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Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Pr...
Ranking in Email Security
21st
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 13.1%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Asif Usmani - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable product that provides security and control over spam and phishing emails
I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails. I can monitor and manage it from Hornetsecurity’s console. The live tracking system is valuable. We can track every incoming and outgoing email live. We can decide whether to block, release, or quarantine emails. We can also review the emails before releasing them. The product provides 99.9% coverage for email security.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Backup and restore are precious features."
"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution."
"I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails."
"The best part is, I rarely have to access the portal as everything is set up and tweaked the way I wanted it. But the feature set is incredibly granular and allows for deep levels of customization."
"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."
"The initial setup was easy."
"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 basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."
"Defender for 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The value of the cloud is that you aren't alone. Threat intelligence and analytics are shared in the cloud. We don't have to find the solution alone. If you face an unknown threat with traditional solutions like Trend Micro and Symantec, you need to open a case and send your information to them to analyze forensically and identify the source of the attack."
"Defender enables us to secure all 365-related activity from a single place. It gives us visibility into everything happening in Outlook, protecting us against phishing and other email-based threats. Defender helps us detect any suspicious behaviors."
"I like its investigation capabilities, as that is what is most important to me. It is fairly simple with a user-friendly interface."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."
 

Cons

"I guess I would say maybe quick access to training material for end-users. I know partners have access to this but I as an end-user do not have immediate access to new update information."
"The solution’s pricing is not reasonable."
"The pricing is a little high compared to other products."
"A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement."
"The only thing they should improve is the licensing model. They should stop changing it. A year ago, the five features I mentioned were included in one product. Now, three of them are bundled into one product, and you have to pay extra for the other two. I don't mind paying extra, but I don't want them to change it every year or every six months. I need to know what I'm looking at and not worry about it next year."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."
"Microsoft sometimes has downtime, and we'll get several incidents coming in back to back. We have a huge backlog of notifications, many of which may be false positives. However, there might be serious alerts, so we can't risk dismissing all of them at once."
"The XDR dashboard has room for improvement."
"The changes to customer service, specifically the new model for support agreements, are not favorable."
"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 must improve the overall management style, including the GUI. It also needs to change the filters so that it is easy to whitelist and blacklist data."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"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."
"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive.
What needs improvement with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement.
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

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

concordia, fraunhofer, mazars
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.