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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
30th
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
7
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
7.0
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is 0.8%, down from 1.0% 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

Taha Khaleel - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly reliable solution that provides monitoring capabilities and protection to multiple types of devices
The initial setup of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is very easy. The initial setup of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server takes around four minutes. The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises. For the deployment process, you can buy the solution in a CD form or purchase it directly from the company website and activate it. My company needs managers, engineers, and developers to deploy the solution. The number of people required for the deployment process changes from time to time, so all the staff are included not just for the deployment of the solution but also to make improvements to the solution in the future. You can contact Kaspersky to see if they can provide the solution with integration capabilities for your company by providing you with an open account, which I haven't tried yet, though I plan to try it in the future.
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

"We have achieved cost savings of up to thirty percent by using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution."
"I find the product valuable because it provides easy integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls."
"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."
"The most valuable features are the anti-phishing and anti-spam capabilities."
"The most valuable feature is the straightforward setup."
"The integration rate is very high in Kaspersky, which is why most of our customers like it."
"Defender is a SaaS platform, so it offers more flexibility. Managing the permissions is easier. The solution's automated detection and response features are scalable."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a stable solution."
"It has significantly decreased my time to detection and response."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the ease of use."
"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"My experience with customer support and technical support for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has been excellent."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
 

Cons

"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."
"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."
"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."
"Kaspersky lacks in the area of customization, so simpler customization options need to be provided to users."
"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."
"The solution is not 100 percent stable and that can use improvement."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"In the areas of improvement for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, the console is the biggest challenge for me."
"The XDR dashboard has room for improvement."
"We noticed that from time to time, Microsoft's stability does have problems. Sometimes the service goes up and down. Sometimes they change without prior notice."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"We still see many false positives from time to time with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, so it would be good if we can reduce those false positives and provide better workflows for our end users, as sometimes they may not know what to do when they encounter a false positive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company makes annual payments towards the licensing costs solution."
"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."
"Price-wise, I would rate this product a four out of five. It could be a bit cheaper."
"The solution is not expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"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."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
10%
Retailer
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution.
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?
I believe integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls and a feature similar to a SIEM ( /categories/security-information-and-event-management-siem ) within the Kaspersky environment wo...
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

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: May 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.