Barracuda Email Protection vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud comparison

Barracuda Networks and Broadcom are both solutions in the Security Incident Response category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5, while Broadcom is ranked #9 with an average rating of 6.0. Barracuda Networks holds a 1.9% mindshare in IRP, compared to Broadcom’s 8.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Barracuda Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Barracuda Email Protection

Read 19 Barracuda Email Protection reviews

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54 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Read 19 VMware Carbon Black Cloud reviews

975 Views
254 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Barracuda Email Protection

VMware Carbon Black Cloud

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 2026

VMware Carbon Black Cloud and Barracuda Email Protection are competing products in the cybersecurity domain. VMware Carbon Black Cloud is favored for its extensive support and integration options, whereas Barracuda Email Protection stands out with comprehensive email-focused features, offering significant value for specific needs.

Features: VMware Carbon Black Cloud is noted for threat detection capabilities, endpoint protection, and real-time insights. Barracuda Email Protection provides advanced threat protection, anti-phishing, and data loss prevention features, focusing on securing email communications.

Room for Improvement: VMware Carbon Black Cloud could enhance user-friendliness and reduce the complexity of deployment. A more intuitive interface might benefit users who require a quicker learning curve. Adding more advanced threat intelligence capabilities could further bolster its offering. Barracuda Email Protection might improve its reporting features and integration capabilities, particularly with its security awareness training platform. Enhanced flexibility in policy creation and better customization for larger organizations could also be advantageous.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VMware Carbon Black Cloud offers a versatile deployment model with extensive integration options and responsive customer support, though its broader scope adds complexity. Barracuda Email Protection is designed for easy setup within email systems and provides accessible customer service, allowing rapid deployment in the context of email security solutions.

Pricing and ROI: VMware Carbon Black Cloud involves a higher initial setup cost but offers a comprehensive range of security features, potentially leading to better ROI in extensive security contexts. Barracuda Email Protection is more cost-effective with a focus on email security, providing notable ROI in its specialized domain. The key difference lies in VMware's broader investment approach versus Barracuda's targeted, budget-friendly option.

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

Buyer's Guide

Security Incident Response

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 Security Incident Response

7th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Archiving (2nd), Email Security (13th), Office 365 Protection (4th)

VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Ranking in Security Incident Response

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (53rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Security Incident Response category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Protection is 1.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMware Carbon Black Cloud is 8.0%, up from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Security Incident Response Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Barracuda Email Protection	1.9%
VMware Carbon Black Cloud	8.0%
Other	90.1%

Security Incident Response

Featured Reviews

Sherif Fouad

Group ICT Manager at a mining and metals company with 501-1,000 employees

Have raised concerns about scanning engines and automation while continuing to rely on layered protection strategies

Incident response is something that requires more development from Barracuda's side. Regarding room for improvement for Barracuda Forensics and Incident Response, for the product, developing or improving the scanning engine is important, but it's a bit tricky. I know that they are working on it heavily. The difference between Barracuda and Sophos is Sophos focused heavily on cybersecurity while Barracuda tried to increase their product portfolio. Sometimes, in some cases, this might end up with their teams being unfocused or a bit thin and stretched and super busy. However, there is room for improvement. The product is great. The teams that are supporting are great. But there is always room for improvement. Even if you have a product that you would give a rating of 10 out of 10, there is always room for improvement. The day we stop improving is the day we die. Regarding the scanning engine, Barracuda Forensics and Incident Response has a very good feature where you can create automated flows for how to handle specific emails that are detected as incidents. This needs a bit of an improvement. That's the only component of Barracuda Forensics and Incident Response that I believe requires improvement.

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reviewer2771742

Sec consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Has supported consistent deployment across departments but needs better OS compatibility and detection performance

I am not really looking for a new solution, actually, I was preparing for an interview and wanted to have a comparison between both tools. I have not worked with any of these products before, but we had a training demonstration yesterday with Dynatrace, and I have investigated the Wiz solution better. In terms of experience, it will be my first time with CDR. I am working with something for EDR, specifically, we have an EDR, it's VMware Carbon Black Cloud. They have a hybrid environment, both on-prem and cloud. I would usually recommend this product for big companies, because it's not cheap, so only big companies would I expect to pay for that. The review rating for VMware Carbon Black Cloud is 6 out of 10.

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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

"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."

"The solution is straightforward to set up."

"The solution's most valuable feature is impersonation detection."

"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."

"At the moment, I am working with Sophos Cloud, Sophos Intercept X; when they introduced the XDR, we used it, and then when they introduced the Optix, we used it, and then we upgraded our subscription with them to MDR, so we are now utilizing Sophos Cloud Central MDR."

"The product is easy to deploy and maintain."

"The beauty of Barracuda Email Protection is that it is easy to manage and simple to deploy."

More Barracuda Email Protection pros

"VMware Carbon Black Cloud is a user-friendly solution that can isolate machines from the rest of the network."

"We are able to remotely isolate exploited endpoints in seconds and perform a live deep dive of any endpoint into its running processes (as necessary) without the need for extra scripts."

"I would usually recommend this product for big companies, because it's not cheap, so only big companies would I expect to pay for that."

"We also took full advantage of its incident response reporting capabilities to act as a “black box” for our infrastructure around strings of suspicious activity. The reporting and incident response capabilities were incredibly helpful during active security concerns."

"For setup, the server can be given to you as a VM image and with minimal configuration needed."

"The most valuable feature is its ability to seek out abnormal activity and to create alerts."

"The most valuable features are the threat-hunting and the batch console."

"Integration and scalability are the most valuable."

More VMware Carbon Black Cloud pros

Cons

"The policies are set up in Barracuda by default; we don't have any control over them."

"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 platform's pricing needs improvement."

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

"They could simplify the licensing and the pricing."

"The solution's reporting mechanism is a little poor and could be improved."

"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."

More Barracuda Email Protection cons

"Training and education for both partner and customer, including product marketing need to be improved."

"Additionally, it is complex to use, and the pricing should be improved."

"We are subscribed to FS-ISAC threat indicator, but have been unsuccessful in adding it to our alliance feeds."

"The cloud console has a lot of bugs and issues in the analysis part."

"Setup is incredibly complex and poorly documented. Every time an upgrade was needed we would need to engage Professional Services for troubleshooting help. Certificates and web services proved to be the most significant sticking points. Since the product runs on a Linux platform, perhaps having staff with more Linux experience could have alleviated some difficulty."

"It's not highly available, so you have to have a core server. If the primary server goes down, you need a new one. It's not available at the same time, however. It's not automatically swapped from one server to another."

"I recall we couldn't upgrade because the sensor was not compatible, and the latest VMware Carbon Black Cloud version was not compatible with the latest Red Hat version, so we couldn't actually update since it's a security tool, and it does not allow us to update."

"The solution can only handle about 500 bans or blocks."

More VMware Carbon Black Cloud cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

"Barracuda licensing model is good."

"The price of Barracuda Essentials is better than some of the competing products."

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

More Barracuda Email Protection pricing and cost advice

"We had no issues purchasing through our preferred reseller and were able to get a fair price even when not purchasing direct. Carbon Black Enterprise Response didn’t break the bank, though adding on the matching antivirus and anti-malware components of the Protect product was more than we could afford, even with some discounting. Cb Response is really designed to complement Carbon Black’s Defense product. While Response can be used on its own, coupling with Defense seems like the best strategy if you can afford the price tag."

"VMware Carbon Black Cloud is an expensive solution."

"The solution is very inexpensive so there is great cost savings to using it."

"Purchase Professional Services up front as part of the implementation package, then renew hours annually to ensure you have adequate support for upgrades and enhancements. Overbuy by at least 10% to account for infrastructure growth."

"Pricing for this solution could be made lower."

"You need to pay for the licensing of the product. The pricing is costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

11%

Real Estate/Law Firm

University

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	8

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What to choose: an endpoint antivirus, an EDR solution or both?

I can recommend Carbon Black, an award-winning next-gen anti-virus (NGAV) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) security solution. The CB Predictive Security Cloud platform combines multiple hi...

See all answers

What's the difference between Carbon Black CB Response and Carbon Black CB Defense?

Carbon Black offers two different levels of Endpoint Detection and Response. One is the VM Carbon Black Cloud Endpoint Standard (CB Defense), and the other is the Carbon Black Endpoint Detection an...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Carbon Black CB Response?

I see room for improvement as I remember some problems on compatibility with some operating systems; I recall we couldn't upgrade because the sensor was not compatible, and the latest VMware Carbon...

See all answers

Comparisons

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 20% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 11% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 8% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Barracuda Email Protection

Compared 4% of the time

More Barracuda Email Protection Competitors

Splunk SOAR vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Compared 21% of the time

Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Compared 18% of the time

VMware Carbon Black Endpoint vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Rapid7 InsightIDR vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiEDR vs VMware Carbon Black Cloud

Compared 7% of the time

More VMware Carbon Black Cloud Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Barracuda Email Protection

January 2026

Download Barracuda Email Protection product report

Buyer's Guide

VMware Carbon Black Cloud

January 2026

Download VMware Carbon Black Cloud product report

Also Known As

Barracuda Essentials, Barracuda Forensics and Incident Response

Carbon Black CB Response

Overview

Barracuda Email Protection provides advanced security with features like AI protection and cloud-based spam blocking, making it essential for managing email risks effectively.

Barracuda Email Protection stands out with its robust malware detection, ease of use, and seamless integration with Microsoft 365, serving enterprises by simplifying email threat management. Despite its efficient spam filtering and straightforward setup, users seek improvements in email encryption, third-party vendor integration, report details, and more streamlined performance. Organizations leverage its AI capabilities for phishing detection and employee training, allowing for automated operations and comprehensive threat protection. Its archiving, search, and hands-off management are crucial for companies lacking extensive security resources, ensuring persistent email access and secure practices.

What are the key features of Barracuda Email Protection?

Cloud-Based Spam Blocking: Reduces unwanted emails effectively.
Impersonation Detection: Identifies phishing attempts seamlessly.
Malware Detection: Protects against malicious threats.
AI Protection: Enhances security with intelligent analysis.
Microsoft 365 Integration: Ensures smooth operation within existing systems.
Customizable Rules: Allows tailored security protocols.

What are the main benefits and ROI of Barracuda Email Protection?

Time Savings: Automates and streamlines email management processes.
Email Security: Maintains domain reputation by reducing spam and threats.
Comprehensive Protection: Provides a unified approach to email threats.
Central Management: Simplifies oversight with a unified console.
Reliable Support: Offers technical assistance and guidance.

In finance, healthcare, and large enterprises, Barracuda Email Protection is deployed for its reliable email archiving and retrieval, supporting compliance and data integrity. Industries benefit from its AI-powered phishing detection and employee training tools, enhancing operational security and reducing risk exposure.

Barracuda Networks

Fortify Endpoint and Workload Protection

Legacy approaches fall short as cybercriminals update tactics and obscure their actions. Get advanced cybersecurity fueled by behavioral analytics to spot minor fluctuations and adapt in response.

Recognize New Threats

Analyze attackers’ behavior patterns to detect and stop never-before-seen attacks with continuous endpoint activity data monitoring. Don’t get stuck analyzing only what’s worked in the past.

Simplify Your Security Stack

Streamline the response to potential incidents with a unified endpoint agent and console. Minimize downtime responding to incidents and return critical CPU cycles back to the business.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

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

ALLETE belk

Buyer's Guide

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January 2026

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