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Fortinet FortiMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (13th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (20th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (12th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (7th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th), Access Management (11th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (9th), ZTNA (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (3rd)
Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (14th)
 

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 Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 3.5%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail3.2%
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)3.5%
Cloudflare One1.7%
Other91.6%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

CV
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.
Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl
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.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The blocking feature is very good."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform removes the risk of exposing the applications to the public."
"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."
"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."
"Cloudflare One has assisted in securing my remote workforce through a SASE solution with Cloudflare One and the Workers part, although I am not currently using the Workers component."
"This solution is easy to understand and easy to configure."
"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 Access is a stable solution."
"Fortinet’s support services are good."
"The user quarantine feature in the solution is good...It is a stable solution."
"The deployment is simple and once up and running it is easy to manage."
"The GUI isn't hard to use. When we do a demo and explain the features of Fortinet products to our customers, they understand very quickly. They can easily manage their systems without us."
"The deployment is simple and once up and running it is easy to manage."
"Fortinet utilizes specialized processing units, which network faster and sample more efficiently compared to others."
"We have definitely seen ROI. My emails are safer. We don't have any more spam or phishing emails. The users are safe now. I don't have to worry about what emails my team is getting. It makes my life easier."
"Clean user interface and good sandbox."
"It has a really nice web-based administration console."
"You can use the product to create special accounts."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is used essentially for email filtering, acting as an anti-spam and security product for email."
"The solution uses artificial intelligence and machine learning, so you don't need train it to detect something. The detection and response times are short. It's an excellent product."
"With Microsoft Exchange Online Protection, if malware is attached to a mailer, it's very easy to go into the incident alert and find out what's happening with that identity and the mail."
"The initial setup is just a standard process."
"It provides security to both on-premises and Azure infrastructures."
"I like the product's ZAP feature."
 

Cons

"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."
"The response time for support must be reduced."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."
"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."
"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."
"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."
"The initial onboarding was causing us some confusion."
"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."
"My customers frequently ask to have detailed documentation for FortiMail and FortiWeb as they have in FortiGate. What they currently have is not enough."
"There are features that other solutions have that this one is lacking, such as reporting options."
"In the Latin America market, some spam messages use Portuguese language. Some clearly spam messages would be better identified by the anti-spam if not for the language."
"Fortinet FortiMail's pricing could be improved."
"I think the security of the product could improve."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"The solution could be improved by providing a virtual machine facility with a complete set of options in the VM setup and by enhancing the clarity of the information supplied for content filtering."
"The logging information is sometimes not clear or easy to understand."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"The price could be lower."
"The product could be more stable. Microsoft products could be more stable because sometimes, even though they are updating some things, we cannot find those updates."
"If a company wants to put in line back-to-back anti-spam solutions, they need to work on that part because Microsoft recommends either you use EOP as a front line or you don't use it."
"When you're using a Microsoft product solution, you can scale it, but if you're not, there are limitations."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
"Some features, like encryption, are not available."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
"The prices are slightly expensive."
"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"The solution is not that 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 pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."
"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."
"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."
"You need to pay additional fees for premium support."
"It is reasonable."
"The annual cost is $55,000."
"Price-wise, the solution is not far from Microsoft ATP. So, it is affordable."
"In the future I would like it if there's a possibility to lower the price of the bandwidth and UTM. It is quite expensive."
"Fortinet FortiMail has an annual license agreement."
"There is a license required for this solution and it is on an annual basis. I am satisfied with the price."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"The product is bundled with Microsoft 365."
"The pricing for the solution depends on what you are trying to achieve with the use of the product, but I know that it is not a cheaply priced product. Yearly payments have to be made towards the licensing fees of the solution."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"The price could be lower."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

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 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 primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail?
I do have a partnership with Fortinet. I have been both a partner and reseller.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company,...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My experience with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is from an end-user perspective, and I do not have admi...
 

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform
FortiMail
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

23andMe
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,467 professionals have used our research since 2012.