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

Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

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

Fortra's Clearswift Secure ...
Ranking in Email Security
36th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
0
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 (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 4.3%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)4.3%
Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway1.0%
Other94.7%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

PC
Systems Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable, but malware needs improvement and customer support is poor
They need to improve the malware in the product. I am not satisfied with Clearswift because of the lack of customer support. The support is poor, the supplier takes a lot of time and it's expensive. We have some issues here when I contact the supplier, it takes a lot of time for them to get back to us but there's no solution. I am now looking at Symantec as a possible alternative.
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

"A stable solution."
"Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease."
"I like the product's ZAP feature."
"The product's most valuable feature is third-party integrations."
"We use the solution to receive emails. We do not use the calendar function as our clients are slow adaptors to the latest features."
"It's definitely scalable."
"The security features provided by Microsoft are robust."
"We can migrate seamlessly without any disruptions to our operations."
"Online Protection's most valuable feature is its admin interface."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is used essentially for email filtering, acting as an anti-spam and security product for email."
 

Cons

"FTP server and TRUST Manager functionality."
"Malware needs improvement."
"Microsoft 365 Defender and EOP policies are stable with the proper license. However, with the basic policy, it's hard to say it's stable due to configuration limitations."
"When you're using a Microsoft product solution, you can scale it, but if you're not, there are limitations."
"When the product is being updated, it changes some of the setups. The support team is also not good."
"The solution can be complex at times. It would be nice to have the on-server version. It needs to improve the stability as well."
"I think the implementation could be more streamlined."
"I would like to get reports about vulnerable connections from our clients with information about domains, public IPs, etc. That would be highly useful."
"The management interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) could be intuitive."
"The security features could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The product is expensive."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reasonable."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
"The product's pricing is competitive for the US market."
"Apart from the license fee for the solution, there are no additional costs."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"It is a low-price solution."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement, as at times it doesn't make sense where to go to access certain features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is basically to protect ourselves from phishing emails and to improve our email security.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,515 professionals have used our research since 2012.