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Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 5, 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

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Cloud Email (4th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud is 4.6%, down from 4.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Messaging Gateway is 3.1%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud4.6%
Symantec Messaging Gateway3.1%
Other92.3%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

HR
Senior Network Security Engineer at Vibs
Provides solid functionality and allows room for enhancing content management and support services
They can improve their CDR content profile and some anti-spam features. They don't have any direct script to run to add personalization, and we have to do it manually one by one. There are many tasks which we have to complete individually. We can't import files into the Fortinet FortiMail Cloud sensors. That's a drawback, as they need to provide a feature to import files. We can make the format, but we cannot import the file into Fortinet FortiMail Cloud. Additionally, in Fortinet FortiMail Cloud, not in FortiSandbox, they need to improve the block and allow list functionality to block URLs and allow specific types of URLs or regex.
Dennis O'Reilly - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber SecOps Principal at Dotcom Security
The product provides good content filtering options, but the false positive submissions must be improved
The tool is very stable. I rate the stability a seven out of ten. It's an on-premise application that runs on a virtual machine. It has dependencies on the hypervisor host that we're running it on. If it's not configured, the application can be influenced by it. Sometimes, there is a service stop error while the service is still running. Sometimes, the service just stops. Some policies do not act the way that we intend them to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features are the low price and its ability to integrate with other Fortinet products."
"The scanners with FortiMail are valuable."
"The most valuable features are filtering and sandboxing."
"The implementation was very professional. There are a lot of features I can get through Fortinet and FortiMail, such as security. FortiGuard is the most reliable and professional mitigation center to handle incidents and risk that I have to face."
"Fortinet and other software ensure that my company's email remains safe, helping to avoid access issues at some cost in production."
"With Office 365, I would recommend using this solution as there would be no problem and everything will be taken care of."
"Overall, it is a comprehensive and reliable solution."
"FortiMail Cloud is very fast."
"The stability is good; it's not buggy or glitchy, it works well, the performance is good, and they kept up with security patches."
"We use the solution for its advanced virus protection, phishing and other features."
"I've been using Messaging Gateway for ten years."
"The main thing that I appreciate about this product is that the database of spam, malware, and ransomware is very large."
"I like that it's simple and easy to configure, deploy, and manage. The reporting function has all the features we're looking for, and we are fine with that."
"The solution is "set and forget". You pay for it and everything is done for you."
"The cloud-based interface is very user-friendly."
"Symantec is a secure product."
 

Cons

"In endpoint security, they are not at the latest quadrant. That is why a customer with existing endpoint security solutions like Trend Micro might prefer a main security solution from that vendor."
"They could look at strengthening anti-spam with the newly observed domains."
"I've not been able to use more than two domains in the back end. I like to view logs for the different domains. If I add any other domain I'm not able to get a proper cPanel for that domain. I am talking about the login factors. I'm not able to see logs for different domains in a different Window. Basically, it's an issue in the login process."
"Its GUI needs improvement."
"The product could be improved by extending reporting tools and adding options for notification."
"This ease of use and user-friendliness is something we believe could be improved in FortiMail."
"Fortinet FortiMail Cloud doesn't have AI features, making it an outdated tool for me."
"I would like to see more advanced sandbox features, where you can actually download to a machine where you can test."
"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."
"Support could be better. What's also lacking when you compare it with Proofpoint and other threat protection solutions is that it does the basic stuff, but we need more advanced threat handling."
"Since it was purchased by Broadcomm, we've found there's been a general slide in terms of the local services we have access to and we are considering replacing them."
"They really need to create a good package that competes with Microsoft."
"It will provide Excel reports and PDF reports, but it would be great if they supported the concept of Crystal Reports."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway should include better exclusions and exceptions for better administration."
"Sometimes the solution picks up false positive for viruses during scans."
"They have updated the version of the Messaging Gateway and the new features they are adding the need to be re-evaluated. They have done some changes on the policy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A license for our company using FortiMail and FortiCare (filtering and support) was $4000."
"When we're talking about pricing, other products have about the same price. That is normal."
"The price of this solution could be more competitive."
"The pricing depends on various factors, including the type of licenses and subscriptions you have procured"
"You only have to purchase one license for multiple participants."
"It's on a subscribed basis."
"I see how manageable and flexible the licenses are."
"The product's price is reasonable."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
9%
Construction Company
7%
University
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
The price of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud in Egypt is very competitive against other products, including the setup cost and licensing of this solution.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
The improvement in Fortinet FortiMail Cloud can be made regarding the classification process itself because it has some false positives.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
I have experience working with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud as a mail gateway, not a firewall, and we have been using it for about three or four years. I have worked with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud for t...
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Also Known As

No data available
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.