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Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

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

Barracuda Email Protection
Ranking in Email Security
12th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (2nd), Office 365 Protection (5th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 3.0%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 5.4%, down from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)5.4%
Barracuda Email Protection3.0%
Other91.6%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Amber Worth - PeerSpot reviewer
Retrieves data from quarantines and easy to read logs with robust security features
Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious. Although eventually the information is located, it can be difficult if detailed information is lacking. Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous. Simplifying interfaces would also be appreciated.

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 are security and ease of use."
"I would rate the solution nine out of ten."
"The beauty of Barracuda Email Protection is that it is easy to manage and simple to deploy."
"The most valuable features of Barracuda Email Protection are flexibility and customization."
"The most helpful aspect for me is the out-of-the-box configuration, which is fairly good."
"When we got the service, it included the email archiver with unlimited storage."
"We now have a secondary backup of Office 365 that's much easier to retrieve compared to Microsoft. If someone deletes something in Office 365, we can get it back within Office 365, but it's difficult. Barracuda is much easier. There is a lot less management needed using Barracuda. The management becomes much easier for Office 365 and it's no longer on-prem, so there are fewer hours managing on-prem devices, servers, and things of that nature. We don't have network appliances anymore for the backup of our information."
"I'm quite satisfied with the graphical user interface for Barracuda products."
"The product protects against malware."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier."
"What I like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is its integration with Windows, so we have one central view for all alerts and incidents."
"It is easy to configure, easy to use, easy to add exclusions, easy to track, and easy to add anything else if you want."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."
"I like the product's ZAP feature."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is used essentially for email filtering, acting as an anti-spam and security product for email."
"We use the solution to receive emails. We do not use the calendar function as our clients are slow adaptors to the latest features."
 

Cons

"Barracuda Email Protection needs better reporting and more robust integration with security awareness training platforms and third-party solutions."
"I would like to see some additional functionality in terms of employee monitoring, as part of a work-from-home security solution."
"The solution's reporting mechanism is a little poor and could be improved."
"They could simplify the licensing and the pricing."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in reaching out to technical support during deployment."
"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."
"The customer service and support could be improved if the support were available directly in Europe. Currently, the support is often managed from India, so we sometimes need to wait due to the time zone difference. It would be quicker and better if the support were provided by European staff."
"I would like to see better integration with other products."
"The reporting needs a little bit of improvement."
"The solution lacks to elaborate on its spam policies."
"The tool's classification for bulk email is cumbersome."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"The product's end-of-life cycle could be extended."
"Some features, like encryption, are not available."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
 

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 price is similar to that of Microsoft 365."
"The product is expensive."
"Barracuda licensing model is good."
"The solution's pricing is moderate, where it is neither cheap nor expensive."
"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 of Barracuda Essentials is better than some of the competing products."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"It's a high price."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing a six. For licensing, we can make monthly or yearly payments. Right now, we pay 5 USD per month to secure a person's license."
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reasonable."
"Apart from the license fee for the solution, there are no additional costs."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
 

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.
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...
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 default included in certain settings. For instance, for email quarantine, I can't se...
What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement, as at times it doesn't make sense where to go to access certain features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is basically to protect ourselves from phishing emails and to improve our email security.
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Essentials
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ACT Government, Acumen Group, AGIP, Delta Dental Plans Association, Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers, Inc., Equinox Information Systems
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Protection vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.