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Kaspersky Security for Mail Server 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

Kaspersky Security for Mail...
Ranking in Email Security
32nd
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
11th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is 0.6%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 9.1%, down from 13.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3659.1%
Kaspersky Security for Mail Server0.6%
Other90.3%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

ZS
Systems Specialist/ Administrator at ALFA International Company Limited.
User interface updates needed but achieves cost savings and threat protection
We are using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server to enhance our email system’s security and protect against threats Kaspersky Security for Mail Server handles spam and phishing attempts well. I have not experienced any spam issues. Its malware detection effectively manages the security of our…
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 most valuable features are the anti-phishing and anti-spam capabilities."
"You can install the plugins on the same machine hosting your exchange solution. It's a good complement for Sophos security, which scans the traffic before it reaches your mail service. Kaspersky is on the mail server itself while Sophos handles the incoming traffic. With both of them working together, we have the perfect solution for mail."
"Kaspersky Security for Mail Server provides protection against email spams and blacklisted emails which are suspicious, making it a good product."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution."
"We have achieved cost savings of up to thirty percent by using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server."
"The integration rate is very high in Kaspersky, which is why most of our customers like it."
"The most valuable feature is the straightforward setup."
"I find the product valuable because it provides easy integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls."
"It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."
"The benefit that stands out to me is the ability for multiple individuals to collaborate simultaneously within the same document. Additionally, there is the option to save the document directly in the integrated OneDrive or SharePoint."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"The coolest feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to look for phishing emails."
"It has significantly decreased my time to detection and response."
"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."
"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."
 

Cons

"I have only made contact via email, and it is a little slow. I would give customer service a rating of six or seven. Improving Spanish support would greatly benefit users."
"Kaspersky lacks in the area of customization, so simpler customization options need to be provided to users."
"The solution is not 100 percent stable and that can use improvement."
"It would be great if Kaspersky could do what Sophos does for us. However, we love having these two different technologies doing the same thing. Sometimes Sophos has the patch to block a novel threat, but Kaspersky doesn't."
"I rated the overall solution a five out of ten. If a user is looking for a low-budget solution with mid-level security without AI features, Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is suitable."
"The biggest problem in the solution is related to its license renewal since it is pretty hard in Kaspersky to find out the procedure to renew a license."
"Encrypted email attachments are not being monitored by this solution, which is an area that they need to work on."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"Sometimes I have to recategorize things when it takes the wrong step and I do not want it to classify something as suspicious."
"The inbuilt analysis of false positives can be faster. It's not slow, but it can be faster."
"If you look at other products, such as Wiz or Palo Alto's cloud, because they also have similar components in terms of how they protect cloud infrastructure or enable cloud security, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to that extent."
"They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are."
"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."
"One area for improvement is integration. For example, when it comes to external SaaS platforms, we were not able to get a lot of information on integrations with such apps for security and authentication."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company makes annual payments towards the licensing costs solution."
"Price-wise, I would rate this product a four out of five. It could be a bit cheaper."
"The solution offers one of the best prices possible to its users, making it even better than Barracuda. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is ten times cheaper than Barracuda."
"The solution is not expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"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 is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"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 pricing has become expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Retailer
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
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 Business6
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
The pricing is moderate. It is not expensive but not cheap either. For Mexico, a good price is about 20 dollars per agent.
What needs improvement with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
Regarding Kaspersky Security for Mail Server, I have not compared with other solutions, but I will compare and provide feedback. It is a reliable and fast security solution, and I can say it blocks...
What is your primary use case for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
I work on a mail protection service, specifically Kaspersky Security for Mail Server. I work with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server.
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

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vimpel Com, Estrella Galicia, Krombacher
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: January 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.