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Fortinet FortiMail vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 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
6.7
Fortinet FortiMail boosts email security, reduces costs, and saves time, enhancing operational efficiency through seamless integration and advanced features.
Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection effectively enhances email security, productivity, and cost-efficiency compared to rivals like AppRiver and Trend.
It offers cost savings compared to Cisco, which was very expensive.
System admin at Environment Fund
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiMail's customer service is generally praised for efficiency, especially elite support, despite occasional standard support delays.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection support receives mixed reviews, with response times varying based on issue complexity and service level.
Mainly, they are focusing on Fortinet FortiMail and FortiAnalyzer, where the support engineers are very good.
Head of the IT Security Division at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have direct communication with Kenyan system engineers and local support in Ethiopia, enabling good support.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
Fortinet's technical support offers high-quality support.
System admin at Environment Fund
If I had to rate the support I received on a scale of ten, I would give it a ten because he went way beyond what was expected for me.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
General Manager at Ambient iT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable and flexible, efficiently adapting to varying organizational sizes, though some hardware limitations exist.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection efficiently scales from small businesses to large enterprises, offering seamless cloud migration and regular updates.
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable and can be expanded in large environments.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The scalability of Fortinet FortiMail depends on whether you are buying a virtualized license, which allows for a scalable pay-as-you-go model, or if you are buying a box.
Head of the IT Security Division at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Fortinet FortiMail is highly stable and reliable, with rare issues quickly resolved and seamless integration with other Fortinet tools.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reliable and stable, with rare security incidents, benefiting from good maintenance and occasional third-party support.
This stability is consistent across Fortinet products, including FortiGate firewall.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiMail needs a more intuitive interface, better integration, enhanced security, simpler encryption, and improved spam filtering.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs improved flexibility, security, user experience, intuitive interface, pricing, support, and integration with other platforms.
The transition from on-premises devices to virtual appliances may be necessary as more organizations migrate email services to the cloud.
Head of computer systems at Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology(IIST)
Providing comprehensive documentation on how to deploy and configure would improve the solution.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
There are also false positives issues, especially with signed PDF attachments.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
General Manager at Ambient iT
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite feature is the ease with which I can identify if an email is a phishing email or spam email.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiMail offers competitive, scalable pricing with flexible licensing, valued for performance and security despite some expense concerns.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection pricing is seen as generally high, but justified by security features and Microsoft's reputation.
Fortinet FortiMail is considered overpriced by Indian rupee standards.
Head of computer systems at Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology(IIST)
The setup cost is a little bit costly.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I find the price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) to be fairly reasonable, and I have no problems with it.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
The pricing is reasonable.
General Manager at Ambient iT
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiMail excels in email security with user-friendly features, advanced threat protection, and seamless integration with Fortinet products.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers robust security features including anti-spam, anti-phishing, malware protection, scalability, and seamless Windows integration.
Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial.
System admin at Environment Fund
Fortinet FortiMail positively impacts my organization by reducing mail activities such as spam and phishing.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Our customers are using sandboxing also to protect against known and unknown viruses.
Head of the IT Security Division at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
We've benefited from the anti-phishing features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), as it has been quite accurate and has eliminated most of our phishing emails, making it really impressive.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
In the last three years, has resulted in no antivirus problems.
Head Of Information Technology at a government with 201-500 employees
Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email.
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 3.5%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 4.4%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiMail3.5%
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)4.4%
Other92.1%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Targeted email filtering has reduced spam and phishing and now saves significant investigation time
The best features of Fortinet FortiMail include its techniques and tactics, which are highly effective compared to other solutions such as Microsoft 365. Although Fortinet FortiMail may not be as advanced in some aspects, it is well recognized for its strong performance in handling spam and phishing. It performs thorough mail scanning and also offers a sandboxing feature that enhances protection. Fortinet FortiMail has had a positive impact on my organization by significantly reducing unwanted email activities such as spam and phishing. It provides accurate detection and generates results that often exceed what can be achieved through manual analysis. Since deploying Fortinet FortiMail, I have observed a reduction in investigation time by at least 20 to 30 percent.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
In my opinion, points for improvement for Fortinet FortiMail include sometimes the speed and fine-tuning the false positive problems, especially with the signed PDF attachments and the whitelist an...
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?
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement, as at times it doesn't make sense where to go to access certain features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is basically to protect ourselves from phishing emails and to improve our email security.
 

Also Known As

FortiMail
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.