Sophos Email vs Symantec Messaging Gateway comparison

The compared Sophos and Broadcom solutions aren't in the same category. Sophos is ranked #10 in Email Security , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 2.0% mindshare in the category. Broadcom is ranked #9 in SEG , with an average rating of 8.5, and holds a 2.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Sophos users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Sophos Email

Read 33 Sophos Email reviews

2,129 Views
1,916 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Symantec Messaging Gateway

Read 20 Symantec Messaging Gateway reviews

1,269 Views
406 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Sophos Email

Symantec Messaging Gateway

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Sophos Email and Symantec Messaging Gateway based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Security solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway Report (Updated: January 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway

January 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 870,697 peers since 2012

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

Sophos Email

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Email Security (10th), Office 365 Protection (1st)

Symantec Messaging Gateway

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Messaging and Collaboration solutions, they serve different purposes. Sophos Email is designed for Email Security and holds a mindshare of 2.0%, down 2.4% compared to last year.
Symantec Messaging Gateway, on the other hand, focuses on Secure Email Gateway (SEG), holds 2.6% mindshare, up 2.5% since last year.

Email Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sophos Email	2.0%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	11.4%
Proofpoint Email Protection	8.2%
Other	78.4%

Email Security

Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway	2.6%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	27.6%
Proofpoint Email Protection	21.0%
Other	48.8%

Secure Email Gateway (SEG)

Featured Reviews

BhanuPrakash

Technical Head at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Achieving Seamless Email Security and Encryption while Managing Temporary Email Storage Limits

We continue to use Sophos products and remain with the company. For firewall protection, we use XGS systems. We have provided Sophos Email Gateway for one of our clients. We have integrated Sophos Email with our internal email server, using it for both outbound and inbound traffic. Integration with Office 365 protection for Sophos Email Security works smoothly without any challenges. The solution is totally cloud-based. I recommend Sophos Email for mid-sized companies as it is a good option, though it may not be ideal for large-scale or small businesses. I have not tried incorporating AI technology with Sophos Email yet. I am Bhanu Prakash, Technical Head for Systek Services, and can be reached at b.hanu@teamsistek.com. I am a partner with Sophos. Overall rating for Sophos Email: 10/10.

Read full review

Dennis O'Reilly

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.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The anti-spam functionality of Sophos Email is good."

"I have found Sophos Email to be scalable."

"I found the user interface friendly."

"Good VIP protection, time of click protection and the Sandstorm feature."

"The tool's most valuable feature is the anti-spam detection filter. Its threat email intelligence features help to identify email data."

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

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

"The platform is scalable when installed on server-based systems."

More Sophos Email pros

"Symantec Messaging Gateway is stable and scalable. Installation is easy, and the deployment and maintenance can be done by one administrative person."

"Symantec is a secure product."

"The solution is stable and the performance is good."

"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."

"The cloud-based interface is very user-friendly."

"The most valuable features of Symantec Messaging Gateway are advanced content filtering, malware, and antivirus defense."

"The solution is "set and forget". You pay for it and everything is done for you."

"It is a solid and stable product."

More Symantec Messaging Gateway pros

Cons

"It was sometimes hard to find the settings in the solution's interface."

"The security of the solution could improve."

"A lot of legit emails get quarantined."

"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."

"The solution's technical support is slow and unresponsive. You need to book time in order to get support."

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

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

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

More Sophos Email cons

"The solution takes up a lot of memory."

"The documentation could have more detailed examples of how to use the product in various situations. As more companies shift to the cloud, they could better integrate the on-prem and cloud versions through an on-prem client."

"The product must improve the user dashboards."

"The solution interface is from 2003 and is outdated. Symantec Messaging Gateway needs to update the interface."

"They really need to create a good package that competes with Microsoft."

"Symantec Messaging Gateway can improve detection because most of them are false negatives or false positives that we are trying to troubleshoot. Additionally, we are having routing problems and they are somehow connected to DNS issues."

"What needs to be improved in Symantec Messaging Gateway is its local partner support, as it's not as technical. The support my company gets from the partner isn't good. Vendor support is good, but local partner support isn't. I'm happy with Symantec Messaging Gateway as a solution, but the problem is with its partner support. To me, Symantec Messaging Gateway is a complete solution, but it can be very difficult to search the web for resolutions to issues or problems you experience from it. If this could be improved or resolved in the next release of Symantec Messaging Gateway, then that would be good."

"This product would benefit from better integration with Symantec Endpoint Protection."

More Symantec Messaging Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"The solution is expensive."

"The tool's pricing is medium."

"We use exchange licenses, for which we get immediate support from Sophos."

"There is an additional fee for their central managed console."

"The pricing is fair."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten."

More Sophos Email pricing and cost advice

"They're a little costly compared to Microsoft."

"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."

"Symantec Messaging Gateway’s pricing is very cheap."

"For 150 users, we pay INR 1,60,000."

"A subscription for technical support costs extra."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

21%

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

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?

Regarding Sophos Email pricing, I would rate it between six or seven out of ten.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Sophos Email?

While Sophos Email is generally sufficient, one challenge we face is the 24-hour email storage limitation. This presents an issue when internal systems are down for more than 24 hours. The solution...

See all answers

What do you like most about Symantec Messaging Gateway?

Symantec is a secure product.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Symantec Messaging Gateway?

The solution takes up a lot of memory. The system becomes slow. The performance must be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Symantec Messaging Gateway?

We use the solution to secure our data and emails.

See all answers

Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Sophos Email

Compared 21% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Sophos Email

Compared 10% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 9% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 8% of the time

Mimecast Email Security vs Sophos Email

Compared 2% of the time

More Sophos Email Competitors

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 24% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 11% of the time

Trend Micro Email Security vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 6% of the time

More Symantec Messaging Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email

September 2025

Download Sophos Email product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Messaging Gateway

September 2025

Download Symantec Messaging Gateway product report

Also Known As

Sophos Email Security

Symantec.cloud, Symantec Email Security.cloud

Overview

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

Symantec Messaging Gateway is a comprehensive email security solution designed to protect organizations from advanced threats and spam. It combines multiple layers of protection, including anti-malware, anti-spam, and data loss prevention, to safeguard sensitive information and ensure email continuity.

With its advanced threat intelligence and machine learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks, such as ransomware and spear-phishing. The solution also offers robust encryption and authentication features to secure email communications.

Its intuitive management console provides administrators with granular control and real-time visibility into email traffic. Symantec Messaging Gateway is a reliable and scalable solution that helps organizations mitigate email-borne threats and maintain a secure messaging environment.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

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

Doric, Joblink Plus, Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta, PPB Advisory, Slater & Gordon Lawyers, Sydney Adventist Hospital Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway

January 2024

Free Report: Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway

Find out what your peers are saying about Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway and other solutions. Updated: January 2024.

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