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Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) 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

Fortra's Clearswift Secure ...
Ranking in Email Security
31st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
0
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 2.9%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)2.9%
Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway1.2%
Other95.9%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

PC
Systems Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable, but malware needs improvement and customer support is poor
They need to improve the malware in the product. I am not satisfied with Clearswift because of the lack of customer support. The support is poor, the supplier takes a lot of time and it's expensive. We have some issues here when I contact the supplier, it takes a lot of time for them to get back to us but there's no solution. I am now looking at Symantec as a possible alternative.
NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Go for it! I think it's an excellent product with great technical support."
"We use a few features for web proxy, and another feature is the email content filter and malware for our internal policy in the email content."
"A stable solution."
"Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities, and additionally, the solution is easy to use."
"The product protects against malware."
"We use the solution in all our environments. We use it for remedy tickets and give them updates. It was our main communication point."
"The simplicity and the easy deployment ensure that anybody who has worked on Exchange can easily work on this."
"I rate Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) nine out of ten."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is used essentially for email filtering, acting as an anti-spam and security product for email."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier."
"The initial setup is just a standard process."
 

Cons

"Malware needs improvement."
"I am not satisfied with Clearswift because of the lack of customer support."
"FTP server and TRUST Manager functionality."
"The security features could be better and more secure in the next release."
"The tool's classification for bulk email is cumbersome."
"The biggest issue that I experience is that Microsoft keeps moving things around, and it's very inconsistent as to where you find the information when you're trying to work on different pieces."
"Not all settings can be configured automatically and most still require manual configuration. However, there is an automation tool available that can be used to input all the configurations either as a script or a tool it would be helpful."
"The solution can be complex at times. It would be nice to have the on-server version. It needs to improve the stability as well."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
"We would like the solution to have more in-built intelligence in the way that it reviews potential security risks, rather than our team constantly having to update the policies."
"Microsoft has some training portals, but more could be developed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price could be lower."
"Online Protection is fairly expensive."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"The product is bundled with Microsoft 365."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
11%
Retailer
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise13
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite feature is the ease with which I can identify if an email is a phishing email or...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company, we require a very high level of security. We use multiple authentication method...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My experience with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is from an end-user perspective, and I do not have admin management experience. I am not familiar with the Advanced Threat Protection f...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,351 professionals have used our research since 2012.