Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs Sophos Email comparison

Kaspersky and Sophos are both solutions in the Email Security category. Kaspersky is ranked #30 with an average rating of 7.0, while Sophos is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.0. Kaspersky holds a 0.8% mindshare in Email Security, compared to Sophos’s 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Kaspersky users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Sophos users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 3, 2024

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server and Sophos Email both operate in the email security solutions market. Based on advanced capabilities, Sophos stands out due to its innovative features, though at a higher price point.

Features: Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is known for strong malware protection, efficient spam filtering, and a straightforward setup process that supports integration into existing systems. Sophos Email provides advanced threat protection with AI-driven threat intelligence and sandboxing, includes inbound email scanning, and offers comprehensive data loss prevention. Sophos leverages AI technologies for better threat detection and response, offering a proactive approach to new security challenges.

Room for Improvement: Kaspersky can enhance its email security by integrating AI-driven technologies to tackle emerging threats more effectively. Its user interface could be modernized for better user experience, and expanding its feature set to include direct data loss prevention can provide added value. Sophos Email, on the other hand, could improve by minimizing the complexity of deployment, reducing false positives, especially with firewall integration, and offering more competitive pricing options without sacrificing features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Kaspersky Security for Mail Server offers an easy deployment process, allowing it to fit smoothly into most business infrastructures. The customer service is reliable, ensuring seamless operation. Sophos Email, despite its complexity due to advanced features, provides exceptional customer support that helps guide clients effectively through setup, reducing disruptions and ensuring optimal deployment.

Pricing and ROI: Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is recognized for its competitive pricing, providing robust security solutions at a lower cost, resulting in strong ROI for cost-conscious businesses. Sophos Email, while requiring a higher upfront investment, presents superior ROI through its comprehensive set of advanced features, which justify the cost for businesses prioritizing state-of-the-art security.

To learn more, read our detailed Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Sophos Email Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Sophos Email

June 2025

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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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Email Security category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.6%, down from 17.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Email is 2.1%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Email Security

Featured Reviews

Tolu Omolaja

Head of Department of Network Communications at Eko electricity

Great URL scanning and attachment scanning, but I would like more proactive threat analysis

The two main features that prove most beneficial for us are URL scanning and attachment scanning. URL scanning involves an automatic scan of links and emails. When a user clicks on a link within an email, the system promptly checks the link's safety. If the link is deemed safe, access is granted automatically. However, if it is flagged as unsafe, we receive feedback and notification to caution us about the potentially harmful link. At this point, we are presented with the option to proceed or return. I have personally witnessed the system identify a few unsafe links, making this the primary advantage of using the solution. The second crucial aspect is the scanning of attachments. When an email containing an attachment arrives, we receive a notification of the new email, along with information that the attachment is being scanned for threats. This additional layer of security provides peace of mind for our organization. While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 offers numerous features, these two stand out as particularly impressive and valuable to us.

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Taha Khaleel

Chief Operations Officer at PRO-VISION

A highly reliable solution that provides monitoring capabilities and protection to multiple types of devices

The initial setup of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server is very easy. The initial setup of Kaspersky Security for Mail Server takes around four minutes. The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises. For the deployment process, you can buy the solution in a CD form or purchase it directly from the company website and activate it. My company needs managers, engineers, and developers to deploy the solution. The number of people required for the deployment process changes from time to time, so all the staff are included not just for the deployment of the solution but also to make improvements to the solution in the future. You can contact Kaspersky to see if they can provide the solution with integration capabilities for your company by providing you with an open account, which I haven't tried yet, though I plan to try it in the future.

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Ahmed_Fahmy

Operations Technical Lead at IT Supporters

Provides a powerful and simple email protection with proven management benefits

Sophos Email is integrated with Office 365 and Google Workspace. It offers anti-spam functionality, which is easy to manage and comes with documentation on how to integrate it with Office 365 and Google Workspace. It provides a defense layer for email protection, scanning every incoming and outbound email for malware and spam. It can also function temporarily as an email solution if my vendor from Office 365 or Google Workspace is out of service.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The good part is that you don't have to configure it, which is very convenient."

"It also gives me good visibility because, with Defender, I'm using a Microsoft product to defend Microsoft products. The integration was really seamless and I have wide visibility because it picks up almost everything. Literally, I can see almost every activity that happens, from the e-mail to the workstation itself."

"The deployment capability is a great feature."

"The DLP feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is valuable, and we also use the DLP feature for email real-time detection."

"The most valuable feature is protection against malicious links, fishing, and impersonation. You can train people to be aware of these threats, but they're not always careful. When they're using their phones between meetings, they click on a link, and it's game over."

"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."

"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."

"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."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pros

"We have achieved cost savings of up to thirty percent by using Kaspersky Security for Mail Server."

"The most valuable features are the anti-phishing and anti-spam capabilities."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution."

"The most valuable feature is the straightforward setup."

"I find the product valuable because it provides easy integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls."

"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."

"The integration rate is very high in Kaspersky, which is why most of our customers like it."

"The feature of Sophos Email that we find most effective for detecting suspicious emails is primarily based on their signatures."

"I would recommend Sophos Email to both end-users and other entities that want to protect their emails."

"Sophos Email offers encryption and malware protection, provides visibility into emails, has 99% accuracy in catching spam, enhances organizational safety, integrates with various vendors like Microsoft, is deployable with any email service, prevents data loss, features authentication rules, synchronizes with Active Directory and Azure, and includes a self-service portal. The product is very flexible."

"The solution protects users from phishing links and spam."

"I find the comprehensive features of Sophos Email most valuable."

"The tool is a good solution for protecting against email attacks and monitoring networks. It supports our compliance efforts and is easy to use and stable."

"The best thing about it is the logs."

"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."

More Sophos Email pros

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 could improve by giving customers information on techniques to prevent threats. For example, information about best practices on how to protect their own devices against hackers and scammers, such as educational information or training. This would help others have a better understanding of cyber security. Additionally, there can be more security features added."

"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."

"I am generally satisfied with how it currently is. If I could improve anything, I would reduce the cost."

"Configuration at the mid-level could be improved for the support team."

"The changes to customer service, specifically the new model for support agreements, are not favorable."

"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."

"The XDR dashboard has room for improvement."

"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 cons

"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."

"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."

"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."

"Encrypted email attachments are not being monitored by this solution, which is an area that they need to work on."

"Kaspersky lacks in the area of customization, so simpler customization options need to be provided to users."

"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."

"The solution is not 100 percent stable and that can use improvement."

"I would like to see improvements in the initial setup process, ensuring better compatibility with diverse customer infrastructures."

"Email installation could be more user-friendly so that it can be done without involving the partner"

"A lot of legit emails get quarantined."

"Sophos Email needs to increase the number of promos."

"The tool's pricing is expensive. In its future release, the tool should make reporting easier to view."

"The tool’s stability should be improved."

"Sophos Email has few improvements to implement, including the handling of incoming emails in the systems. It needs to add additional feature that helps in enhancing the scanning processes of these emails. While adding these features, it should work towards improving the current features also."

"Email installation could be more user-friendly so that it can be done without involving the partner."

More Sophos Email cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."

"Microsoft Defender is expensive. I typically recommend it only if clients have the budget. Otherwise, I would suggest an alternative."

"From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."

"It's a user-base subscription."

"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."

"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."

"The product is very expensive."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 pricing and cost advice

"The solution is not expensive."

"My company makes annual payments towards the licensing costs solution."

"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."

"Most of our clients are on a perpetual license. If there is a budget issue, they can choose a subscription. However, most of the clients choose the perpetual license."

"I rate the price of Sophos Email a four out of five."

"The platform is inexpensive. It offers a cost-effective licensing model. We purchase its yearly license."

"It is an expensive solution. On a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price, I rate the pricing a seven."

"The pricing is affordable, so I’d rate it around a four out of ten on the pricing scale. We pay about fifty pounds a month, including hardware so that costs may differ without it."

"Sophos Email is neither cheap nor expensive."

"It falls somewhere in the middle—it's not excessively expensive nor very cheap."

"The tool's price is reasonable. On a yearly basis, there is a 20 percent increase in prices, but it is not an issue."

More Sophos Email pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

12%

University

10%

Retailer

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of variou...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Microsoft is quite affordable with a lot of features available for any size organization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS recor...

See all answers

What do you like most about Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?

The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it is a highly reliable and dependable solution.

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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 a...

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What needs improvement with Kaspersky Security for Mail Server?

I believe integration with other platforms like Fortinet firewalls and a feature similar to a SIEM ( /categories/secu...

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What do you like most about Sophos Email?

The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Sophos Email?

Sophos Email pricing is a bit high, especially since I purchase through a partner, and they sell it at a higher price...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Email?

Sophos Email does not work with split delivery. If I have a domain with 100 mailboxes and want to protect only 50, it...

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Comparisons

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 13% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 7% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 5% of the time

Avanan vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Compared 3% of the time

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Fortinet FortiMail vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 31% of the time

Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 11% of the time

Security Gateway vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 10% of the time

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Kaspersky Security for Mail Server

Compared 8% of the time

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Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Sophos Email

Compared 11% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 7% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Sophos Email

Compared 6% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 6% of the time

IRONSCALES vs Sophos Email

Compared 3% of the time

More Sophos Email Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

May 2025

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 report

Download Microsoft Defender for Office 365 product report

Buyer's Guide

Email Security

June 2025

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server report

Download Kaspersky Security for Mail Server product report

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email

May 2025

Download Sophos Email product report

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365

No data available

Sophos Email Security

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

Microsoft

Email is the number one vector used by cybercriminals to penetrate and attack enterprise IT systems.

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server uses Next Generation technologies including advanced heuristics, machine learning and sandboxing to detect and protect against ransomware, spam, phishing, data loss and even unknown threats penetrating your IT systems through emails and malicious attachments.

Kaspersky

Sophos Email is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and data loss. It offers robust protection against malware, phishing attacks, and spam, ensuring that only legitimate emails reach users' inboxes.

With advanced threat intelligence and machine learning algorithms, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks in real-time. Additionally, it provides encryption and data loss prevention capabilities to safeguard sensitive information.

The solution is easy to deploy and manage, with a user-friendly interface and centralized control. Sophos Email offers seamless integration with popular email platforms, ensuring uninterrupted communication while maintaining security.

With its comprehensive features and proactive approach, Sophos Email is a reliable choice for organizations looking to enhance their email security.

Sophos

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.

Vimpel Com, Estrella Galicia, Krombacher

Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School

Buyer's Guide

Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Sophos Email

June 2025

Free Report: Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Sophos Email

Find out what your peers are saying about Kaspersky Security for Mail Server vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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