Microsoft Defender vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

Microsoft and Proofpoint are both solutions in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Proofpoint is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.4. Additionally, 96% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Proofpoint users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

Proofpoint Email Protection and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are key players in the email security market. Proofpoint Email Protection may have the upper hand due to its robust anti-phishing capabilities and comprehensive protection.

Features: Proofpoint Email Protection is noted for its ability to block spam and phishing attacks, offers sandboxing, and has URL defense features. It also serves as a security gateway providing targeted attack protection. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 integrates seamlessly within the Microsoft ecosystem, offering real-time threat detection, strong anti-phishing capabilities, and security features across the Microsoft product suite.

Room for Improvement: Proofpoint Email Protection could improve its search capabilities, integration with complex environments, and enhance its administrative interface. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can enhance scalability, technical support, and streamline its licensing models.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Proofpoint Email Protection is deployed largely as a public cloud solution and is known for its responsive technical support, although users face challenges in accessing technical portals. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers easy deployment through integration with Office 365 but has room for improvement in support quality, particularly in incident response.

Pricing and ROI: Proofpoint Email Protection is perceived as expensive, particularly for lower-tier markets, yet it is effective against phishing. Microsoft Defender for Office 365, although requiring additional budget for premium licenses, is part of the Office 365 bundle, offering complex value assessment. Both solutions show ROI through reduced spam and phishing incidents, with Microsoft's integration offering broader cost efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection

February 2026

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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

Q&A Highlights

Aishwarya Rm

Senior Software Engineer at Capgemini

Dec 30, 2024

Which solution do you prefer: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 or Proofpoint Email Protection?

In my opinion, there is little comparison. Proofpoint is an industry leader in email protection and has a very tightly integrated ecosystem for email defense, incident response, and awareness training. They have dedicated teams monitoring the threat landscape and continually tweak their algorithms to match current threats. Proofpoint goes far beyond email protection with tools to help your team investigate email-related threats, monitor user interactions and risks, act on users who continually handle email improperly with training, simulated phishes for user awareness, and even tools to reach full DMARC and DKIM protection (which can be extremely time and labor intensive). Defender has very little footprint, but also offers far less features. Proofpoint can be a more costly solution, but when compared feature for feature it far outweighs Defender. We do use both at my organization and I rarely interact with Defender as part of email investigations. Both will offer great protection, but beyond that Proofpoint is very feature rich and gives my team more tools to combat email threats when something is not caught by the gateway rules. Quite often emails do not contain threats prior to delivery and are weaponized afterward to get past the email defenses. Proofpoint has TAP and TRAP to isolate and remove those threats once they do become weaponized; along with the intelligence to know it has occurred. Proofpoint also has stellar reporting features so you have a very good understanding of your email environment at a glance.

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Featured Reviews

Cobe Van Coller

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.

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Emeka Ndulu

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.

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AshishKochhar

Information Technology Team Lead at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees

Advanced email protection has blocked targeted attacks and reduces manual threat handling

I feel Proofpoint Email Protection is overpriced. I cannot say that the security level being provided does not justify the cost, but when comparing the similar level of security with other applications or security systems, it is overpriced. If Proofpoint could provide offers or discounts for customers who are already using the product or for new customers implementing it, along with some free services or add-ons, that would be helpful in terms of financial expense. Proofpoint Email Protection has recently introduced AI functionality in terms of data security capabilities and protecting AI assistance from targeted attacks. This is important since everything is now related to AI. The solution is doing threat detection and real-time threat detection and response pretty well. There are a few things I would like to see improved. Sometimes Proofpoint Email Protection takes time to analyze the workflow and the nature of the email. In this age of AI, the solution should analyze an email on the first receipt and determine whether it should pass or be marked as spam without checking previous data. Another improvement would be to have a more user-friendly dashboard. Additionally, if Proofpoint could add the same features in BCP as part of email protection in BCP, it would be helpful since I currently have to take a different add-on for BCP, and integrating it would save costs. I cannot say that threats have increased or decreased with Proofpoint Email Protection because it depends on the mail flow. The solution captures and filters out all threats, and the email threats vary every day depending on how many users are receiving how many emails per day. Today there might be 1,000 emails, tomorrow 5,000, and the day after 500. Proofpoint Email Protection does its job by scanning all emails and threats are reduced to some extent. Since I am aware that virus definitions are updated every day, I cannot blame Proofpoint Email Protection if they take time to determine the nature of an email being received. There are sometimes emails that are false positives, and Proofpoint Email Protection is a bit strict in analyzing false positives, sometimes stopping emails that are actually required. It analyzes the previous nature of an email and if a template looks like an informational template or related to spam, it blocks it because it looks similar to one blocked earlier. However, the template might actually be required. If I receive the same template today that is also blocked by Proofpoint Email Protection, that particular template might be useful and should not be blocked. In such cases, I have to raise it as a false positive stating that this is something in use or my users use and should be released. When AI starts doing its work, it analyzes the email from a sender with a particular template and releases it, but if the same email and template come from another sender, it blocks it according to the policies.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good."

"Clover is the best product globally."

"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."

"I'm very satisfied with the environment and the dashboard."

"Enables me to work from two locations."

"The best feature is rate limiting. If I'm expecting 500 visits per hour, Cloudflare will limit the requests if I suddenly get 50,000."

"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."

"This solution is easy to understand and easy to configure."

More Cloudflare One pros

"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."

"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."

"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to protect us from malware."

"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."

"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."

"The most valuable feature is the integration. It's a single console, so we don't have to switch around between multiple products. Another valuable feature is the ease of operations and maintenance."

"The most valuable feature is protection against malicious links, fishing, and impersonation. You can train people to be aware of these threats, but they're not always careful. When they're using their phones between meetings, they click on a link, and it's game over."

"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 individuals within our organization who are affected."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"Proofpoint Email Protection's advantage is that, when it's working properly, it tends to catch more threats as compared to other products."

"The stability is very good."

"The best features of Proofpoint Email Protection are the advanced level of anti-spam and antivirus technology, the TAP feature that helps me scan URLs and provides URL defense, outbound filtering and prevention capabilities, and particularly the TRAP feature where I can pull out all phishing emails from all users' mailboxes in a single click."

"It has been comprehensive and easy to use for both users and administrators."

"When I manage a SOC and Proofpoint Email Protection is integrated with it, it gives me a consolidated alert, so when phishing alerts come in it is slightly easier to manage, even my L1 incident response team from the SOC can easily understand the alerts, perform basic checks on VirusTotal, and create complete SOAR automation from that information."

"Although it is a bit costly compared to Mimecast, Defender, and Cofense Vision, it is efficient and strong in security, so I do not mind the cost because I will not reduce my security risk."

"Proofpoint Email Protection is a good product, and its most beneficial feature is the Threat Response Auto-Pull. I also like that it's an integrated email security solution."

"Proofpoint Email Protection has positively impacted my organization by ensuring we are not at risk of a breach through email."

More Proofpoint Email Protection pros

Cons

"Feedback could be enhanced. While I work efficiently with Clover as a partner in Mexico City, sometimes the information and requests are easier to manage with more concrete solutions."

"For the topic of improvement, providing some training material is one of my suggestions."

"The initial onboarding was causing us some confusion."

"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."

"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."

"Operating and tuning the product is difficult."

"Lacks a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."

"Our subscription plan for the solution has a limitation of bot signatures."

More Cloudflare One cons

"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."

"From a development point of view, if I wanted to do development on my actual machine where Defender is, the organization can set certain policies or Defender makes that prohibitive."

"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."

"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 think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to the mark in comparison with Wiz or Palo Alto."

"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."

"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"The stability and UI are the two areas of the solution with certain shortcomings that need improvement."

"I would like to see improvements in Proofpoint Email Protection's portal as it is sometimes slow."

"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve by allowing more customization of the reports, such as exceptions and black-and-white lists."

"It can be improved pricing-wise so that it is affordable for the SMB market."

"There have been a few cases where an obvious phishing email has not been blocked, but perhaps Proofpoint Email Protection was still learning and needed some extra time to figure out that the email was malicious."

"The management portal of Proofpoint Email Protection has an outdated UI that requires an update for better usability."

"The price could be improved."

"They do not have an on-demand scan for the internal viruses and internal users, and they don't have a scan for the exchange server against viruses and spam as Symantec does."

More Proofpoint Email Protection cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"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 price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."

"The solution is not that 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."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."

"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."

"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."

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."

"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."

"The pricing has become expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"Proofpoint Email Protection is a reasonably priced product, which means that it is neither too low nor too high in terms of price."

"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"It is on a yearly basis. Their floor for SMB doesn't matter. The user count is 100 users and below at $2,500 a year. Its cost is higher than other solutions. It is probably about 20% to 30% higher than what you would get with Microsoft. There are no additional costs. All costs are factored in. It can be improved pricing-wise so that it is affordable for the SMB market."

"In general, the pricing is competitive."

"They are competitively priced, but I have been forced to get quotes for other solutions now because they haven't been responding to requests to do the work that we would like them to do."

"Pricing has recently been increased and the cost is a downside"

"Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive."

"It is expensive."

More Proofpoint Email Protection pricing and cost advice

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Answers from the Community

Aishwarya Rm

Senior Software Engineer at Capgemini

Mar 3, 2023

Which solution do you prefer: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 or Proofpoint Email Protection?

See 2 answers

JohnBusch

Security Engineer at Kforce

Mar 2, 2023

Read full answer

Remy Ma

Network Security Services at ACE Managed Securty Services

Mar 3, 2023

If you're looking for Managed Email Security, it can be hard to decide between Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and Proofpoint Email Protection. It's like choosing between two delicious flavors of ice cream — both are good, but what flavor do you prefer? Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is managed by Microsoft’s Security & Compliance Center and provides managed email security for Office 365 customers. It offers comprehensive protection against malicious emails, phishing attacks, and other advanced threats. On the other hand, Proofpoint Email Protection is managed by a third-party provider and provides managed email security for businesses of all sizes. While it doesn't have as many features as Defender, Proofpoint still offers robust protection against malicious emails, phishing attacks, and other advanced threats. In the end, it comes down to personal preference. Do you prefer managed email security managed by Microsoft or a third party? It all depends on your individual needs. Whichever solution you choose, make sure that managed email security meets all of your requirements!

Read full answer

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	24
Midsize Enterprise	10
Large Enterprise	31

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	24
Large Enterprise	43

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access has strong integration with Microsoft, among other platforms. However, when it comes to Kaspersky, ...

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What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access provides secure access to internal applications for employees, external members of the organization...

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What advice do you have for others considering Cloudflare Access?

Cloudflare Access is one of the best integrations available. While about two hundred vendors offer similar services, ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a little expensive.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?

I do not handle the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Proofpoint Email Protection, but I think it's a bit pricey...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?

Some of the old portal features of Proofpoint Email Protection are missing in the new portal, so some of the settings...

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What is your primary use case for Proofpoint Email Protection?

Proofpoint Email Protection is primarily used for anti-spam purposes. As other companies receive a lot of malware, ph...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One

March 2026

Download Cloudflare One product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

March 2026

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Buyer's Guide

Proofpoint Email Protection

March 2026

Download Proofpoint Email Protection product report

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

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Proofpoint Digital Protection

Overview

Cloudflare One is a comprehensive platform for security, performance, and connectivity. It provides features like rate limiting, DDoS protection, and application access, tailored to enhance user experience while securing internet access and accelerating communications.

Designed to integrate security measures with ease of use and scalability, Cloudflare One offers a secure web gateway and zero trust network access. These features ensure seamless setup and operation, making connectivity reliable and protected. Users appreciate its integrated console, intuitive interface, and the ability to manage risk effectively. It offers straightforward deployment, improves latency, and boasts cost-effectiveness. While its onboarding process and documentation need enhancement, its value in content delivery and application shielding is notable. Despite challenges in integrating Cloudflare Access with existing VPNs and the need for better automation and support, it remains vital for DNS and infrastructure protection.

What features make Cloudflare One stand out?

Rate Limiting: Controls the traffic rate to prevent abuse.
DDoS Protection: Shields applications from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Secure Web Gateway: Provides secure internet access with seamless operation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure, application-based connectivity without relying on traditional VPNs.
Access for Connectivity: Facilitates access to internal applications securely.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Security: Robust measures for DNS and browsing protection.
Performance: Enhanced site accessibility and communication speed.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing for its features.
Ease of Deployment: Straightforward and efficient setup process.

In industries like finance, retail, and technology, Cloudflare One is crucial for enabling secure remote access and protecting web applications against dynamic threats. It supports compliance access policies and enhances content delivery, playing a key role in safeguarding digital infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

Microsoft

Proofpoint Email Protection provides powerful filtering against spam, phishing, and malware, leveraging effective threat detection and blocking capabilities. This solution integrates smoothly with platforms like Office 365, offering a user-friendly dashboard for seamless operations.

Proofpoint Email Protection focuses on email security, ensuring protection against phishing, malware, and spam. It includes features like URL scanning, anti-phishing, anti-virus protection, and sandboxing for comprehensive threat analysis. Its advanced analytics through TAP and TRAP, along with strong integration abilities, make it appealing for handling email threats. While scalability and ease of deployment are advantages, challenges such as integration in complex environments, the cost, and limited local support require attention. Enhancements in search functionality, email encryption, and improved phishing detection are also needed.

What are the key features of Proofpoint Email Protection?

Effective Filtering: Blocks spam, phishing, and malware with high accuracy.
URL Scanning: Protects against malicious links.
Advanced Analytics: Provides insights through TAP and TRAP.
Seamless Integration: Compatible with platforms like Office 365.
User-friendly Dashboard: Simplifies email management and monitoring.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Scalability: Adaptable to organizational growth without losing performance.
Strong Threat Protection: Comprehensive defense against email threats.
Easy Deployment: Streamlined setup process for smooth integration.
Advanced Threat Analysis: Identifies and neutralizes threats efficiently.

Industries adopting Proofpoint Email Protection include finance, healthcare, and education sectors, which benefit from its robust email security measures. Educational institutions prioritize safe communication for staff and students, while healthcare organizations focus on protecting sensitive patient data. Financial services benefit from preventing data breaches and fraud through advanced threats management.

Proofpoint

Sample Customers

23andMe

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection

February 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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See our list of best Secure Email Gateway (SEG) vendors, best Email Security vendors, and best Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) vendors.

We monitor all Secure Email Gateway (SEG) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.