Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 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

Fortra's Clearswift Secure ...
Ranking in Email Security
36th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
0
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 February 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 4.3%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)4.3%
Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway1.0%
Other94.7%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

PC
Systems Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable, but malware needs improvement and customer support is poor
They need to improve the malware in the product. I am not satisfied with Clearswift because of the lack of customer support. The support is poor, the supplier takes a lot of time and it's expensive. We have some issues here when I contact the supplier, it takes a lot of time for them to get back to us but there's no solution. I am now looking at Symantec as a possible alternative.
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.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease."
"A stable solution."
"The email policy configuration options in Microsoft EOP are satisfactory."
"The pre-set policies and configuration analyzer are the most valuable features."
"We like the holding facility that is available for potentially suspicious URL's. This allows a real-time review to be performed before the email reaches a users inbox."
"The security features provided by Microsoft are robust."
"The product protects against malware."
"The threat management feature includes policies and alerts that are valuable."
"It provides security to both on-premises and Azure infrastructures."
"The most valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection are the EOP, ATP, safe links, fishing, and antispam."
 

Cons

"FTP server and TRUST Manager functionality."
"Malware needs improvement."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
"Performance and speed should continue to be improved."
"The reporting needs a little bit of improvement."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"I think the implementation could be more streamlined."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
"The licensing can be on the expensive side, especially in the cloud space."
"When you're using a Microsoft product solution, you can scale it, but if you're not, there are limitations."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing a six. For licensing, we can make monthly or yearly payments. Right now, we pay 5 USD per month to secure a person's license."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection's pricing is a little bit more because its price has recently increased."
"It's a high price."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"The product is bundled with Microsoft 365."
"The product is expensive."
"The price could be lower."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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?
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...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company, we require a very high level of security. We use multiple authentication method...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,821 professionals have used our research since 2012.