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Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 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

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Pr...
Ranking in Email Security
21st
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (6th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.3%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Asif Usmani - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable product that provides security and control over spam and phishing emails
I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails. I can monitor and manage it from Hornetsecurity’s console. The live tracking system is valuable. We can track every incoming and outgoing email live. We can decide whether to block, release, or quarantine emails. We can also review the emails before releasing them. The product provides 99.9% coverage for email security.
Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Backup and restore are precious features."
"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution."
"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."
"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"The email protection is excellent, especially in terms of anti-phishing policies."
"The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning."
"Overall, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Office 365 at a ten."
"Since we have started using the solution, there have been fewer compromises."
"The initial setup is straightforward. You just add the license, click it, and then you can set up the rules. It is quite simple."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"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."
 

Cons

"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."
"A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement."
"The pricing is a little high compared to other products."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."
"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."
"Configuring the default strategies and policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps generates a lot of noise and false positives."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"The product is very expensive."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"The pricing has become expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Retailer
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution.
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?
A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement.
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
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 indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published. It's essential to enhan...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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: June 2025.
860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.