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Cofense Platform vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 11, 2025

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

Cofense Platform
Ranking in Email Security
44th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Security Incident Response (13th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (42nd), Security Awareness Training (27th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cofense Platform is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 9.6%, down from 13.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3659.6%
Cofense Platform0.7%
Other89.7%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

MohamedShaker - PeerSpot reviewer
Sales Team Leader at ITVikings
Secures the business for customers quickly and accurately
It secures the business for the customers. For instance, if any phishing emails come into the environment and employees see it, we direct the email to Triage. The Triage system will investigate it through AI technology to see if it's a phishing email or not. If it is a phishing email, it will quarantine it and erase it from the environment.
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

"For instance, if any phishing emails come into the environment and employees see it, we direct the email to Triage. The Triage system will investigate it through AI technology to see if it's a phishing email or not. If it is a phishing email, it will quarantine it and erase it from the environment."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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 also gives me good visibility because, with Defender, I'm using a Microsoft product to defend Microsoft products. The integration was really seamless and I have wide visibility because it picks up almost everything. Literally, I can see almost every activity that happens, from the e-mail to the workstation itself."
"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"The product is not resource-intensive."
 

Cons

"If they continue improving and enhancing this solution, it could be even faster and more accurate."
"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."
"Several simulation options are available within 365, and the phishing simulation could be better."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to the mark in comparison with Wiz or Palo Alto."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"In some situations, it has not been able to pick impersonated emails having no attachments. Technical support definitely has a scope for improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The product is very expensive."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"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."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The inbuilt analysis of false positives can be faster. It's not slow, but it can be faster.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is for email protection, safe links, protection of links, documents, protecting my documents, and protecting attachments. I also use it to conduct ...
 

Also Known As

Cofense Intelligence, PhishMe Intelligence, Intelligence ThreatHQ, Cofense Triage, Cofense LMS
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Jackson Health System
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Proofpoint, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.