Barracuda Email Protection vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security comparison

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security

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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...

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.3%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 3.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Perception Point Advanced Email Security is 2.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja

Head of Department of Network Communications at Eko electricity

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.

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LeeMiles

Director, Information Technology at St Albans High School For Girls

Very good threat protection, spam filtering, and cloud backups

Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by default included in certain settings. For instance, for email quarantine, I can't set up a global setting. Users must go through an induction session where I guide them in configuring quarantine alerts rather than having default settings based on group membership. This seems like an oversight since they already use Active Directory details. They should assign policies based on group membership, which configures these settings by default.

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Fabio Amorim Araujo

Founder at Envisionare Solucoes em Tecnologia

Has good detection and response capabilities

The solution is very easy to use. We don't have any difficulty with transactions. Finding information, customizing configurations, and getting support or documentation is simple. I don't have any negative points to mention. I would recommend this solution to others. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it a ten. It's amazing for us—the protection, the analysis time compared to Microsoft 365, and the pricing are all good. We're using both solutions—spam and protection channels. Recently, we presented two-week results to a customer, and they liked them and wanted to buy the solution. Our feedback is positive. We're developing a strategy to increase sales of the solution. When we deliver executive summaries to customers, we present good news about our company and discuss how Perception Point Advanced Email Security can help improve their security.

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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."

"The most valuable feature is protection against malicious links, fishing, and impersonation. You can train people to be aware of these threats, but they're not always careful. When they're using their phones between meetings, they click on a link, and it's game over."

"It has significantly decreased my time to detection and response."

"The initial setup was easy."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the ease of use."

"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to protect us from malware."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has improved my organization's security. It makes it easier to manage the infrastructure without the help of third-party applications."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"We now have a secondary backup of Office 365 that's much easier to retrieve compared to Microsoft. If someone deletes something in Office 365, we can get it back within Office 365, but it's difficult. Barracuda is much easier. There is a lot less management needed using Barracuda. The management becomes much easier for Office 365 and it's no longer on-prem, so there are fewer hours managing on-prem devices, servers, and things of that nature. We don't have network appliances anymore for the backup of our information."

"The product is easy to deploy and maintain."

"The best feature of Barracuda Email Protection is that it provides protection for Microsoft 365."

"The most valuable features of Barracuda Email Protection are flexibility and customization."

"We check the reports sometimes to see that frequent attacks and malicious emails are being blocked by the solution."

"I would rate the solution nine out of ten."

"I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products."

"The most helpful aspect for me is the out-of-the-box configuration, which is fairly good."

More Barracuda Email Protection pros

"The Perception Point Incident Response team acts as an extension of our SOC team. This is very important for us. This is a benefit provided for their main product of scanning our emails. If Perception Point can give me IR, this is really good versus other products that do not provide this kind of service. Perception Point's service is great. They are very professional. That reduces the time that my internal SOC has to deal with my internal IT person. They just send an email to the IR team at Perception Point, who continues the investigation and blocks any emails, if necessary. This is very good because it can reduce a lot of time and effort from my team. It is like an extension of my SOC, but external."

"I see from time to time that Perception Point is being proactive. They approach us, and say, "Can you check this, and this?" So, it does seem that they are an extension of my incident response."

"One is the hardware-assisted platform that provides more insight into the threat scenarios. And the other is their instant response team's availability, 24/7, for identifying and responding to incidents. These are the two main things that everyone likes."

"The solution’s effectiveness when it comes to detection is very good. It has a very good mechanism. It scans our emails. It identifies any threat or phishing attempts and phishing campaigns as well as any bad reputation, servers, or links, then it blocks them. This is what I find to be very good about this system."

"The most valuable features of the solution are the ones that are related to finding impersonation attacks and detecting attempts to steal credentials. In scenarios where attackers get you to follow URLs to a malicious site that looks similar to a good site, and then ask for the user credentials to try to steal them, it is very useful."

"What's really good about this platform is that you have full visibility, it has a very nice and very friendly UI, it's quick, and there's no latency in the scanning."

"It really works well on SharePoint when you upload a file or save a file. Advanced Email Security scans if it is malicious and identifies issues. It can do some forensics on its console, which is nice."

"The solution’s effectiveness when it comes to detection is very good. It is stopping malicious emails and tagging emails noted as spam. So, we are able to disseminate those emails, get what we need, and block clearly malicious emails. It saves us a lot of valuable time. It keeps our users safe, e.g., the majority of emails that they would have gotten in the past don't even make it into their inbox."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security pros

Cons

"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."

"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."

"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."

"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."

"Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features."

"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."

"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."

"Configuring the default strategies and policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps generates a lot of noise and false positives."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"The customer service and support could be improved if the support were available directly in Europe. Currently, the support is often managed from India, so we sometimes need to wait due to the time zone difference. It would be quicker and better if the support were provided by European staff."

"Two to three months back, we got fraudulent emails in which someone in the organization was being blamed."

"There is room for improvement, particularly in reaching out to technical support during deployment."

"I would like to see better integration with other products."

"Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platforms and third-party solutions."

"Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by default included in certain settings."

"The platform's pricing needs improvement."

"The solution's reporting mechanism is a little poor and could be improved."

More Barracuda Email Protection cons

"Integration and end-user interaction can be improved as the current system does not allow end-users to send back information to the platform, unlike Google Workspace or competitive tools like Ironscales."

"Its websites for analysis need to be a bit more approachable for people who are less technical. Technically, it is a fire-and-forget solution. So, you want to be able to implement this solution for a lot of companies who don't have security operation teams (SOCs) behind them. You need to have something where a secretary can jump onto this console and release whatever she needs to release. Therefore, it needs to be written in a very specific non-technical language."

"This is an option to preview an email in their console, and that could be improved. If you open the preview, then it auto scrolls. Therefore, it is hard to look at the email when it is going to the next page or scrolling. It should not have the auto-scroll."

"Our users would like the solution to scan outgoing emails. So, if my system is compromised, and I have malicious content in my system, then there is a possibility that I am sending a colleague that malicious content."

"There is still room for improvement with BEC. There is more work to be done by Perception Point on machine learning and neuro language as well. BEC is very difficult if you don't have a computer language looking into the content of the email and trying to make a determination through that. With BEC you often don't have an attachment or a URL."

"They could improve their anti-spam engine a little bit, because there are a lot of false positives. Sometimes, emails pass through their system but are spam. In terms of security and engines for malicious emails and antivirus, they're doing a good job. Their other engines can be improved."

"I think the interface could be improved in the next release."

"To improve the solution, maybe a portal for end users to consult their emails would be helpful. The end user could access the portal and see their emails or events. They could also refresh the names."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."

"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."

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."

"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."

"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."

"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."

"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"The price of Barracuda Essentials is better than some of the competing products."

"We didn't have to pay a lot for the solution because we got it from a good vendor with a good user volume."

"The product is expensive."

"The price is similar to that of Microsoft 365."

"Price-wise, this product is middle-of-the-road."

"Barracuda licensing model is good."

"We pay annually. They never charged us for anything else. And they were quite a bit under that $20,000 mark. It was $19,074. And they've been pretty good about not skyrocketing the price or anything like that. It has gone up. It's gone up to $24,000 in 2020."

"The solution's pricing is moderate, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."

More Barracuda Email Protection pricing and cost advice

"When compared to other solutions on the market, it is relatively fair."

"We would always like it to be cheaper and save more money. However, we are getting the value from it."

"The pricing and licensing are very fair compared to competing companies in the same field."

"There is room for improvement for them with an MSP partner. The pricing is good and fair. Our customers don't complain. The only thing is that it's a little bit old school. They don't have a system that automatically checks the number of users that our customers have so we can just update the licenses ourselves through a website. It is still done manually. They have a person who checks invoicing monthly to determine if there have been any changes. A nice improvement would be if they could get automated licensing counts."

"The solution is neither cheap nor expensive. There are no additional costs to the standard license."

"The price of the solution is high."

"The pricing was fair in comparison with the other solutions. We have received good value for what we paid."

"They are not the most expensive vendor. There are much more expensive vendors. They are not cheap, but they are not the most expensive. They are somewhere in the middle."

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

19%

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

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?

Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS recor...

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Protection?

Barracuda Email Protection is easy to deploy and maintain. It doesn't require a specialized resource to manage this t...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Email Protection?

Their list price is too high, but in India, the selling price is affordable at around $10 per user per year. Despite ...

What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Protection?

Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by defa...

What do you like most about Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

The most valuable feature is the technical support services.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

In Brazil, the dollar price affects the cost. Perception Point Advanced Email Security is about 50 percent less expen...

What needs improvement with Perception Point Advanced Email Security?

There are always places for improvement, but this needs deeper thought and planning. Integration and end-user interac...

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Comparisons

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 7% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Business vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 4% of the time

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Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 18% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 8% of the time

Avanan vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 6% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

Sophos Email vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

More Barracuda Email Protection Competitors

Fortinet FortiMail vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 13% of the time

Avanan vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 11% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 10% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Compared 9% of the time

More Perception Point Advanced Email Security Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Barracuda Email Protection

Download Barracuda Email Protection product report

Perception Point Advanced Email Security

Download Perception Point Advanced Email Security product report

Perception Point Advanced Email Security report

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365

Barracuda Essentials

No data available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

Microsoft

The popularity of Microsoft 365 means criminals test and design their attacks to bypass its native security features. And that means you need additional layers of defense. With Advanced Threat Protection enabled, Barracuda uses multiple layers of detection, including signature, static, and behavioral analysis, along with CPU-emulation sandboxing to accurately detect and block zero-hour targeted attacks and ransomware.

Traditional email gateways use static rules and policies—reputation analysis, block lists, and malicious payloads—to determine if an email is malicious.

Barracuda protects your Microsoft 365 inbox against evasive threats with a powerful AI engine that learns the unique communication patterns within your organization through access to internal and historical emails. Once it understands what legitimate emails looks like for each user, it can detect anomalies that signal malicious intent. This context-based detection is more effective at blocking targeted attacks, which are designed to bypass traditional rule-based email security.

Barracuda Networks

Perception Point Advanced Email Security is a comprehensive solution designed to protect organizations from advanced email threats. Leveraging cutting-edge technology, it offers multi-layered defense mechanisms to detect and block sophisticated attacks such as phishing, malware, and ransomware.

With its advanced threat intelligence capabilities, it can identify and neutralize zero-day threats in real-time. The solution also provides robust data loss prevention features, ensuring sensitive information remains secure. Its user-friendly interface allows for easy management and monitoring of email security, while its seamless integration with existing email platforms ensures a hassle-free deployment process.

Perception Point Advanced Email Security is a reliable and efficient solution that safeguards organizations against the ever-evolving landscape of email-based threats.

Perception Point

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems

Information Not Available

Barracuda Email Protection vs. Perception Point Advanced Email Security