Global Tool Radar

Evidence-led software shortlist

Best Email Security Software

Compare 8 products that meet the research threshold. Ranking uses category-specific buying scores and keeps fit conditions, limitations, and evidence confidence visible.

Build a shortlist by buyer conditionSecurity & Privacy

Build a shortlist by buyer condition

Email Security Software

Filter by fit first, then compare cost, capability depth, and buying constraints. Rank is a starting point, not the decision.

#1

Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security's core Inbound Email Security offer uses API-based behavioral AI to detect and remediate phishing, business email compromise, vendor fraud, impersonation, malware, malicious links and attachments, QR-code attacks, spam, and other anomalous inbound messages without rerouting mail.

83Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
Strong fit for
  • Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace organizations replacing or augmenting a secure email gateway
  • Security teams prioritizing BEC, vendor fraud, impersonation, novel phishing, and payload-free attacks
Check before buying
  • Buyers requiring transparent public per-mailbox pricing or a permanent free edition
  • Organizations centered on on-premises or hybrid mail systems without a supported cloud mailbox platform
#2

Barracuda Email Protection

Barracuda Email Protection is a per-seat, cloud-managed email-security package that combines gateway and API-based defenses, impersonation and account-takeover protection, automated incident response, DMARC, encryption, data-loss prevention, continuity, and higher-edition Microsoft 365 data protection, archiving, and security awareness capabilities.

82Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Mid-market
  • Enterprise
  • Small business
Strong fit for
  • Small and midsize organizations that need broad email protection with 24/7 support
  • Enterprises combining secure email gateway and API-based inbox defense
Check before buying
  • Buyers requiring public numeric prices or deterministic contract costs
  • Organizations seeking a permanent free email-security edition
#3

Proofpoint Core Email Protection

Proofpoint Core Email Protection is an AI-driven enterprise email security product that coordinates pre-delivery, post-delivery, and click-time protection through secure email gateway, API, or combined deployments, with threat investigation, automated remediation, end-user coaching, and security integrations.

80Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
Strong fit for
  • Mid-market and enterprise Microsoft 365 environments that want rapid API deployment with post-delivery protection and automated learning
  • Complex or hybrid mail infrastructures that need granular SEG routing, policy, and pre-delivery control
Check before buying
  • Buyers requiring public direct per-user pricing, a permanent free edition, or a public exact-product trial
  • Small businesses seeking the Proofpoint Essentials or 365 Total Protection MSP package
#4

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense

Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is a cloud-native email security platform with ETD Essentials for journaling-based Microsoft 365 protection and ETD Advantage for inline gateway protection across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange on-premises, and other mail servers.

80Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
Strong fit for
  • Microsoft 365 organizations adding journaling-based behavioral and identity-aware protection without an inline ETD gateway
  • Organizations modernizing to a cloud-native inline gateway across Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, on-premises Exchange, or other mail servers
Check before buying
  • Buyers requiring transparent public numeric pricing or a permanent free edition
  • Organizations expecting Google Workspace or on-premises Exchange support from ETD Essentials
#5

Cloudflare Email Security

Cloudflare Email Security, formerly Area 1, is Cloudflare's current email threat-protection product. Its three annual, sales-quoted packages combine AI and threat-intelligence detection with inline or post-delivery controls, while higher packages add API remediation, link and attachment isolation, outbound DLP, longer retention, SOC integrations, and optional PhishGuard-managed operations through the top edition.

80Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
Strong fit for
  • Mid-market organizations under the Advantage employee threshold that need strong inline, BCC, or journaling email protection without advanced API and SOC functions
  • Enterprises using Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, other cloud email, or on-premises mail systems that need flexible deployment and advanced BEC, impersonation, link, attachment, and account-compromise protection
Check before buying
  • Buyers that require transparent public amounts, month-to-month purchasing, or a permanent free protection edition
  • Organizations expecting Advantage to include API or mixed deployment, email isolation, outbound DLP, one-year retention, SOC APIs, or employee-account-compromise detection
#6

Fortinet FortiMail

Fortinet FortiMail is an AI-powered email-security platform available as hardware appliances, virtual appliances, Fortinet-hosted FortiMail Cloud, and FortiMail Cloud SaaS. It combines gateway, mail-flow, and API-based protection with FortiGuard intelligence, authentication controls, quarantine, reporting, optional or edition-dependent sandboxing and continuity, and Security Fabric integrations.

80Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Mid-market
  • Enterprise
  • Small business
Strong fit for
  • Organizations with on-premises, public-cloud, hosted, SaaS, or hybrid email environments
  • Security teams that need a configurable secure email gateway with granular policy, authentication, DLP, quarantine, and reporting controls
Check before buying
  • Buyers that require transparent public numeric pricing or self-service monthly purchasing
  • Teams expecting the same capabilities, administration, and service coverage across every FortiMail deployment form
#7

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration

Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, renamed Check Point Email Security in March 2026, is a cloud service that combines API integration with pre-delivery inline or post-delivery enforcement for Microsoft 365 and Gmail, with optional package coverage for collaboration and file-sharing applications.

78Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
  • Small business
Strong fit for
  • Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace organizations seeking API-connected cloud email security
  • Security teams prioritizing pre-delivery phishing, BEC, malware, URL, attachment, and account-takeover prevention
Check before buying
  • Buyers that require a traditional MX-based secure email gateway
  • Organizations needing broad standalone on-premises email-server support outside Microsoft modern hybrid mail flow
#8

Mimecast Advanced Email Security

Mimecast Advanced Email Security is a cloud-native email threat protection platform with AI, social-graph, URL, attachment, malware, impersonation, account-takeover, policy, and remediation controls, deployable through an MX-based secure email gateway or a Microsoft 365 API connection.

78Category score
Pricing
  • Custom quote required for some paid plans
Best for
  • Enterprise
  • Mid-market
  • Small business
Strong fit for
  • Mid-market and enterprise organizations needing layered email protection against phishing, BEC, impersonation, malicious links, QR codes, attachments, malware, and account takeover
  • Complex Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, on-premises, or hybrid environments that benefit from granular MX routing and policy control
Check before buying
  • Buyers requiring transparent public pricing, self-service checkout, or a permanent free edition
  • Google Workspace or on-premises buyers seeking the current API-based deployment rather than an MX gateway

How this list is produced

How this list is produced

A product is included only when it is published, has a complete fact package, supported fit and non-fit conclusions, stored dimension rationales, and no blocking commercial conflict.

  1. Confirm that every product belongs to the same purchasable software category.
  2. Use official evidence for pricing, capabilities, limits, and commercial scope.
  3. Rank with the stored category dimensions and buyer-facing rationales.
  4. Keep unknowns and purchase checks visible; model output is not evidence by itself.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Is the highest-scoring product right for every buyer?

No. Scores use a shared Email Security Software framework, while the right choice still depends on team size, budget, ecosystem, security requirements, and required capabilities.

Does this list change when products change?

Pages change when newly verified research is published. Check each product’s evidence date; prices are not live.

Are these scores user ratings?

No. They are editorial buying scores built from structured facts and category dimensions. Third-party user ratings are shown separately with their sources.

This page compares published products in Email Security Software. Scores are editorial fit assessments for this buying category, not user ratings or a claim that one product is universally superior.

This is public-evidence buying research, not an account-based hands-on test. Interface quality, implementation effort, support response, and negotiated terms still require buyer verification.