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Fortinet FortiSandbox vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiSandbox
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Threat Deception Platforms (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Email Security (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSandbox is 5.4%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 9.7%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3659.7%
Fortinet FortiSandbox5.4%
Other84.9%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

Abdelhamid Saber - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Security & Infra Technology Systems Engineer at BARQ Systems
Enhanced network security with adaptable integration and really good support
We use FortiSandbox for scanning files and images that pass through our networks. It integrates with different devices, such as five adapters and other Fortinet devices It is time-saving and more secure. It saves us from a lot of antivirus and anti-malware issues. The adapter is beneficial as it…
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

"The scanner office document as well as PDF are useful. The most valuable thing is that you can emulate different operating systems without having the danger of getting something infected. It emulates several operating systems, and as a result, you either get the file or you don't get the file."
"You have access to a report as to what behaviors the example file entered in the registry."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox's most valuable feature is the security it provides against threats, such as ransomware. Additionally, it integrates well with APIs."
"The most valuable feature is the protection and the way it works, the technology is what I like the most."
"The technical support is very good."
"The solution extracts an attached file before reaching the user and notifies the user if there's something malicious in the attachment received along with an email."
"Overall, it works fine. Its interface is also fine."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"Our customers are satisfied with Defender for 365 because Microsoft products are easy to use and customize to meet the client's needs. Everything is in one place, so we can adjust policies as needed for phishing, DLP, ATP, or any other security features that our clients want to apply."
"Overall, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Office 365 at a ten."
"The insights provided with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are helpful because it comes with the E5 license, and by default, we can use a lot of capabilities."
"The DLP feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is valuable, and we also use the DLP feature for email real-time detection."
"The features I appreciate most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are admin notifications for potential threats along with protecting our Microsoft apps such as Outlook from potential phishing attacks."
"My experience with customer support and technical support for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has been excellent."
"Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency."
 

Cons

"Most people are confused about how to use the right integration of the right Fortinet product."
"It should be easier to import custom virtual machines. Some of the VMs that are in FortiSandbox don't have the applications that we have in our environment. We need to import a VM with specific applications that we use in our environment. Have all the licenses because this is a real environment. You need a license for the Windows client you run on it. It's possible to import custom VMs, but it's a pain to do it. I would like a tool that simplifies the process."
"The use cases in Fortinet FortiSandbox are not good. It is difficult to upload a custom VM for Fortinet FortiSandbox. The integration of Fortinet FortiSandbox with other Fortinet or FortiGate firewalls is not good. VMs are already installed in the hardware and are working fine, but we tried to approve the custom VM many times but did not succeed."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox can improve by decreasing the time of analysis response. Other solutions have a better response time, such as WildFire."
"The delivery feature in my country is extremely bad."
"I would like to have machine learning added to the solution in a future release."
"The initial setup is not too complex but could be easier."
"If we can have more dashboards, it would be good."
"The only thing they should improve is the licensing model. They should stop changing it. A year ago, the five features I mentioned were included in one product. Now, three of them are bundled into one product, and you have to pay extra for the other two. I don't mind paying extra, but I don't want them to change it every year or every six months. I need to know what I'm looking at and not worry about it next year."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"The inbuilt analysis of false positives can be faster. It's not slow, but it can be faster."
"The inbuilt analysis of false positives can be faster. It's not slow, but it can be faster."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."
"I am generally satisfied with how it currently is. If I could improve anything, I would reduce the cost."
"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiSandbox is a subscription that can be purchased from Fortinet directly. Only using FortiSandbox as features purchased as a subscription in the cloud."
"There are additional costs, which isn't included in the licensing fee."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox is a nominally priced product, so I would not say that it is a very cheap tool."
"The price is competitive."
"The license for Fortinet FortiSandbox depends on the use case."
"The price of Fortinet FortiSandbox is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"We are on an annual license to use the solution. We have an additional feature that is integrated with S5, which is working well."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"The product is very expensive."
"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"The pricing has become expensive."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
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
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSandbox?
The real-time analysis capability of FortiSandbox is beneficial for email analysis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSandbox?
I think it's affordable. For the six to seven months of usage, the cost has been reasonable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSandbox?
We sometimes face a delay in email scanning due to not having multiple virtual machines. Improvements could be made in dynamic scanning, scanning all email components such as URLs and attachments, ...
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

FortiSandbox
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSandbox vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.