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Fortinet FortiMail vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

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
7.7
Fortinet FortiMail improves email security, reduces costs and downtime, stabilizes communication, and offers significant financial returns.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enhances security, reduces costs, integrates effectively with Microsoft tools, and boosts productivity, offering significant ROI.
It offers cost savings compared to Cisco, which was very expensive.
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Fortinet FortiMail support is generally responsive and competent, though experiences vary with some noting lagging in standard service.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 support is praised for responsiveness, though some users note templated responses and outdated documentation.
Fortinet's technical support offers high-quality support.
Customer service and support have been fantastic.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiMail offers scalable solutions, efficiently handling email volumes for medium to large enterprises, despite smaller model limitations.
Sentiment score
8.1
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is highly scalable and easily accommodates thousands of users without performance issues, simplifying growth.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
Fortinet FortiMail is highly stable and reliable, integrating well with platforms and resolving issues swiftly.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is reliable and stable, boasting 99.9% availability and prompt resolutions to minor bugs.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiMail requires improvements in pricing, usability, deployment complexity, interface, analytics, security features, and update management.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 requires enhancements in virus blocking, phishing detection, integration, scalability, support, and pricing transparency.
The area that could use some improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is the integration process.
I would reduce the cost.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiMail offers competitive pricing based on capacity, providing good performance despite being considered expensive by some users.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is cost-effective for large enterprises but perceived as expensive for smaller businesses.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiMail delivers strong anti-spam, antivirus, phishing protection, user-friendly GUI, and excellent integration, enhancing email security effectively.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides comprehensive protection with seamless integration, simplifying security management and safeguarding remote work environments.
Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial.
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 6.2%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 15.4%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Andras Solt - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonable pricing and good spam filtering but does not offer robust gatekeeping
It's mainly suited for mid-size companies, not for bigger companies like us. We are more than 1,000 people. In fact, we're over 2000 users, so that's why we investigated some other products, and Clearswift, for example. We likely won't increase usage. We're looking at GFI in a year or so.
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.
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831,615 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
50%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 integration to be easier.
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 various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
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.
 

Also Known As

FortiMail
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,615 professionals have used our research since 2012.