"The product could incorporate even more artificial intelligence to enhance the functionality, but it is a competetive and intelligent product as it."
"The product's cybersecurity features could be better."
"The sandboxing features are not well done in Fortinet FortiMail, making it an area of improvement."
"The infrastructure could be improved."
"Fortinet FortiMail's pricing could be improved."
"The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management."
"Our customers sometimes have problems receiving mail."
"The tool's configuration capabilities are not straightforward. Apart from that, if I want to archive emails into a vault so that they can be retrieved again later, the integration doesn't work, and IceWarp crashes."
"It is difficult to disable user rights on the console so some users accidentally delete their documents or user details."
"Support should be improved. Most of the time, the queries are not resolved within the SLA."
"The exchange compatibility mode is rather limited. Their technical support can also be better. They only provide online support, and there should be some option for escalating."
"The solution should improve the mailing list feature. Google has a similar feature where you can automate sending files to different people in a sequence, but that feature is no longer available in the current version of IceWarp. Other features may also have been removed in the current version."
"I would like to have a trial for mobile applications and more documentation similar to Google Drive with mobile applications."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."
"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."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"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."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"Fortinet FortiMail is inexpensive."
"Price-wise, you get what you pay for in Fortinet FortiMail. Apart from the licensing costs, no additional expenses are attached to the solution's pricing."
"We paid approximately $30,000 for the solution. It is less expensive than some other solutions. We have one license that carries all the features that we wanted."
"Pricing is based on initial license purchase and use volume."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"There is either an annual or six-month charge to use this solution. Fortinet FortiMail is cheaper than Proofpoint or Cisco Security, or other email security appliances."
"If you don't need the full bundle that includes everything, you have options for the small or medium enterprise environments."
"The solution is quite pricey compared to other competitors in the market."
"There are various licensing plans available based on geographic zone."
"It is definitely one of the lowest price solutions."
"Pricing and licensing is very competitive and in some cases, cheap."
"The license is based on the number of users."
"I don't see any challenges for the Indian market. For example, 1 GB is available for around 399 INR, and 2 GB for 499 INR. They offer a range of plans, from basic to professional and enterprise, with multiple features. IceWarp's aggressive pricing is competitive compared to other market solutions like Zoho and Microsoft. One significant advantage is that IceWarp does not impose user capping like Google and Microsoft, which allows for substantial cost savings and flexibility in user conversion."
"Price-wise, it's a cheaper solution, without a doubt. Price is the reason we are still using the tool."
"The solution is inexpensive which is its main benefit."
"I would rate the pricing and eight out of ten."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
844,944 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%
Educational Organization
49%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
18%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
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 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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IceWarp?
IceWarp was very cost-effective, offering services at a significantly lower cost than Google, which was appealing for...
What needs improvement with IceWarp?
The solution needs improvements in security, particularly regarding document management. Users currently have the rig...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
FortiMail
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Marriott, Toyota, Sony, Wendy's, Canon
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Cisco, Proofpoint and others in Email Security. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.