No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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)
12th
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 September 2026, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud is 4.0%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Messaging Gateway is 3.0%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud4.0%
Symantec Messaging Gateway3.0%
Other93.0%
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

"If there is a problem somewhere Fortinet can act on it immediately. That is very important."
"The quarantine feature of FortiMail is the most valuable, as it quarantines emails based on my policies."
"The product's initial setup is straightforward and simple, making it an easy-to-use tool."
"We chose this solution because of the spam and virus scanners."
"FortiMail Cloud is very fast."
"The most valuable features are email ATB and Malware Analysis."
"Fortinet FortiMail Cloud has had a positive effect on our organization since we can classify each email coming to our organization."
"I am happy with the stability."
"The solution is highly customizable. You can make rules for domains and configure policies for spam or malware. Messaging Gateway is an on-prem solution, so it's useful for companies without a cloud presence."
"It has very good capabilities for managing malware."
"The solution is stable and the performance is good."
"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."
"We use the solution for its advanced virus protection, phishing and other features."
"It is a solid and stable product."
"The main thing that I appreciate about this product is that the database of spam, malware, and ransomware is very large."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway has a huge knowledge base about phishing, spamming, spoofing, etc."
 

Cons

"This solution is expensive, so the pricing could be improved to be more competitive."
"Fortinet policies add an extra load to the endpoint."
"Networking should be simplified."
"I can't see the feedback to the FortiMail gateway."
"They could look at strengthening anti-spam with the newly observed domains."
"This ease of use and user-friendliness is something we believe could be improved in FortiMail."
"The price is relatively expensive."
"Fortinet FortiMail Cloud doesn't have AI features, making it an outdated tool for me."
"What needs to be improved in Symantec Messaging Gateway is its local partner support, as it's not as technical."
"Where it is not available, as is the case with unstructured data, this product fails miserably."
"Sometimes the solution picks up false positive for viruses during scans."
"The product must improve the user dashboards."
"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."
"If the customer has to think about budget and solutions to reduce IT cost, they should get away from Symantec and try using Microsoft."
"The solution takes up a lot of memory."
"In a later release, it would be nice if the messaging gateway supported the cluster feature."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we're talking about pricing, other products have about the same price. That is normal."
"It should cost around $60,000. We bought it as a bundle, so everything comes together in the license. That is standard."
"I see how manageable and flexible the licenses are."
"You only have to purchase one license for multiple participants."
"The product's price is reasonable."
"The price of this solution could be more competitive."
"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud a five on a one to ten scale, where one is the low price, and ten is the high price. It is an averagely priced product."
"A license for our company using FortiMail and FortiCare (filtering and support) was $4000."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
"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."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Email Gateway (SEG) solutions are best for your needs.
914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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: August 2026.
914,109 professionals have used our research since 2012.