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LevelBlue MailMarshal vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 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

LevelBlue MailMarshal
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
14th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (2nd), Email Security (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of LevelBlue MailMarshal is 2.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.4%, down from 27.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 36512.4%
LevelBlue MailMarshal2.4%
Other85.2%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

FA
Cloud & Systems Admin at Service Management Group, Inc.
Offers clear vision on the clear side of what is being blocked and easy to use but a bit old-fashioned GUI
I would rate my experience with the initial setup a four out of ten when one is difficult, and ten is easy. It's difficult initially since it's an on-premise solution. So it's a bit difficult. So the initial assessment took a few days, and then the deployment was a couple of days. It is on-prem. That is also one of the improvements you need to make on the cloud. Most of the people like things to be on the cloud. You don't have the burden of setting up things on-premise.
Emeka Ndulu - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Improves threat visibility and response while reducing manual tasks and training users against phishing
I appreciate the attack simulation feature whereby I get to train users and educate them on how to identify phishing emails and spam emails, as well as the anti-spam protection. It gives me visibility into my threat environment and threat landscape to ensure that I am one step ahead of any likelihood of threats within my environment. I get to detect it and respond, so the threat intelligence is very effective. Microsoft security solutions save my time. It saves money because once I protect my environment, I don't lose money. It has decreased my detection time and my time to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that it doesn't hold emails for any reason; it sends out notifications to the user as well as administrators. So we have a clear vision on the clear side of what is being blocked and in time as well."
"The product's most valuable features are spam protection and artificial intelligence."
"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."
"The feature I like the most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is that it typically runs in the background—you do not know it is there until you need to access it."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"With Defender for Office 365, we have been able to increase the security posture across our organization."
"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"It gives me visibility into my threat environment and threat landscape to ensure that I am one step ahead of any likelihood of threats within my environment."
"Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content."
 

Cons

"The technical support services and stability need improvement as well."
"There is room for improvement in GUI because it is a bit old-fashioned."
"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."
"I was looking for some advanced features, like if I would receive an email that contains a legitimate file type, but the content is malicious, how I can protect against that?"
"Configuration requires going to a lot of places rather than just accessing one tab."
"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."
"We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to the mark in comparison with Wiz or Palo Alto."
"We are waiting for better software to block viruses."
"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is in the middle. Compared to other products, it should be five out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive."
"It is a cost-effective product."
"The product is expensive."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"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."
"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 is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it's actually quite reasonable even on the licensing side as a standalone product. It's very competitive compared to what competitors are ch...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware. We are seeing a lot more malware-less emails that Defender for Offi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 include email hygiene.
 

Also Known As

Trustwave SEG
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about LevelBlue MailMarshal vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
921,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.