Fortinet FortiMail vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365

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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 May 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 3.2%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 6.9%, down from 12.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	6.9%
Fortinet FortiMail	3.2%
Cloudflare One	1.7%
Other	88.2%

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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Abhimanyu Das

Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Targeted email filtering has reduced spam and phishing and now saves significant investigation time

The best features of Fortinet FortiMail include its techniques and tactics, which are highly effective compared to other solutions such as Microsoft 365. Although Fortinet FortiMail may not be as advanced in some aspects, it is well recognized for its strong performance in handling spam and phishing. It performs thorough mail scanning and also offers a sandboxing feature that enhances protection. Fortinet FortiMail has had a positive impact on my organization by significantly reducing unwanted email activities such as spam and phishing. It provides accurate detection and generates results that often exceed what can be achieved through manual analysis. Since deploying Fortinet FortiMail, I have observed a reduction in investigation time by at least 20 to 30 percent.

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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.

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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

"Cloudflare Access is a stable solution."

"The best feature is rate limiting. If I'm expecting 500 visits per hour, Cloudflare will limit the requests if I suddenly get 50,000."

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

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform removes the risk of exposing the applications to the public."

"Clover is the best product globally."

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

"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."

"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."

More Cloudflare One pros

"The most valuable aspects of this solution are that it protects us from spam and phishing attacks. We had a lot of attacks coming in and then we deployed this solution and they stopped. We no longer have any spam or phishing issues."

"For me, Fortinet FortiMail is the best solution I have ever tried."

"Fortinet FortiMail is easy to use and the detection rate is very good."

"This excellent email gateway minimizes spam, inspects suspicious emails and isolates infected attachments with little administrative effort."

"The solution is very, very stable."

"The user quarantine feature in the solution is good...It is a stable solution."

"We do have, as of late, spam outbreaks, and this solution has been pretty reliable in dealing with them."

"Troubleshooting is very simple because you can see where the email was not delivered and why it would be considered as spam."

More Fortinet FortiMail pros

"There are several features that I consider valuable."

"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."

"The most valuable feature is the integration. It's a single console, so we don't have to switch around between multiple products. Another valuable feature is the ease of operations and maintenance."

"The product's scalability is good."

"It has helped us in improving our security posture; it detects any kind of attack or abnormal behavior in accessing the system and sends an alert to the administrator who can check, understand, and review on time to ensure that all activities are legit."

"Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content."

"The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient."

"The ability to respond to threats if very important."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

Cons

"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."

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

"The tool should provide on-premise versions. Currently, all versions are cloud-based."

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

"Lacks a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."

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

"Operating and tuning the product is difficult."

"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."

More Cloudflare One cons

"Issues with the current email search functionality."

"I have faced issues from one of the customers that they received spam emails. I think they need to look into it and improve their signatures."

"The support could be faster because we've been receiving complaints from customers, they say that when they raise a ticket, it doesn't take 24 hours to respond, sometimes the support responds after three days."

"I don't know if it is possible, but I would like to see Artificial Intelligence and machine learning introduced."

"Header inspection and containerization, like on-prem premises sandboxing, need enhancement."

"I think their statistics and the BI in general could be improved."

"I have little to say about possible improvements, but the configuration for content blocking could be better."

"I need a stable update in the product that stays for a long time instead of having to deal with frequent updates."

More Fortinet FortiMail cons

"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."

"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."

"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."

"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."

"It would be better if it were more scalable. It depends on the architecture, but we would like to make it more scalable for both data centers."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."

"It would be better if it were more scalable. It depends on the architecture, but we would like to make it more scalable for both data centers."

"Configuring the default strategies and policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps generates a lot of noise and false positives."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"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."

"The solution is not that expensive."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

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

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

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

"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."

"If you don't need the full bundle that includes everything, you have options for the small or medium enterprise environments."

"Fortinet FortiMail is inexpensive."

"I have no information on pricing for the competition because right now, my company is working only with Fortinet, but I can say that in general, the price for Fortinet FortiMail was accepted by the customers easily. The POC is also important when a customer is buying a solution. The customer wants to see how the product runs, and as Fortinet FortiMail is a stable product that runs without big issues, it has a bigger chance of getting chosen by customers over its competitors, even if its price may be a little higher. Pricing for the solution is competitive. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's a little bit higher, but it isn't far from what other solutions charge."

"It is reasonable."

"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."

"In terms of licensing, we are using a virtual machine license for the single virtual server which it runs on. Doing it this way enables us to cut costs by only licensing FortiMail for our exact use case. If you need to expand in future, you can later buy extra licenses per virtual machine."

"The licensing model for this solution is better because it is based on the box and not the number of users."

"It's not as that expensive with the competitive different brands. The products sell a lot."

More Fortinet FortiMail pricing and cost advice

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."

"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."

"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."

"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 product is expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	31

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access has strong integration with Microsoft, among other platforms. However, when it comes to Kaspersky, ...

What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access provides secure access to internal applications for employees, external members of the organization...

What advice do you have for others considering Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access is one of the best integrations available. While about two hundred vendors offer similar services, ...

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiMail?

The anti-spam features are valuable.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?

The setup cost is a little bit costly.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?

I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they ...

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...

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 ...

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.

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Product Reports

Cloudflare One

Download Cloudflare One product report

Fortinet FortiMail

Download Fortinet FortiMail product report

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Also Known As

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

FortiMail

MS Defender for Office 365

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

Fortinet FortiMail is a robust email security platform offering anti-spam, antivirus, and anti-phishing capabilities. It integrates with Fortinet products to ensure seamless protection against email threats in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, enhancing secure communication for businesses.

Fortinet FortiMail is designed to protect against a range of email threats including spam, phishing, and malware, ensuring email safety for organizations. It operates as both a gateway and server, allowing for secure filtering of incoming and outgoing emails. The integration with Fortinet’s suite of security tools provides a comprehensive approach to managing threats effectively, while user-friendly interfaces and detailed reporting systems aid in threat monitoring and management. Frequent updates are implemented, though scalability and web console enhancements are necessary for improved performance.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiMail?

Anti-Spam: Provides reliable filtering to block unwanted emails.
Antivirus: Ensures protection against harmful viruses.
Anti-Phishing: Prevents phishing attempts through advanced detection.
Sandboxing: Enhances threat detection to manage email security efficiently.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Fortinet products for unified security.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiMail?

Comprehensive Security: Offers robust protection against multiple email threats.
Ease of Use: Features a user-friendly interface for better accessibility.
Detailed Reporting: Provides insights into threat management activities.
Reliable Performance: Delivers consistent updates for maintaining email protection.

Fortinet FortiMail is implemented by companies across industries seeking to secure their email communications. In healthcare, it protects sensitive patient information, while in finance, it safeguards transactional data against phishing attacks. Retailers utilize FortiMail to prevent data breaches from fraudulent emails, demonstrating its versatility in diverse sectors.

Fortinet

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

23andMe

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365