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Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

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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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Email Security ...
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
99
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (3rd), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (3rd), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (7th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is designed for Email Security and holds a mindshare of 3.9%, down 5.0% compared to last year.
Symantec Messaging Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 3.0% mindshare, up 2.5% since last year.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration)3.9%
Proofpoint Email Protection5.9%
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.2%
Other85.0%
Email Security
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway3.0%
Proofpoint Email Protection18.0%
Mimecast Advanced Email Security14.1%
Other64.9%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Harish (Kumar) - PeerSpot reviewer
Cybersecurity And Information Governance Head at Aeren
Email security has blocked sophisticated phishing and now protects inboxes with AI detection
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can read email content and Google Drive content. This presents a data privacy challenge, and we had to mitigate it by signing a Data Processing Agreement and other agreements. Because it is not a traditional in-line solution, Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) connects with Google Workspace using API permission and can access email, attachments, sender, recipient information, links, and all metadata is with Check Point. Data storage and everything else is with Check Point, which is the challenge. This solution has a drawback because of API deployment, while other solutions are traditional secure email gateways that are in-line solutions. In those solutions, we need to change the MX record, but with this solution we do not need to change the MX record, which is a pro of API-based deployment. However, there is also a con in that with API solutions, the email is scanned but after delivery in the mailbox.
Dennis O'Reilly - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber SecOps Principal at Dotcom Security
The product provides good content filtering options, but the false positive submissions must be improved
The tool is very stable. I rate the stability a seven out of ten. It's an on-premise application that runs on a virtual machine. It has dependencies on the hypervisor host that we're running it on. If it's not configured, the application can be influenced by it. Sometimes, there is a service stop error while the service is still running. Sometimes, the service just stops. Some policies do not act the way that we intend them to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The program has a nice interface and it is easy to use."
"It is fast and has a very simple, easy integration."
"The fact that we can share documents without emailing them and still be confident they will go through the corresponding scrutiny is great."
"We are able to protect sensitive business data and maintain regulatory compliance with advanced data leak prevention (DLP)."
"The product is reliable and sturdy."
"Being able to mass quarantine and remove emails from end users' mailboxes has become extremely important to us as we have grown in size."
"The most valuable feature is spam detection and phishing site prevention, which Microsoft couldn't catch, yet Check Point does."
"It seems quite scalable. We don't anticipate any scaling issues. We have it deployed in the cloud."
"It has very good capabilities for managing malware."
"I like that it's simple and easy to configure, deploy, and manage. The reporting function has all the features we're looking for, and we are fine with that."
"The solution is a leader in anti-spam email products and you can block 99% of spam emails, making it very effective with great performance."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable."
"The main thing that I appreciate about this product is that the database of spam, malware, and ransomware is very large."
"It is a solid and stable product."
"The solution is highly customizable. You can make rules for domains and configure policies for spam or malware. Messaging Gateway is an on-prem solution, so it's useful for companies without a cloud presence."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the content filtering policies because the solution offers huge options for configuration, such as hardware manipulation, et cetera, and the dictionaries make the work easier."
 

Cons

"Improved support is needed as current support is slow."
"The solution fails to support hybrid deployments."
"The integration with Gsuite could be improved, especially when reporting the amount of emails it manages to filter."
"Some undefined threats can bypass the security system when there is a networking failure in the organization."
"A signature-based filter could improve the solution's AI model for spam email."
"We have used technical support, but their response time is very slow. It needs to be improved."
"I notice that there are areas for improvement in email security, particularly regarding Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It has limited functionality on outgoing DLP, meaning if someone is sending a sensitive file, I cannot rely solely on this solution for protection."
"I would like Check Point to extend its coverage to include more cloud applications."
"It will provide Excel reports and PDF reports, but it would be great if they supported the concept of Crystal Reports."
"They have updated the version of the Messaging Gateway and the new features they are adding the need to be re-evaluated. They have done some changes on the policy."
"What needs to be improved in Symantec Messaging Gateway is its local partner support, as it's not as technical. The support my company gets from the partner isn't good. Vendor support is good, but local partner support isn't. I'm happy with Symantec Messaging Gateway as a solution, but the problem is with its partner support. To me, Symantec Messaging Gateway is a complete solution, but it can be very difficult to search the web for resolutions to issues or problems you experience from it. If this could be improved or resolved in the next release of Symantec Messaging Gateway, then that would be good."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway should include better exclusions and exceptions for better administration."
"Since it was purchased by Broadcomm, we've found there's been a general slide in terms of the local services we have access to and we are considering replacing them."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway can improve detection because most of them are false negatives or false positives that we are trying to troubleshoot. Additionally, we are having routing problems and they are somehow connected to DNS issues."
"Where it is not available, as is the case with unstructured data, this product fails miserably."
"The solution takes up a lot of memory."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The difference between [Check Point and its competitors] boiled down to money. Price-wise, Check Point was very good, it was very competitive."
"The cost is similar to other competitors. It's not much higher."
"The pricing is expensive."
"Usually, we pay for the licensing part on a yearly basis and not on a monthly basis. If Check Point's team is providing a good amount of discount, then it is very easy for us to select it since its competitors are also giving the best prices or best discounts."
"Being able to keep the phishing campaigns out of my company has been ROI for me."
"The pricing is in the middle. Check Point's pricing is not the highest in the competitive market."
"The pricing and licensing are always negotiable."
"I rate the platform’s pricing a seven and a half."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Marketing Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise24
Large Enterprise37
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
We are not currently using this product. Six months back, we removed that product due to a few issues. The major issue is naturally the budget, as it is expensive. Our organization is expanding and...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The major use case for Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) was Business Email Compromise, CEO fraud, and vendor impersonation. Phishing attacks were also a major...
What needs improvement with Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The only challenge with Check Point Email Security (formerly Harmony Email & Collaboration) is that it is an API-based solution. In an API-based solution, the major challenge is that it can rea...
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Also Known As

Check Point CloudGuard, Check Point CloudGuard SaaS , Check Point Harmony Email & Office
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Helvetia, Denham Capital, Daymark Solutions, Neopharm Group
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Email Security. Updated: August 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.