Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Sep 5, 2023

We compared Proofpoint Email Protection and Barracuda Email Security Gateway across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:

  • Features: Users describe Proofpoint Email Protection as a convenient all-in-one solution that offers effective defense against phishing attempts. Barracuda Email Security Gateway’s stand-out features include sandboxing, diverse customization options, and a cloud environment.

  • Room for Improvement: Proofpoint Email Protection could make its interface clearer and simplify admin management. Barracuda Email Security Gateway users say the solution should add DomainKeys functionality, enhance anti-phishing measures, and introduce the ability to add multiple domains.

  • Service and Support: Proofpoint Email Protection’s customer service is described as responsive, professional, and knowledgeable. However, there are some concerns about availability. Customers have praised the customer service of Barracuda Email Security Gateway for its professionalism, responsiveness, and availability, rating it as good and reliable.

  • Ease of Deployment: Proofpoint Email Protection can be set up in a relatively short amount of time. Some users found it simple, while others mentioned that it requires technical skills. The setup process for Barracuda Email Security Gateway is described as simple and intuitive, requiring a few hours or a day to complete.

  • Pricing: The opinions on the cost of Proofpoint Email Protection vary, with some users finding it costly while others find it reasonable. Users say Barracuda Email Security Gateway is competitively priced.

  • ROI: Proofpoint Email Protection stands out with its robust phishing signature file, surpassing competitors in threat detection. Barracuda Email Security Gateway benefits users by minimizing business disruptions and reducing costs.

Comparison Results: Proofpoint Email Protection provides effective email protection and strong threat-detection features. However, it needs to simplify its user interface and administration. Barracuda offers a wide range of capabilities, customizable options, and excellent customer support. Suggestions for improvement are more prevalent for Barracuda, including better pricing, automation, and user interface. Opinions on pricing vary for both products, with some users considering Barracuda to be more affordable.

To learn more, read our detailed Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Proofpoint Email Protection Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The feature that sets Barracuda apart from other solutions is the Office 365 cloud-to-cloud backup.""All features it provides on the cloud environment are very, very useful, including the antivirus that is enabled on it.""It is a very stable solution.""Customer support is the solution's strongest point.""The client has the option to blacklist or whitelist any email address or domain based on the sender and recipient filters. If they want, they can restrict any IP addresses so email won't be received from those IP addresses.""Before this solution, we didn't have any separate feature for protecting our emails. We used to only have a firewall but now we have email security. It has a graphical interface and we can see the log every time. We can see that the performance is fine.""The most valuable feature of Barracuda Email Security Gateway is that it blocks almost 99 percent of threats from users' email inboxes.""The product safeguards user mail for gateway defense, data protection, business continuity, AI-based inbox defense, and automated threat detection and incident response."

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"It is a very scalable solution.""The Phish Alarm button allows users to submit questionable emails for review and complete analysis.""The most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection are the performance from being on the cloud.""Proofpoint Email Protection's advantage is that, when it's working properly, it tends to catch more threats as compared to other products.""Its main defense is to stop malicious emails from coming through. There is a sandbox environment where you can open malicious or suspicious emails to make sure that they're not malicious, instead of taking the risk of having your employees do it. This is definitely something that everybody needs nowadays, especially with the rise in cyber attacks.""Proofpoint Email Protection is the best solution from the perspective of email security.""The spam filter for email is good.""Proofpoint Email Protection's initial installation is straightforward. It took us less than a day to complete the implementation."

More Proofpoint Email Protection Pros →

Cons
"There are limited administration controls that should be improved.""Its integration with other solutions can be improved. There should be integration for telemetry information, system information, and other types of information with other solutions. Barracuda currently doesn't have that. Barracuda has its own platform. Its integration with firewalls is quite good, and it communicates really well with firewalls, but I have not seen any other integration. Based on what I know, it does have an API at the backend, but I have not used it.""Barracuda isn't catching everything. We're still getting quite a few phishing emails, so we're looking for something else.""Few customers require an on-premises fabric ATP box for attack detection and response.""The dashboard's UI could be improved to make changes to the blocklist.""Barracuda should have a sandbox feature in the appliances.""There are some times when legit emails are trapped on Barracuda and we are unable to get that information unless we actually log on to the network to find out.""There's a bit of configuration work that's needed with the DNS service provider, but other than that, everything else should be very smooth."

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"I would want better spear phishing protection in the essentials package.""The incident reporting on offer needs to be improved. It's lacking right now. It should be on the platform somewhere.""The product's deployment is complex and requires technical knowledge.""The email DLP portion could be a bit easier.""The stability and UI are the two areas of the solution with certain shortcomings that need improvement.""The reporting section could be enhanced. I like some reports but if they could allow us to create custom reports with more flexibility it would enhance the reports more.""The largest complaint that we hear from our customers is that there is no local support.""The solution's server console and cluster dashboard have been the same for four years so need to be upgraded."

More Proofpoint Email Protection Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "For overall value and cost, Barracuda came in as most appropriate, price as well as services provided. In terms of price, it's average . It's not the most expensive, it's not the least expensive but it works well."
  • "The price of this solution is very high, but it's working fine."
  • "Our licensing fees are approximately $4,000 per year, and this includes updates for the antivirus and spam signatures."
  • "As far as advanced email security systems, this product is mid-range on the pricing scale."
  • "The pricing for the product is fine."
  • "The licensing fees are part of a bundled support package that we pay for."
  • "We pay between $8 and $10 USD per user per month."
  • "The licensing cost is competitive, it's not too high and not too low."
  • More Barracuda Email Security Gateway Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Annually, it costs us about $92,000. This is pretty much what it costs us. There is no additional cost."
  • "The price is reasonable."
  • "Proofpoint is fairly expensive."
  • "The licensing is basically $8/user."
  • "It is multiple times more expensive, which made it very much less attractive."
  • "Pricing has recently been increased and the cost is a downside"
  • "The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
  • "Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive."
  • More Proofpoint Email Protection Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway is very simple to use.
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a cost-effective solution.
    Top Answer:Barracuda Email Security Gateway should include ATP in the next release.
    Top Answer:The product is costly. I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price. When you want to change what capabilities you want in the product, you… more »
    Top Answer:The whole configuration management piece of the product requires some work, as it is one of the areas where the tool has certain shortcomings. Though it is an easy-to-install product, it might be… more »
    Ranking
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    Average Words per Review
    420
    Rating
    8.0
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    2,144
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    24
    Average Words per Review
    443
    Rating
    8.2
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Barracuda Spam and Virus Firewall, Barracuda Sentinel
    Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe
    Learn More
    Overview

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is a robust security solution that allows users to protect themselves from external threats as well as from potential data leaks. It can be managed and monitored from a centralized location. Users can efficiently and easily keep track of every aspect of their security suite all at one time. Customized protections can also be set up in a matter of minutes.

    Benefits of Barracuda Email Security Gateway

    Some of the benefits of using Barracuda Email Security Gateway include:

    • Provides users with a comprehensive and robust suite of security features. Barracuda Email Security Gateway employs a suite of security features to keep users safe. It has an email filter that scans outgoing emails to keep sensitive data from being sent to the wrong parties. Additionally, its software allows users to keep an eye on potential threats in real time. Users can stay ahead of malicious actors and preserve the integrity of their systems.
    • Designed for easy deployment. Barracuda Email Security Gateway makes it easy for users to secure themselves. The solution comes pre-configured for quick rollout and use. Users can benefit from it fully without devoting a significant level of resources to deployment.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is an email security tool that stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the high level of flexibility that it gives to users and the solution’s powerful filtering feature. Barracuda Email Security Gateway offers users the ability to enact customizations that enable them to align the solution with their specific needs. It is highly flexible and allows for the completion of many different tasks. Additionally, it employs a powerful spam filter feature that gives users the ability to stop a large percentage of the threats to their devices before they get anywhere near their machines.

    Mohammed N., the assistant general manager at CoLoCity Data Center, writes, “There are many customizable options:

    • Attachment filtering, where we are filtering attachments according to our requirements.
    • IT-based configurations, where we allow domains. We are blacklisting domains that we do not want to pass through.
    • Rate Control feature, where we have the user license for 10,000 incoming and outgoing emails. Therefore, 10,000 users can use this device.

    The client has the option to blacklist or whitelist any email address or domain based on the sender and recipient filters. If they want, they can restrict any IP addresses so email won't be received from those IP addresses. Another interesting feature of Barracuda Email Security is the content filtering. If there is any word or sentence that we or our customers want to block, then we can add that thing in Barracuda Email Security Gateway. The content contained in the email will not be delivered or received by the recipient. Maximum customization options are available.”

    Igor G., the information security officer and data protection officer at a manufacturing company, writes, “The spam filtering feature, in particular, is very important for us. We have a large volume of emails each month, something like 200,000, and Barracuda filters about 85 percent of the spam, malware, and phishing that comes in. It prevents our users from receiving this content on their computers.”

    Proofpoint Email Protection is a machine learning email gateway that catches both known and unknown threats. Through Target Attack Protection, emails will be analyzed and potentially blocked from advanced threats while users gain visibility around these threats. The technology can also classify various types of email and can be deployed both on premises or as a cloud service. In addition, users can tag suspicious emails to help raise user awareness and track down any email quickly.

    Proofpoint Email Protection offers Advanced BEC Defense, which can precisely detect and block different types of emails, even if they don’t involve a malicious payload, such as business email compromise (BEC). Email Protection, which is powered by NexusAI, is a sophisticated detection technique developed to stop a variety of kinds of email fraud from affecting compromised accounts. It’s specifically designed to analyze message components, such as the sender’s IP address (including reputation and x-originating IP), the message header, and the message body. Using machine learning and AI, it will then determine if that message is a BEC threat.

    Benefits of Proofpoint Email Protection

    Proofpoint Email Protection is a favorite for organizations looking to utilize their cybersecurity budget accurately, and provides the user with incredible visibility. While preventing email fraud, the technology can also detect and block advanced malware as well as identifying possible risks.

    Email Protection offers many benefits, including:

    • Email warning tag - Raise user awareness and reduce the risk of possible compromises by automatically tagging suspicious emails.

    • Gain granular control of unwanted email - Gain control over low-priority emails through granular email filtering, which can pinpoint gray mail, like newsletters and bulk mail.

    • Multi-layered detection - Defend against continuous evolving threats with reputation and content analysis. Email Protection offers a dynamic classification of various emails, including malware, spam, phishing, imposter threats, and bulk email.

    • Smart search - Track down an email based on dozens of search criteria in seconds. Smart search also provides the ability to trace where emails came from.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Proofpoint Email Protection enables business continuity capabilities through their machine learning, AI-powered email gateway. With its innovative approach toward detecting, analyzing, identifying, and blocking advanced threats, users can gain unique visibility into their business data environments. Users especially like the ability to block spam, as well as the business email compromise protection.

    An anonymous reviewer who is a principal consultant at a tech company, notes, "Proofpoint is the main tool for blocking spam because it denies the connection altogether."

    Sridhar R., a security professional at Qatar Computer Services WLL, writes, "The most valuable features are the business email compromise protection and targeted attack prevention."

    Sample Customers
    Evolution Recruitment Solutions, Evans Delivery Company, Osoyoos Credit Union, Synovis Life Technologies, Camden County Technical Schools, DEK, Evans Delivery Company, Colgate Rochester Crozer, Hemmera, South Carolina Heart Center, Ferma Corporation, Major League Baseball (MLB), Healy Brothers Automotive Group
    Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm20%
    Manufacturing Company14%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Construction Company9%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization43%
    Computer Software Company10%
    Government5%
    Financial Services Firm4%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Computer Software Company15%
    Healthcare Company12%
    Retailer12%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization25%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business58%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise22%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise53%
    Large Enterprise25%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business46%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise32%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise34%
    Large Enterprise46%
    Buyer's Guide
    Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Proofpoint Email Protection
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Proofpoint Email Protection and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Barracuda Email Security Gateway is ranked 2nd in SEG (Secure Email Gateway) with 51 reviews while Proofpoint Email Protection is ranked 1st in SEG (Secure Email Gateway) with 44 reviews. Barracuda Email Security Gateway is rated 8.0, while Proofpoint Email Protection is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Barracuda Email Security Gateway writes "Robust email protection with advanced features such as effective spam filtering, virus and malware defense, phishing protection and high scalability". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Proofpoint Email Protection writes "A reasonably priced product that offers protection to emails, along with spam filters". Barracuda Email Security Gateway is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Fortinet FortiMail, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Cisco Secure Email and Check Point Anti-Spam and Email Security Software Blade, whereas Proofpoint Email Protection is most compared with Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Palo Alto Networks WildFire, Cisco Secure Email and Perception Point Advanced Email Security. See our Barracuda Email Security Gateway vs. Proofpoint Email Protection report.

    See our list of best SEG (Secure Email Gateway) vendors.

    We monitor all SEG (Secure Email Gateway) 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.