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Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs PhishER Plus comparison

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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

Cloudflare One
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (12th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (21st), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (13th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (8th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th), Access Management (11th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (9th), ZTNA (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (3rd)
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 (8th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
PhishER Plus
Ranking in Email Security
23rd
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 June 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.6%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 6.3%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PhishER Plus is 0.6%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3656.3%
Cloudflare One1.6%
PhishER Plus0.6%
Other91.5%
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.
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

"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."
"Cloudflare Access is part of the Zero Trust philosophy."
"Cloudflare DDoS is better than its competitors for its security, deployment, and scalability."
"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."
"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 blocking feature is very good."
"Cloudflare is simple to use."
"The capabilities of the software are strong enough for me to do what it's supposed to do. For me, we don't need to do a lot of configuration on our site. We just enable it and monitor it."
"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."
"The product is not resource-intensive."
"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."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"Defender for Office 365 has helped eliminate having to look at multiple dashboards and that is the aspect I like most about it. It is simpler, effective, and convenient. The users like the process efficiency."
"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."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
"One of our clients didn't have the budget to invest in a SOC team, but we deployed the solution for them, and they now run a SOC with only one analyst."
"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

"For the topic of improvement, providing some training material is one of my suggestions."
"Feedback could be enhanced."
"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."
"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."
"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."
"Cloudflare One is not very powerful, but for what we require, it is basic and sufficient."
"There are premium tier live service and lower tier live service, so we opted for the lower tier. But there is no medium tier where we pay a little extra and get a bit more service. So if that can be improved."
"The response time for support must be reduced."
"I assess the stability and reliability of the solution as seven out of ten."
"In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"There is a different console for different things; I just want one consolidated console."
"About eight months ago, we started to measure the quantity of phishing and spam that we have been receiving, and it has been increasing a lot. That means that protection for our email is not as good as we were expecting."
"This is quite an expensive solution and understanding the pricing model and features is quite complicated and it can, in fact, be a nightmare when dealing with Microsoft."
"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."
"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."
"I am not familiar with the intelligent filtering system in PhishER Plus and whether it helps focus on actual threats."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"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."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
"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."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"The product is expensive."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"The product is very expensive."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?
In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...
What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?
Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...
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...
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 ...
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....
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 Phish...
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 Pl...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

23andMe
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: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.