Best email security: 8 options compared
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GrokIn brief
Best email security: 8 options checked on deployment model, threats named and published pricing, from first-party vendor pages read on 12 August 2026.
There is no single best email security product. The right one depends on where you want protection to sit: a gateway or API filter that inspects inbound mail, the filtering already included with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, or the authentication layer that stops your own domain being spoofed. This comparison records what eight options publish on their own pages, seven inbound vendors plus the authentication layer, covering which deployment models they document and which of them show a price. Detection quality cannot be tested from a vendor page, so nothing here is ranked on it.
At a glance
Quick takeaways
- Deployment is a setting inside most of these products. Proofpoint, Mimecast, Barracuda, Abnormal and Cloudflare each document a connection that leaves MX records alone.
- Check the actual pricing source. Microsoft, Google and Palisade publish prices. Barracuda identifies an Email Protection Advanced list price, but its amount is not exposed in the captured text.
- Microsoft 365 already gives you a filtering baseline. Anti-malware, anti-spam and anti-phishing protection is on by default and cannot be switched off.
- Filtering and domain authentication perform different jobs. Confirm whether the quoted package includes both.
- Ask what an administrator can do with a verdict. That decides what a false positive costs.
- Check the evidence beside each claim. Individual sources retain their check dates and evidence limitations.
Who this comparison is for
An IT admin, security lead or MSP technician told to pick a product, who wants the shortlist cut down by checkable facts. It assumes mail runs on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. If "email security gateway" is doing the work in your requirements document, read what an email security gateway is first, because the label covers several architectures. Head-to-head evaluations of authentication platforms sit on the comparison hub.
This page compares named options. If you have not yet settled on which kind of product you need, start with the category guide to email security software, which separates the four types by where each one sits in the mail flow. Picking the type first cuts most of the list below before you read a single vendor page.
How the options were evaluated
The original options were read on their own product or documentation pages on 12 August 2026. Selected deployment, packaging, pricing and administrative-control claims were rechecked on 13 October 2026; individual source dates remain relevant. Review sites and marketplace listings were excluded. Four things were recorded, and nothing beyond them was inferred:
- Deployment model. Whether the vendor documents an MX-routed gateway, an API connection, post-delivery inspection, or a choice among them.
- Threats named. The categories the vendor claims to address, in its own words.
- Published pricing. Whether a price appears on the vendor's own page. Discounts, minimums and contract terms are not knowable from outside.
- Admin control. What an administrator can do with a verdict once the product has produced one.
Criterion: what you already own
Microsoft documents anti-malware, anti-spam and anti-phishing protection as included in all organizations with cloud mailboxes, and on by default through the default threat policies. An admin cannot turn them off, but can override them with preset or custom policies. See Microsoft's built-in security features for cloud mailboxes. Measure a product against that baseline, not against zero.
Criterion: admin control over the verdict
Google’s listed attachment and spoofing protections offer warning, spam or quarantine actions. Its separate shortened-link expansion setting does not share that action table. See Google's advanced phishing and malware protection settings. Put the same question to every vendor on your shortlist.
The options, one by one
Listed alphabetically, from each vendor's own page.
Abnormal Security
Abnormal's inbound email security page states "Deploy in 60 seconds via API. No MX changes." and describes the product as built for attacks with no payload and no prior signature. Abnormal positions itself as combining with Microsoft or Google to replace a secure email gateway, which is the vendor's position rather than a tested outcome. Its platform page names Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Okta and CrowdStrike integrations, with SIEM/SOAR integration support. Confirm the selected connector and permissions.
Barracuda Email Protection
Barracuda's Email Protection page states that the product connects to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace with no mail exchange (MX) changes and is operational in minutes rather than weeks. Barracuda names phishing, malware, spam, account takeover, domain fraud with DMARC and post-delivery weaponization among the threats covered, and names Barracuda IQ and Bailey as its detection and explanation technology.
Cloudflare Email Security
Cloudflare's Email Security documentation documents three deployment approaches: an API connection, post-delivery inspection through BCC or journaling, and pre-delivery placement through MX or inline. Cloudflare says the service uses AI, threat intelligence and security rules to analyze every incoming email, and names phishing, malware, business email compromise, vendor email fraud and spam. The page states no price.
Google Workspace and Gmail
Google Workspace pricing publishes per-seat prices for the Business tiers and lists "Phishing and spam protection that blocks more than 99.9% of attacks" on every one of them, which is Google's own figure. Data loss prevention, S/MIME encryption and context-aware access are listed under Enterprise, which is quoted by sales. The advanced protections are administrator settings rather than a separate product.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Microsoft documents a ladder rather than one product. Its Defender for Office 365 overview says Plan 1 "protects email and collaboration features from zero-day malware, phishing, and business email compromise (BEC)" through Safe Attachments, Safe Links, impersonation protection and Real-time detections. Plan 2 "adds phishing simulations, post-breach investigation, hunting, and response, and automation", naming Threat Explorer, Campaigns and Automated Investigation and Response.
Mimecast Advanced Email Security
Mimecast's Advanced Email Security page presents two paths to one product. The MX-based path routes all incoming mail through Mimecast's gateway first and intercepts threats in line. The API path connects in minutes, with no MX record changes and no mail flow disruption. Mimecast names phishing, business email compromise, ransomware and zero-day exploits. Mimecast describes gateway routing and continuity separately from API deployment and automated remediation; confirm the complete capability and entitlement differences in your quote.
Proofpoint Core Email Protection
Proofpoint Core Email Protection supports API and secure email gateway deployment. Its current page describes Microsoft Graph integration, API deployment without MX changes, and inline policy enforcement through a gateway. Compare mail-flow coverage, remediation permissions and rollout requirements for the configuration you are buying; the deployment labels alone do not establish identical detection results. See Proofpoint product documentation.
How pricing was handled
Microsoft, Google and Palisade publish prices on the cited pages. Microsoft's Defender for Office 365 page lists Plan 1 at $2.00 per user per month and Plan 2 at $5.00 per user per month, both paid yearly on an auto-renewing annual subscription. Google publishes per-seat prices on its Workspace pricing page, though the currency and any promotional rate depend on your region. Palisade publishes its plans and prices.
Barracuda’s pricing page identifies a published US list price for Email Protection Advanced, although the captured text does not expose its amount. Its plan matrix describes package features. Mimecast offers a quote request; Proofpoint and Abnormal offer demo requests on their cited product pages. Confirm the named product and current rate rather than inferring that all vendors lack a list price.
Where Palisade fits
Filtering and domain authentication perform different jobs. Mimecast lists DMARC Analyzer alongside Advanced Email Security and offers customizable bundles; separate product names do not establish a mandatory separate purchase. Confirm the modules and entitlements in the quote.
Palisade sits in that authentication row and nowhere else. Palisade's documentation covers DMARC, SPF, DKIM, BIMI and MTA-STS, domain onboarding, hosted DNS records, aggregate report processing, sender classification and PSA ticketing. It does not filter, sandbox, rewrite links in or quarantine inbound mail, so it replaces none of the products above. Its narrow job is your own domain: hosted DMARC publishes and maintains the record through a CNAME delegation, so a policy move needs no further DNS edit, and the documentation requires resolving the senders list before enforcement. If DMARC is new to you, start with what DMARC is.
How to choose
- You run Microsoft 365 and have not configured what you own. Set up the built-in policies and measure first. Defender for Office 365 offers additional protection through Plan 1 and Plan 2.
- You need inspection in the delivery path. Proofpoint, Mimecast and Cloudflare each document an MX or inline deployment. Confirm the package and commercial terms for that deployment.
- You cannot change mail flow. Abnormal, Barracuda, Cloudflare, Mimecast and Proofpoint all document a connection that leaves MX records untouched.
- Attackers are spoofing your domain rather than reaching your users. That is the authentication layer. Confirm whether your quoted filtering package includes the required domain-authentication product and operating work.
- You are not sure which layer is failing. Run a domain through the free email security score before shortlisting anyone.
Evidence
Sources and further reading
The original source list was checked on 12 August 2026. Proofpoint deployment and Mimecast packaging were refreshed on 13 October 2026.
- Proofpoint Core Email Protection.
- Mimecast Advanced Email Security and the Mimecast product index.
- Barracuda Email Protection and its plans page.
- Abnormal inbound email security and the Abnormal platform page.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 overview, built-in security features for cloud mailboxes and the Defender for Office 365 plans and pricing page.
- Cloudflare Email Security documentation.
- Google Workspace pricing and advanced phishing and malware protection.
- Palisade documentation, hosted DMARC and Palisade pricing.
Questions readers ask
Frequently asked questions
What is the best email security software?
No product is best for every organization, because these products do different jobs. Microsoft and Google secure the mailbox you already pay for. Proofpoint, Mimecast, Barracuda, Abnormal and Cloudflare add inspection in the delivery path or through an API. Palisade works on domain authentication, which none of the others replaces. Decide which layer your evidence points at, then compare only those products.
Do I still need email security software if I use Microsoft 365?
Not automatically. Microsoft documents anti-malware, anti-spam and anti-phishing filtering as on by default for every organization with cloud mailboxes, and those policies cannot be turned off. Configure them, apply the preset security policies, then see what still gets through. Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 and Plan 2 add impersonation protection, Safe Links, Safe Attachments, hunting and automation.
Is a secure email gateway still required?
Not in every case. Barracuda, Abnormal, Cloudflare, Mimecast and Proofpoint all document a connection that needs no MX record change, and Cloudflare documents post-delivery inspection by BCC or journaling. A gateway remains the documented option when you want mail inspected before delivery, or when you route mail for systems other than Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Does email security software stop someone spoofing my domain?
Not by itself. Inbound filtering protects the mailboxes you own. It does nothing about mail an attacker sends to other people using your domain in the visible From address. That is what DMARC, with SPF and DKIM alignment, is for, and it performs a different job from inbound filtering. Confirm whether the quoted package includes both filtering and the required domain-authentication services.
Which email security companies publish public pricing?
Microsoft and Google publish list prices for their named subscriptions; compare the exact product and billing terms. Barracuda’s pricing page offers a US per-user rate list, although this audit did not establish its displayed amounts. For Proofpoint, Mimecast, Abnormal and Cloudflare, confirm the quoted email-security package rather than assuming a complete public rate card.
Written by
Taylor TabusaCo-Founder & Head of Business Development, Palisade
Taylor Tabusa is the co-founder and Head of Business Development at Palisade, helping managed service providers turn email security into a practical, valuable service.
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