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Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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...
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 (2nd), Email Security (2nd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (8th)
Webroot Advanced Email Encr...
Ranking in Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
15th
Average Rating
7.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is 12.4%, down from 27.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix is 1.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Office 36512.4%
Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix1.5%
Other86.1%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
John Zupancic - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice President / Branch Manager / Senior Technician at Aperion Information Technologies, Inc.
Inexpensive, with good email security, but the technical support could be improved
We don't have as many problems with email security. They have some areas that could be improved. For example, we also use this solution for email encryption, which was clunky and could be improved, but the email security itself has been excellent. The web interface works well but the Outlook plug-in has been problematic. We've had to uninstall/reinstall it. On some Outlook clients (including mine), it causes Outlook to stop responding. I disabled the Outlook plug-in and only use the web interface.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is not resource-intensive."
"The insights provided with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 are helpful because it comes with the E5 license, and by default, we can use a lot of capabilities."
"The DLP feature of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is valuable, and we also use the DLP feature for email real-time detection."
"At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."
"Defender has reduced the time our security team spends on tasks by 10 to 15 percent, allowing us to focus on other areas."
"The deployment capability is a great feature, and we're able to activate this feature throughout France with a click."
"Safe attachments, safe links, policies, and the ability to protect from zero-day threats are the most valuable features."
"Defender for 365 is a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The value of the cloud is that you aren't alone. Threat intelligence and analytics are shared in the cloud. We don't have to find the solution alone. If you face an unknown threat with traditional solutions like Trend Micro and Symantec, you need to open a case and send your information to them to analyze forensically and identify the source of the attack."
"They do a better job of determining what's real and what's not than most of the other solutions we have tried, and it's been very painless to use."
 

Cons

"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."
"This product's effectiveness could be improved, in terms of detecting unwanted spam or even malware between the emails, compared to other products."
"One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration."
"If you look at other products, such as Wiz or Palo Alto's cloud, because they also have similar components in terms of how they protect cloud infrastructure or enable cloud security, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is not up to that extent."
"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."
"They can improve their security in a way where a customer can know if all their attachments are safe or not to open through a report. The solution does its job perfectly, but it never reports to the customer whether those attachments have been stopped before or not."
"The certification training for Defender for 365 needs to be deeper and incorporate Sentinel. I took all the security courses except one, and Sentinel isn't included."
"Specifically, within Microsoft Defender for Office 365, I want it to improve the DLP capabilities."
"They have some areas that could be improved. For example, we also use this solution for email encryption, which was clunky and could be improved, but the email security itself has been excellent."
"Because the encryption has been very clunky, I would rate Zix Email Encryption a seven out of ten."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is expensive because the cost is based on the number of users."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"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."
"Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
"For large enterprise organizations, they can definitely afford it, but for small and medium organizations, they might struggle to cover the expenses."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"The product is very expensive."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"In terms of pricing, I believe they provide excellent value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise32
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Zix Email Encryption, ZixEncrypt
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Erie County of Pennsylvania’s Human Services Department, Justice Federal Credit Union, STAR Financial Group, Chisago County, Minn., The National Banks of Central Texas, Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), Frankfort, Ky, Athletico Physical Therapy, District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB), CIBM Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint, Microsoft, Mimecast and others in Secure Email Gateway (SEG). Updated: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.