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Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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
7.5
Investing in Check Point Harmony boosts security, efficiency, and cost savings, with significant returns and improved workflow management.
Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is praised for enhancing security, reducing costs, and improving productivity with integrated threat protection.
The time saved during investigations is significant due to the neat dashboard that organizes everything related to alerts.
We have gone from three to four successful phishing attacks every year to a maximum of one.
There has been a 70% decrease in phishing emails and data breaches since implementing Check Point Harmony Email Security.
It has also decreased our time to detection and response by about 15 to 20 percent.
Overall, cost of owning and operating our system goes down.
It's hard to quantify the return on investment we've seen from Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Check Point Harmony Email support varies, with mixed reviews on responsiveness and expertise, though some praise reliability and efficiency.
Sentiment score
6.0
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 support is mixed, praised for responsiveness but criticized for delays and outdated documentation.
We opted for the 24/7 premium support, which is very responsive and quick whenever we have configuration challenges or other inquiries.
We understand that with respect to SLA, but we expect they can go beyond SLA and provide quick support for the client.
I ended up with a technician that didn't actually know how to resolve the issue and was just doing basic level one troubleshooting.
Over the past two years, there have been no critical problems.
we opened tickets, and they typically resolve them quickly.
Customer service and support have been fantastic.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
<p>Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration scales seamlessly, accommodating thousands of users and integrates well with SaaS like Office 365.</p>
Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 seamlessly scales for global users, enabling effective cybersecurity with adaptable cloud-based capabilities and careful planning.
I would rate the scalability of Check Point Harmony Email and Collaboration as nine out of ten, indicating high scalability.
Scalability is limited, being only integrated with Microsoft Office 365 and G Suite at present.
We have never faced scalability problems, and Microsoft manages it effectively.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 scales transparently for us, as we grew from 1,000 users to 3,000 users, and we didn't notice much difference.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
<p>Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration is praised for its stability, seamless integration, and reliable performance, enhancing secure email communication.</p>
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is praised for its stability, reliability, operational effectiveness, and high user satisfaction despite minor issues.
The solution is stable, as we have been using it for the past two years.
I would assess the stability and reliability of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 as very stable, with barely any issues.
Overall, the stability and reliability of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are good.
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point Harmony needs better project management, integration, performance, phishing detection, pricing, and legacy system compatibility.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 needs better virus blocking, integration, threat detection, user-friendly configuration, and competitive pricing improvements.
Updates based on AI and reduced administrative overhead by adding or bulk adding new users, along with graphical enhancements to the GUI, would also be beneficial.
Enhancing reporting capabilities with customizable and advanced analytics features would greatly improve our ability to detect trends and proactively address emerging threats.
It would be better if HEC also provides support for third-party email service solutions, such as IBM HCL Notes, creating more opportunities.
The main area for improvement is simplifying the implementation and rollout process.
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are not properly published.
There is a different console for different things; I just want one consolidated console.
 

Setup Cost

<p>Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration offers flexible, competitive pricing, though perceived affordability varies; setup and licensing are straightforward.</p>
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers comprehensive security, valued for integration with E3/E5 licenses, despite varied perceptions on cost.
Pricing is a bit expensive, but it is worth it considering the features that Check Point provides.
I consider the pricing to be a bit expensive, similar to other solutions.
The pricing is lower compared to what I used before.
We've likely saved 30% of costs.
Money-wise, it is a part of the Office 365 suite, making it slightly more expensive compared to Trend Micro.
Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.
 

Valuable Features

<p>Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration offers advanced threat prevention and seamless Office 365 integration with real-time AI-driven protection.</p>
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 provides comprehensive security features, enhancing protection and efficiency across platforms with real-time threat detection.
The most valuable feature is spam detection and phishing site prevention, which Microsoft couldn't catch, yet Check Point does.
Check Point Harmony Email and Collaboration offers online support and has tight integration with Microsoft.
The protection and scanning of emails are also appreciated, as they secure everything in the email spectrum.
It ranks the threats and allows us to prioritize those hitting us the hardest, such as email threats.
It provides end-to-end visibility on email threats such as phishing, extending beyond Exchange Online Protection.
The value of the DLP feature is significant to us because we have internal data, sometimes sensitive, and the users may not always be aware of security and privacy, which might lead them to send out information mistakenly to external parties.
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point Harmony Email &...
Ranking in Email Security
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
70
Ranking in other categories
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (5th), Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) (9th)
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration is 4.9%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 11.6%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 36511.6%
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration4.9%
Other83.5%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Nasseer Qureshi - PeerSpot reviewer
Email security effectively detects a wide range of threats and improves productivity
Since we have been using Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration for a year, we haven't encountered significant challenges. However, it would be beneficial if it could support other email security services beyond Microsoft and Google. Integration with other platforms would enhance its appeal since the features are commendable. While the analytics are commendable, they don't provide deep dive insights. They show the overall counts of malware, phishing, and business compromise emails, but there isn't a robust ability to dive deeper into those categories to see specifics. Analytics should allow us to explore which users received malware emails the most or trends among departments. Currently, we have to sift through manually, which is not ideal. A more profound analytical capability would elevate the tool to become the complete email security solution for any user.
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.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise21
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration shows it was less expensive than our Mimecast licensing by quite a bit, so I found it pretty ...
What is your primary use case for Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
My main use case for Check Point Harmony Email &amp; Collaboration is email protection against spam, phishing, and malware, and I can give a quick, specific example of how I'm using it day-to-day. ...
What do you like most about Check Point Harmony Email & Office?
The product offers good and easy integration capabilities with other products.
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

Check Point CloudGuard, Check Point CloudGuard SaaS , Check Point Harmony Email & Office
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Helvetia, Denham Capital, Daymark Solutions, Neopharm Group
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,391 professionals have used our research since 2012.