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Mimecast Email Security vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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

Mimecast Email Security
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (3rd)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Mimecast Email Security is 14.4%, up from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Messaging Gateway is 2.5%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Mimecast Email Security14.4%
Symantec Messaging Gateway2.5%
Other83.1%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

HS
Email Security Engineer at Logic Infosecurity
Experience high detection and user-friendly policies with reliable email security implementation
The system is not user-friendly because you have to create policies that are mapped in a dictionary. As an IT engineer, I understand how it works, but explaining it to another IT person can be difficult. Having more user-friendly dashboards would improve the work experience. In Mimecast Email Security, checking policies in the dictionary or gateway is very complicated, and not everyone understands this process. If you examine the Check Point portal, it's user-friendly with easily accessible tabs that anyone can explore. With Mimecast Email Security, making changes might impact existing mailboxes. The portal is complicated compared to Check Point's user-friendly interface.
Girish Vijay - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy Manager IT at Carl Bechem Lubricants India Pvt. Ltd.
A stable and reasonably priced solution that performs well and has a very good malware database
Since Symantec merged with Broadcom, they might have lost some good technical engineers. Maybe that’s the reason why the product is performing poorly. When we have a good marketing and sales team, even though our product cannot perform, we will sell it at a high price because of the buzzwords. However, at the end of the day, the product should perform. Most of the products might not perform. Symantec is a very good product, but the services are basic. I rate the technical features of the product a nine out of ten. However, I would rate the services provided by the solution a six out of ten. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We like Mimecast's spam filtering. The email signature feature is also a big plus for our users."
"The solution is scalable."
"The reviewer gave Mimecast Email Security a rating of 10 out of 10."
"The initial setup is very straightforward."
"I would rate Mimecast Email Security a nine out of ten."
"The platform's most valuable features are journaling and email archiving, effectively stopping phishing attacks."
"The product is good. To date, we have not faced any challenges."
"In terms of efficacy, Proofpoint is better than Mimecast, though it's a little difficult to manage."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"The most valuable features of Symantec Messaging Gateway are advanced content filtering, malware, and antivirus defense."
"Symantec’s spyware and malware signature database is very good compared to other products."
"What I like most about Symantec Messaging Gateway is its usability. I also find its interface very friendly. The solution has a very good interface."
"The anti-malware and spam features are valuable."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway has a good GUI, and it is very powerful in detecting viruses and spam."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway has a huge knowledge base about phishing, spamming, spoofing, etc."
"The solution is highly customizable. You can make rules for domains and configure policies for spam or malware. Messaging Gateway is an on-prem solution, so it's useful for companies without a cloud presence."
 

Cons

"We have subscribed to an archival service, and yet, when we have to get our data out, we have to pay a fee to get our own data. They charge an extraction fee."
"The installation is not so straightforward."
"The solution is complex and not easy to use."
"As a user, the user interface of the management console could be upgraded, for example."
"Mimecast needs to reduce the number of false positive emails; a big pain point for us."
"Lately, Mimecast's outbound mail servers have been regularly blocklisted by spam filters. That didn't happen a few years back, but it seems to be a more frequent problem these days. When a server is blocklisted, it means all of my outgoing mail ends up in the recipient's junk mail. That affects my reputation and business confidence."
"The reaction time between a new threat being identified and Mimecast picking it up needs to be narrowed a bit."
"I did have a problem with Mimecast. That is why I was looking for an alternative solution because their sender IP address gets poorly rated by Microsoft."
"It is a nice product but is not user friendly in terms of the graphical interface. It is poor and is not rich in terms of the human interface."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway can improve detection because most of them are false negatives or false positives that we are trying to troubleshoot. Additionally, we are having routing problems and they are somehow connected to DNS issues."
"We've had issues in the past where the user finds spam, and Symantec does not recognize it as spam."
"They have updated the version of the Messaging Gateway and the new features they are adding the need to be re-evaluated. They have done some changes on the policy."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway should include better exclusions and exceptions for better administration."
"The false positive submissions must be improved."
"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."
"This product would benefit from better integration with Symantec Endpoint Protection."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to the other solutions in the market, Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection's pricing is fine."
"The customers can select the license packages as per their requirements."
"The product has good pricing in terms of return on investment."
"Compared to the other products in the market, it is neither cheap but nor very expensive. I would rate it somewhere in the middle, 5 out of 10."
"The product price is moderate. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."
"The licensing costs are per-user for the product that you get with them."
"The solution is expensive."
"For what it is, the product is overpriced."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The interface of this solution is very easy to navigate and user-friendly. There is no delivery in email and other communications, making it reliable. The configuration is relatively easy.
What needs improvement with Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
There is room for improvement since new threats are emerging. Considering the availability of new features would be worthwhile. Mimecast Email Security is somewhat expensive compared to the competi...
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Also Known As

Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Azizi Developments, Affinity Credit Union, Aftercare, Al Abbar Group
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Mimecast Email Security vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,899 professionals have used our research since 2012.