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Fortinet FortiMail 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
7.1
Fortinet FortiMail enhances email safety, reduces costs, and improves efficiency, earning user trust with its cost-effective features.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers cost-effective email security, reducing incidents and boosting productivity over competitors like Trend and AppRiver.
It offers cost savings compared to Cisco, which was very expensive.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.3
Fortinet FortiMail's technical support is highly rated for quick, expert assistance, though some entry-level issues exist.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection customer service is praised for availability but criticized for inconsistent response quality and speed.
I have direct communication with Kenyan system engineers and local support in Ethiopia, enabling good support.
Fortinet's technical support offers high-quality support.
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable, effective for medium to enterprise businesses, but faces hardware and licensing limitations.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable security solutions despite some limitations, appreciated for ease of use and high satisfaction.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Fortinet FortiMail is stable and reliable, offering strong performance, seamless integration, and high user satisfaction with minimal issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reliable, scoring high in stability, with issues mainly from configuration and occasional interface changes.
This stability is consistent across Fortinet products, including FortiGate firewall.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiMail requires improvements in management, cost, integration, reporting, setup, documentation, content security, and user interface.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs better integration, enhanced security features, improved user experience, and competitive pricing for increased effectiveness.
Providing comprehensive documentation on how to deploy and configure would improve the solution.
The transition from on-premises devices to virtual appliances may be necessary as more organizations migrate email services to the cloud.
The area that could use some improvement in Fortinet FortiMail is the integration process.
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiMail pricing is capacity-based, seen as cost-effective by some, yet expensive due to features and stability.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers tiered pricing, seen as high but justified by robust security and scalability features.
Fortinet FortiMail is considered overpriced by Indian rupee standards.
The pricing is reasonable.
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiMail offers user-friendly, scalable email security with anti-spam, antivirus, phishing protection, and seamless Fortinet product integration.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable, user-friendly security features with AI-enhanced threat management and seamless integration with Microsoft tools.
Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial.
The most valuable features are Fortinet FortiMail's ability to protect from advanced features of email-based attacks, including protection against ransomware and malware attacks.
Fortinet FortiMail offers capabilities like settings for mail delivery, mail filtering, spam controls, and email bursting prevention.
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

Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 Fortinet FortiMail is 4.4%, down from 6.0% 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

MOHAN SUKUMAR - PeerSpot reviewer
Secure email management improves through advanced filtering and dynamic virus scanning
Fortinet FortiMail offers capabilities like settings for mail delivery, mail filtering, spam controls, and email bursting prevention. It also allows for email forwarding, dynamic filtering, and scanning based on virus signatures. I can set varying levels of security. The tool is flexible and provides essential features for mail security and management.
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.
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865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?
Fortinet FortiMail is considered overpriced by Indian rupee standards. My organization is not profit-making, and academic pricing is required, but it may not be available for security products like...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
It can be somewhat difficult to prepare precise or very deep rules to improve security, though the product is very good.
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

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: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.