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Fortinet FortiMail vs SonicWall Email Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (11th)
Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SonicWall Email Security
Ranking in Email Security
32nd
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.1%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 5.1%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SonicWall Email Security is 0.5%, down from 0.6% 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.
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.
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides strong email filtering and threat intelligence but pricing needs improvement
I work with SonicWall Email Security SonicWall Email Security uses multi-layer cloud security. It filters emails before they come to my provider, such as Office 365. It has real-time threat intelligence and provides strong data loss prevention. Additionally, it filters emails before they reach my…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It also gives the vulnerability status according to the versions you have selected. Let's say you have Google Chrome. It mentions the versions it has, and it updates. Within two hours of an update, it is reflected in the dashboard. That's really nice to have."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
"Defender is a SaaS platform, so it offers more flexibility. Managing the permissions is easier. The solution's automated detection and response features are scalable."
"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to protect us from malware."
"I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."
"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."
"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."
"Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial."
"FortiMail is extremely flexible and very easy to learn. Compared to other email security products that we've tried, it is mainly the ease of configuration that makes FortiMail valuable to us."
"The most valuable features of this solution are anti-spam, sender reputation, and antivirus."
"The anti-spam functionality is good and works well."
"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 solution is very reliable and very stable."
"This solution is good for small and medium enterprise companies."
"The deployment is simple and once up and running it is easy to manage."
"This solution provides very good email security that protects us against spamming and malware."
"Setup was easy. It took about 30 minutes."
"The product is easy to manage in terms of configurations."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"There are no wasted extras and the interface is really simple."
"According to our customers, the product's most valuable feature is the ability to detect spam and reduce phishing emails."
"The most valuable feature is that it protects from spam."
"The most valuable feature of SonicWall Email Security is the blocking of emails using keywords. If there are any particular keywords in the subject, that we want to block from receiving from a particular person we can do it. Additionally, the blocking of emails is easy. we can release that one and we can block some of the keywords also like that."
 

Cons

"Configuration requires going to a lot of places rather than just accessing one tab."
"They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are."
"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's Mac functionality requires improvement to deliver the same level of protection found on Windows devices."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"In some situations, it has not been able to pick impersonated emails having no attachments. Technical support definitely has a scope for improvement."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"The solution doesn't scale easily."
"Fortinet FortiMail should allow more flexibility with the content rules."
"The sandboxing features are not well done in Fortinet FortiMail, making it an area of improvement."
"It would be nice if we could manage the solution from the cloud so I could handle things off-site if necessary."
"Fortinet FortiMail could improve general user management. There are no password policies for users."
"Issues with the current email search functionality."
"I don't know if it is possible, but I would like to see Artificial Intelligence and machine learning introduced."
"What's missing in Fortinet FortiMail is some sandbox information for some of the emails. It's probably configuration-based, where it could be configured on some emails. For example, there was malware in some emails that weren't detected in some of the Fortinet FortiMail sessions, but it should have been configured from my company's end to better catch scam emails, but overall, the solution is okay. At the moment, my company is okay with the current Fortinet FortiMail offerings, but in the past, because of a lack of understanding, my team wasn't able to quickly implement the geographical IP blocking feature. It was time-consuming to implement that feature, but that wasn't a fault of Fortinet FortiMail. The issue was from my team's end, but just by emailing the support team, that issue was resolved, so right now, there isn't any additional feature I'd like added to Fortinet FortiMail."
"We would like to see more information on a dashboard about what is happening when it comes to spamming and malware."
"The technical support from the company is not always very good at solving issues, but they offer access to a good community of users where problems are easily solved."
"There could be definition updates included in the subscription."
"The pricing could be improved."
"A lot of spoofed emails are still coming to the end-user, so the configuration for this option needs to be improved."
"The reporting needs improvement."
"Updates could be released more frequently."
"They should integrate the solution with third-party platforms."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"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."
"FortiMail has extra charges for installation, configuration, and project management."
"It's not as that expensive with the competitive different brands. The products sell a lot."
"There is a license required for this solution."
"The licensing model for this solution is better because it is based on the box and not the number of users."
"The annual cost is $55,000."
"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."
"I find Fortinet FortiMail pricing reasonable. There's no additional cost apart from its standard licensing fees."
"Fortinet FortiMail is a little bit expensive."
"I rate the application’s pricing a five out of ten."
"We have a two-year license subscription and the price is very high."
"The platform offers a yearly license."
"The overall price of SonicWall Email Security should be reduced and there should be an option to purchase one or two licenses more instead of their current policy of bulk increases only. There should be more flexibility in the licensing model. Each license cost approximately $33 annually."
"The cost is cheaper than Sophos. I would rate it as five out of ten."
"When compared with Cisco, it is very well priced. Cisco is very expensive."
"Our customers purchase the solution's yearly license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
46%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Government
4%
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
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?
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 ( /products/office-365-reviews ) suite, making it slightly more expensive ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The main area for improvement is simplifying the implementation and rollout process. There are many conditions to be ...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
Detailed documentation regarding deployment options and configuration would be beneficial. Providing comprehensive do...
What do you like most about SonicWall Email Security?
According to our customers, the product's most valuable feature is the ability to detect spam and reduce phishing ema...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
FortiMail
Dell SonicWALL Email Security Platform, SonicWall Hosted Email Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Star Kay White, Locala Community Partnerships
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. SonicWall Email Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,207 professionals have used our research since 2012.