Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Fortinet FortiMail vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 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
6.7
Fortinet FortiMail boosts email security, reduces costs, and saves time, enhancing operational efficiency through seamless integration and advanced features.
Sentiment score
6.3
Proofpoint Email Protection offers strong phishing defense, significant ROI, but faces navigation challenges impacting operational efficiency.
It offers cost savings compared to Cisco, which was very expensive.
System admin at Environment Fund
The ideal situation would be to have all these portals combined into one unified dashboard.
Information Security Architect at Loews Hotels
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiMail's customer service is generally praised for efficiency, especially elite support, despite occasional standard support delays.
Sentiment score
7.0
Proofpoint Email Protection customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise but needs improvement in documentation and lower-tier support.
I have direct communication with Kenyan system engineers and local support in Ethiopia, enabling good support.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
Mainly, they are focusing on Fortinet FortiMail and FortiAnalyzer, where the support engineers are very good.
Head of the IT Security Division at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Fortinet's technical support offers high-quality support.
System admin at Environment Fund
I am familiar with the granular policy control feature of Proofpoint Email Protection, and I find their support excellent for modifying those policies.
Senior Cybersecurity Specialist at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
I rate customer support a three out of ten mainly because of the phishing attacks that are getting through.
Information Security Architect at Loews Hotels
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable and flexible, efficiently adapting to varying organizational sizes, though some hardware limitations exist.
Sentiment score
7.5
Proofpoint Email Protection is praised for scalability due to its cloud-based design, benefiting large organizations despite cost constraints.
Fortinet FortiMail is scalable and can be expanded in large environments.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The scalability of Fortinet FortiMail depends on whether you are buying a virtualized license, which allows for a scalable pay-as-you-go model, or if you are buying a box.
Head of the IT Security Division at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Proofpoint is scalable for multi-site organizations with thousands of users.
Products and solutions director at ITVikings
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.3
Fortinet FortiMail is highly stable and reliable, with rare issues quickly resolved and seamless integration with other Fortinet tools.
Sentiment score
8.1
Proofpoint Email Protection is highly stable, reliable, and efficient, consistently earning high user ratings despite occasional server issues.
This stability is consistent across Fortinet products, including FortiGate firewall.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiMail needs a more intuitive interface, better integration, enhanced security, simpler encryption, and improved spam filtering.
Proofpoint Email Protection struggles with integration, setup complexity, high costs, and needs enhancements in detection, support, and features.
The transition from on-premises devices to virtual appliances may be necessary as more organizations migrate email services to the cloud.
Head of computer systems at Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology(IIST)
There are also false positives issues, especially with signed PDF attachments.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Providing comprehensive documentation on how to deploy and configure would improve the solution.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
Proofpoint Email Protection can improve in how it analyzes alerts by using more AI within its product suite to eliminate repeat alerts, such as filtering down the same attack to generate only one alert.
Information Security Architect at Loews Hotels
Proofpoint could expand its phishing detection capabilities to improve its efficiency.
Products and solutions director at ITVikings
More security could be implemented.
Logistics Manager at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiMail offers competitive, scalable pricing with flexible licensing, valued for performance and security despite some expense concerns.
Proofpoint Email Protection pricing is considered high but offers value with no extra fees beyond the subscription cost.
Fortinet FortiMail is considered overpriced by Indian rupee standards.
Head of computer systems at Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology(IIST)
The setup cost is a little bit costly.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Customers pay around $90,000 yearly for a 1,000-user organization, with the subscription license being the main expense, apart from implementation fees.
Products and solutions director at ITVikings
Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
Logistics Manager at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiMail excels in email security with user-friendly features, advanced threat protection, and seamless integration with Fortinet products.
Proofpoint Email Protection offers anti-spam, phishing prevention, AI detection, and integrates with Office 365 for robust, affordable security.
Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial.
System admin at Environment Fund
Fortinet FortiMail is recognized for its effective handling of spam and phishing.
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The most valuable features are Fortinet FortiMail's ability to protect from advanced features of email-based attacks, including protection against ransomware and malware attacks.
Network & Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
What I appreciate about the DLP portion specifically is that it is very detailed and customizable.
Information Security Architect at Loews Hotels
The main feature I find most effective is that Proofpoint Email Protection scans emails and quarantines the doubtful ones.
Logistics Manager at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
I appreciate that it's the industry leader, and its firewalling is very easy to manage and implement.
Senior Cybersecurity Specialist at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
67
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Proofpoint Email Protection
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (2nd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 3.5%, down from 5.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 7.9%, 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 (%)
Proofpoint Email Protection7.9%
Fortinet FortiMail3.5%
Other88.6%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

Abhimanyu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
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.
DD
Information Security Architect at Loews Hotels
Email security has increased analyst workload but has improved detailed data loss controls
I have not seen specific outcomes or metrics since implementing Proofpoint Email Protection, such as a reduction in phishing incidents or improved response time. Proofpoint Email Protection can improve in how it analyzes alerts by using more AI within its product suite to eliminate repeat alerts, such as filtering down the same attack to generate only one alert. In summary, using AI more within the platform would reduce our workload. I would suggest advanced phishing training that uses AI to generate phishing training simulations and to catch and filter more phishing attacks. Proofpoint Email Protection feels like just the baseline approach, which is very static.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
880,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise22
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
In my opinion, points for improvement for Fortinet FortiMail include sometimes the speed and fine-tuning the false positive problems, especially with the signed PDF attachments and the whitelist an...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of pricing, it is okay compared to others. I would say it is normal. Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
I believe they still need to improve by consolidating some portals, as currently, you have to log in separately to a few of them.
 

Also Known As

FortiMail
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Proofpoint Digital Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Proofpoint Email Protection and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,685 professionals have used our research since 2012.