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Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway 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 Exchange Online P...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (9th), Anti-Malware Tools (14th)
Symantec Messaging Gateway
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
20
Ranking in other categories
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (12th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is designed for Anti-Malware Tools and holds a mindshare of 1.4%, up 1.2% compared to last year.
Symantec Messaging Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 3.0% mindshare, up 2.5% since last year.
Anti-Malware Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP)1.4%
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint6.0%
SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint3.1%
Other89.5%
Anti-Malware Tools
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway3.0%
Proofpoint Email Protection18.0%
Mimecast Advanced Email Security14.1%
Other64.9%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

NancyHartman - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Process Manager/ Educational Technologist at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Layered email security has protected sensitive research and still flags phishing in real time
The valuable features of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) include providing an additional layer of protection, as it builds on the basic Exchange level of security that allows us to get our work done. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to question things, as our Exchange server allows us to identify in real-time if an email is a phishing email or spam email. It really helps us identify risks, especially through our external exchanges via email or through our cloud-based platforms. Our Exchange system blocks any embedded AI from all our applications and products, so we cannot use embedded AI in our daily work from our official laptops because we have secure information. The system is quite locked down.
Dennis O'Reilly - PeerSpot reviewer
Cyber SecOps Principal at Dotcom Security
The product provides good content filtering options, but the false positive submissions must be improved
The tool is very stable. I rate the stability a seven out of ten. It's an on-premise application that runs on a virtual machine. It has dependencies on the hypervisor host that we're running it on. If it's not configured, the application can be influenced by it. Sometimes, there is a service stop error while the service is still running. Sometimes, the service just stops. Some policies do not act the way that we intend them to respond.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the solution in all our environments. We use it for remedy tickets and give them updates. It was our main communication point."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of administration. Other solutions require complex administration, but Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is easier."
"The email policy configuration options in Microsoft EOP are satisfactory."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is the accidental release of information protection capabilities, and additionally, the solution is easy to use."
"The simplicity and the easy deployment ensure that anybody who has worked on Exchange can easily work on this."
"The threat management feature includes policies and alerts that are valuable."
"Overall, I think it's really a great product."
"You can use the product to create special accounts."
"I've been using Messaging Gateway for ten years."
"The solution is "set and forget". You pay for it and everything is done for you."
"The solution is excellent at blocking spam."
"The feature that I like the best is the fingerprinting concept."
"The anti-malware and spam features are valuable."
"The solution is highly customizable. You can make rules for domains and configure policies for spam or malware. Messaging Gateway is an on-prem solution, so it's useful for companies without a cloud presence."
"What I like most about Symantec Messaging Gateway is its usability. I also find its interface very friendly. The solution has a very good interface."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable. Installation is easy, and the deployment and maintenance can be done by one administrative person."
 

Cons

"It kind of has a heavy footprint in terms of an implementation footprint."
"The security features could be better and more secure in the next release."
"It doesn't protect against everything. We do need protection for, for example, endpoints."
"I would like to get reports about vulnerable connections from our clients with information about domains, public IPs, etc. That would be highly useful."
"The management interface of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) could be intuitive."
"Besides price, the main room for improvement includes the sandbox or something similar; the usability that solutions are focused on."
"The price of Microsoft Exchange Online Protection could be reduced to make it more competitive."
"The product needs more granularity. Some features, like encryption, are not available."
"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."
"It will provide Excel reports and PDF reports, but it would be great if they supported the concept of Crystal Reports."
"It could be more scalable."
"We've had issues in the past where the user finds spam, and Symantec does not recognize it as spam."
"The solution interface is from 2003 and is outdated. Symantec Messaging Gateway needs to update the interface."
"Support could be better. What's also lacking when you compare it with Proofpoint and other threat protection solutions is that it does the basic stuff, but we need more advanced threat handling."
"They really need to create a good package that competes with Microsoft."
"It is a nice product but is not user friendly in terms of the graphical interface. It is poor and is not rich in terms of the human interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is excellent."
"It is a low-price solution."
"It's a high price."
"Microsoft Exchange Online Protection is a good solution at an affordable price. It is a good investment."
"The solution is priced high and could be less expensive compared to other solutions."
"The solution's pricing is subscription-based rather than a yearly licensing cost. Pricing is based on the size of the environment and company and can be expensive."
"The pricing for the solution depends on what you are trying to achieve with the use of the product, but I know that it is not a cheaply priced product. Yearly payments have to be made towards the licensing fees of the solution."
"The solution falls on the higher or more expensive side of the spectrum."
"A subscription for technical support costs extra."
"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."
"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."
"The cost of Symantec Messaging Gateway is too expensive in general. However, the appliance also includes the price of the license in the same bundle."
"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."
"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Outsourcing Company
19%
Construction Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
From an end-user point of view, I am quite happy with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) because my favorite feature is the ease with which I can identify if an email is a phishing email or...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) serves as the main use case for my company because, as a research company, we require a very high level of security. We use multiple authentication method...
What advice do you have for others considering Microsoft Exchange Online Protection?
My experience with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) is from an end-user perspective, and I do not have admin management experience. I am not familiar with the Advanced Threat Protection f...
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Also Known As

Microsoft EOP, MS Exchange Online Protection
Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, SentinelOne, OPSWAT and others in Anti-Malware Tools. Updated: August 2026.
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