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Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Darktrace comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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 Security Ga...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
DMARC Authentication Software (4th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (5th)
Darktrace
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (10th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), AI-Powered Chatbots (3rd), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (15th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Barracuda Email Security Gateway is designed for Secure Email Gateway (SEG) and holds a mindshare of 6.7%, down 8.7% compared to last year.
Darktrace, on the other hand, focuses on Extended Detection and Response (XDR), holds 9.0% mindshare, down 9.7% since last year.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
Extended Detection and Response (XDR)
 

Featured Reviews

RobertSmith15 - PeerSpot reviewer
Email security offers superior protection with good personalization
I have experienced the Barracuda team as very cooperative, and they are readily available for calls with technical support via email. I have had no issues with ongoing support throughout the product's lifecycle. Assistance was provided to me when transferring archived information from a legacy email service. They also recommended an additional service to streamline the process, making it as easy as possible.
Malebo Lethoba Group - PeerSpot reviewer
Have found the AI analyst and detection functions highly valuable for network operations while managing complexity in initial setup
The functions I find most valuable in Darktrace ( /products/darktrace-reviews ) are the AI analyst as well as the detection.The autonomous response capabilities of Darktrace are not crucial for me because it doesn't work in a network where there are no core switches. In a modern network, the autonomous response doesn't work, especially when sitting in a shared data center.If I'm running a traditional network where I am not in a shared data center with a layer two dedicated for my resources, then it can work for me. However, if I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The intuitive management interface feature makes email security policies very easy to implement as it's all about features that need to be enabled or disabled."
"Customer support is the solution's strongest point."
"This appliance has helped in that we now eliminate the thousands of scams, spam, and malware emails that are destined for our users."
"It catches a lot of things and has the ability to add domains as well as add senders and update their things."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use."
"It can effectively combat phishing attacks, block spam, provide confirmation, and ensure operational manageability with a strong focus on product stability."
"The link protection and anti-phishing features are great."
"I appreciate that the product provides account takeover protection."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace is its ability to detect and counter threats before they occur."
"Its most valuable feature is its ability to identify malicious connected IPs from outside and the attacks that get through to the inside."
"The most valuable features are the AI and advanced learning tools that distinguish it from other products."
"AI analytics are built directly into the product."
"The main valuable feature is that we don't need a lot of analysts. With few analysts, we have all the network monitored, 24/7."
"The most valuable feature of Darktrace and the most valuable feature is the artificial intelligence module because that is the tool that determines automatically if there is any risk or not in the network."
"The models, triggers, and alerts are customizable."
"Darktrace is extremely stable."
 

Cons

"Barracuda should have a sandbox feature in the appliances."
"The reporting can be improved."
"The dashboard's UI could be improved to make changes to the blocklist."
"Its integration with other solutions can be improved. There should be integration for telemetry information, system information, and other types of information with other solutions. Barracuda currently doesn't have that. Barracuda has its own platform. Its integration with firewalls is quite good, and it communicates really well with firewalls, but I have not seen any other integration. Based on what I know, it does have an API at the backend, but I have not used it."
"The UI could be a little cleaner and require less clicking around in different modules. They give the illusion of a single pane of glass, but as you click around to different products, you're actually being transferred into a different system."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"We would like to have a local support center in India so that they are operating in the same time zone and speak the same language."
"There are some times when legit emails are trapped on Barracuda and we are unable to get that information unless we actually log on to the network to find out."
"Darktrace does not have any capabilities to configure."
"I would like for the product to work on the endpoints as well. I would like to see enhanced visibility into the endpoints and network but this solution only sits on the network itself."
"I'd love them to see maybe covering the cloud a bit more."
"Upper management wasn't sold on the value proposition."
"I think there is some MSSP missing."
"There is a high ratio of false positive information."
"The management dashboards and the meter dashboards should be more user-friendly and simple to use for easy management."
"In a shared environment, it doesn't work, and there are still some integration issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a cost-effective solution."
"As far as advanced email security systems, this product is mid-range on the pricing scale."
"We paid for an annual license."
"The regular pricing was initially very reasonable, but three years ago, Barracuda revised their price list and SKUs, resulting in a significant doubling of the standard prices."
"We find the solution's pricing okay."
"We have a long agreement with Barracuda Email Security Gateway. We're very pleased with the cost and the solution. The cost is in the average range for this type of solution."
"Barracuda Email Security Gateway is an affordable solution that caters to small, midsize, and high-end businesses with great revenue."
"We've budgeted about 50,000 Kuwaiti dinars for the solution. That is a yearly operating cost."
"It is inexpensive considering what it can do and the competition."
"We had an issue with pricing initially and had to cancel some of the features of the projects to fit the budget. I would like to see pricing that is not broken up into parts so that we can buy the whole package once. Darktrace is more expensive than an average solution, but it's functionality won't match that of an average solution."
"It is expensive. I don't have the price for other competitors."
"The solution is about $6,000 per quarter."
"If you consider the features and the cost of market leaders, we are satisfied with the pricing."
"Our customers feel that the price of Darktrace is quite high compared to other solutions."
"The price of Darktrace is high and could be reduced. We pay approximately $30,000 to $54,000 annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
40%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.
What needs improvement with Barracuda Email Security Gateway?
Barracuda Email Security Gateway should include ATP in the next release.
How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?
Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing user interface that makes setup easy and seamless. CrowdStrike Falcon offers a cl...
Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?
Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Darktrace and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.