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Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

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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

Cloudflare One
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (15th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (21st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (11th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (7th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (13th), Access Management (12th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (8th), ZTNA (3rd), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (3rd)
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Pr...
Ranking in Email Security
19th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (9th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.5%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is 1.3%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 8.8%, down from 13.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3658.8%
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection1.3%
Cloudflare One1.5%
Other88.4%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

CV
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.
HM
CEO at Cyber Internet Services (Pvt) Ltd.
Comprehensive email protection has secured sensitive communications and simplified threat management
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is a good product right now, and the report is available in Spanish, which is beneficial for Latin Americans who speak Spanish. They can continue to improve the pricing because it is the most important aspect, as another solution is aggressive with a lower cost and includes everything. While Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is good right now, it would be better to improve the price. At the end, the client sees the price, and in Puerto Rico, the market is different than in the United States since here the client sees price independent of security. I have more effort to explain the difference between price versus technology, which is important because in Latin America, the price may not be the same as in the US due to the company's increase not being the same volume. When clients have many mailboxes, the price is more important than the technology. I do not know why, but this really happens.
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 simplicity of the solution is its valuable features as almost no effort was needed to learn the configurations. It is also one of the cheapest firewalls available in this category."
"The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good."
"It's the endpoint exposition. We don't need to expose our VPN server to the internet and need a zero-test solution. I can apply some conditional access to the endpoint that's connecting to our network to check their security policies or the security condition of their workstation. Once the workstation is trying to connect to my internal network, then I would like to check the discrete condition of these endpoints that are trying to access my internal network. We created some conditional access. We have CrowdStrike, to check if the CrowdStrike is installed, to check if it's updated, and to check for Windows updates. We created some conditional policies to check it."
"Clover is the best product globally."
"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."
"It is a stable solution."
"For Cloudflare Access, I am using the free plan...The most valuable feature is their protection."
"I'm very satisfied with the environment and the dashboard."
"This service has allowed me to focus on my core environment and ensure the safety of my customer's data."
"I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails."
"The best part is, I rarely have to access the portal as everything is set up and tweaked the way I wanted it. But the feature set is incredibly granular and allows for deep levels of customization."
"My advice for people considering using Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is that the simplicity is the best option because Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection includes everything in one platform and provides a 360-degree view."
"Backup and restore are precious features."
"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution."
"The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not."
"Defender enables us to secure all 365-related activity from a single place. It gives us visibility into everything happening in Outlook, protecting us against phishing and other email-based threats. Defender helps us detect any suspicious behaviors."
"Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the individuals within our organization who are affected."
"The basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."
"The coolest feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to look for phishing emails."
"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."
"One of the best features of the tool is its capability to aggregate insights from different workloads, basically from the Office 365 and endpoints part."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
 

Cons

"The initial onboarding was causing us some confusion."
"The tool should provide on-premise versions. Currently, all versions are cloud-based."
"The free plan has limitations. For example, I can only set up three rules, and the application firewall is unavailable."
"From a logging perspective, it is still a bit difficult to see exactly what users are being blocked with the current views."
"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."
"Operating and tuning the product is difficult."
"When there are any dynamic changes in complex applications, the tool takes a lot of time, making its analytics-related area a major matter of concern where improvements are needed."
"They can continue to improve the pricing because it is the most important aspect, as another solution is aggressive with a lower cost and includes everything."
"I guess I would say maybe quick access to training material for end-users."
"A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement."
"The pricing is a little high compared to other products."
"The solution’s pricing is not reasonable."
"I guess I would say maybe quick access to training material for end-users. I know partners have access to this but I as an end-user do not have immediate access to new update information."
"Several simulation options are available within 365, and the phishing simulation could be better."
"We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to the mark in comparison with Wiz or Palo Alto."
"The cost of Security Copilot is up there right now, and I think it needs to come down for more people to adopt."
"Sometimes I have to recategorize things when it takes the wrong step and I do not want it to classify something as suspicious."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not that expensive."
"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"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 prices are slightly expensive."
"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."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
"The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
"The product is very expensive."
"The pricing has become expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Retailer
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
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 Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access has strong integration with Microsoft, among other platforms. However, when it comes to Kaspersky, ...
What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access provides secure access to internal applications for employees, external members of the organization...
What advice do you have for others considering Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access is one of the best integrations available. While about two hundred vendors offer similar services, ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive.
What needs improvement with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is a good product right now, and the report is available in Spanish, which is ben...
What is your primary use case for Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Our use case with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is to protect the 365 email.
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...
 

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform
No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

23andMe
concordia, fraunhofer, mazars
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.