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

Fortinet FortiMail vs Sophos Email comparison

Sponsored
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 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

Cloudflare One
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
20th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (13th), Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (20th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (12th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (7th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (12th), Access Management (11th), Bot Management (3rd), ZTNA as a Service (9th), ZTNA (4th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (10th), Remote Browser Isolation (RBI) (3rd)
Fortinet FortiMail
Ranking in Email Security
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
68
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Email
Ranking in Email Security
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Cloudflare One is 1.7%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiMail is 3.2%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 1.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiMail3.2%
Sophos Email1.8%
Cloudflare One1.7%
Other93.3%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

CV
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.
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.
Kalyan  Chowdhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Computech infosysetm
Stronger email and mobile security has protected users from ransomware and simplified management
Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two or three years due to a 7 to 8% hike per year, twice a year, which is why we have some renewals on Sophos Email, Sophos XDR, EDR, and the firewall, but due to price hike, they are unable to renew it. The price is going to be very high. It would be better if Sophos can provide a more flexible pricing model for different types of businesses. Price could be lower. The main competitor for Sophos in the market is Palo Alto, which has reduced their price by more than 35 to 40%, making it a very challenging part to sell this product. Palo Alto provides the same functionality for email security, which adds to the challenge because the price is going very high.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cloudflare DDoS mitigates DDoS attacks."
"Cloudflare, in my opinion, was easy to implement."
"Cloudflare Access is part of the Zero Trust philosophy."
"Using Cloudflare One makes my work quite easy because for DDoS protection, all I need to do is understand the OSI model and click; it makes it easier than trying to write a command line or use a Linux command."
"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."
"The tool also offers good scalability, and the dashboard, along with real-time analytics, is very good."
"Cloudflare is simple to use."
"For Cloudflare Access, I am using the free plan...The most valuable feature is their protection."
"Fortinet FortiMail is easy to use and the detection rate is very good. You can customize content filters and profiles are done easily. Additionally, there is a sandbox integration feature that is good."
"FortiMail has a low cost and high support."
"From our experience with Fortinet FortiMail, we have found that it's a very strong platform for ensuring company security."
"The integration with FortiSandbox is good, and something that we utilize often."
"We have definitely seen ROI. My emails are safer. We don't have any more spam or phishing emails. The users are safe now. I don't have to worry about what emails my team is getting. It makes my life easier."
"The filtering is really effective to protect any mail environment of any company."
"Its threat detection capabilities have been beneficial."
"We compared it to Sophos, but it is more for users that aren't IT experts."
"I found the user interface friendly."
"Sophos already has Sandbox, and if any issues are identified, Sophos blocks that particular mail and site instantly, which is why customers are very happy and safe from other attacks."
"Sophos offers a giant suite through their central managed console, they became MSP friendly."
"Our client recently received many emails, and their employees didn't realize these emails were phishing attempts. Consequently, they clicked on them and fell victim to the attack. Therefore, it is important to secure their system with Sophos Email Security."
"I cannot guarantee any email by its name. It can be spam. Sophos Email helps to double-check whether an email is spam or not. It has a dashboard which gives an overview of the alerts."
"Endpoint and server protection are very effective."
"You will find a lot of value in this solution and the small difference in price should not matter, it does protect well."
"The speed and stability were fine."
 

Cons

"There are premium tier live service and lower tier live service, so we opted for the lower tier. But there is no medium tier where we pay a little extra and get a bit more service. So if that can be improved."
"The onboarding process can be improved a little bit."
"When there are any dynamic changes in complex applications, the tool takes a lot of time, making its analytics-related area a major matter of concern where improvements are needed."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform needs to improve its documentation. It took time to do the implementation."
"For the topic of improvement, providing some training material is one of my suggestions."
"Our customers no longer use Cloudflare because its service is subpar."
"Cloudflare DDoS has poor technical support."
"The pricing is an area that can be improved. Pricing, as far as I recall, was the source of our problems."
"Maybe FortiMail's integration could be better."
"I think they need to look into it and improve their signatures. This will help with blocking incoming spam emails."
"It would be nice if we could manage the solution from the cloud so I could handle things off-site if necessary."
"ortiMail has some latency issues and sometimes takes time to receive emails."
"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."
"Fortinet FortiMail can be improved in terms of its dashboard, which is small and not visually appealing, making deeper investigations difficult."
"I need a stable update in the product that stays for a long time instead of having to deal with frequent updates."
"I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface."
"The tool has some performance issues and bugs, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Their technical support is slow to respond."
"Sophos Email can improve security."
"The security of the solution could improve."
"A lot of legit emails get quarantined."
"The main drawback is regarding the technical support."
"There have been some issues with compatibility and effectiveness, particularly when integrating it with our firewall. The main challenge has been email protection, especially due to compatibility issues and difficulties with log access and email relay configuration."
"Email installation could be more user-friendly so that it can be done without involving the partner."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price tag is no longer $200,000, but rather $300,000 to $400,000. It's twice."
"The solution's pricing lacks transparency."
"The solution is not that expensive."
"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."
"The pricing is somewhere in the middle. I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"Cloudflare Zero Trust Platform's pricing is good."
"The prices are slightly expensive."
"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."
"Fortinet FortiMail is a little bit expensive."
"I find Fortinet FortiMail pricing reasonable. There's no additional cost apart from its standard licensing fees."
"The fees for Fortinet FortiMail can be complicated. However, overall the pricing is fair."
"We paid approximately $30,000 for the solution. It is less expensive than some other solutions. We have one license that carries all the features that we wanted."
"The solution is quite pricey compared to other competitors in the market."
"If you don't need the full bundle that includes everything, you have options for the small or medium enterprise environments."
"It is an expensive product."
"In terms of licensing, we are using a virtual machine license for the single virtual server which it runs on. Doing it this way enables us to cut costs by only licensing FortiMail for our exact use case. If you need to expand in future, you can later buy extra licenses per virtual machine."
"The pricing is fair."
"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten."
"The platform is inexpensive. It offers a cost-effective licensing model. We purchase its yearly license."
"I rate the price of Sophos Email a four out of five."
"Licensing is paid on a yearly basis."
"The pricing could improve by having additional discounts. For example, when customers buy have more than 50 or more users, there should be additional discounts."
"I would rate the pricing of Sophos Email as a six. It is considered affordable as a standalone product, and there are no additional costs besides licensing. The pricing is fixed."
"Sophos Email is a little expensive for us, but it's necessary. We have a subscription and renew it every three years."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Email Security solutions are best for your needs.
892,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
21%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access has strong integration with Microsoft, among other platforms. However, when it comes to Kaspersky, ...
What is your primary use case for Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access provides secure access to internal applications for employees, external members of the organization...
What advice do you have for others considering Cloudflare Access?
Cloudflare Access is one of the best integrations available. While about two hundred vendors offer similar services, ...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail?
I think they should improve Fortinet FortiMail on-premises by enhancing its user interface. Additional features they ...
What do you like most about Sophos Email?
The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Email?
Regarding Sophos Email pricing, I would rate it between six or seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with Sophos Email?
Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two ...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

23andMe
Magromer Cueros y Pieles S.A.
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiMail vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
892,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.