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Darktrace vs Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

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
7.0
Darktrace enhances security with threat detection and vulnerability exposure, providing financial benefits despite deployment challenges.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers cost-effective email security, reducing incidents and boosting productivity over competitors like Trend and AppRiver.
Other NDR solutions provide virtual appliances that can be deployed on virtualization servers to get up and running quickly.
Technical Consultant - Unix Platform Services at BITS AND BYTE IT CONSULTING PVT LTD
Using this solution provides financial benefits by securing from server attacks, which offers indirect savings.
Systems Specialist/ Administrator at ALFA International Company Limited.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Darktrace customer service is responsive and helpful, praised for efficient issue resolutions and proactive engagement with users.
Sentiment score
6.3
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection customer service is praised for availability but criticized for inconsistent response quality and speed.
The technical support from Darktrace is of high quality.
Network & Security Section Head/Digital Transformation at City Edge
Darktrace provides excellent technical support with a monthly meeting to review platform incidents, ensuring the system functions as expected.
Head of Technology Operations at Pobl Group
The challenge lies in waiting for a response after logging a ticket.
Group Cybersecurity Administrator at Tharisa
Microsoft offers excellent 24/7 support.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
My team is able to get the help they need when necessary.
General Manager at Ambient iT
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Darktrace is praised for its scalability, seamless expansion, robust architecture, and capacity to manage increasing demands effectively.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable security solutions despite some limitations, appreciated for ease of use and high satisfaction.
Darktrace has high scalability, and I would rate it a nine out of ten.
Network & Security Section Head/Digital Transformation at City Edge
Since it's cloud-based, it expands easily.
Head of Technology Operations at Pobl Group
There is still a gap in terms of storage, and we are trying to figure out how to increase that capacity for regulated environments, which require data retention for 5 to 6 years.
Technical Consultant - Unix Platform Services at BITS AND BYTE IT CONSULTING PVT LTD
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.5
Darktrace is praised for its reliability and stability, offering seamless performance and quick resolutions to occasional issues.
Sentiment score
7.7
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is reliable, scoring high in stability, with issues mainly from configuration and occasional interface changes.
The stability of Darktrace is excellent, rated ten out of ten.
Head of Technology Operations at Pobl Group
The appliance itself has never let me down.
Group Cybersecurity Administrator at Tharisa
For stability, I would rate Darktrace an eight out of ten.
Security Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Users seek better SIEM integration, improved automation, user-friendly interfaces, and enhanced protection with more intuitive reports and dashboards.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection needs better integration, enhanced security features, improved user experience, and competitive pricing for increased effectiveness.
There is no dedicated salesperson in Egypt, and having one would help to improve focus on this market.
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
They say they can integrate with most firewalls, but when we did an integration with Meraki MX firewalls, that integration didn't work and still doesn't work to this day.
Security Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
We need Darktrace on each branch to get the data out, and I suggest having some kind of a centralized product that gets data from multiple sources to aggregate and provide the data.
Technical Consultant - Unix Platform Services at BITS AND BYTE IT CONSULTING PVT LTD
Improving the search process by allowing searches with different types of parameters and facilitating searches within emails would be advantageous.
General Manager at Ambient iT
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Darktrace offers flexible payment options but is costly, especially for small businesses, justified by its advanced features.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers tiered pricing, seen as high but justified by robust security and scalability features.
The product is considered expensive compared to others.
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
The pricing is costly in USD, and they charge based on device counts.
Group Cybersecurity Administrator at Tharisa
The licensing cost is approximately eight dollars a year.
Security Information & Incident Analyst at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
The pricing is reasonable.
General Manager at Ambient iT
Microsoft Exchange is more expensive compared to other services like Gmail.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
I find the price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) to be fairly reasonable, and I have no problems with it.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Darktrace provides AI-driven security with fast responses, real-time monitoring, and autonomous threat management, minimizing false positives efficiently.
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection offers scalable, user-friendly security features with AI-enhanced threat management and seamless integration with Microsoft tools.
It is capable of responding to lateral movement and ransomware deployment within environments where there is data exfiltration.
Group Cybersecurity Administrator at Tharisa
I do not need to manually process incidents as Darktrace provides an incident summary, potential detection paths, and other details, all exportable with just a click.
Security Information & Incident Analyst at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
If I am in a data center where I don't have layer two, it becomes an issue because the autonomous response is reliant on sending spoofed TCP resets to my core switch to block traffic, which is a major issue.
Security Analyst at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
We've benefited from the anti-phishing features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), as it has been quite accurate and has eliminated most of our phishing emails, making it really impressive.
Director at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The security features provided by Microsoft are robust.
General Manager at Ambient iT
It offers more features and better security, making it the best option for corporate environments.
System Administrator at Shubham housing finance
 

Categories and Ranking

Darktrace
Ranking in Email Security
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (1st), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (1st), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (6th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th), Cloud-Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) (11th), Attack Surface Management (ASM) (4th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (3rd), AI Observability (6th)
Microsoft Exchange Online P...
Ranking in Email Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Anti-Malware Tools (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Darktrace is 2.4%, down from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is 4.8%, down from 7.6% 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)4.8%
Darktrace2.4%
Other92.8%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

AM
Technical Consultant - Unix Platform Services at BITS AND BYTE IT CONSULTING PVT LTD
Consistent threat hunting and anomaly detection deliver valuable insights for network security management
In terms of improvement for Darktrace, pricing is the main concern. Pricing bothers me and this is one of the major factors when choosing a solution. When we get feedback from customers, that's the only felt need. When we factor in Darktrace, we do it only limited. We put it on where the perimeters and connections are, but still, some gray areas are left out, especially if we have multiple branches. We need Darktrace on each branch to get the data out, and I suggest having some kind of a centralized product that gets data from multiple sources to aggregate and provide the data.
HP
Cloud Consultant at Ensono
Service provider benefits from effective email security management and seeks enhanced customer support
Reporting could be one of the areas for improvement, as they could put more reporting into Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) natively rather than requiring additional licensing or connecting to other parts of the Microsoft suite, but it depends on the license you have. There aren't significant concerns with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), as it depends on what customers expect; if they expect more features, then it depends on what Microsoft 365 license they have. The important thing is to ensure they are using all the security features they get with their licensing. The basic one is Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP). While it's nice to have more functionality, that's available through other licensing programs with Microsoft. While we'd prefer more features, as a basic tool, it's fine, but more advanced features come with the add-ons from other parts of the Microsoft 365 licensing. One feature that could improve Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is automated malware detection, where it actually analyzes the file offline in a sandbox to determine if it's safe, potentially reducing false positives.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business44
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise29
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise10
 

Questions from the Community

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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 meant for smaller to medium-sized businesses. It is also a good option for organ...
What do you like most about Darktrace?
A very useful feature in Darktrace for real-time threat analysis is the packet inspection that analyzes the packet traffic in real time.
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?
The user interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) has room for improvement, as at times it doesn't make sense where to go to access certain features.
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is basically to protect ourselves from phishing emails and to improve our email security.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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.
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Darktrace vs. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.