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Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Mimecast Email Security vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Barracuda Email Security Gateway prioritizes email safety, providing fewer disruptions despite potential ROI concerns for businesses and service providers.
Sentiment score
6.0
Mimecast Email Security effectively prevents phishing, enhancing security and providing significant protection despite challenges in quantifying ROI.
Sentiment score
6.5
Proofpoint Email Protection effectively reduced threats and costs, excelling in phishing defense, leading to significant efficiency improvements.
There is definitely a return on investment when using Mimecast, as it blocks phishing emails, reducing the risk of significant financial losses.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.5
Barracuda Email Security Gateway customer support is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though limited by time zones and language.
Sentiment score
6.0
Mimecast Email Security's customer service is mixed, with responsiveness praised by some, but issues with waiting times noted by others.
Sentiment score
7.1
Proofpoint Email Protection's customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some report slow responses or portal issues.
From the vendor, I would give the technical support an eight out of ten.
Support personnel are hesitant to engage in remote sessions, preferring to share documentation via email.
Mimecast technical support is generally quite good.
I would rate my experience with technical support of Mimecast Email Security between seven and eight out of ten for their support.
I am familiar with the granular policy control feature of Proofpoint Email Protection, and I find their support excellent for modifying those policies.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is scalable for SMBs but may not suit very large enterprises, with varied user opinions.
Sentiment score
7.2
Mimecast Email Security is a scalable SaaS solution, praised for flexibility and effectiveness across various organization sizes and industries.
Sentiment score
7.5
Proofpoint Email Protection excels in adaptability and scalability, serving both small and large enterprises with ease and flexibility.
If Mimecast Email Security introduces API solutions, it will dominate the market.
Proofpoint is scalable for multi-site organizations with thousands of users.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Barracuda Email Security Gateway is reliable and stable, with quick resolutions for minor issues and high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.5
Mimecast Email Security is generally stable and reliable, with rare bugs, occasional minor issues, and minimal downtime reported.
Sentiment score
8.2
Users rate Proofpoint Email Protection highly for reliability and performance, with minor UI challenges and rare stability issues.
They confirm it's a good solution where only one or two rare emails get through, while the rest are properly blocked without any issues.
 

Room For Improvement

Barracuda Email Security Gateway needs upgrades in usability, integration, scalability, support, spam filtering accuracy, and anti-phishing measures.
Mimecast Email Security requires pricing, detection, user interface improvements, better support, and enhanced AI integration for smoother operations.
Proofpoint Email Protection struggles with setup complexity, feature enhancements, pricing issues, and requires improved support and interface design.
If it's considered a phishing email, it should be blocked for all users, not just some.
Sometimes there are false positive emails coming through, so they should improve further on detection technologies and techniques.
When we add mails to email secure Sender Policy Authentication with extended options, all mails must pass this Mail Security Gateway.
A lot of emails were missed despite being known samples.
Mimecast Email Security can be improved by adding some API integrations.
We discussed the phishing aspect, the DNS system, and the key rotation.
Proofpoint could expand its phishing detection capabilities to improve its efficiency.
More security could be implemented.
I believe they still need to improve by consolidating some portals, as currently, you have to log in separately to a few of them.
 

Setup Cost

The Barracuda Email Security Gateway is competitively priced, scalable, with varied user opinions and crucial regional market considerations.
Mimecast Email Security offers comprehensive features but is considered premium, with variable pricing flexibility and additional support costs.
Proofpoint Email Protection is considered costly, with pricing starting at $8 per user and varying by features.
Compared with others, Barracuda Email Security Gateway is cheaper.
The pricing is higher for Mimecast, particularly for the Indian market, where it is considered expensive.
Customers pay around $90,000 yearly for a 1,000-user organization, with the subscription license being the main expense, apart from implementation fees.
Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
 

Valuable Features

Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers robust spam filtering, advanced threat protection, and user-friendly features for comprehensive email security management.
Mimecast Email Security offers strong threat protection, seamless Microsoft 365 integration, and user-friendly features for comprehensive email threat mitigation.
Proofpoint Email Protection offers advanced threat defense, user-friendly interface, and seamless Office 365 integration for comprehensive email security.
The real-time threat intelligence feature is particularly useful as it detects all kinds of threats identified by incoming mails.
The most valuable feature of Barracuda Email Security Gateway that I have found is advanced threat protection.
One of the most useful features is the threat remediation module, which can be used to remove malicious emails that may have been delivered or manually remove them.
A distinct advantage of Mimecast is its ability to block phishing and impostor attacks, which are significant threats currently.
Mimecast Email Security includes the best gateway solution across all Cisco, Trend Micro, and other solutions.
The most beneficial feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is mostly spam filtering; it was very efficient, and we were very happy with the functionality as only relevant emails were allowed for mailboxes.
The main feature I find most effective is that Proofpoint Email Protection scans emails and quarantines the doubtful ones.
I appreciate that it's the industry leader, and its firewalling is very easy to manage and implement.
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Security Gateway is 6.6%, down from 8.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Mimecast Email Security is 12.6%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 21.0%, up from 18.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Proofpoint Email Protection21.0%
Mimecast Email Security12.6%
Barracuda Email Security Gateway6.6%
Other59.8%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

WalidChowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust email protection with advanced features such as effective spam filtering, virus and malware defense, phishing protection and high scalability
Our customer faced a significant challenge with spam, leading to increased expenses. The complexity of their email infrastructure added to the issue, with some clients using Microsoft Exchange, others relying on different systems, and some operating on Linux platforms. To address this, we…
Frank Rawson - PeerSpot reviewer
It gives clients peace of mind and helps them educate their users about threats
A few years ago, our team found the implementation to be somewhat challenging. It has gotten easier as we've grown more experienced. The difficulty depends on the expertise of the person doing it. I don't work with Mimecast every day, so it might be more difficult for me than it is for one of my techs who regularly does Mimecast implementations. It requires some specific in-depth product knowledge and an understanding of email solutions. The deployment time varies. In South Africa, it depends on who you use to deploy it. If you use one of Mimecast's local partners, it can take up to two weeks because of their process. However, it's only about four to eight hours of work. After deployment, there isn't much maintenance aside from supporting and educating your customers. Users require constant education on how to use the Mimecast client and release an email that has been blocked.
AhmedRamadan - PeerSpot reviewer
Optimize email security with effective sandboxing and auto Pull for quarantine
Proofpoint is used as an email security gateway for big enterprises, primarily for their on-premises servers. Many customers also use it alongside Office 365 Proofpoint offers a complete solution for email security with features like DLP, email archiving, and encryption. The most valuable…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Barracuda Sentinel?
It not only tackles spam effectively but also incorporates advanced features like ATP and active features which ensu...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Sentinel?
I would suggest that pricing for Barracuda Email Security Gateway rates around seven. It is not too expensive, but it...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Sentinel?
Regarding real-time intelligent features of the Barracuda Email Security Gateway, some spam emails are still being re...
What do you like most about Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
The interface of this solution is very easy to navigate and user-friendly. There is no delivery in email and other co...
What needs improvement with Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection?
If I ask you about the room for improvement, we discussed the phishing aspect, the DNS system, and the key rotation. ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of pricing, it is okay compared to others. I would say it is normal. Additional costs do come in, but it enh...
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
It became very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances, and I may advise Proofpoint to adjust marketing so...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
Mimecast Email Security with Targeted Threat Protection
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
 

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
Azizi Developments, Affinity Credit Union, Aftercare, Al Abbar Group
Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Abnormal Security, Proofpoint and others in Secure Email Gateway (SEG). Updated: September 2025.
868,183 professionals have used our research since 2012.