No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs PhishER Plus comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

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 (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (8th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
PhishER Plus
Ranking in Email Security
24th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
1.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 5.0%, down from 10.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PhishER Plus is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.0%
PhishER Plus0.5%
Other94.5%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

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.
GN
Cyber Security Officer at Gudu
Users report increased security awareness and effective training implementation
I am not familiar with the intelligent filtering system in PhishER Plus and whether it helps focus on actual threats. At the moment PhishER Plus meets our needs, but we could benefit from reports that show information from other companies. It would be useful to see what percentage of users from other companies make unsafe clicks. Currently, I cannot think of additional features that I would want to see in PhishER Plus. The current functionality seems sufficient for our needs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"The basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."
"It definitely is a must for email protection and O365 app DLP, and combined with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for Identity, and MCAS, it provides a holistic solution for threat protection, email protection, O365 apps protection, and DLP for both internal and external risks."
"The initial setup was easy."
"With Defender for Office 365, we have been able to increase the security posture across our organization."
"The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning."
"The product is not resource-intensive."
"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."
"PhishER Plus is a user-friendly tool, we can get effective training with PhishER Plus which helps prevent clicks on real phishing emails and this experience saves company money."
 

Cons

"The visibility into threats is not up to the mark, as I do not have control. I rate my experience with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 as six out of ten due to troubleshooting and pricing concerns."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could improve by giving customers information on techniques to prevent threats. For example, information about best practices on how to protect their own devices against hackers and scammers, such as educational information or training. This would help others have a better understanding of cyber security. Additionally, there can be more security features added."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should improve the troubleshooting tools. It's unclear whether the device is blocked at the firewall level or at the device itself. The granularity needed for troubleshooting is currently lacking. From my perspective, Microsoft should address this issue to benefit many users who likely share the same sentiment."
"There's room for improvement regarding the time frame for retrieving emails."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 should be more proactive."
"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."
"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."
"The cost of Security Copilot is up there right now, and I think it needs to come down for more people to adopt."
"I am not familiar with the intelligent filtering system in PhishER Plus and whether it helps focus on actual threats."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"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."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"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."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it's actually quite reasonable even on the licensing side as a standalone product. It's very competitive compared to what competitors are ch...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware. We are seeing a lot more malware-less emails that Defender for Offi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 include email hygiene.
What needs improvement with PhishER Plus?
I am not familiar with the intelligent filtering system in PhishER Plus and whether it helps focus on actual threats. At the moment PhishER Plus meets our needs, but we could benefit from reports t...
What is your primary use case for PhishER Plus?
I am using PhishER Plus for sending phishing emails and training. I have created some custom phishing emails in PhishER Plus by myself. We use the reporting feature for phishing. When we receive a ...
What advice do you have for others considering PhishER Plus?
Our company has 220 users working with PhishER Plus. I am not certain about plans to increase the usage of PhishER Plus. PhishER Plus is a good product and I recommend it to potential users. The so...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.