Darktrace vs Fortinet FortiMail comparison

Darktrace and Fortinet are both solutions in the Email Security category. Darktrace is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.1, while Fortinet is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.6. Darktrace holds a 1.8% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Fortinet’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Darktrace users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 29, 2026

Fortinet FortiMail and Darktrace compete in the cybersecurity market, focusing on email protection and network security. Fortinet FortiMail appears to hold the upper hand with its comprehensive integration capabilities and cost-effectiveness for mid-sized enterprises, while Darktrace excels in advanced AI features for threat detection.

Features: Fortinet FortiMail is known for anti-spam, antivirus, and sandboxing capabilities, seamlessly integrating with FortiSandbox. It's praised for ease of configuration and strong reporting features. Darktrace stands out for its AI-driven anomaly detection and autonomous threat response, offering detailed network activity views and significant threat insights.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiMail users seek an enhanced user interface and more intuitive configuration. There's a need for better threat detection and third-party solution integration. Darktrace users mention simplifying false positive reports, improving integration capabilities, and addressing dashboard complexity alongside pricing concerns.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiMail is primarily on-premises, with public and hybrid cloud options but criticized for difficult configuration. Support is inconsistent, with varied feedback on service speed. Darktrace offers flexible deployment across environments, praised for ease of use and generally positive support feedback, though premium costs are noted.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiMail provides competitive pricing appealing to mid-sized enterprises, with annual or multi-year options. It's seen as cost-effective with significant ROI in email management. Darktrace is described as expensive, potentially prohibitive for smaller businesses, yet its high effectiveness in threat detection justifies the investment for larger enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Darktrace vs. Fortinet FortiMail Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Darktrace vs. Fortinet FortiMail

August 2026

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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

Cloudflare One

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Darktrace is 1.8%, down from 3.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 2.7%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail	2.7%
Darktrace	1.8%
Cloudflare One	1.7%
Other	93.8%

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Cobe Van Coller

Network Architect at IP Dimension

Cloud security has improved remote access and has reduced costs for smaller client sites

I have used Cloudflare One's Identity-Aware Proxy, and it is quite straightforward from what I have seen so far. The app registration on the Azure side integrates fully into Cloudflare, and I am very satisfied with that part because it is easy to set up. The integration of Cloudflare One's Secure Web Gateway and Zero Trust Network Access works without any issues. That part is pretty automatic, and if you complete the rest of the setup, it comes together by itself with no issues from my side. What makes it nice is that we can actually start replacing on-site firewalls at this stage for the smaller clients because it does not matter if they go to a coffee shop or work from home; they are still secured by the same connection. The hops get shorter and you get better latency. We have done testing to see if it is better. One thing that we did notice with our proof of concept with our current client is that they have people connecting from the UK. When they used their previous VPN solution, uploading CAD drawings and other files to the server took a long time. They mentioned that it is much quicker on Cloudflare One's solution. I definitely believe that is part of the improved performance, and I am satisfied with that as well. What is nice about Cloudflare One is that it makes the setup easier and also easier to train technicians to maintain it. Compared to legacy systems, we do not need to get fancy firewalls in place that are costly. That is definitely also a cost-saver with Cloudflare One.

Read full review

Pasan Jayarathna

Network Security Engineer at Cyberwell Solution

Monitoring has improved data loss detection and now spots abnormal internal file transfers quickly

In my understanding, the best feature Darktrace offers is the identification of copying files, which acts as a DLP, and it is a main concern for companies because users sometimes copy data outside without knowing, especially those without a technical background. When I mention the DLP-like feature and file copying detection, the alerts have been very timely, as we get an alert within a couple of minutes, which is excellent. Even if some developers are working after hours and copying files, our SOC team detects this, and most of the time they call us so we can identify the users. The alerts are quite accurate and proactive.

Read full review

Abhimanyu Das

Senior Cybersecurity Engineer at Kyndryl

Targeted email filtering has reduced spam and phishing and now saves significant investigation time

The best features of Fortinet FortiMail include its techniques and tactics, which are highly effective compared to other solutions such as Microsoft 365. Although Fortinet FortiMail may not be as advanced in some aspects, it is well recognized for its strong performance in handling spam and phishing. It performs thorough mail scanning and also offers a sandboxing feature that enhances protection. Fortinet FortiMail has had a positive impact on my organization by significantly reducing unwanted email activities such as spam and phishing. It provides accurate detection and generates results that often exceed what can be achieved through manual analysis. Since deploying Fortinet FortiMail, I have observed a reduction in investigation time by at least 20 to 30 percent.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."

"Cloudflare DDoS is better than its competitors for its security, deployment, and scalability."

"It will take the blow rather than our applications should an attack occur."

"The solution has different options that can be used to differentiate DDoS attacks."

"Clover is the best product globally."

"The capabilities of the software are strong enough for me to do what it's supposed to do. For me, we don't need to do a lot of configuration on our site. We just enable it and monitor it."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform removes the risk of exposing the applications to the public."

"Cloudflare Access is part of the Zero Trust philosophy."

More Cloudflare One pros

"Darktrace provides better visibility into network risks, allowing you to take preemptive action against risky user behavior."

"I have found the most valuable features to be artificial intelligence for cybersecurity, advanced machine learning capabilities, enterprise Immune System, Antigena Network, and Antigena Email. The way the solution detects the threat over the network before it spreads is very good. It notifies you of what the threat is exactly doing and gives you all the details about the execution of that application that had created the threat over your network."

"I particularly like Antigena and the analytics around the real-time monitoring of our network."

"The models, triggers, and alerts are customizable."

"The most valuable features of Darktrace are the tracing of unusual external emails and monitoring the local network."

"One thing I appreciate is Antigena Email, which is for email protection."

"Because of unsupervised machine learning, its detection capability is quite good."

"It is autonomous. So, it learns. It uses algorithms and AI to learn the common behavioral patterns on the network, and it is able to identify threats based on abnormal patterns."

More Darktrace pros

"FortiMail effectively filters all emails coming to our mail server, blocking malicious ones automatically."

"One major benefit of the Fortinet FortiMail product is its ease of management."

"We compared it to Sophos, but it is more for users that aren't IT experts."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the tool's ability to prevent phishing attacks."

"It can block a lot of fake emails."

"The most valuable features of this solution are anti-spam, sender reputation, and antivirus."

"We're happy with things."

"It is a very reliable program and it works great."

More Fortinet FortiMail pros

Cons

"I would like them to include a VPN feature to provide a secure connection to the data center."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."

"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."

"The tool should provide on-premise versions. Currently, all versions are cloud-based."

"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."

"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."

"They don't have a person to provide support for customers using the solution under their free plan."

"Our subscription plan for the solution has a limitation of bot signatures."

More Cloudflare One cons

"The cost is a bit on the higher side."

"I would like to see a feature where the tool ingests information from an anti-malware product that is present at the endpoint."

"One thing that I would like to look at going forward is to have a fully automated network infrastructure that is monitored automatically real-time, and that gives me this kind of capability where I would be able to look at my network at any given time and see the state of my network. With Darktrace, at the moment, I have to almost put in a date and tell them that want you to give me data from this date to this date. I don't want that. I want a fast solution in which it doesn't matter when I log into the application. Whenever I log in, I must be able to see my network and run a report. In other words, if I go in now and I say, "Give me a full report of what happened today, it must be able to give me that. It mustn't just be limited to a seven-day period, for argument's sake. It must be able to give me real-time and day-to-day tracking of what has happened within my network."

"It can have more integration with orchestration or event management solutions. They can provide more knowledge or research information for analysts for investigating cases and detecting anomalies in networks."

"Its documentation is not up to the mark. At times, I have a lot of trouble finding a solution. Even when I posted questions on the community chats, it took a lot of time for me to get answers. That's something that can be improved. Darktrace can focus on creating a more interactive community. If there are more people from Darktrace to focus on community chats, it would be better."

"The user interface and the configuration are a bit complex and should be improved or simplified."

"I would like for the product to work on the endpoints as well. I would like to see enhanced visibility into the endpoints and network but this solution only sits on the network itself."

"The price point for the product was too high for what our possible use case could be."

More Darktrace cons

"The biggest room for improvement would be the deployment. It will be hard for someone who doesn't understand the interface to deploy. If you understand it, you can find your way around the problems."

"The product should work on licensing and provide more detail once the license is selected for the customer."

"High Availability needs improvement."

"I have little to say about possible improvements, but the configuration for content blocking could be better. So, for example, if the email includes the line "You have a Bitcoin", I would like it to be easier to block it before it enters an inbox. Fortinet could maybe offer better or simpler help on how to do this properly."

"Header inspection and containerization, like on-prem premises sandboxing, need enhancement."

"Fortinet FortiMail's technical support team has shortcomings and needs improvement."

"Fortinet FortiMail can be improved in terms of its dashboard, which is small and not visually appealing, making deeper investigations difficult."

"It's difficult for me to talk about areas for improvement in Fortinet FortiMail because I'm the general manager of the company and I'm an engineer with knowledge about the solution, but I'm not deeply involved in its implementation. As I mentioned previously, Fortinet FortiMail is also being used within the company, and I'm happy with its functionality, but sometimes, attacks pass and avoid the Fortinet FortiMail filters, but those could be very sophisticated attacks. There could still be an improvement in the filtering feature of the solution, though the security of Fortinet FortiMail is okay for me because I believe you can't implement one hundred percent security in any solution. The initial setup for the solution also needs improvement. The setup is supposed to be simple, but then the customer starts to complain that some of the false positive emails are reaching quarantine, so my team has to configure it again. There have been instances when Fortinet FortiMail rejects valid emails because some of the service partners of the customer have not been configured accurately, so the system considered valid mails as attacks to be quarantined, so aside from improving the filters, there should also be an improvement in the categorization of emails in the server. My team has to modify the configuration so that valid emails could pass and for Fortinet FortiMail to correctly filter the SPAM traffic. A feature that could be added to Fortinet FortiMail in its next release is advanced AI, so it can analyze and decide accurately on which mail is valid and which mail is SPAM."

More Fortinet FortiMail cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is not that expensive."

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."

"The prices are slightly expensive."

"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."

"The pricing of the solution is cheap. The licensing cost is also very low. I rate the cost and pricing a three out of ten."

"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."

"My company has to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution. There are no hidden charges apart from the licensing costs of the solution."

"We've budgeted about 50,000 Kuwaiti dinars for the solution. That is a yearly operating cost."

"It is expensive."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"The pricing is quite high, estimated at around $350,000 per year."

"I'm unfamiliar with the exact cost, but we have a yearly license and had to pay for Darktrace's services before the deployment. The product is very expensive, so some organizations can't afford to pay the total amount directly, meaning they often seek a partner or pay in installments, which increases the price more."

"We had an issue with pricing initially and had to cancel some of the features of the projects to fit the budget. I would like to see pricing that is not broken up into parts so that we can buy the whole package once. Darktrace is more expensive than an average solution, but it's functionality won't match that of an average solution."

"It is pretty expensive, but it is worth it. Its licensing is yearly."

"They are too expensive compared with other vendors."

More Darktrace pricing and cost advice

"I have no information on pricing for the competition because right now, my company is working only with Fortinet, but I can say that in general, the price for Fortinet FortiMail was accepted by the customers easily. The POC is also important when a customer is buying a solution. The customer wants to see how the product runs, and as Fortinet FortiMail is a stable product that runs without big issues, it has a bigger chance of getting chosen by customers over its competitors, even if its price may be a little higher. Pricing for the solution is competitive. Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's a little bit higher, but it isn't far from what other solutions charge."

"FortiMail has extra charges for installation, configuration, and project management."

"FortiMail is not cheap."

"Fortinet FortiMail is inexpensive."

"The fees for Fortinet FortiMail can be complicated. However, overall the pricing is fair."

"Pricing is straight-forward and renewable without complicated pricing structures."

"Price-wise, you get what you pay for in Fortinet FortiMail. Apart from the licensing costs, no additional expenses are attached to the solution's pricing."

"The solution is quite pricey compared to other competitors in the market."

More Fortinet FortiMail pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	44
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	29

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	32
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	15

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Pricing is competitive. Akamai is more expensive, in my view.

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What needs improvement with Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

In my opinion, Cloudflare One can be improved mainly through compatibility, as the integration should be much simpler...

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What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform?

Cloudflare One's primary use case for my organization is to protect servers and to provide remote access with the VPN...

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How does Crowdstrike Falcon compare with Darktrace?

Both of these products perform similarly and have many outstanding attributes. CrowdStrike Falcon offers an amazing u...

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Which is better - SentinelOne or Darktrace?

Which solution is better depends on which is more suitable specifically for your company. Darktrace, for example, is ...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Darktrace?

Concerning pricing for the product, I would say it is somewhat expensive.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail?

The setup cost is a little bit costly.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?

I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail?

I do have a partnership with Fortinet. I have been both a partner and reseller.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare One

August 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Darktrace

August 2026

Download Darktrace product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiMail

August 2026

Download Fortinet FortiMail product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare Area 1 Email Security, Cloudflare Bot Management, Cloudflare Gateway, Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform, Cloudflare DDoS, Cloudflare SASE & SSE Platform

No data available

FortiMail

Overview

Cloudflare One is a comprehensive platform for security, performance, and connectivity. It provides features like rate limiting, DDoS protection, and application access, tailored to enhance user experience while securing internet access and accelerating communications.

Designed to integrate security measures with ease of use and scalability, Cloudflare One offers a secure web gateway and zero trust network access. These features ensure seamless setup and operation, making connectivity reliable and protected. Users appreciate its integrated console, intuitive interface, and the ability to manage risk effectively. It offers straightforward deployment, improves latency, and boasts cost-effectiveness. While its onboarding process and documentation need enhancement, its value in content delivery and application shielding is notable. Despite challenges in integrating Cloudflare Access with existing VPNs and the need for better automation and support, it remains vital for DNS and infrastructure protection.

What features make Cloudflare One stand out?

Rate Limiting: Controls the traffic rate to prevent abuse.
DDoS Protection: Shields applications from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Secure Web Gateway: Provides secure internet access with seamless operation.
Zero Trust Network Access: Ensures secure, application-based connectivity without relying on traditional VPNs.
Access for Connectivity: Facilitates access to internal applications securely.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Security: Robust measures for DNS and browsing protection.
Performance: Enhanced site accessibility and communication speed.
Cost-Effectiveness: Offers competitive pricing for its features.
Ease of Deployment: Straightforward and efficient setup process.

In industries like finance, retail, and technology, Cloudflare One is crucial for enabling secure remote access and protecting web applications against dynamic threats. It supports compliance access policies and enhances content delivery, playing a key role in safeguarding digital infrastructure.

Cloudflare

Darktrace revolutionizes network security with AI-driven alerts, anomaly detection, and robust visibility across networks. It autonomously detects threats, minimizing the need for human oversight, and offers efficient IP identification with minimal false positives.

Darktrace uses advanced AI analytics to enhance network protection. Its powerful real-time threat response capabilities and self-learning enable thorough monitoring and insightful analysis of network activities. While providing scalable and reliable security, users seek improvements in false positive reduction, user-friendly interfaces, and pricing. Enhanced third-party integration, more effective dashboards, and centralized automation features remain top priorities. Users benefit greatly from its Antigena feature, offering automated responses like blocking suspicious connections for robust network defense.

What Are Darktrace's Key Features?

AI-Driven Alerts: Provides real-time alerts for threat detection.
Anomaly Detection: Identifies unusual network activities with precision.
Real-Time Threat Response: Autonomously counteracts potential threats.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Offers detailed network activity insights.
Scalability: Adapts to expanding network environments effectively.

Which Benefits Should Users Consider in Reviews?

Stability: Reliable performance ensures constant protection.
Efficient Cloud Protection: Safeguards data across cloud infrastructures.
Intuitive Interface: Facilitates easy navigation and efficient operations.
Network Visibility: Enhances understanding of network traffic and activities.
Automated Threat Blocking: Quick response to potential network breaches.

In industries employing Darktrace, it is pivotal in securing LAN networks, analyzing behavioral patterns, and detecting internal and external threats. Adoption alongside platforms like F5 and SAP enhances incident response, traffic analysis, and threat identification, utilizing Antigena for proactive security measures.

Darktrace

Fortinet FortiMail is a robust email security platform offering anti-spam, antivirus, and anti-phishing capabilities. It integrates with Fortinet products to ensure seamless protection against email threats in on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, enhancing secure communication for businesses.

Fortinet FortiMail is designed to protect against a range of email threats including spam, phishing, and malware, ensuring email safety for organizations. It operates as both a gateway and server, allowing for secure filtering of incoming and outgoing emails. The integration with Fortinet’s suite of security tools provides a comprehensive approach to managing threats effectively, while user-friendly interfaces and detailed reporting systems aid in threat monitoring and management. Frequent updates are implemented, though scalability and web console enhancements are necessary for improved performance.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiMail?

Anti-Spam: Provides reliable filtering to block unwanted emails.
Antivirus: Ensures protection against harmful viruses.
Anti-Phishing: Prevents phishing attempts through advanced detection.
Sandboxing: Enhances threat detection to manage email security efficiently.
Integration: Seamlessly works with other Fortinet products for unified security.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiMail?

Comprehensive Security: Offers robust protection against multiple email threats.
Ease of Use: Features a user-friendly interface for better accessibility.
Detailed Reporting: Provides insights into threat management activities.
Reliable Performance: Delivers consistent updates for maintaining email protection.

Fortinet FortiMail is implemented by companies across industries seeking to secure their email communications. In healthcare, it protects sensitive patient information, while in finance, it safeguards transactional data against phishing attacks. Retailers utilize FortiMail to prevent data breaches from fraudulent emails, demonstrating its versatility in diverse sectors.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

23andMe

Irwin Mitchell, Open Energi, Wellcome Trust, FirstGroup plc, Virgin Trains, Drax, QUI! Group, DNK, CreaCard, Macrosynergy, Sisley, William Hill plc, Toyota Canada, Royal British Legion, Vitol, Allianz, KKR, AIRBUS, dpd, Billabong, Mclaren Group.

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.

Buyer's Guide

Darktrace vs. Fortinet FortiMail

August 2026

Free Report: Darktrace vs. Fortinet FortiMail

Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace vs. Fortinet FortiMail and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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