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Cisco Secure Email vs Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

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
Ranking in Email Security
5th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (6th)
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Pr...
Ranking in Email Security
21st
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 4.6%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is 1.0%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Email4.6%
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection1.0%
Other94.4%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

KS
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Email security has protected financial data and provides clear tracking for every branch message
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP and other content filters compared to other consoles. It may have been due to on-premises, but it was much noisy at some times while configuring DLP. When we tried to configure a DLP policy, the console became much slower. In that case, we cannot see what had happened in the mail which was blocked at that time. It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies. That is the major issue in the product.
HM
CEO at Cyber Internet Services (Pvt) Ltd.
Comprehensive email protection has secured sensitive communications and simplified threat management
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is a good product right now, and the report is available in Spanish, which is beneficial for Latin Americans who speak Spanish. They can continue to improve the pricing because it is the most important aspect, as another solution is aggressive with a lower cost and includes everything. While Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is good right now, it would be better to improve the price. At the end, the client sees the price, and in Puerto Rico, the market is different than in the United States since here the client sees price independent of security. I have more effort to explain the difference between price versus technology, which is important because in Latin America, the price may not be the same as in the US due to the company's increase not being the same volume. When clients have many mailboxes, the price is more important than the technology. I do not know why, but this really happens.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Initially, the most valuable feature for us was the SenderBase Reputation, because that reduced the number of emails that were even considered by the system by a huge number..."
"It has an intuitive, clear graphical interface where you can deploy your policies and understand the overall flow. There are a lot of things that you cannot handle on the graphic interface, like message filters. For this, you need to go to a lower level where you have more power, like command line interface. So, this solution has the best of both worlds. There are not a lot of bells and whistles. It is more practical with access to most features that you can configure."
"It saves a lot of time wasting, for example, phishing attacks distract a user's attention and forged emails waste a lot of time, and this solution helps protect user data."
"The logs are easily readable and help diagnose problems, although they can be difficult to find initially. The solution addresses our email security, but for the rest of our security, we would use multiple vendors. It covers everything through email, like antivirus, IDS, and IPS."
"The tool comes with AI features. It is good for clients who already use Cisco products due to integration."
"What I find the most valuable about Cisco Secure Email is that the logs are not that difficult to see even if you're not used to them. The logs are reasonably readable and diagnosing the problem is not too hard with them."
"It's definitely worth looking at Cisco's cloud email security offering; it's surprisingly simple to get going with, it really is easier to use than the on-prem because of everything they have built into it, and it is surprisingly cost-effective."
"It has the ability to tell us, after an email has been delivered, where else it went, once it got inside. Maybe it's something we wanted it to stop and it didn't stop it, but it notified us later that it was something that it should have stopped. It can give us a trajectory of all the other places that it went internally and it can tell us what files were transferred as well."
"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is an easy-to-use solution."
"I have a lot of control over spam and phishing emails."
"Backup and restore are precious features."
"This service has allowed me to focus on my core environment and ensure the safety of my customer's data."
"My advice for people considering using Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is that the simplicity is the best option because Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection includes everything in one platform and provides a 360-degree view."
"The best part is, I rarely have to access the portal as everything is set up and tweaked the way I wanted it. But the feature set is incredibly granular and allows for deep levels of customization."
 

Cons

"Added cost and delay to the network traffic, but performance did remain stable."
"The primary areas for improvement are the pricing and the complexity of deployment."
"The user interface needs some improvement to become more user-friendly. The graphics could be better. It's designed more for a technical user rather than a business user."
"More than a few steps are required to apply rules and these are not essentially intuitive."
"The hardware is not up to the mark. Two to three times a year we have complete downtime."
"The solution needs to improve its advanced phishing filters. It is very good at filtering things which have bad reputations. However, when phishing or malicious emails are new or coming from a legitimate source, we don't feel that the solution is working."
"The UI is definitely one area of improvement because it doesn't match other interfaces and the navigation can be a little clunky."
"That's why I wouldn't give it anywhere near a perfect score, because the artificial intelligence just isn't there yet."
"The pricing is a little high compared to other products."
"A reduction of 10% in pricing can be an improvement."
"I guess I would say maybe quick access to training material for end-users. I know partners have access to this but I as an end-user do not have immediate access to new update information."
"They can continue to improve the pricing because it is the most important aspect, as another solution is aggressive with a lower cost and includes everything."
"The solution’s pricing is not reasonable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."
"In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."
"We do annual licensing for Cisco Secure Email Gatewayand SMA together, and possibly SmartNet support. Packaged together, the cost is just under $38,000."
"It is a super big router that costs a few hundred thousand dollars."
"Cisco Secure Email is expensive, but we get what we pay for."
"Cisco Secure Email is more expensive than other products. I rate it a five out of ten. There are no additional costs. You only need to pay the subscription amounts."
"Pricing depends on your environment and which model you want to buy."
"I rate the pricing a ten out of ten on a scale where one means it is less cost-effective, and ten means it is the most cost-effective solution."
"The pricing is acceptable and falls into the medium range, neither cheap nor overly expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
12%
Retailer
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise27
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Email?
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Email?
The areas of Cisco Secure Email that could be improved or enhanced are the slowness in the console. I don't think it was a database error or something, but we feel some slowness in configuring DLP ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Email?
We are using Cisco Secure Email to monitor the outgoing and incoming mail traffic in our financial institute. We have nearly 900 branches all over India. We have an on-premises mail server in which...
What needs improvement with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is a good product right now, and the report is available in Spanish, which is beneficial for Latin Americans who speak Spanish. They can continue to improve the ...
What is your primary use case for Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
Our use case with Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is to protect the 365 email.
What advice do you have for others considering Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection?
The price of Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection is good right now. I would rate Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection a 10 because it is good. My advice for people considering using Hornetsecurity 3...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
concordia, fraunhofer, mazars
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,325 professionals have used our research since 2012.