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Barracuda Message Archiver vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 29, 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 Message Archiver
Ranking in Email Archiving
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Archiving
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Email Archiving category, the mindshare of Barracuda Message Archiver is 3.4%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 26.8%, up from 18.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Archiving Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 36526.8%
Barracuda Message Archiver3.4%
Other69.8%
Email Archiving
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2153010 - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use and doesn't require any maintenance
It's just a backup for email so that if people delete and/or try to remove stuff they shouldn't, we can find it It's easy to use. It's a little bit more expensive than the others.  It's like anything. You got to log in when you want stuff nowadays. Other than that, it's pretty good. I didn't…
Tolu Omolaja - PeerSpot reviewer
Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis
The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's easy to use."
"The ability to respond to threats if very important."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is data backups that we can provide through ticket requests."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable feature is its performance."
"It has significantly decreased my time to detection and response."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"Microsoft Defender has a feature to protect each and every attachment. Even if it's an encrypted attachment, it will check for any potential threats."
"We use Microsoft Defender for its ability to integrate with existing business technologies, which is beneficial for protecting business areas."
"My experience deploying Microsoft Defender for Office 365 was seamless."
 

Cons

"It's a little bit more expensive than the others."
"The user mailbox management is poor."
"Configuration requires going to a lot of places rather than just accessing one tab."
"There is a different console for different things; I just want one consolidated console."
"We still see many false positives from time to time with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, so it would be good if we can reduce those false positives and provide better workflows for our end users, as sometimes they may not know what to do when they encounter a false positive."
"The product must provide better malware detection."
"Configuring the default strategies and policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps generates a lot of noise and false positives."
"There is room for improvement in terms of reporting."
"Microsoft needs to broaden its global support presence by establishing teams of subject-matter experts in all regions."
"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They're a little bit more expensive than the others."
"We are satisfied with the pricing and the service is bundled so there are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"The product is very expensive."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What is your primary use case for Barracuda Message Archiver?
We use Barracuda Message Archiver to keep a copy of our users' emails, both inbound or outbound. Our goal in using it is that from a compliance perspective, we can provide access to our auditors. I...
What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I think that Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could be improved if it could use VirusTotal to compare the programs or anything that I download. VirusTotal helps to identify viruses, malware, troja...
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alfa Romeo, Texas A&M University, Time Warner, Nintendo, Boeing 
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Message Archiver vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,202 professionals have used our research since 2012.