No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs Trellix Email Security comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 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

Cisco Secure Email Threat D...
Ranking in Email Security
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trellix Email Security
Ranking in Email Security
13th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 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 Trellix Email Security is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Trellix Email Security0.5%
Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense1.1%
Other98.4%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

GC
Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Provides robust email security features but requires improved modernization and complexity management
Modernization is an area that could be improved for Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense, as some features have lagged behind newer competitors, potentially offering more advanced analysis capabilities. The initial setup is not straightforward and requires expertise and time to master configurations such as spoofing and DLP. More control over backend functionalities and simplifying rule management could enhance user experience. 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. Furthermore, the pricing might deter new users who could opt for alternative, more cost-effective solutions.
Anastasia Wairimu - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Manager at Ford
Gateway filtering has protected our organization and provides complete email threat prevention
In my opinion, the best features Trellix Email Security offers include its use for malware analysis as well as the enterprise-wide email quarantine system. My experience with the malware analysis and quarantine features is that they are easy to manage and they have been very effective because we have been able to quarantine any suspicious emails or prevent any attempt before it affects our systems. It is also very user-friendly and has a simple interface. Policies and rules are easy to create and they work with very little downtime or operational impact. Email delivery issues are easy to investigate and troubleshoot. Trellix Email Security has positively impacted my organization as it is user-friendly and does a good job detecting malicious attachments in email, providing complete email protection against all users and working well to stop advanced threats. The price is relatively the same as other competitors.

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."
"I would say it's very comprehensive, with multiple antivirus OEMs, virus encrypt features, encryption, and more."
"The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan, and this product has helped us to protect our organization from any malware attack in the past."
"Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt."
"Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense's best features include user management of graymail, enhancing security awareness by allowing users to manage cold calls, sales-based items, and ensuring email compliance."
"It has an efficient email filtering feature."
"I highly recommend it as one of the best choices."
"On ease of use, it rates very high. It's something that I was able to get into without really looking at any documentation. I wanted to see what it felt like before I started looking at any documentation on how to use it, and it was very easy to use. It works very smoothly. The user experience is very intuitive. They did an amazing job on that."
"Trellix Email Security has positively impacted my organization because we previously experienced a data leak due to an email virus, but now we are secure and not experiencing any of these issues, which is beneficial for the company's important data that we can now protect from threats."
"In my opinion, the most useful functions or features in Trellix Email Security include sandboxing, anti-spam, some filters, and quarantine features, which are highly sought after because of the compliance and protection around the attack vectors on email."
"Trellix Email Security has positively impacted my organization by providing us with a consolidated tool to manage all our email protection, and it is performing excellently."
"The impact of Trellix Email Security is very good, with reporting showing that above 90% of threats have been blocked monthly, indicating that Trellix Email Security has helped protect us from cyberattacks."
"Overall, I find Trellix Email Security to be a mature and ready solution, delivering very good protection, and scalability-wise, it is very promising."
"For email spam and malware threat prevention, Trellix Email Security just works and I really appreciate the product."
"Trellix Email Security has positively impacted our organization."
"Even in my brief experience, I can clearly see how automation, AI-based analysis, and real-time monitoring improve response time and strengthen overall email security."
 

Cons

"The learning curve shows that in the beginning, there are numerous false positives. For one month, we had to reclassify the false positives manually until the system learned."
"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much."
"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."
"Cisco's multiple product lines and verticals made this just one of their many verticals, and we could see a shift in focus."
"The solution is a bit expensive. It could be cheaper."
"There is still room for improvement in terms of integrations with other Cisco tools and non-Cisco tools. There is also some room for improvement needed in terms of the reporting."
"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 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."
"Threat intelligence is adequate because they are using Microsoft GTI threat intelligence, but we need to increase protection against phishing and spam mails."
"I think Trellix Email Security needs to improve different sides of email security, especially the filtering process."
"For potential areas of improvement, Trellix can enable proper single sign-on as opposed to a local username and password."
"When we talk about security, Trellix Email Security console is very complex."
"To improve Trellix Email Security, I think the dashboard details could be enhanced."
"Trellix Email Security can be improved in several areas."
"The main issue right now with Trellix Email Security is price-wise."
"Regarding technical support from Trellix, I would rate it a four because there is a lot of work that has to be done in terms of the support that is provided."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
"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."
"The solution’s pricing is manageable."
"It is expensive compared to other vendors."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Healthcare Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
14%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
 

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.
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...
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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trellix Email Security?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Trellix Email Security is that everything good has a price. When we look at the cost relative to what it secures, I think that is acceptabl...
What needs improvement with Trellix Email Security?
Trellix Email Security can be improved in several areas. Although it has almost all the features that an email security tool should have, it could advance further with different types of attacks th...
What is your primary use case for Trellix Email Security?
My main use case for Trellix Email Security is for external communication, where we use the IOCs that we already have for phishing domains to capture phishing emails. For internal emails and outbou...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense vs. Trellix Email Security and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.