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Barracuda Email Protection vs Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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
7.1
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)
Barracuda Email Protection
Ranking in Email Security
14th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (2nd), Office 365 Protection (5th)
Check Point Harmony Email &...
Ranking in Email Security
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
65
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (5th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.6%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 2.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is 4.8%, up from 3.5% 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.
LeeMiles - PeerSpot reviewer
Very good threat protection, spam filtering, and cloud backups
Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by default included in certain settings. For instance, for email quarantine, I can't set up a global setting. Users must go through an induction session where I guide them in configuring quarantine alerts rather than having default settings based on group membership. This seems like an oversight since they already use Active Directory details. They should assign policies based on group membership, which configures these settings by default.
Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Email security effectively detects a wide range of threats and improves productivity
Since we have been using Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration for a year, we haven't encountered significant challenges. However, it would be beneficial if it could support other email security services beyond Microsoft and Google. Integration with other platforms would enhance its appeal since the features are commendable. While the analytics are commendable, they don't provide deep dive insights. They show the overall counts of malware, phishing, and business compromise emails, but there isn't a robust ability to dive deeper into those categories to see specifics. Analytics should allow us to explore which users received malware emails the most or trends among departments. Currently, we have to sift through manually, which is not ideal. A more profound analytical capability would elevate the tool to become the complete email security solution for any user.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its spam filter."
"The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 facilitates efficient management and updates through the cloud. We do not have to worry about incompatibilities. It just works."
"The email protection is excellent, especially in terms of anti-phishing policies."
"My experience deploying Microsoft Defender for Office 365 was seamless."
"Overall, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Office 365 at a ten."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"The benefit that stands out to me is the ability for multiple individuals to collaborate simultaneously within the same document. Additionally, there is the option to save the document directly in the integrated OneDrive or SharePoint."
"The most valuable aspect includes attempts to spoof or compromise domains from external sources."
"The most valuable features of Barracuda Email Protection are flexibility and customization."
"The best feature of Barracuda Email Protection is that it provides protection for Microsoft 365."
"The beauty of Barracuda Email Protection is that it is easy to manage and simple to deploy."
"The product is easy to deploy and maintain."
"The most helpful aspect for me is the out-of-the-box configuration, which is fairly good."
"I would rate the solution nine out of ten."
"The most valuable features of Barracuda Essentials are it's a trusted name and is rated very high on review sites. It blocks high percentages of spam and junk email and it's in the cloud. They have hardware appliances, but this is in the cloud. The solution is very effective at blocking malware and blocking spam and this is what we are looking for. There's not a whole lot of complexity, you want a solution that is very good at blocking out all of the unwanted emails."
"The anti-phishing feature is the solution's best feature."
"It fully protects colleagues from visiting insecure sites and browsing in unhealthy environments."
"The product is a fairly complete and centralized solution accessible through the Infinity Portal."
"The threat management database provides consistent updates."
"I recommend Check Point Harmony Email and Collaboration to all types of companies, from small businesses to enterprises."
"The API is its most valuable feature. On the API side, relative to the rest of the market, Check Point is decades ahead of its competitors."
"The fact that we can share documents without emailing them and still be confident they will go through the corresponding scrutiny is great."
"This product enhances faster and more secure sharing of information among colleagues from different departments."
 

Cons

"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."
"Sometimes, phishing emails manage to pass through the filter, so the system needs to enhance its phishing email detection capabilities."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration."
"In some situations, it has not been able to pick impersonated emails having no attachments. Technical support definitely has a scope for improvement."
"Several simulation options are available within 365, and the phishing simulation could be better."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."
"The platform's pricing needs improvement."
"The policies are set up in Barracuda by default; we don't have any control over them."
"The solution's reporting mechanism is a little poor and could be improved."
"I would like to see some additional functionality in terms of employee monitoring, as part of a work-from-home security solution."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in reaching out to technical support during deployment."
"Sometimes it is somewhat laggy, especially on the Archiver side. It should have improved performance on their Message Archiver."
"The technology works on a supervised engine, but it would be better if it ran on an unsupervised engine."
"Two to three months back, we got fraudulent emails in which someone in the organization was being blamed."
"I have learned enough to make the product stable. However, the stability has some challenges."
"I would like Check Point to extend its coverage to include more cloud applications."
"Since the portal to the management and administration entry sometimes has performance problems and takes a long time to respond to what has arrived, the handling of the tool is difficult."
"The reporting could be improved."
"While the analytics are commendable, they don't provide deep dive insights. They show the overall counts of malware, phishing, and business compromise emails, but there isn't a robust ability to dive deeper into those categories to see specifics."
"Support can be a bit quicker in helping the customer."
"The sanitization on the file needs improvement."
"They could continue to offer more stringent security policy measures for threat point management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"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."
"The product is very expensive."
"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."
"The pricing has become expensive."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"The product is expensive."
"The product is expensive."
"Price-wise, this product is middle-of-the-road."
"We didn't have to pay a lot for the solution because we got it from a good vendor with a good user volume."
"The price is similar to that of Microsoft 365."
"We pay annually. They never charged us for anything else. And they were quite a bit under that $20,000 mark. It was $19,074. And they've been pretty good about not skyrocketing the price or anything like that. It has gone up. It's gone up to $24,000 in 2020."
"The solution's pricing is moderate, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The price of Barracuda Essentials is better than some of the competing products."
"Barracuda licensing model is good."
"This is a very good product if you are on the cloud, but the price is a little more expensive."
"Reasonable cost, quick and easy implementation, and transparent."
"The product’s price is very high."
"As we are a non-profit organization, we got the tool with a good offer. On a yearly basis, we pay 10,000 Euro for 500 users, which also includes the technical support part."
"Usually, we pay for the licensing part on a yearly basis and not on a monthly basis. If Check Point's team is providing a good amount of discount, then it is very easy for us to select it since its competitors are also giving the best prices or best discounts."
"One of the nice features is that the licensing model is elastic, so if you go over your license count, you can add users during your billing cycle and true-up later."
"The difference between [Check Point and its competitors] boiled down to money. Price-wise, Check Point was very good, it was very competitive."
"Due to its pricing, I would say that Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is more suitable for medium to enterprise organizations."
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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
19%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Barracuda Email Protection?
Barracuda Email Protection is easy to deploy and maintain. It doesn't require a specialized resource to manage this t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Email Protection?
Their list price is too high, but in India, the selling price is affordable at around $10 per user per year. Despite ...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Protection?
Considering it integrates with Azure, I would like to be able to effectively set up policies where people are by defa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
Pricing is a bit expensive, but it is worth it considering the features that Check Point provides.
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The main use case for Check Point Harmony ( /products/avaya-workforce-engagement-reviews ) Email & Collaboration ...
What do you like most about Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The product offers good and easy integration capabilities with other products.
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Barracuda Essentials
Check Point CloudGuard, Check Point CloudGuard SaaS , Check Point Harmony Email & Office
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems
Helvetia, Denham Capital, Daymark Solutions, Neopharm Group
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Protection vs. Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.