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Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comparison

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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

Kaspersky Security for Mail...
Ranking in Email Security
29th
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
10th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Email Security
2nd
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 5.2%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Email Security Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 3655.2%
Kaspersky Security for Mail Server0.8%
Other94.0%
Email Security
 

Featured Reviews

ZS
Systems Specialist/ Administrator at ALFA International Company Limited.
User interface updates needed but achieves cost savings and threat protection
We are using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server to enhance our email system’s security and protect against threats Kaspersky Security for Mail Server handles spam and phishing attempts well. I have not experienced any spam issues. Its malware detection effectively manages the security of our…
Emeka Ndulu - PeerSpot reviewer
Cloud Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Improves threat visibility and response while reducing manual tasks and training users against phishing
I appreciate the attack simulation feature whereby I get to train users and educate them on how to identify phishing emails and spam emails, as well as the anti-spam protection. It gives me visibility into my threat environment and threat landscape to ensure that I am one step ahead of any likelihood of threats within my environment. I get to detect it and respond, so the threat intelligence is very effective. Microsoft security solutions save my time. It saves money because once I protect my environment, I don't lose money. It has decreased my detection time and my time to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Kaspersky Security for Mail Server provides protection against email spams and blacklisted emails which are suspicious, making it a good product."
"You can install the plugins on the same machine hosting your exchange solution. It's a good complement for Sophos security, which scans the traffic before it reaches your mail service. Kaspersky is on the mail server itself while Sophos handles the incoming traffic. With both of them working together, we have the perfect solution for mail."
"With both of them working together, we have the perfect solution for mail."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution."
"I find the product valuable because it provides easy integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls."
"The primary use case of this solution is to filter emails and only allow the legitimate ones through."
"The integration rate is very high in Kaspersky, which is why most of our customers like it."
"The most valuable features are the anti-phishing and anti-spam capabilities."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 helps people to work remotely. It is a secure solution. We don't need to use our company's computers or get VPN connections to the networks. I can control how they share screens and what they send to the devices. It keeps our organizations confidential and sensitive information safe."
"The most valuable aspect of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is its ability to protect us from malware."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"The risk level notifications are most valuable. We get to know what kind of intrusion or attack is there, and we can fix a problem on time."
"It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a cloud-based email filtering service that helps protect our organization against unknown malware and viruses by providing robust zero-day protection and includes features to safeguard our organization from harmful links in real-time."
"One of our clients didn't have the budget to invest in a SOC team, but we deployed the solution for them, and they now run a SOC with only one analyst."
 

Cons

"Sometimes Sophos has the patch to block a novel threat, but Kaspersky doesn't."
"I rated the overall solution a five out of ten. If a user is looking for a low-budget solution with mid-level security without AI features, Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is suitable."
"Kaspersky lacks in the area of customization, so simpler customization options need to be provided to users."
"The solution is not 100 percent stable and that can use improvement."
"The biggest problem in the solution is related to its license renewal since it is pretty hard in Kaspersky to find out the procedure to renew a license."
"It would be great if Kaspersky could do what Sophos does for us. However, we love having these two different technologies doing the same thing. Sometimes Sophos has the patch to block a novel threat, but Kaspersky doesn't."
"I have only made contact via email, and it is a little slow. I would give customer service a rating of six or seven. Improving Spanish support would greatly benefit users."
"Encrypted email attachments are not being monitored by this solution, which is an area that they need to work on."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 must improve the overall management style, including the GUI. It also needs to change the filters so that it is easy to whitelist and blacklist data."
"It would be better if it were more scalable. It depends on the architecture, but we would like to make it more scalable for both data centers."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"To improve Microsoft Defender for Office 365, it would be nice to have more accessibility for users to see on their end what they are doing that could cause a threat."
"The visibility into threats is not up to the mark, as I do not have control. I rate my experience with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 as six out of ten due to troubleshooting and pricing concerns."
"The changes to customer service, specifically the new model for support agreements, are not favorable."
"Microsoft wants its well-paying customers to finish testing some of its half-baked products, find bugs, and report bugs back to Microsoft's team, which is a little frustrating for those who have to manage it and roll it up to thousands of people across the organization."
"One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I would rate this product a four out of five. It could be a bit cheaper."
"The solution offers one of the best prices possible to its users, making it even better than Barracuda. Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is ten times cheaper than Barracuda."
"My company makes annual payments towards the licensing costs solution."
"The solution is not expensive."
"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"The product is expensive."
"The product is very expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
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912,069 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Retailer
13%
Construction Company
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
The pricing is moderate. It is not expensive but not cheap either. For Mexico, a good price is about 20 dollars per agent.
What needs improvement with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
Regarding Kaspersky Security for Mail Server, I have not compared with other solutions, but I will compare and provide feedback. It is a reliable and fast security solution, and I can say it blocks...
What is your primary use case for Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?
I work on a mail protection service, specifically Kaspersky Security for Mail Server. I work with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My experience with pricing, setup, and licensing is that it's actually quite reasonable even on the licensing side as a standalone product. It's very competitive compared to what competitors are ch...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
I think Microsoft Defender for Office 365 can be improved by creating more educational pieces about not just looking for malware. We are seeing a lot more malware-less emails that Defender for Offi...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
My main use cases for Microsoft Defender for Office 365 include email hygiene.
 

Also Known As

No data available
MS Defender for Office 365
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Vimpel Com, Estrella Galicia, Krombacher
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Find out what your peers are saying about Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
912,069 professionals have used our research since 2012.