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 8.5, and holds a 2.0% mindshare in the category. Broadcom is ranked #12 in SEG , and holds a 2.5% 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 34 Sophos Email reviews

2,303 Views
2,050 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Symantec Messaging Gateway

Read 20 Symantec Messaging Gateway reviews

1,275 Views
459 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Sophos Email

Symantec Messaging Gateway

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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 880,745 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) (12th)

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 2.5% mindshare, down 3.0% since last year.

Email Security Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Sophos Email	2.0%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	9.6%
Proofpoint Email Protection	7.9%
Other	80.5%

Email Security

Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Symantec Messaging Gateway	2.5%
Microsoft Defender for Office 365	24.2%
Proofpoint Email Protection	20.3%
Other	53.0%

Secure Email Gateway (SEG)

Featured Reviews

Kalyan Chowdhury

Founder at Computech infosysetm

Stronger email and mobile security has protected users from ransomware and simplified management

Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two or three years due to a 7 to 8% hike per year, twice a year, which is why we have some renewals on Sophos Email, Sophos XDR, EDR, and the firewall, but due to price hike, they are unable to renew it. The price is going to be very high. It would be better if Sophos can provide a more flexible pricing model for different types of businesses. Price could be lower. The main competitor for Sophos in the market is Palo Alto, which has reduced their price by more than 35 to 40%, making it a very challenging part to sell this product. Palo Alto provides the same functionality for email security, which adds to the challenge because the price is going very high.

Read full review

Girish Vijay

Deputy Manager IT at Carl Bechem Lubricants India Pvt. Ltd.

A stable and reasonably priced solution that performs well and has a very good malware database

Since Symantec merged with Broadcom, they might have lost some good technical engineers. Maybe that’s the reason why the product is performing poorly. When we have a good marketing and sales team, even though our product cannot perform, we will sell it at a high price because of the buzzwords. However, at the end of the day, the product should perform. Most of the products might not perform. Symantec is a very good product, but the services are basic. I rate the technical features of the product a nine out of ten. However, I would rate the services provided by the solution a six out of ten. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

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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 anti-malware, risk scanning has been pretty spot on."

"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."

"I rate Sophos Email nine point five."

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

"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 main use case for Sophos Email is its robust security features; we are effectively blocking spam and phishing attempts, and we have strong control over these aspects."

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

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

More Sophos Email pros

"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."

"The solution is excellent at blocking spam."

"Messaging Gateway is stable."

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

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

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

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the content filtering policies because the solution offers huge options for configuration, such as hardware manipulation, et cetera, and the dictionaries make the work easier."

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

More Symantec Messaging Gateway pros

Cons

"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 solution should be able to support the cloud environment."

"The solution has not found a way to block certain kinds of phishing emails."

"The tool’s stability should be improved."

"Sophos Email does not work with split delivery. If I have a domain with 100 mailboxes and want to protect only 50, it is not recommended by Sophos or not possible to configure."

"Price is obviously a challenging part, and I think it is the biggest problem we have suffered from over the last two or three years due to a 7 to 8% hike per year, twice a year, which is why we have some renewals on Sophos Email, Sophos XDR, EDR, and the firewall, but due to price hike, they are unable to renew it."

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

"Sophos Email could improve DLP features."

More Sophos Email cons

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

"They have updated the version of the Messaging Gateway and the new features they are adding the need to be re-evaluated. They have done some changes on the policy."

"Messaging Gateway's advanced malware detection could be improved."

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

"We've had issues in the past where the user finds spam, and Symantec does not recognize it as spam."

"It could be more scalable."

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

"The biggest problem is it's an on-prem product and we're trying to get out of having equipment in data centers."

More Symantec Messaging Gateway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"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."

"The pricing is fair."

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

"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."

"The pricing could improve by having additional discounts. For example, when customers buy have more than 50 or more users, there should be additional discounts."

"Sophos Email is priced lower than its competitors."

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

More Sophos Email pricing and cost advice

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

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

"It's a bit expensive compared to its competitor Barracuda Email Security Gateway but cheaper than Sophos Email."

"A subscription for technical support costs extra."

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

"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."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
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?

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Comparisons

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Sophos Email

Compared 16% of the time

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Sophos Email

Compared 8% of the time

Proofpoint Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 7% of the time

Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 7% of the time

Barracuda Email Protection vs Sophos Email

Compared 7% of the time

More Sophos Email Competitors

Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 17% of the time

Trend Micro Email Security vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 14% of the time

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 12% of the time

Fortinet FortiMail vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Secure Email vs Symantec Messaging Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

More Symantec Messaging Gateway Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Sophos Email

December 2025

Download Sophos Email product report

Buyer's Guide

Symantec Messaging Gateway

December 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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See our Sophos Email vs. Symantec Messaging Gateway report.

We monitor all Email Security reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.