Barracuda Email Protection vs Cofense Platform comparison

Barracuda Networks and Cofense are both solutions in the Email Security category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.7, while Cofense is ranked #45. Barracuda Networks holds a 3.3% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Cofense’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution.

Barracuda Email Protection

Read 18 Barracuda Email Protection reviews

2,608 Views
2,217 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cofense Platform

Read 1 Cofense Platform review

1,061 Views
403 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Barracuda Email Protection

Cofense Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 11, 2025

Cofense Platform and Barracuda Email Protection compete in the email security space. Barracuda emerges as the preferred choice due to its extensive feature set, providing a comprehensive security solution.

Features: Cofense Platform provides phishing detection, incident response, and threat analysis. Barracuda offers advanced threat intelligence, malware protection, and data loss prevention. Barracuda's strong feature set makes it an all-encompassing security solution, while Cofense is known for threat detection and response capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cofense Platform offers straightforward deployment and robust support, appealing to those seeking simplicity. Barracuda requires a more complex deployment but provides responsive customer service for smooth implementation and support.

Pricing and ROI: Cofense Platform is cost-effective with strong ROI, focusing on phishing defense capabilities. Barracuda, while needing a higher initial investment, offers comprehensive features that justify its price, delivering significant long-term value.

To learn more, read our detailed Email Security Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Email Security

January 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

Barracuda Email Protection

Ranking in Email Security

13th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (2nd), Office 365 Protection (4th)

Cofense Platform

Ranking in Email Security

45th

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Security Incident Response (13th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIP) (44th), Security Awareness Training (27th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 3.3%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cofense Platform is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Barracuda Email Protection	3.3%
Cofense Platform	0.7%
Other	96.0%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

LeeMiles

Director, Information Technology at St Albans High School For Girls

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.

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MohamedShaker

Sales Team Leader at ITVikings

Secures the business for customers quickly and accurately

It secures the business for the customers. For instance, if any phishing emails come into the environment and employees see it, we direct the email to Triage. The Triage system will investigate it through AI technology to see if it's a phishing email or not. If it is a phishing email, it will quarantine it and erase it from the environment.

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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 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."

"Barracuda email protection is stable. I would give it a nine because of its strong cybersecurity features."

"The most helpful aspect for me is the out-of-the-box configuration, which is fairly good."

"The most valuable aspect includes attempts to spoof or compromise domains from external sources."

"When we got the service, it included the email archiver with unlimited storage."

"I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products."

"I would rate the solution nine out of ten."

"The archiving and search features are very good."

More Barracuda Email Protection pros

"For instance, if any phishing emails come into the environment and employees see it, we direct the email to Triage. The Triage system will investigate it through AI technology to see if it's a phishing email or not. If it is a phishing email, it will quarantine it and erase it from the environment."

Cons

"Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platforms and third-party solutions."

"Barracuda Essentials can improve by continually adding more features."

"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."

"I would like to see better integration with other products."

"The technology works on a supervised engine, but it would be better if it ran on an unsupervised engine."

"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."

"Two to three months back, we got fraudulent emails in which someone in the organization was being blamed."

More Barracuda Email Protection cons

"If they continue improving and enhancing this solution, it could be even faster and more accurate."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, this product is middle-of-the-road."

"Despite a list price possibly around $40 per user, their market price allows customers to easily buy the solution."

"The solution's pricing is moderate, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."

"The product is expensive."

"The price is similar to that of Microsoft 365."

"We didn't have to pay a lot for the solution because we got it from a good vendor with a good user volume."

"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."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

More Barracuda Email Protection pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	5

No data available

Questions from the Community

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 tool.

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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 a list price possibly around $40 per user, their market price allows customers t...

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What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Protection?

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Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 23% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 21% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 10% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 7% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 5% of the time

More Barracuda Email Protection Competitors

Hoxhunt vs Cofense Platform

Compared 12% of the time

PhishER Plus vs Cofense Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Cofense Platform

Compared 12% of the time

IRONSCALES vs Cofense Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Cofense Platform

Compared 11% of the time

More Cofense Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection

January 2026

Download Barracuda Email Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

Email Security

January 2026

Download Cofense Platform product report

Also Known As

Barracuda Essentials

Cofense Intelligence, PhishMe Intelligence, Intelligence ThreatHQ, Cofense Triage, Cofense LMS

Overview

The popularity of Microsoft 365 means criminals test and design their attacks to bypass its native security features. And that means you need additional layers of defense. With Advanced Threat Protection enabled, Barracuda uses multiple layers of detection, including signature, static, and behavioral analysis, along with CPU-emulation sandboxing to accurately detect and block zero-hour targeted attacks and ransomware.

Traditional email gateways use static rules and policies—reputation analysis, block lists, and malicious payloads—to determine if an email is malicious.

Barracuda protects your Microsoft 365 inbox against evasive threats with a powerful AI engine that learns the unique communication patterns within your organization through access to internal and historical emails. Once it understands what legitimate emails looks like for each user, it can detect anomalies that signal malicious intent. This context-based detection is more effective at blocking targeted attacks, which are designed to bypass traditional rule-based email security.

Barracuda Networks

Cofense Platform provides advanced anti-phishing solutions, utilizing cutting-edge technology to detect, respond, and reduce phishing threats efficiently.

Designed for enterprise security, Cofense Platform emphasizes real-time threat analysis and operates with a high degree of precision in mitigating phishing risks. It integrates seamlessly into existing infrastructures, offering flexibility and scalability for businesses of all sizes. Recognized for its comprehensive email security and user-friendly training modules, it empowers organizations to stay ahead of evolving security threats. Its ecosystem of interconnected tools ensures adaptive threat response and seamless collaboration among security teams.

What are the key features of Cofense Platform?

Phishing Detection: Utilizes AI-driven techniques to identify and neutralize phishing threats rapidly.
Automated Threat Response: Provides real-time, automated responses to mitigate potential security breaches.
User Training: Engages employees with interactive phishing simulations to enhance their awareness and response skills.
Intelligence Sharing: Enables information exchange within the community to fortify defenses with shared data insights.
Scalability: Offers scalable solutions adaptable to the size and needs of the organization.

What benefits and ROI should users expect?

Increased Security Efficiency: Reduces phishing incident response times significantly.
Cost Savings: Minimizes potential financial losses by preventing breaches before they occur.
Enhanced Employee Awareness: Increases the overall security posture by engaging users directly.
Customizable Solutions: Adapts to the unique requirements of each organization for maximum effectiveness.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Cofense Platform is renowned for its ability to handle high-volume email threats and its robust integration capabilities. These sectors benefit from targeted threat intelligence and responsive phishing defense strategies, safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining compliance.

Cofense

Sample Customers

ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems

Jackson Health System

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies, Proofpoint and others in Email Security. Updated: January 2026.

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