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Proofpoint Email Protection vs Sublime Security 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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
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), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
Proofpoint Email Protection
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Security Awareness Training (2nd), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (2nd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (3rd)
Sublime Security
Ranking in Email Security
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.3%, down from 16.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 8.4%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sublime Security is 1.6%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

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.
AhmedRamadan - PeerSpot reviewer
Optimize email security with effective sandboxing and auto Pull for quarantine
Proofpoint is used as an email security gateway for big enterprises, primarily for their on-premises servers. Many customers also use it alongside Office 365 Proofpoint offers a complete solution for email security with features like DLP, email archiving, and encryption. The most valuable…
LARK IT - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to setup, stable and highly scalable
The ability for users to look at their own quarantine box needs improvement. So at the moment, it doesn't give you the ability to see every email that has been quarantined. No end-user has the ability to see what's being quarantined. It's only people who have access to the back-end platform that can actually see what has been quarantined. The end user doesn't know if they have an email that has been quarantined, only if they're expecting something that didn't come through. In future releases, I would just like to see that ability for users to see what's being quarantined and what's not quarantined but safe. Just those genuine false positives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would say that 90% of the spam and phishing attack emails get blocked right off the bat."
"The product is not resource-intensive."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the ease of use."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links."
"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"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."
"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."
"The spam filter for email is good."
"I would recommend Proofpoint Email Protection to others because it is useful, simple to use, and provides whatever is required."
"The Phish Alarm button allows users to submit questionable emails for review and complete analysis."
"The Tap and Trap features. They are the best features."
"Proofpoint Email Protection offers an additional layer of protection compared to other brands like Microsoft, Mimecast, and Barracuda. While these major companies excel at detecting malicious attachments, the solution goes further by analyzing the context of emails, allowing for more nuanced decision-making."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the TAP Dashboard. It provides more detailed information that can be used for forensic analysis. This is an advantage that other email security providers, such as Cisco, IronPort, or Microsoft do not offer in their dashboards."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the blocking capabilities, it blocks a lot of potential threats."
"It's easy to use, even for those new to IT."
"I like its ability to detect and block."
 

Cons

"The only thing they should improve is the licensing model. They should stop changing it. A year ago, the five features I mentioned were included in one product. Now, three of them are bundled into one product, and you have to pay extra for the other two. I don't mind paying extra, but I don't want them to change it every year or every six months. I need to know what I'm looking at and not worry about it next year."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's Mac functionality requires improvement to deliver the same level of protection found on Windows devices."
"We need to be able to whitelist data at the backend."
"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."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"The custom alerts have to improve a lot."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"Phishing detection could improve further to match some of the capabilities offered by competitors."
"Sometimes it doesn't detect actual spam emails, and sometimes it catches normal emails."
"We find the cost to be prohibitive."
"The price could be improved."
"You only receive one model in Proofpoint Email Protection and the other ones you have to purchase at a high price. There should be more available with the solution and additional models should be less expensive."
"The accessibility of Proofpoint Email Protection, particularly access to product trials, could be improved. It's hard to get a trial for Proofpoint Email Protection, and many customers prefer not just to do the POC or demo but try the product out."
"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."
"The solution could be improved with the addition of PLP and email encryption features."
"The ability for users to look at their own quarantine box needs improvement. So at the moment, it doesn't give you the ability to see every email that has been quarantined. No end-user has the ability to see what's being quarantined. It's only people who have access to the back-end platform that can actually see what has been quarantined. The end user doesn't know if they have an email that has been quarantined, only if they're expecting something that didn't come through."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"The product is very expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"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."
"Proofpoint is fairly expensive."
"In general, the pricing is competitive."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"The solution uses a licensing model that is reasonable compared to other products."
"We sell annual licenses for this solution."
"The licensing is basically $8/user."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"I would rate the pricing of Sublime Security as a seven out of ten. It is reasonably well-priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 variou...
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 recor...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of pricing, it is okay compared to others. I would say it is normal. Additional costs do come in, but it enh...
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
It became very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances, and I may advise Proofpoint to adjust marketing so...
What do you like most about Sublime Security?
I like its ability to detect and block.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sublime Security?
I would rate the pricing of Sublime Security as a seven. It is reasonably well-priced.
What needs improvement with Sublime Security?
The ability for users to look at their own quarantine box needs improvement. So at the moment, it doesn't give you th...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Proofpoint, Abnormal Security and others in Email Security. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.