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Cisco Secure Email vs Sophos Email 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
Cisco Secure Email is valued for security and efficiency, though financial benefits are mixed and hard to quantify.
Sentiment score
5.8
Sophos Email delivers cost savings, enhanced security, reduces workload, and is crucial for government contractors, proving valuable and efficient.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email's superior customer service, marked by prompt, reliable support, is rated highly over competitors like Fortinet.
Sentiment score
6.9
Sophos Email support is generally competent with multiple contact options but can be slow for complex issues.
Within half an hour, the team person will arrive, and the issue will be resolved in an hour.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Cisco's tech support can be hit or miss, depending on the engineer you get.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The support is pretty decent, with a rating of eight out of ten.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
The technical support from Sophos Email deserves a rating of 10 out of 10.
Technical Head at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
After-sales support for Sophos is very good.
Founder at Computech infosysetm
When I reported a problem with our firewall, they acted promptly and delivered another piece of equipment.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Email provides flexible scalability and security enhancements, supporting large setups with positive user experiences and expansion options.
Sentiment score
7.5
Sophos Email is scalable for various business sizes, though some encounter technical and licensing challenges despite its strong performance.
The on-premises hardware is not very scalable, but switching to the SaaS offering is expected to improve scalability.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
My thoughts on the scalability level of Cisco Secure Email is nine because of the delay in making a configuration and the slowness in the console.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
It can go up to around fifty thousand users or something that can be accommodated in one tenant.
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Secure Email is valued for stability and reliability, with minimal issues and efficient operation, requiring minimal maintenance.
Sentiment score
7.9
Sophos Email is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime, though occasional legitimate email quarantines are noted.
Based on my experience, the stability of Cisco Secure Email is very strong.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
I've had more than a 99.5% uptime rate.
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Email faces complex UI, integration issues, high costs, and lacks advanced features, affecting usability and scalability.
Sophos Email struggles with usability, security, pricing, and support, with users seeking enhanced features and competitive pricing.
The solution should better analyze the actual content rather than only focusing on the email header or origin.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
It would be beneficial to have the functionality of the Email Threat Defense integrated into the Email Security Gateway so customers don't have to buy two products for full email protection.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
It may take nearly an hour to get back to normal while configuring policies.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
Sophos Email does not work with split delivery.
Operations Technical Lead at IT Supporters
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.
Founder at Computech infosysetm
Some existing functionality in the product needs better articulation in how data is displayed.
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Email is costly yet valued for features, with variable pricing based on factors like environment and user count.
Sophos Email provides cost-effective subscription plans with discounts for annual or bulk purchases, though opinions on pricing vary.
Its cost is bundled with other Cisco products.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
The licensing is a mess and needs sorting out.
Cloud Partner & Solutions Architect at a tech vendor with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing structure is good as it is user-based or email client-based, which is positive for clients.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
Sophos Email pricing is a bit high, especially since I purchase through a partner, and they sell it at a higher price since they also seek to make a profit.
Network and Infrastructure Manager at Sonysugar
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Email offers advanced protection, integration, and user-friendly management, enhancing security against malware, spam, phishing, and ransomware.
Sophos Email delivers robust email security with AI integration, intuitive spam detection, and seamless integration with Office 365 and Google Workspace.
The integration of Cisco AMP for Advanced Malware Protection with Cisco Secure Email has helped our organization's security posture.
Technical Associate Network Security at Valuepoint Systems
It is highly effective in catching phishing and spam emails.
Systems Engineer at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
It also possesses multiple modules for spam detection, malware detection, and threat intelligence, which are valuable in categorizing emails and determining actions.
Chief Information Security Officer at Abcl
XDR stands for extended detection and response, and it's a technology where the system automatically exchanges security signals between the endpoint, the email, and other similar products of the same brand.
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
It provides a defense layer for email protection, scanning every incoming and outbound email for malware and spam.
Operations Technical Lead at IT Supporters
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.
Founder at Computech infosysetm
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Email
Ranking in Email Security
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Cisco Security Portfolio (6th)
Sophos Email
Ranking in Email Security
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Email is 4.5%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 1.6%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Secure Email4.5%
Sophos Email1.6%
Other93.9%
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.
ManojNair2 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Comprehensive detection has protected email traffic and now simplifies endpoint security work
Sophos Email security is the primary product I use. It scans all your inbound and outbound email for malware. It also has a capability for looking for phishing and spear phishing content and blocking it. Email has an extended capability that includes what's called a secure web gateway. All user traffic gets managed through that, making it a combination product. The version of the product you run determines which features are available. Reporting is competent. There is scope for more improvements, which they will do as they do every year regularly. They keep updating the product. Reporting gives you the relevant details of what is happening, so it's mature on that front. The main benefit is security for your email. The beauty of the Sophos system is that the XDR functionality runs across the system. Sophos, Trend Micro, and Microsoft are the only three that have a very strong system with this concept. XDR stands for extended detection and response, and it's a technology where the system automatically exchanges security signals between the endpoint, the email, and other similar products of the same brand. If you have Sophos Endpoint and Sophos Email, you have very good connectivity from the endpoint to the cloud at the email level and to some extent onto the browsing traffic. You have a very rounded security aspect.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Outsourcing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business22
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise27
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
 

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 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.
What needs improvement with Sophos Email?
Some existing functionality in the product needs better articulation in how data is displayed. In one place there is data, but the way the data should be shown is not being shown right now. I have ...
What is your primary use case for Sophos Email?
I work on the endpoints. I work on endpoint, email, and firewall. Email, I use it on my personal domain, so I know what it does.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
Sophos Email Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,806 professionals have used our research since 2012.