Cisco Secure Email vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server comparison

Cisco Secure Email vs. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

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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

Cisco Secure Email

Ranking in Email Security

5th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Cisco Security Portfolio (6th)

Kaspersky Security for Mail...

Ranking in Email Security

35th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 5.6%, down from 7.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is 0.7%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Secure Email	5.6%
Kaspersky Security for Mail Server	0.7%
Other	93.7%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Kostas Karidas

System Administrator at bluegr Hotels & Resorts

Helps prevent security breaches but fails to improve in the area of AI

I have not noticed any impressive advanced threat protection mechanisms in the tool. I don't know if there are any AI features in the product. I don't know if there is any other technology embedded in the solution. Cisco Secure Email successfully mitigated potential email threats. My company has seen plenty of scenarios where Cisco Secure Email successfully mitigated potential email threats, spam emails, and fraudulent domains. The product is good for dealing with spam emails, and it can take care of more than 100 spam emails per day. A huge number of spam emails are monitored with the help of Cisco Secure Email. I would not recommend the product to other businesses because you need to have some kind of expertise in configuring and knowing a bit about the tool's GUI. The tool also lacks in the area of AI mechanics. If I would like to have an overview and review another solution, I would go for another product other than Cisco Secure Email. I can definitely suggest others to look at the product and review it, but I would also recommend that they compare it with the other solutions in the market. I wouldn't prioritize Cisco Secure Email over other tools. Either the support partner of the product or I take care of the tool's maintenance phase by looking into the configurations and doing some fine-tuning. I rate the tool a seven to eight out of ten.

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Kamran Bhatti

Network Engineer at EXORDIUM NETWORKS, INC.

Provides reliable real-time email protection and offers competitive pricing features

Regarding Kaspersky Security for Mail Server, I have not compared with other solutions, but I will compare and provide feedback. It is a reliable and fast security solution, and I can say it blocks better than other competitor software. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server has support for Windows and Linux, but regarding improvement, I have to dig deep and will have to do research on that. I have not checked into much detail about what can be better in Kaspersky Security for Mail Server. I have checked in general. If given some time, I can check and compare with other solutions. Regarding Kaspersky Security for Mail Server, I have found this is quite a good solution. It has a good response and good detection capability. I have not checked other products, so I cannot give any detailed or specific feedback regarding that. From what I have checked from Kaspersky mail security, it is satisfactory.

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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

"I love the Advanced Malware Protection feature. It works very well... The appliance has more security such as SDF, DKIM, DMARC, and encryption."

"The tool comes with AI features. It is good for clients who already use Cisco products due to integration."

"The most valuable features are Advanced Malware Protection, URL filtering, and of course Reputation Filtering."

"There were detailed logs available. That was a seriously good feature... It turns out these were actually spoof emails that came into our environment. I got to know about them from the log system."

"Because we scan products, and there is a lot of critical data, security is very important in these cases."

"At one point, there was a zero-day attack. The Cisco appliance detected it and stopped it, helping us out. We avoided the attack and potential damage."

"Initially, the most valuable feature for us was the SenderBase Reputation, because that reduced the number of emails that were even considered by the system by a huge number..."

"It is doing its work. It is doing what it was actually designed to do. It has ensured we don't have business email compromises, and it has also ensured that our brand Galaxy is unique all year round."

More Cisco Secure Email pros

"We have achieved cost savings of up to thirty percent by using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server."

"You can install the plugins on the same machine hosting your exchange solution. It's a good complement for Sophos security, which scans the traffic before it reaches your mail service. Kaspersky is on the mail server itself while Sophos handles the incoming traffic. With both of them working together, we have the perfect solution for mail."

"The integration rate is very high in Kaspersky, which is why most of our customers like it."

"The most valuable features are the anti-phishing and anti-spam capabilities."

"The most valuable feature is the straightforward setup."

"I find the product valuable because it provides easy integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution."

Cons

"While Cisco offers excellent solutions and innovations, the pricing may not be suitable for everyone. The cost of the software is relatively high. In the current market, there are numerous competitive alternatives that focus on security, enterprise networks, and various other aspects. Cisco, being a comprehensive provider, extends its expertise across data, servers, storage, and security, making them a preferred choice for many enterprises. However, when it comes specifically to security solutions, there are other vendors that specialize solely in this domain, offering competitive options."

"Cisco is already providing a very good environment with the IronPort solution, but there could be some more integration with other products. For instance, an integration with the EDR solution could be there to raise an alert."

"Scalability has certain shortcomings and needs to be improved because there are service providers who provide better scalability.v"

"The reporting functionality needs to be improved."

"It would be nice to have an easier way to check on the health of the system, how stressed these appliances are. Sure, you can do it, but it would be helpful to have an easier way to do it, maybe even at a glance."

"They could improve the filters. In my time at the company, there were several times we had to contact support to update the filters."

"The user interface is a bit complex."

"The user interface needs massive improvement. While the device works fine and it's not complicated to write policies, renaming menu items and showing policy flow in conjunction with the application could help."

More Cisco Secure Email cons

"I rated the overall solution a five out of ten. If a user is looking for a low-budget solution with mid-level security without AI features, Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is suitable."

"The biggest problem in the solution is related to its license renewal since it is pretty hard in Kaspersky to find out the procedure to renew a license."

"The solution is not 100 percent stable and that can use improvement."

"I have only made contact via email, and it is a little slow. I would give customer service a rating of six or seven. Improving Spanish support would greatly benefit users."

"Kaspersky lacks in the area of customization, so simpler customization options need to be provided to users."

"It would be great if Kaspersky could do what Sophos does for us. However, we love having these two different technologies doing the same thing. Sometimes Sophos has the patch to block a novel threat, but Kaspersky doesn't."

"Encrypted email attachments are not being monitored by this solution, which is an area that they need to work on."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We were using Proofpoint and then we switched to Cisco... reportability was one of the main reasons we switched, but the biggest one was cost. If you can get an equivalent functionality for a better price it's wise to do so. That's what our primary decision came down to: We could get equivalent functionality at a lower price point."

"It is a super big router that costs a few hundred thousand dollars."

"As per market availability, this solution is more expensive than other vendors."

"Cisco Secure Email is expensive, but we get what we pay for."

"The solution is expensive."

"There are additional fees for adding features."

"In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."

"Cisco Secure Email and the support are priced well. It's not cheap, but there are other solutions that offer less and cost so much. For example, Microsoft is more expensive than Cisco."

More Cisco Secure Email pricing and cost advice

"The solution is not expensive."

"The solution offers one of the best prices possible to its users, making it even better than Barracuda. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is ten times cheaper than Barracuda."

"Price-wise, I would rate this product a four out of five. It could be a bit cheaper."

"My company makes annual payments towards the licensing costs solution."

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868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Retailer

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	22
Midsize Enterprise	18
Large Enterprise	25

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Secure Email?

Cisco Secure Email is a budget-friendly solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?

The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.

What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?

The user interface of the Email Security Gateway ( /products/security-gateway-reviews ) should be improved. It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated i...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?

The pricing is moderate. It is not expensive but not cheap either. For Mexico, a good price is about 20 dollars per agent.

What needs improvement with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?

What is your primary use case for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?

I work on a mail protection service, specifically Kaspersky Security for Mail Server. I work with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server.

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Comparisons

Compared 24% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Cisco Secure Email

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Cisco Secure Email

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Cisco Secure Email

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Cisco Secure Email

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco Secure Email Competitors

Fortinet FortiMail vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 26% of the time

Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 16% of the time

Security Gateway vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 11% of the time

More Kaspersky Security for Mail Server Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco Secure Email

Download Cisco Secure Email product report

Email Security

Download Kaspersky Security for Mail Server product report

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server report

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances

No data available

Overview

Cisco Secure Email provides email security with advanced threat protection, spam filtering, and easy integration with Cisco Talos, ensuring comprehensive protection against cyber threats like phishing and malware.

Cisco Secure Email offers a comprehensive platform for organizations seeking robust email security. With advanced threat protection and seamless integration with Cisco Talos, it enhances threat intelligence. The tool provides easy-to-use spam blocking and granular policy customization. Effective ransomware, phishing, and malware protection ensures stable network performance. It includes logging and reporting features, along with Active Directory integration, delivering enhanced security without extra hardware. Although it addresses threats efficiently, improvements in synchronization with reporting tools and phishing detection are needed. Organizations find cost and licensing complexities challenging for smaller networks and seek more intuitive configuration, advanced AI threat detection, and comprehensive reporting. Enhanced support, documentation, and cross-platform compatibility are desirable for better management and scalability.

What are the most important features?

Advanced Threat Protection: Guards against cyber threats like malware and phishing
Spam Blocking: Efficiently filters unwanted emails to maintain inbox integrity
Policy Customization: Allows granular control over email security policies
Integration with Cisco Talos: Enhances threat intelligence with global insights
Active Directory Integration: Simplifies user management and enhances security

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Ease of Use: Intuitive interface provides a straightforward user experience
Network Performance: Maintains speed and reliability while securing emails
Comprehensive Reporting: Offers detailed insights into email threats and responses
No Additional Hardware: Provides complete email security without hardware costs
Enhanced Email Security: Protects against a wide range of email-based threats

In industries like finance, healthcare, and IT, Cisco Secure Email is key to securing email communications. It serves as the primary email gateway in datacenters, scanning and filtering emails to defend against phishing, malware, and spam. Many organizations integrate it with Sophos Antivirus and Talos Threat Intelligence for heightened protection. It plays a crucial role in outbound message control and data loss prevention, ensuring compliance with security policies.

Cisco

Email is the number one vector used by cybercriminals to penetrate and attack enterprise IT systems.

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server uses Next Generation technologies including advanced heuristics, machine learning and sandboxing to detect and protect against ransomware, spam, phishing, data loss and even unknown threats penetrating your IT systems through emails and malicious attachments.

Kaspersky

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra

Vimpel Com, Estrella Galicia, Krombacher

Cisco Secure Email vs. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server