Today, digital threats keep changing. Strong email security isn’t just nice to have; it’s a must for all businesses. Nasty emails, like phishing scams, viruses, and ransomware, can cause significant problems. They can lead to stolen data, lost money, and hurt your company’s good name. This guide will help you understand, compare, and pick the best email security software. These tools will protect your private information and keep your emails safe.
Why Email Security is So Important
Email is often where cyberattacks start. Just one click on a bad link or file can harm your whole computer network. Good email security does more than stop spam. It uses innovative ways to find threats, prevent data loss (DLP), and act as a secure email gateway (SEG). This helps it find and stop complex online dangers before they reach your inbox. Keeping sensitive data safe, running your business smoothly, and building trust are key reasons to invest in top-level email security.
What to Look For in Email Security Software
Before we look at specific providers, let’s understand the main things that make email security solutions different.
- Advanced Threat Protection (ATP): Can it use special areas (sandboxing), change links (URL rewriting), and use AI to stop new threats, phishing, and fake business emails (BEC)?
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Can it stop private information from being sent outside your company by mistake or on purpose?
- Easy to Use: Is the system simple for managers and users? How hard is it to set up and keep running?
- Works With Other Systems: Does it connect easily with your current email (like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace) and other security tools?
- Support & Help: What kind of customer help is available? How fast do they reply? Is there good written help?
- Cost & Value: Does the price fit your budget? Do you get many features for your money?
- Special Features: What makes this software different from others? Does it offer exceptional protection for specific industries or types of attacks?
- Free Trials: Can you test the software before you buy it?
Top Email Security Software Providers: A Close Look
We looked at many reviews, including those from Gartner Peer Insights. Here’s a detailed comparison of the best email security software providers.
1. Proofpoint Threat Protection
- Features: Strong threat detection against phishing, malware, and ransomware. Uses machine learning to find old and new threats. It has many reports and dashboards, stops misdelivered emails, and changes URLs.
- What Makes it Unique: Proofpoint sees more threats than anyone. It uses a huge global system that checks over 100 billion data points every day. It offers top-level security for big companies and a strong defense against email dangers.
- Who it is Best For: Big companies that need robust and complete email threat protection. This includes protection for email, web, cloud, and social media.
- Easy to Use: Reviews say setting up rules is simple. Outlook add-ons update smoothly.
- Works With Other Systems: Connects easily with Microsoft 365.
- Free Trials: Usually available if you ask for a demo.
- Support: Sales support reviews are mixed, but the tech team usually replies quickly.
2. Mimecast Advanced Email Security
- Features: Smart threat detection (phishing, malware, spam), web browsing safety, email never stops working, archiving, and DMARC protection. AI helps find threats by checking over a billion emails daily.
- Prices: You usually need to ask them for a price.
- What Makes it Unique: Mimecast is known for its whole approach and long history in email security. Its Cybergraph tool helps users spot suspicious emails.
- Who it is Best For: Companies that want a complete email security solution, especially those using Microsoft 365 a lot and needing strong archiving and continuous email service.
- Easy to Use: Easy to set up, with great onboarding help. Some users think the look of the system could be better, especially the Outlook add-in.
- Works With Other Systems: Connects easily with Microsoft 365 and other email systems using the API.
- Free Trials: Demos are usually available.
- Support: Invaluable Technical Account Managers (TAMs) who know a lot. Support requests are handled quickly.
3. Abnormal Human Behavior AI Platform
- Features: An AI-based cloud email security system. It uses machine learning to stop smart incoming attacks. It also finds hacked accounts in email and other connected apps. It protects against phishing, malware, ransomware, social tricks, fake executive emails, supply chain attacks, and hacked internal accounts.
- What Makes it Unique: Abnormal AI focuses on finding strange human actions. This helps it spot very targeted and often hidden attacks that other email security might miss.
- Who it is Best For: Companies that want advanced, AI-powered protection against thoughtful and personal email attacks, especially fake business emails (BEC).
- Easy to Use: Not much detail here, but its AI focus means it should be automated and easy to manage.
- Works With Other Systems: Focuses on connecting with email and other linked apps.
- Free Trials: A free plan is available.
- Support: Not much detail here.
4. FortiMail (Fortinet)
- Features: Strong anti-spam and anti-phishing tools. It filters unwanted emails well and offers good protection against email threats. It also encrypts emails and helps prevent data loss (DLP).
- What Makes it Unique: FortiMail is excellent for companies already using Fortinet products. It connects tightly and offers a single security approach across all Fortinet products.
- Who it is Best For: Companies already using Fortinet products that want one security system with strong email protection.
- Easy to Use: Generally works well. You should adjust it to get fewer false alarms.
- Works With Other Systems: Connects perfectly with other Fortinet products.
- Free Trials: Not directly mentioned, but demos are usually available for business solutions.
- Support: Not much detail here.
5. Microsoft Defender for Office 365
- Features: A cloud-based email filtering service. It protects against threats to email and team tools (like SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams). It includes advanced threat protection against phishing, malware, and spam.
- What Makes it Unique: It works very well with Microsoft 365. It offers a built-in and complete security layer for companies that use many Microsoft products.
- Who it is Best For: Businesses that use Microsoft 365 apps a lot and want an email security solution that fits perfectly.
- Easy to Use: Good at stopping threats, but the user interface could be more straightforward. The phishing simulation could be better.
- Works With Other Systems: Excellent built-in connection with Microsoft 365.
- Free Trials: 30-day free trial.
- Support: Generally good service and support.
6. Barracuda Email Protection
- Features: Many layers of defense against email threats. This includes email gateway protection, API-based inbox security, web security with URL and DNS filtering, encryption, archiving, security awareness training, and backup for Microsoft 365.
- Prices: Starts at $0.98 per user per month (minimum 10 users).
- What Makes it Unique: Barracuda offers many types of security. It has a wide range of security tools beyond just email. This makes it a strong choice for companies wanting one security vendor. Best for preventing data loss.
- Who it is Best For: Businesses of all sizes looking for a complete, cloud-first, business-grade email security solution. It has strong data loss prevention and Microsoft 365 backup.
- Easy to Use: Generally simple to set up and use.
- Works With Other Systems: API-based inbox security suggests a good connection with different systems.
- Free Trials: 14-day free trial.
- Support: Not much detail here.
7. IRONSCALES Email Security Platform
- Features: An AI-powered system that finds, stops, and fixes phishing attacks in real time. It mixes machine learning with human knowledge. It protects against stolen login info, malware, and fake business emails (BEC). It’s strong at stopping phishing and outside threats.
- Prices: A free plan is available.
- What Makes it Unique: IRONSCALES focuses on people. It combines AI with security experts’ ideas to fight clever phishing.
- Who it is Best For: Companies that need strong anti-phishing tools and quick automated responses to problems.
- Easy to Use: The system is easy to understand and use. It connects smoothly.
- Works With Other Systems: Not much detail, but it generally connects well with current email systems.
- Free Trials: A free plan is available.
- Support: Excellent support and quick replies from the Customer Success Manager.
8. Darktrace / EMAIL
- Features: Uses special AI to find, fight, react to, and recover from cyber attacks. It finds threats very well and reacts on its own. This dramatically improves email security.
- What Makes it Unique: Darktrace’s “Autonomous Response” AI is special. It stops threats on its own once set up, offering a “set and forget” solution.
- Who it is Best For: Companies that want very advanced, AI-driven, and automatic email security, especially for those facing complex threats.
- Easy to Use: AI made email security much better without bothering employees.
- Works With Other Systems: Not much detail here.
- Free Trials: Demos are available.
- Support: Not much detail here.
9. Trustifi Email Security
- Features: Complete email security on a cloud platform (SaaS). It aims to keep critical data safe and protect a company’s name. It offers intelligent threat detection, strong email filtering, encryption, and secure email tracking.
- What Makes it Unique: Very easy to set up and use. Often solves problems right away without needing complex DNS or system changes—strong focus on safely sharing private client information.
- Who it is Best For: Businesses of any size, especially those in real estate or other fields that often send and receive private client data. They want a strong, easy-to-use, and dependable solution.
- Easy to Use: Super easy to set up and use. Simple to understand and navigate.
- Works With Other Systems: Easy setup for Google and M365 systems.
- Free Trials: Not directly mentioned, but probably available.
- Support: Amazing support from sales to setup.
10. TitanHQ Email Security
- Features: A top secure email gateway. It offers complete protection against spam, malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. It has a powerful spam filter that catches 99.99% of spam, with almost no false alarms (0.0003%). It includes protection against CEO impersonation, phishing/spear phishing, link checking, full sandboxing, protection against brand new attacks, email spooling, spoofing protection, SPF/DKIM/DMARC checks, and encryption.
- What Makes it Unique: Great spam filtering that catches almost everything with very few mistakes. Offers many layers of protection for incoming and outgoing emails.
- Who it is Best For: Small and medium businesses (SMBs) and managed service providers (MSPs) that need strong incoming email protection and a good value solution.
- Easy to Use: Simple to manage and connect with existing email systems.
- Works With Other Systems: Works well with Office 365.
- Free Trials: 14-day free trial plus a free demo.
- Support: Not much detail, but a fully supported trial is mentioned.
Top Software Providers Comperison
| Provider | Gartner Peer Insights Rating | Starting Price (Approx.) | Best For | Unique Selling Proposition |
| Proofpoint | 4.6 / 5 (1416 reviews) | $3.48/user/month | Large enterprises that need robust, comprehensive protection. | Largest threat intelligence network, checking over 100 billion data points daily. |
| Mimecast | 4.5 / 5 (589 reviews) | Price on request | Microsoft 365 users with strong archiving needs. | Holistic approach, long history in email security, Cybergraph tool for spotting suspicious emails. |
| Abnormal AI | 4.8 / 5 (340 reviews) | $3.00/user/month | Companies wanting advanced, AI-powered protection against highly targeted and personalized attacks (especially BEC). | Focus on detecting abnormal human behavior for highly targeted and hidden attacks. |
| Fortinet | 4.9 / 5 (272 reviews) | $2.29/month | Companies already using Fortinet products seeking a unified security ecosystem. | Seamless integration with existing Fortinet products for a single security fabric. |
| Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | 4.2 / 5 (349 reviews) | $5.00/user/month (billed yearly) | Businesses heavily using Microsoft 365 seek a perfectly integrated security solution. | Native, built-in security layer that integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. |
| Barracuda | 4.6 / 5 (423 reviews) | $0.98/user/month | Businesses of all sizes need a complete, cloud-first, business-grade solution with strong DLP and M365 backup. | Broad suite of security tools beyond just email, strong data loss prevention. |
| IRONSCALES | 4.8 / 5 (340 reviews) | Free plan available | Companies needing strong anti-phishing capabilities and rapid, automated incident response. | Human-centric approach, combining AI with the expertise of security analysts to combat clever phishing. |
| Darktrace | 4.8 / 5 (298 reviews) | Price on request | Organizations seeking highly advanced, AI-driven, and autonomous email security for complex threats. | “Autonomous Response” AI for a “set and forget” solution that stops threats independently. |
| Trustifi | 4.6 / 5 (81 reviews) | $8.33/user /month | Businesses handling sensitive client data (e.g., real estate) needing an easy-to-use, robust, and reliable solution. | Exceptionally easy setup and use, often resolving issues without complex DNS/system changes, focus on secure client data sharing. |
| TitanHQ | 4.4 / 5 (from a review site), 813 ratings (SourceForge) | $1.95/user/month | SMBs and MSPs needing strong inbound email protection and excellent value. | Outstanding spam filtering accuracy with extremely low false positives. |
Conclusion
Picking the best email security software is a very important choice. It affects how well your company can stand up to cyber threats. Each solution has its mix of features, prices, and strengths—which is why platforms like Defend My Business can help. With access to 100+ trusted email security vendors, they make it easier to compare options tailored to your needs.
The “best” choice depends on your exact requirements, budget, and current setup. Look closely at ratings, features, ease of use, integration capabilities, and support for each provider. Defend My Business simplifies this by offering expert-curated vendor comparisons, so you don’t have to sift through endless options alone.
Always try free trials or demos to test the software firsthand before committing. A little research—or the right partner—can save you from costly security gaps down the road.
