Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs Sophos Email comparison

Cisco and Sophos are both solutions in the Email Security category. Cisco is ranked #26 with an average rating of 7.3, while Sophos is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 1.1% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Sophos’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...

Read 16 Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense reviews

1,071 Views
1,039 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Sophos Email

Read 34 Sophos Email reviews

2,303 Views
2,050 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...

Sophos Email

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Sophos Email and Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense compete in the email security space. Cisco appears to have an upper hand due to its comprehensive security features and strong internal and external security integration.

Features: Sophos Email emphasizes advanced threat protection, offering features such as AI-based detection, sandboxing, and spam and phishing protection. It also integrates seamlessly with other Sophos products for enhanced security management. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense combines comprehensive internal and external email defenses with strong integration within the Cisco ecosystem. It excels in managing east-west traffic and provides extensive threat intelligence and file analysis capabilities.

Room for Improvement: Sophos Email could enhance its user interface clarity, endpoint protection, and technical support responsiveness. It faces spam detection and email relay configuration challenges and could improve AI detection and DLP features. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense could expand integration with both Cisco and non-Cisco tools and offer better message context and reporting. It can improve search functionality, phishing protection, and pricing strategy.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Sophos Email offers flexibility with its deployment in hybrid, public cloud, and on-premises environments, though its technical support responsiveness needs improvement. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense supports private, hybrid, and public cloud deployments and benefits from comprehensive integration within the Cisco suite, although support varies based on user feedback.

Pricing and ROI: Sophos Email is perceived as fair and offers flexible pricing with subscription or perpetual options, providing good value. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense, despite its premium price, is considered valuable for Cisco-based environments due to its expansive security features. Both solutions offer viable ROIs, dependent on feature and support requirements.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Sophos Email Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Sophos Email

December 2025

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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

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...

Ranking in Email Security

26th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Sophos Email

Ranking in Email Security

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Office 365 Protection (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is 1.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 2.0%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sophos Email	2.0%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense	1.1%
Other	96.9%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

reviewer2541525

Principal Cyber Prevent and Defense Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

Clawback feature performs well but analytics and integration capabilities need improvement

The integration capability with other threat intelligence platforms is not optimal, as I have experienced difficulty in sending logs to our SIEM. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense's flexibility could be enhanced while it mostly integrates with cloud solutions, but not on-premise. The behavioral analysis capability of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is not particularly helpful for identifying new, evolving threats within my company, as it keeps flagging legitimate emails as malicious. Regarding room for improvement, the significant number of false positives should be addressed. The solution does not adapt to behavioral analytics and does not make changes when it sees a pattern.

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Kalyan Chowdhury

Founder at Computech infosysetm

Stronger email and mobile security has protected users from ransomware and simplified management

Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two or three years due to a 7 to 8% hike per year, twice a year, which is why we have some renewals on Sophos Email, Sophos XDR, EDR, and the firewall, but due to price hike, they are unable to renew it. The price is going to be very high. It would be better if Sophos can provide a more flexible pricing model for different types of businesses. Price could be lower. The main competitor for Sophos in the market is Palo Alto, which has reduced their price by more than 35 to 40%, making it a very challenging part to sell this product. Palo Alto provides the same functionality for email security, which adds to the challenge because the price is going very high.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Regarding stability, Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is very stable."

"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."

"The ability to see east-west traffic is its most valuable feature. Traditionally, email defense focuses on north-south, inbound-outbound, egress-ingress traffic. With Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, it's able to quickly identify, track, tag, and categorize emails that are internal. That can typically give us visibility into if there's an internal compromised account (for example). Someone can then use that internal compromised account to email additional accounts with either malicious software or links, but internal within that Office tenant. Effectively, that email message never leaves the tenant. Any of the mail gateways really do not have any method or way of seeing this traffic since it's not leaving the environment."

"The product offers protection, email security, anti-spam, and antivirus."

"Secure Email Threat Defense's scalability is good."

"The advanced threat analytics and URL filtering in threat detection are good features that are working well."

"I highly recommend it as one of the best choices."

"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan."

More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense pros

"The most significant aspect is the response filtering concerning attachments and links."

"The main use case for Sophos Email is its robust security features; we are effectively blocking spam and phishing attempts, and we have strong control over these aspects."

"Endpoint and server protection are very effective."

"I rate Sophos Email nine point five."

"The most valuable feature of Sophos Email is the sandbox. We're able to scan the file, isolate it, and look at it before it is delivered. It is highly effective."

"It's easy to use and the configuration is straightforward."

"I cannot guarantee any email by its name. It can be spam. Sophos Email helps to double-check whether an email is spam or not. It has a dashboard which gives an overview of the alerts."

"Sophos already has Sandbox, and if any issues are identified, Sophos blocks that particular mail and site instantly, which is why customers are very happy and safe from other attacks."

More Sophos Email pros

Cons

"The pricing could always be better."

"The product's complexity at times results in redundant rule sets that are difficult to untangle, highlighting the need for streamlined management systems and a more user-centric approach to system configuration."

"The tool gives false positives and it needs to be more accurate. I would like to see AI as a new feature."

"The behavioral analysis capability of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is not particularly helpful for identifying new, evolving threats within my company, as it keeps flagging legitimate emails as malicious."

"We encounter issues while searching for missing emails."

"The search area has room for improvement. When you go to the next page, it remains at the bottom of the current page that you're on. Also, under the reports section, it allows you to see any "convictions," but if you want to search for those convictions you have to remember when they all came in and go back and edit the search accordingly. You cannot click on the list of convictions to actually see if you had a spike at a certain time."

"The physical appliance has been discontinued, although the platform still exists."

"This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox."

More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense cons

"The security of the solution could improve."

"Enhancing rule creation and customization features would provide users with greater control over their email security settings."

"The tool has some performance issues and bugs, making it an area where improvements are required."

"The solution's sandboxing and spam control features could be improved."

"The tool's pricing is expensive. In its future release, the tool should make reporting easier to view."

"Email installation could be more user-friendly so that it can be done without involving the partner."

"A lot of legit emails get quarantined."

"Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two or three years due to a 7 to 8% hike per year, twice a year, which is why we have some renewals on Sophos Email, Sophos XDR, EDR, and the firewall, but due to price hike, they are unable to renew it."

More Sophos Email cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."

"The solution’s pricing is manageable."

"It is expensive compared to other vendors."

"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox does not have any competition with Sophos, Trend Micro, or other vendors of the world. However, there is a pricing premium for the solution. One has to look at it from that angle that while they are buying Cisco, there will be a premium, and Cisco justifies that premium value. That's why they're charging a high price."

"It falls somewhere in the middle—it's not excessively expensive nor very cheap."

"Sophos Email is priced lower than its competitors."

"Sophos Email is a little expensive for us, but it's necessary. We have a subscription and renew it every three years."

"The pricing could improve by having additional discounts. For example, when customers buy have more than 50 or more users, there should be additional discounts."

"The product is cheaper compared to other solutions."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"Licensing is paid on a yearly basis."

"The platform is inexpensive. It offers a cost-effective licensing model. We purchase its yearly license."

More Sophos Email pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

10%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Secure Email Threat Defense?

Comparatively with other products, the pricing of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is normal. As a technical guide, I am not very aware of the pricing details.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Secure Email Threat Defense?

We have deployed Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense in two customer environments. It is still in development as a new product. Some customer requirements, such as sending logs to a Syslog server, ar...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Secure Email Threat Defense?

We are working with Cloud Mail Gateway and on-premise mail gateways. We have worked with Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense.

See all answers

What do you like most about Sophos Email?

The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Email?

Regarding Sophos Email pricing, I would rate it between six or seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Email?

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Secure Email vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Compared 29% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Compared 16% of the time

Abnormal Security vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Compared 14% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Compared 12% of the time

Kiteworks vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Compared 11% of the time

More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Competitors

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Sophos Email

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Sophos Email

Compared 8% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 8% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 7% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 6% of the time

More Sophos Email Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

January 2026

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense report

Download Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email

January 2026

Download Sophos Email product report

Also Known As

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense

Sophos Email Security

Overview

Cisco's secure email threat defense is designed to provide comprehensive protection against email-based threats. With the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks, it is crucial for organizations to have a robust solution in place to safeguard their email communications.

The product offers advanced threat detection capabilities, leveraging machine learning algorithms and real-time analysis to identify and block malicious emails. It scans incoming and outgoing emails for suspicious attachments, links, and content, ensuring that only safe and legitimate emails reach the users' inbox.

To combat phishing attacks, our solution employs advanced anti-phishing techniques, including URL reputation analysis and email header analysis. It proactively detects and blocks phishing emails, preventing users from falling victim to fraudulent schemes and protecting sensitive information.

The Secure Email Threat Defense also includes robust anti-malware and anti-spam features. It scans email attachments for malware and viruses, preventing them from infiltrating the organization's network. Additionally, it filters out spam emails, reducing the clutter in users' inboxes and improving productivity.

Administrators have full visibility and control over email security. They can set up customizable policies to enforce security measures, such as blocking specific file types or restricting email access from certain domains. Detailed reports and analytics provide insights into email threats and help in fine-tuning the security settings.

Cisco

Sophos Email is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and data loss. It offers robust protection against malware, phishing attacks, and spam, ensuring that only legitimate emails reach users' inboxes.

With advanced threat intelligence and machine learning algorithms, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks in real-time. Additionally, it provides encryption and data loss prevention capabilities to safeguard sensitive information.

The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized control. Sophos Email offers seamless integration with popular email platforms, ensuring uninterrupted communication while maintaining security.

With its comprehensive features and proactive approach, Sophos Email is a reliable choice for organizations looking to enhance their email security.

Sophos

Sample Customers

Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom

Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Sophos Email

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Sophos Email

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