Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Secure Email vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.4
Cisco Secure Email enhances ROI with robust security, reducing disruptions and downtime from cyber threats, despite perceived high costs.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers cost-effective email security, reducing incidents and boosting productivity over competitors like Trend and AppRiver.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email support is praised for its responsiveness and expertise, though experiences can vary based on assigned engineers.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection customer service is praised for availability but criticized for inconsistent response quality and speed.
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Secure Email provides scalable solutions for seamless user migration and system growth, with reliable cloud service options.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable security solutions despite some limitations, appreciated for ease of use and high satisfaction.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Email is praised for reliability, consistent performance, easy maintenance, and high user satisfaction with stable uptime.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reliable, scoring high in stability, with issues mainly from configuration and occasional interface changes.
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Email's high cost, complexity, poor interface, and limited integration impact usability, requiring AI and service enhancements.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs better integration, enhanced security features, improved user experience, and competitive pricing for increased effectiveness.
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Email is priced higher, but users find its extensive features and security benefits justify the cost.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers tiered pricing, seen as high but justified by robust security and scalability features.
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
The pricing is reasonable.
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Email provides comprehensive threat management with advanced filtering, intuitive management, and seamless integration, enhancing email security effectively.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable, user-friendly security features with AI-enhanced threat management and seamless integration with Microsoft tools.
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
It covers everything through email, like antivirus, IDS, and IPS.
The security features provided by Microsoft are robust.
It offers more features and better security, making it the best option for corporate environments.
In the last three years, has resulted in no antivirus problems.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Email Security
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (7th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 6.1%, down from 8.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 6.0%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Kostas Karidas - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Amber Worth - PeerSpot reviewer
Retrieves data from quarantines and easy to read logs with robust security features
Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious. Although eventually the information is located, it can be difficult if detailed information is lacking. Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous. Simplifying interfaces would also be appreciated.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Reporting could be one of the areas for improvement, as they could put more reporting into Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) natively rather than requiring additional licensing or connecti...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The company does work with this technology, but not me personally. I manage some other products currently, mainly in the modern workplace space, such as Azure Virtual Desktop and Microsoft 365. I d...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.