Fortinet FortiMail vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security comparison

The compared Fortinet and Mimecast solutions aren't in the same category. Fortinet is ranked #5 in Email Security , with an average rating of 8.6, and holds a 2.9% mindshare in the category. Mimecast is ranked #3 in SEG , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 15.1% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Mimecast users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Fortinet FortiMail and Mimecast Advanced Email Security compete in the email security solutions category. Fortinet FortiMail appears to have an upper hand due to its comprehensive features and competitive pricing.

Features: Fortinet FortiMail is known for its multi-layered security, providing anti-spam, antivirus, and data leak prevention. It also offers granular spam filtering, sender reputation mechanisms, and supports DNS blacklists, making it adaptable for organizations of various sizes. Mimecast Advanced Email Security offers robust impersonation protection and sandboxing, along with direct Microsoft 365 integration and advanced identity protection features.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiMail users recommend improved integration with sandbox solutions, more intuitive encryption features, and better reporting capabilities. Mimecast is critiqued for complex management interfaces and high licensing costs, along with a need for more flexible filtering settings and competitive pricing.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiMail supports diverse deployment models and is praised for its straightforward setup within Fortinet environments, though some report delays in customer service. Mimecast, integrated extensively with Microsoft clouds, faces configuration complexity but is recognized for solid technical support.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiMail is known for its flexible licensing model, offering affordability with performance-based pricing, leading to a positive ROI through reduced spam. Mimecast's per-user pricing is seen as expensive but justified by enhanced security capabilities, delivering significant ROI despite ongoing pricing concerns.

To learn more, read our detailed Email Security Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Email Security

June 2026

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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

Cloudflare One

Mindshare comparison

Email Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail	2.9%
Proofpoint Email Protection	6.8%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	6.3%
Other	84.0%

Email Security

Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Mimecast Email and Collaboration Threat Protection	15.1%
Proofpoint Email Protection	19.0%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	16.1%
Other	49.8%

Secure Email Gateway (SEG)

Featured Reviews

Cobe Van Coller

Network Architect at IP Dimension

Cloud security has improved remote access and has reduced costs for smaller client sites

I have used Cloudflare One's Identity-Aware Proxy, and it is quite straightforward from what I have seen so far. The app registration on the Azure side integrates fully into Cloudflare, and I am very satisfied with that part because it is easy to set up. The integration of Cloudflare One's Secure Web Gateway and Zero Trust Network Access works without any issues. That part is pretty automatic, and if you complete the rest of the setup, it comes together by itself with no issues from my side. What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection. The hops get shorter and you get better latency. We have done testing to see if it is better. One thing that we did notice with our proof of concept with our current client is that they have people connecting from the UK. When they used their previous VPN solution, uploading CAD drawings and other files to the server took a long time. They mentioned that it is much quicker on Cloudflare One's solution. I definitely believe that is part of the improved performance, and I am satisfied with that as well. What is nice about Cloudflare One is that it makes the setup easier and also easier to train technicians to maintain it. Compared to legacy systems, we do not need to get fancy firewalls in place that are costly. That is definitely also a cost-saver with Cloudflare One.

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Abhimanyu Das

Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl

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.

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Ravishankar KumarPatel

Solution Architect Cybersecurity at Microland Limited

Email defenses have reduced phishing risk and support strong compliance and user awareness

The improvement needed is not necessarily in the product itself, but rather around how other organizations have evolved. The DLP discussion is no longer limited to email; it has gone to border level with companies like Zscaler, Netskope, and Palo Alto giving the complete full-stack SASE setup. When somebody has a SASE setup, then Mimecast Advanced Email Security DLP might not even be needed at a point in time. Mimecast Advanced Email Security needs to improve in this area because they are only focusing on a particular set of problems which is on email and human risk, whereas companies that need a slightly bigger picture will look elsewhere. The second thing is when you buy an XDR provider, they give you a complete holistic story around it, showing what has happened, which email somebody has clicked on, whether there have been any changes, and whether there is any network activity. You get a holistic picture. When pushing Mimecast Advanced Email Security to end customers, people are more often saying that they would rather buy XDR from another provider because the story when an analyst sees is complete in terms of what they see, whereas they only get an email story from Mimecast Advanced Email Security. Mimecast Advanced Email Security has to improve there. Companies like Abnormal AI cover more on UEBA and user behavior, and there are many things for Mimecast Advanced Email Security to improve in this area as well. It is less of a technology issue; they are doing very well on email. The conversation for them to have is on how to get into a broader level or how to get a tie-up to become a broader supplier. At least from a service provider landscape, I can say that.

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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

"Cloudflare Access is part of the Zero Trust philosophy."

"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."

"Cloudflare Access is a stable solution."

"Cloudflare is simple to use."

"It will take the blow rather than our applications should an attack occur."

"The best feature is rate limiting. If I'm expecting 500 visits per hour, Cloudflare will limit the requests if I suddenly get 50,000."

"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."

"Cloudflare, in my opinion, was easy to implement."

More Cloudflare One pros

"Fortinet FortiMail is very reliable and stable since the databases are very strong."

"Fortinet FortiMail has a lot of valuable features. It works great. It also has an antivirus feature. Support for Fortinet FortiMail was also great when my team wanted to block some geographic IPs, but couldn't figure out how to do it. The support team provided clear communication on how to resolve that issue. Another valuable feature of Fortinet FortiMail is SPAM filtering which tells you how many spammy emails you've received. Based on my current use cases, I'm happy with Fortinet FortiMail."

"The integration with FortiSandbox is good, and something that we utilize often."

"Fortinet utilizes specialized processing units, which network faster and sample more efficiently compared to others."

"The most valuable features are the endpoint defense features, it is very secure."

"The solution has a user-friendly interface. It is easy to deploy and handle. You can easily troubleshoot the issues of the solution."

"We do have, as of late, spam outbreaks, and this solution has been pretty reliable in dealing with them."

"From our experience with Fortinet FortiMail, we have found that it's a very strong platform for ensuring company security."

More Fortinet FortiMail pros

"The Large File Send feature comes in handy when you have to send fairly large attachments."

"Its administration console is very easy to use. The administration console is absolutely important because you interact with the platform through it."

"In terms of efficacy, Proofpoint is better than Mimecast, though it's a little difficult to manage."

"The initial setup is very straightforward."

"The product's most valuable features are impersonation protection and phishing countermeasures."

"If you want the ease of use, then Mimecast, or at least a cloud solution, is the way to go."

"Mimecast is a brilliant product; it works very well, I have very seldomly, if ever, had any problems with it, and it does exactly what it promises to do."

"Mimecast has some good support services in place."

More Mimecast Advanced Email Security pros

Cons

"Feedback could be enhanced."

"The tool should provide on-premise versions. Currently, all versions are cloud-based."

"There are premium tier live service and lower tier live service, so we opted for the lower tier. But there is no medium tier where we pay a little extra and get a bit more service. So if that can be improved."

"The free plan has limitations. For example, I can only set up three rules, and the application firewall is unavailable."

"Cloudflare One is not very powerful, but for what we require, it is basic and sufficient."

"Operating and tuning the product is difficult."

"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."

"Feedback could be enhanced. While I work efficiently with Clover as a partner in Mexico City, sometimes the information and requests are easier to manage with more concrete solutions."

More Cloudflare One cons

"Limited ability to upgrade hardware may lead to some performance issues that might otherwise be improved."

"The solution could be improved by providing a virtual machine facility with a complete set of options in the VM setup and by enhancing the clarity of the information supplied for content filtering."

"For example, there was malware in some emails that weren't detected in some of the Fortinet FortiMail sessions, but it should have been configured from my company's end to better catch scam emails, but overall, the solution is okay."

"It's difficult for me to talk about areas for improvement in Fortinet FortiMail because I'm the general manager of the company and I'm an engineer with knowledge about the solution, but I'm not deeply involved in its implementation. As I mentioned previously, Fortinet FortiMail is also being used within the company, and I'm happy with its functionality, but sometimes, attacks pass and avoid the Fortinet FortiMail filters, but those could be very sophisticated attacks. There could still be an improvement in the filtering feature of the solution, though the security of Fortinet FortiMail is okay for me because I believe you can't implement one hundred percent security in any solution. The initial setup for the solution also needs improvement. The setup is supposed to be simple, but then the customer starts to complain that some of the false positive emails are reaching quarantine, so my team has to configure it again. There have been instances when Fortinet FortiMail rejects valid emails because some of the service partners of the customer have not been configured accurately, so the system considered valid mails as attacks to be quarantined, so aside from improving the filters, there should also be an improvement in the categorization of emails in the server. My team has to modify the configuration so that valid emails could pass and for Fortinet FortiMail to correctly filter the SPAM traffic. A feature that could be added to Fortinet FortiMail in its next release is advanced AI, so it can analyze and decide accurately on which mail is valid and which mail is SPAM."

"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 FortiGate."

"ortiMail has some latency issues and sometimes takes time to receive emails."

"The UI could be better."

"An additional feature that could be added is a pop-up screen notifying you that an email has been blocked, without having to double click on it to take you there it could provide you with a summary explaining why it was on hold or why was it spam when you hover over it with your cursor."

More Fortinet FortiMail cons

"Many of our users complain that the system is blocking too many attachments. It's a good practice from a security perspective, but our users think Mimecast is doing too much. It might be something we'll have to adjust."

"While it's quick and easy, the initial setup could be more user-friendly."

"The solution's console interface was recently changed for the admins, but the previous one was much better because we could open tabs on it."

"Their support should be improved. They are notorious for sending you to knowledge-based articles rather than actually talking to you, but that is, unfortunately, kind of becoming a trend with everything. In terms of features, I haven't had any complaints. However, I don't like the fact they moved to a paid training subscription model. They used to have a lot of free webinars for training, but they have started to charge for them in the past year."

"The solution is very expensive."

"They could provide a unified licensing model, including all the security features."

"As for areas for improvement within Mimecast Web Security, I believe there is quite a lot that can be improved."

"The system is not user-friendly because you have to create policies that are mapped in a dictionary."

More Mimecast Advanced Email Security cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."

"The solution is not that expensive."

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."

"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."

"9,000 Euro per annum for Fortinet Mail and sandbox."

"The product's licensing part depends on the number of mailboxes and the hard disk needed by customers. The cost of the license depends on the number of mailboxes and the number of emails."

"It is a fairly priced product, considering what it does. The product offers good value for the money users spend on it."

"We paid approximately $30,000 for the solution. It is less expensive than some other solutions. We have one license that carries all the features that we wanted."

"If you don't need the full bundle that includes everything, you have options for the small or medium enterprise environments."

"FortiMail is not cheap."

"The price is acceptable for the support license it includes."

"Price-wise, you get what you pay for in Fortinet FortiMail. Apart from the licensing costs, no additional expenses are attached to the solution's pricing."

More Fortinet FortiMail pricing and cost advice

"Compared to the other products in the market, it is neither cheap but nor very expensive. I would rate it somewhere in the middle, 5 out of 10."

"Compared to the other solutions in the market, Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection's pricing is fine."

"The product has good pricing in terms of return on investment."

"Two subscription options are currently offered: monthly and yearly. My suggestion is to opt for the yearly subscription as it can give some discount. The pricing isn't high as other cloud solutions are pricier than Microsoft's offerings."

"The product price is moderate. I rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"The solution is expensive."

"The customers can select the license packages as per their requirements."

"The licensing costs are per-user for the product that you get with them."

More Mimecast Advanced Email Security pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

19%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	15

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	16

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Pricing is competitive. Akamai is more expensive, in my view.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?

The setup cost is a little bit costly.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?

I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail?

I do have a partnership with Fortinet. I have been both a partner and reseller.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?

Do you know anything about the pricing and cost of the Mimecast Email Security?

See all answers

What needs improvement with Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?

There is room for improvement since new threats are emerging. Considering the availability of new features would be w...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?

I have been working with Mimecast Email Security.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Cloudflare One

Compared 4% of the time

Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange Platform vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

Twingate vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

FortiSASE vs Cloudflare One

Compared 3% of the time

More Cloudflare One Competitors

Cisco Secure Email vs Fortinet FortiMail

Compared 7% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Fortinet FortiMail

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Fortinet FortiMail

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Fortinet FortiMail

Compared 5% of the time

Perception Point Advanced Email Security vs Fortinet FortiMail

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiMail Competitors

Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Compared 16% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Compared 8% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Compared 6% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Compared 2% of the time

More Mimecast Advanced Email Security Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One

June 2026

Download Cloudflare One product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiMail

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiMail product report

Buyer's Guide

Mimecast Advanced Email Security

June 2026

Download Mimecast Advanced Email Security product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform

FortiMail

Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection, Mimecast Web Security, Mimecast Mailbox Continuity, Email and Collaboration Threat Protection

Overview

Cloudflare One is a comprehensive platform for security, performance, and connectivity. It provides features like rate limiting, DDoS protection, and application access, tailored to enhance user experience while securing internet access and accelerating communications.

Designed to integrate security measures with ease of use and scalability, Cloudflare One offers a secure web gateway and zero trust network access. These features ensure seamless setup and operation, making connectivity reliable and protected. Users appreciate its integrated console, intuitive interface, and the ability to manage risk effectively. It offers straightforward deployment, improves latency, and boasts cost-effectiveness. While its onboarding process and documentation need enhancement, its value in content delivery and application shielding is notable. Despite challenges in integrating Cloudflare Access with existing VPNs and the need for better automation and support, it remains vital for DNS and infrastructure protection.

What features make Cloudflare One stand out?

Rate Limiting: Controls the traffic rate to prevent abuse.
DDoS Protection: Shields applications from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Secure Web Gateway: Provides secure internet access with seamless operation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure, application-based connectivity without relying on traditional VPNs.
Access for Connectivity: Facilitates access to internal applications securely.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Security: Robust measures for DNS and browsing protection.
Performance: Enhanced site accessibility and communication speed.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing for its features.
Ease of Deployment: Straightforward and efficient setup process.

In industries like finance, retail, and technology, Cloudflare One is crucial for enabling secure remote access and protecting web applications against dynamic threats. It supports compliance access policies and enhances content delivery, playing a key role in safeguarding digital infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Fortinet FortiMail is a robust email security platform offering anti-spam, antivirus, and anti-phishing capabilities. It integrates with Fortinet products to ensure seamless protection against email threats in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, enhancing secure communication for businesses.

Fortinet FortiMail is designed to protect against a range of email threats including spam, phishing, and malware, ensuring email safety for organizations. It operates as both a gateway and server, allowing for secure filtering of incoming and outgoing emails. The integration with Fortinet’s suite of security tools provides a comprehensive approach to managing threats effectively, while user-friendly interfaces and detailed reporting systems aid in threat monitoring and management. Frequent updates are implemented, though scalability and web console enhancements are necessary for improved performance.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiMail?

Anti-Spam: Provides reliable filtering to block unwanted emails.
Antivirus: Ensures protection against harmful viruses.
Anti-Phishing: Prevents phishing attempts through advanced detection.
Sandboxing: Enhances threat detection to manage email security efficiently.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Fortinet products for unified security.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiMail?

Comprehensive Security: Offers robust protection against multiple email threats.
Ease of Use: Features a user-friendly interface for better accessibility.
Detailed Reporting: Provides insights into threat management activities.
Reliable Performance: Delivers consistent updates for maintaining email protection.

Fortinet FortiMail is implemented by companies across industries seeking to secure their email communications. In healthcare, it protects sensitive patient information, while in finance, it safeguards transactional data against phishing attacks. Retailers utilize FortiMail to prevent data breaches from fraudulent emails, demonstrating its versatility in diverse sectors.

Fortinet

Mimecast Advanced Email Security offers advanced features like sandboxing, email archiving, and phishing protection. It's known for integration with Microsoft 365 and user-friendly admin management, making it a robust choice for secure communications.

Focused on safeguarding emails, Mimecast Advanced Email Security integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, providing features such as sandboxing, spam filtering, and email archiving. It delivers comprehensive protection against phishing, identity threats, and impersonation attempts. Administrators benefit from the ability to monitor external communications and customize configurations, enhancing email security. Users appreciate the intuitive admin console and responsive support team. Although it faces challenges in threat detection rates and administration complexity, its capabilities in email monitoring, spam filtering, and URL inspection remain valued by enterprises seeking reliable email security that supports compliance needs.

What key features should users explore?

Sandboxing: Analyzes attachments in a secure environment to detect threats.
Email Archiving: Provides secure long-term storage of emails for compliance.
Spam Filtering: Prevents unsolicited emails from clogging the inbox.
URL Inspection: Checks links in emails for malicious content.
Phishing Protection: Guards against deceptive tactics to protect sensitive data.

What benefits can impact ROI?

Regulatory Compliance: Facilitates adherence to standards such as HIPAA.
Integration: Enhances existing systems with seamless Microsoft 365 integration.
Support: Offers a responsive support team to resolve issues promptly.
Email Security: Improves threat prevention with effective spam and phishing protections.

Mimecast Advanced Email Security is implemented across industries to protect against email threats like phishing, spam, and malicious attachments. It serves as both a gateway and an archiving tool, supporting compliance in healthcare and finance by offering features like URL protection and data loss prevention. Enterprises leverage its capabilities to secure inbound and outbound communications effectively.

Mimecast

Sample Customers

23andMe

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.

Azizi Developments, Affinity Credit Union, Aftercare, Al Abbar Group

Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: June 2026.

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