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Barracuda Email Threat Scanner [EOL] vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 2026

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 Threat Scan...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
56th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Barracuda Email Threat Scanner [EOL] is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Anti-Malware Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)1.1%
Barracuda Email Threat Scanner0.9%
Other98.0%
Anti-Malware Tools
 

Featured Reviews

JM
Manager, Information Technology at Friendly House
A highly scalable and easy-to-learn product that blocks phishing and spam emails
The product must improve the features associated with creating a blacklist. Currently, to add a content block, I have to go to a different screen. It seems cumbersome. The solution sells Impersonation as a separate product. I don’t see why it cannot be in the same product like other vendors have.
HP
Cloud Consultant at Ensono
Service provider benefits from effective email security management and seeks enhanced customer support
Reporting could be one of the areas for improvement, as they could put more reporting into Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) natively rather than requiring additional licensing or connecting to other parts of the Microsoft suite, but it depends on the license you have. There aren't significant concerns with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), as it depends on what customers expect; if they expect more features, then it depends on what Microsoft 365 license they have. The important thing is to ensure they are using all the security features they get with their licensing. The basic one is Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP). While it's nice to have more functionality, that's available through other licensing programs with Microsoft. While we'd prefer more features, as a basic tool, it's fine, but more advanced features come with the add-ons from other parts of the Microsoft 365 licensing. One feature that could improve Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is automated malware detection, where it actually analyzes the file offline in a sandbox to determine if it's safe, potentially reducing false positives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main benefit that I am getting from this solution is that it filters almost 95% of my spam mail. Some spam mails bypass Barracuda Email Threat Scanner, but when I add those domains or addresses to the filter list, they get blocked. Some users on my premises do not understand which mail attachments or links should be opened. By filtering with Barracuda Email Threat Scanner, we are not getting any type of phishing mails. So, our infrastructure is safer, and as an IT person, I feel relaxed."
"The most valuable feature of Barracuda Email Threat Scanner is the security it provides by delaying the delivery of suspicious emails until they can be reviewed inside the Barracuda control panel."
"It was easy to learn the product."
"We can migrate seamlessly without any disruptions to our operations."
"It's all running in the backend, so it doesn't affect the app functionality."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) nine out of ten."
"The initial setup of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection was easy."
"It offers great security against malware and other threats."
"The threat management feature includes policies and alerts that are valuable."
"The solution's stability is very, very good. I didn't face any problems in the last year."
"You can use the product to create special accounts."
 

Cons

"The product must improve the features associated with creating a blacklist."
"We had an incident last month where the PCs of one or two colleagues, who were outside of our factory and were using a defined network, got infected by some kind of malware. From their PCs, more than 1,000 mails were produced per hour, causing spamming on our mail server. Barracuda blocked the full mail communication. Only one to two accounts were compromised, and for that, Barracuda blocked all incoming and outgoing mails. It created a great problem for other users and our office activities. Our server was blocked for three days, which we did not expect. Technically, only one or two accounts should be blocked. When a domain or IP is blocked, communication becomes tough. It may be a configuration issue at our provider's end, where there was a mistake in configuring Barracuda. It could also be a problem related to Barracuda."
"If the price were lower, perhaps we could purchase our own."
"The solution needs to improve its backup."
"When the product is being updated, it changes some of the setups. The support team is also not good."
"The security compliance features need to be improved. Sometimes, a client's mailbox becomes full because of retained information and not because of mail. I would like to see improvement in block rules as well."
"Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious."
"Not all settings can be configured automatically and most still require manual configuration. However, there is an automation tool available that can be used to input all the configurations either as a script or a tool it would be helpful."
"They should specify the difference between Defender for Office 365 and Exchange Online Protection."
"The product could be more stable. Microsoft products could be more stable because sometimes, even though they are updating some things, we cannot find those updates."
"Performance and speed should continue to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Barracuda Email Threat Scanner is provided by our IT service provider, who also provides all the support. The licensing fee that we pay to our provider is $200 per month, that is, $1 per user. There is no additional cost. Before taking the subscription from our provider, I researched the market for Barracuda. The cost is between $5,000 to $8,000 for three years. After that, the same cost is there for renewal. If you have 200 to 500 users, it is better to take a subscription from a provider. If you have more than 500 users, then you can own the Barracuda server through the cloud or on-premises deployments. It is costly for a lesser number of users. If you increase the usage or the number of users, then the overall cost decreases. They can reduce the cost of Barracuda Email Threat Scanner for a small number of users. We could not and would not have used this solution if we had not got the renting or subscription option."
"The solution is a bit expensive."
"Regarding the price, it's comparable to other service providers. We've also looked at Check Point's offerings, and the pricing doesn't seem to be an issue."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"Apart from the license fee for the solution, there are no additional costs."
"The solution is expensive but is backed by Microsoft's reputation."
"It is a low-price solution."
"The pricing for the solution depends on what you are trying to achieve with the use of the product, but I know that it is not a cheaply priced product. Yearly payments have to be made towards the licensing fees of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Performing Arts
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
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

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Entisys 360,
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Threat Scanner [EOL] vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,511 professionals have used our research since 2012.