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SonicWall Email Security vs Sophos Email 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

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Sponsored
Ranking in Email Security
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Email Archiving (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (10th), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (1st)
SonicWall Email Security
Ranking in Email Security
35th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Sophos Email
Ranking in Email Security
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Office 365 Protection (1st)
 

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 SonicWall Email Security is 0.5%, down from 0.6% 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 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Constantnos Achilleos - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides strong email filtering and threat intelligence but pricing needs improvement
I work with SonicWall Email Security SonicWall Email Security uses multi-layer cloud security. It filters emails before they come to my provider, such as Office 365. It has real-time threat intelligence and provides strong data loss prevention. Additionally, it filters emails before they reach my…
Ahmed_Fahmy - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the individuals within our organization who are affected."
"Since we have started using the solution, there have been fewer compromises."
"Some of the valuable features on the email side are anti-phishing, anti-malware, and Safe Links."
"There are several features that I consider valuable."
"The product's scalability is good."
"Scalability-wise, I do not think there are any issues so far."
"The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not."
"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."
"The most valuable features are the anti-spam, anti-phishing, anti-virus, and anti-spoofing."
"SonicWall Email Security uses multi-layer cloud security."
"Setup was easy. It took about 30 minutes."
"The product is easy to manage in terms of configurations."
"Beside a few issues with specificity in the email protection controls, this product is very good at handling email security."
"The most valuable feature is that it protects from spam."
"The most valuable feature of SonicWall Email Security is the blocking of emails using keywords. If there are any particular keywords in the subject, that we want to block from receiving from a particular person we can do it. Additionally, the blocking of emails is easy. we can release that one and we can block some of the keywords also like that."
"According to our customers, the product's most valuable feature is the ability to detect spam and reduce phishing emails."
"I find the comprehensive features of Sophos Email most valuable."
"The solution's identity proxy feature is very good and reliable."
"The platform is scalable when installed on server-based systems."
"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 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 most significant aspect is the response filtering concerning attachments and links."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"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."
 

Cons

"There needs to be an improvement in integrating the product to work across multiple operating systems, and to have better support for non-Microsoft file types."
"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."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."
"Microsoft security solutions work as expected. They are constantly updating the solutions to make them better. At the same time, the changes can impact a customer's environment, and we need to adjust settings. Sometimes we aren't aware of the changes, and nothing is pushed from the backend automatically."
"The GUI is sometimes slow to fetch the device report and could be improved."
"The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved."
"We need a separate license and we don't know how to get the license that is required."
"They need well-trained partners in Nigeria."
"A lot of spoofed emails are still coming to the end-user, so the configuration for this option needs to be improved."
"The technical support from the company is not always very good at solving issues, but they offer access to a good community of users where problems are easily solved."
"We would like to see more information on a dashboard about what is happening when it comes to spamming and malware."
"The reporting needs improvement."
"The platform's control panel needs enhancement."
"Updates could be released more frequently."
"SonicWall Email Security could improve by making the file blocking and the release feature easier to use"
"However, the setup was tricky, particularly with the DNS routing between Microsoft Exchange Online and Sophos cloud services. It took me about four attempts to get it working correctly. Despite that, Sophos Email does everything we need, so we don't require any additional capabilities now."
"The product could include all the essential features and capabilities, similar to the on-premise, server-based version."
"The solution has not found a way to block certain kinds of phishing emails."
"The solution's technical support is slow and unresponsive. You need to book time in order to get support."
"The solution should be able to support the cloud environment."
"Their technical support is slow to respond."
"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."
"Enhancing rule creation and customization features would provide users with greater control over their email security settings."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is very expensive."
"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"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."
"The pricing is normal. Considering its popularity, it's not overpriced."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
"The pricing has become expensive."
"When compared with Cisco, it is very well priced. Cisco is very expensive."
"The platform offers a yearly license."
"I rate the application’s pricing a five out of ten."
"Our customers purchase the solution's yearly license."
"The overall price of SonicWall Email Security should be reduced and there should be an option to purchase one or two licenses more instead of their current policy of bulk increases only. There should be more flexibility in the licensing model. Each license cost approximately $33 annually."
"We have a two-year license subscription and the price is very high."
"The cost is cheaper than Sophos. I would rate it as five out of ten."
"We use exchange licenses, for which we get immediate support from Sophos."
"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."
"Licensing is paid on a yearly basis."
"It falls somewhere in the middle—it's not excessively expensive nor very cheap."
"I rate the price of Sophos Email a four out of five."
"Sophos Email is neither cheap nor expensive."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Wholesaler/Distributor
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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...
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.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Microsoft could improve by offering recommendations for domain spoofing attacks, especially scenarios where DNS recor...
What do you like most about SonicWall Email Security?
According to our customers, the product's most valuable feature is the ability to detect spam and reduce phishing ema...
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?
Sophos Email pricing is a bit high, especially since I purchase through a partner, and they sell it at a higher price...
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...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
Dell SonicWALL Email Security Platform, SonicWall Hosted Email Security
Sophos Email Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
Star Kay White, Locala Community Partnerships
Del Monte Foods, Terra Verde, spicerhaart, RIVERLITE, Dataprise, SureBridge, Reed's School, Sayfol International School
Find out what your peers are saying about SonicWall Email Security vs. Sophos Email and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.