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Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

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
6.9
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall provides network protection with minimal upkeep, proactive threat blocking, centralized management, and cost-effective upgrades.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers strong ROI through security enhancements, cost savings, and improved company productivity despite measurement challenges.
The centralized management and automation features have reduced manual monitoring efforts, saving our IT team several hours per week.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
Technology support manager at Alfred State College
Overall, cost of owning and operating our system goes down.
Designation Chief Consultant at Avtow
It's hard to quantify the return on investment we've seen from Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
Chief Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall's support is praised for availability but criticized for inconsistency and complex interfaces needing frequent help.
Sentiment score
5.8
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 users rate support highly, praising its responsiveness and 24/7 availability, despite occasional documentation and communication issues.
The support team is responsive and knowledgeable, assisting us promptly whenever we have faced configuration questions or technical issues.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Barracuda's partner support is better than the majority, and it stands out as one of their strengths.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
The overall security has been satisfactory, with no breaches.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
Over the past two years, there have been no critical problems.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
we opened tickets, and they typically resolve them quickly.
Chief Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
With a subscription for Microsoft Defender for Office 365, it is an eight. Without it, it is a six.
Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall efficiently scales for various deployments, offering flexibility and cloud features, though may lack some advanced features.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers scalable, efficient protection for large enterprises, ensuring seamless growth across diverse industries.
Its flexible licensing and hybrid deployment options allow it to adapt to evolving network requirements, ensuring continuous security and reliable operations.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
When positioning into customers, some larger enterprise customers tend to move towards one of the top three: either Cisco, Fortinet, or Palo Alto.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
We have never faced scalability problems, and Microsoft manages it effectively.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 scales transparently for us, as we grew from 1,000 users to 3,000 users, and we didn't notice much difference.
Chief Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 scales with the growing needs of my company well.
Senior Client Director and Advisory Service Leader at Crossfuze
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is praised for reliability, stability, minimal downtime, and effective technical support despite occasional bugs.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides 99.9% uptime with minor issues, ensuring reliable performance and seamless cloud integration.
Its robust infrastructure and real-time monitoring give us the confidence that our network remains secure and operational at all times.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
We have very few issues with Barracuda Firewall, even in the case of zero-day vulnerabilities.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
Version 8.0 had issues, but the newer version 9.0 seems to have improved performance regarding these issues.
System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 as 10 over 10 because it's highly available, it works, and it does the job it is meant to do.
Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues because of Defender.
Technology Associate at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
The solution is stable, as we have been using it for the past two years.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
 

Room For Improvement

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall needs improvements in GUI, VPN reliability, analytics, email categorization, support, and user-friendliness for better usability.
Users call for enhanced virus detection, cross-platform support, and pricing transparency in Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
Integration with AI would be helpful as modern attacks often utilize AI.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
It would be beneficial to merge the existing application policy with the main policy into a single unified policy to improve manageability.
System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.
One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new users.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
The main area for improvement is simplifying the implementation and rollout process.
Infrastructure and Security Lead at Vedanta
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
There is a different console for different things; I just want one consolidated console.
Senior Director, Security Architecture & Engineering at a leisure / travel company with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall offers reasonable pricing with a flexible, competitive model, plus perks like free hardware upgrades and easy purchasing.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing is seen as flexible but potentially expensive, offering value in comprehensive security features.
Our experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and licensing has been reasonable and transparent.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
The license price of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is lower than others, and maintenance or support is included.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
It is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive option available.
System Engineer for Network & Security at Projekt IP d.o.o.
We've likely saved 30% of costs.
Designation Chief Consultant at Avtow
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 suite, making it slightly more expensive compared to Trend Micro.
Infrastructure and Security Lead at Vedanta
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
 

Valuable Features

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall provides robust security, user-friendly management, and enhanced performance with features like VPN, TINA tunnels, and threat protection.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enhances email security with anti-phishing, anti-malware, threat intelligence, and seamless integration for efficient management.
This integration helps secure our data and applications from attackers trying to gain access and detect malicious activity.
Product Manager - Cyber Security at M247 Ltd Miami
The real-time monitoring helps us quickly identify unusual traffic patterns and potential threats, allowing us to respond immediately and maintain secure and uninterrupted network operations.
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
The most valuable features of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall include antivirus protection, anti-DDoS, and IPS.
Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
Technology support manager at Alfred State College
It provides end-to-end visibility on email threats such as phishing, extending beyond Exchange Online Protection.
Solution Consultant at BIM Group of Companies
The value of the DLP feature is significant to us because we have internal data, sometimes sensitive, and the users may not always be aware of security and privacy, which might lead them to send out information mistakenly to external parties.
Chief Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
24th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (34th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (14th), IoT Security (7th), WAN Edge (13th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Email Security (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is 1.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 9.7%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3659.7%
Barracuda CloudGen Firewall1.6%
Other88.7%
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Talha Bashir - PeerSpot reviewer
Offensive Security Analyst at a outsourcing company with 201-500 employees
Centralized security management has protected our hybrid network and supports secure remote work
Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very effective, but there is always room for improvement. One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new users. Additionally, advanced reporting and analytics could be more customized to provide deeper insights. Despite this, the firewall performs reliably and meets most of our organizational needs. One additional improvement that could enhance the experience is faster troubleshooting support or more detailed guided documentation for complex configurations. While the firewall is reliable, having more step-by-step tutorials or video guidance could help new users set up and optimize. Overall, the enhancement would make the platform even more user-friendly without affecting its current strong performance.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise31
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
Our experience with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall pricing and licensing has been reasonable and transparent. The setup cost was aligned with the features and security it provided. The licensing is fl...
What needs improvement with Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
Overall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is very effective, but there is always room for improvement. One area that could be enhanced is the user interface, making it slightly more intuitive for new us...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall?
My main use case for Barracuda CloudGen Firewall is for our network security and network traffic management. I rely on it most often for protecting the networks from threats and ensuring secure con...
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 various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
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.
 

Also Known As

Barracuda NextGen Firewall, Barracuda CloudGen Firewalls
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ARZ, Bauer, CBCX Technologies, Diamant-groep, Eissmann Group Automotive, European Youth Olympics, Exalo Drilling, FineLine Technologies, Geocell, Grimaldi, Infront Sports & Media, Odlo, Schenker Deutschland AG, Tilak, Verbandsgeneinde Zell, Conservas El Cidacos S.A., Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medicine Management, Erwin Muller GmbH, Info-Tech: NGF is Champion, Schoellerbank, IZB Informatik-Zentrum, RHI AG, Berglandmilch, Antenne Bayern, Sanochemia
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda CloudGen Firewall vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.