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Avanan vs Barracuda Email Security Gateway comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
8.4
Avanan improved email security, reduced phishing, increased user trust, enhanced mobile protection, and boosted ROI and revenue growth.
Sentiment score
1.0
Barracuda Email Security Gateway prioritizes email safety, providing fewer disruptions despite potential ROI concerns for businesses and service providers.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.1
Avanan's customer service is highly responsive, professional, and proactive, with excellent communication and extensive support staff knowledge.
Sentiment score
8.5
Barracuda Email Security Gateway customer support is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though limited by time zones and language.
From the vendor, I would give the technical support an eight out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Avanan integrates with Office 365 and Google, praised for scalability, admin capabilities, and efficient email protection across diverse organizations.
Sentiment score
8.1
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is scalable for SMBs but may not suit very large enterprises, with varied user opinions.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Avanan is highly praised for its stability, efficiency, security, minimal maintenance, seamless Microsoft 365 integration, and reliable AI-based scanning.
Sentiment score
8.2
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is reliable and stable, with quick resolutions for minor issues and high user ratings.
 

Room For Improvement

Users feel Avanan needs improvements in Active Directory dependency, email quarantining, AI logic, training, UI, performance, pricing, mobile app, and integrations.
Barracuda Email Security Gateway needs upgrades in usability, integration, scalability, support, spam filtering accuracy, and anti-phishing measures.
Some mails pass while others are dropped without any apparent logic, despite having the policy set for specific recipients or senders.
If it's considered a phishing email, it should be blocked for all users, not just some.
Sometimes there are false positive emails coming through, so they should improve further on detection technologies and techniques.
 

Setup Cost

Avanan provides flexible pricing for Office 365, with straightforward setup and costs between $4 to $8 per user.
The Barracuda Email Security Gateway is competitively priced, scalable, with varied user opinions and crucial regional market considerations.
Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway is cheaper.
 

Valuable Features

Avanan provides advanced malware and phishing detection, 24/7 cloud protection, easy integration with Microsoft 365, and ensures secure communications.
Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers robust spam filtering, advanced threat protection, and user-friendly features for comprehensive email security management.
The real-time threat intelligence feature is particularly useful as it detects all kinds of threats identified by incoming mails.
The main benefit from Barracuda Email Security Gateway is better security for the email flow.
 

Categories and Ranking

Avanan
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (15th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (26th)
Barracuda Email Security Ga...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
DMARC Authentication Software (3rd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Avanan is designed for Email Security and holds a mindshare of 3.4%, down 3.8% compared to last year.
Barracuda Email Security Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 6.6% mindshare, down 8.6% since last year.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Avanan3.4%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36511.5%
Proofpoint Email Protection8.2%
Other76.9%
Email Security
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Barracuda Email Security Gateway6.6%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36527.5%
Proofpoint Email Protection21.0%
Other44.9%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Robert Melendez - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances email security and has a very simple and easy-to-use UI
Spam protection is the most valuable feature. We have implemented the tool to enhance our email security. It helps prevent phishing attacks. The anomaly detection capabilities are baked into the security platform. The product integrates wonderfully with Microsoft 365. It's built right on a cloud platform and works almost natively. The solution has a very simple and easy-to-use UI. The tool appears extremely powerful and has a good solid feature set. It catches things that are bad for my environment. The user interface is good the way it is. If the solution continues down that path, I see no problems with the way it is going. It feels like a mature product.
WalidChowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust email protection with advanced features such as effective spam filtering, virus and malware defense, phishing protection and high scalability
Our customer faced a significant challenge with spam, leading to increased expenses. The complexity of their email infrastructure added to the issue, with some clients using Microsoft Exchange, others relying on different systems, and some operating on Linux platforms. To address this, we…
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867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Avanan?
Spam protection is the most valuable feature.
What needs improvement with Avanan?
Avanan doesn't cover certain tool segments. Barracuda provides backup and retention of emails and Microsoft 365’s backup and retention services. I've brought this up with the vendor. They told me t...
What do you like most about Barracuda Sentinel?
It not only tackles spam effectively but also incorporates advanced features like ATP and active features which ensures a comprehensive and adaptable email security solution tailored to their hete...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Sentinel?
I would suggest that pricing for Barracuda Email Security Gateway rates around seven. It is not too expensive, but it is a considerable cost. Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway ...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Sentinel?
Regarding real-time intelligent features of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway, some spam emails are still being released by the ESG to the end users, so the functionality is not working appropri...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bethel School District, ServiceSource, Capital Caring
Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Avanan vs. Barracuda Email Security Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.