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

 

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
42nd
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
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway is 1.0%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 5.5%, down from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)5.5%
Fortra's Clearswift Secure Email Gateway1.0%
Other93.5%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

PC
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.
Amber Worth - PeerSpot reviewer
Retrieves data from quarantines and easy to read logs with robust security features
Some of the searchability when looking for specifics in Exchange logs is tedious. Although eventually the information is located, it can be difficult if detailed information is lacking. Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous. Simplifying interfaces would also be appreciated.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Ability to create your own content-filtering policies with relative ease."
"A stable solution."
"We use the solution to receive emails. We do not use the calendar function as our clients are slow adaptors to the latest features."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier."
"The email policy configuration options in Microsoft EOP are satisfactory."
"In general, my company is happy with Microsoft support...My company hasn't faced any stability issues with the solution."
"Microsoft EOP's most valuable feature is a shared mailbox."
"The scalability is pretty good; it does what it is supposed to do."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities. Additionally, the solution is easy to use."
"The solution's stability is very, very good. I didn't face any problems in the last year."
 

Cons

"FTP server and TRUST Manager functionality."
"Malware needs improvement."
"The licensing can be on the expensive side, especially in the cloud space."
"The tool is not 100% stable."
"Microsoft 365 Defender and EOP policies are stable with the proper license. However, with the basic policy, it's hard to say it's stable due to configuration limitations."
"The product could be more stable. Microsoft products could be more stable because sometimes, even though they are updating some things, we cannot find those updates."
"The tool's classification for bulk email is cumbersome."
"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 reporting needs a little bit of improvement."
"It wasn't easy or intuitive enough for me to start using it. So, the reason was that the solution changed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"The pricing for the solution depends on what you are trying to achieve with the use of the product, but I know that it is not a cheaply priced product. Yearly payments have to be made towards the licensing fees of the solution."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"The pricing of the solution is reasonable."
"The solution should reduce the cost."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is very expensive, I rate the pricing a six. For licensing, we can make monthly or yearly payments. Right now, we pay 5 USD per month to secure a person's license."
"Apart from the license fee for the solution, there are no additional costs."
"The solution falls on the higher or more expensive side of the spectrum."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
The initial setup was easy. The configuration process is very straightforward.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Besides price, the main room for improvement includes the sandbox or something similar; the usability that solutions are focused on. I have not really utilized its anti-phishing features because th...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
I'm reviewing different solutions because I work for a consulting company, and we are dealing with a review. We use Peer review for that to find some information, which is very useful. I am certifi...
 

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 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.