SpamTitan as a Mimecast Alternative – A Guide
Jennifer Marsh
There's been a rapid increase in cyber-attacks in recent months and over the last year. These attacks deliver an incredible amount of damage to their victims, and that's only the companies we've heard about. Many others do not report such attacks.
We know that 61% of cyber-attacks target small businesses and 23% of SMBs list a cyber-attack as the greatest threat to their business. We have also learned that human error is a significant factor in 95% of attacks when it comes to email security. Another consideration is reputation. The SMB is often highly competitive; an Okta report found that 88% of customers will walk away from brands they don’t trust to protect their data. So, implementing an email security solution for your business is of the highest importance.
SpamTitan and Mimecast are both market-leading email security solutions. This SpamTitan and Mimecast comparison guide will compare the two solutions and help you evaluate which is best for your organization.
What is the Best Mimecast Alternative?
Deciding which email security solution to choose for your organization can take time and effort. This report shows the results of customer surveys from G2 Crowd and offers an insightful comparison of a Mimecast alternative.
In the G2 study, customers rated both solutions by:
- Features
- Ease of use
- Effectiveness
- Threat detection functionality
The report shows that SpamTitan is the winner in all categories. The customer ratings and testimonials in this study highlight that SpamTitan has outstanding customer support, is easy to deploy, and is equal to Mimecast in threat detection. However, SpamTitan has more affordable pricing.
Ratings
Of the seven core rating topics, SpamTitan is the clear winner in six, almost matching the product distribution.
SpamTitan is recognized in the industry for its first-class support through the POS process, solution migration, and after-sales support. SpamTitan customers say working with us is easy in every way, including:
- Ease of use
- Ease of set up
- Ease of business
- Ease of admin
Features
In the analysis of the features, SpamTitan blazes ahead of Mimecast, with users favoring SpamTitan's features with a remarkable 78% win.
Customers are thrilled with SpamTitan's ease of use and simple integration – organizations can be set up with SpamTitan and begin filtering email spam in less than an hour.
Administration
When it comes to administration in an email protection solution, there are seven core areas that systems administrators look for in a solution. In this survey, users were asked about these areas:
- Intelligence reporting
- Email integration support
- Access management
- Data loss prevention
- Compliance
- Email clients
- Role-based rules.
SpamTitan comes out on top in the Mimecast comparison survey in administration features, with a significant win in email integration support, compliance, and data loss prevention. SpamTitan is, once again, the leading Mimecast alternative.
Functionality
SpamTitan and Mimecast have similar email filtering features. Ten key functionalities were identified to compare both solutions equally:
- Anti-spam
- Anti-malware
- Anti-phishing
- Filtering functionality
- Quarantine
- Outbound email monitoring
- Advanced threat intelligence/protection
- Archiving
- Reporting
- On-premises deployment.
SpamTitan and Mimecast are very strong in Anti-Spam functionality and Advanced Threat Protection. However, SpamTitan has a leading edge by emphasizing Anti-malware, Filtering, Quarantining, and Reporting. Thus once again SpamTitan comes out on top.
Did You Know?
SpamTitan's spam catch rate
a ransomware attack occurs
the average cost to manage spam per person without an email filter
of all email is spam
Maintenance
SMBs that implement an email protection solution expect a simple solution with little to no maintenance work involved for the system administrator. G2's users responses show that SpamTitan is easier to maintain in the following areas:
- Auditing
- Allow and block lists
- Compliance
- Archiving.
A recent case study shows how a leading web hosting company, Grid-1 migrates to SpamTitan, as they were looking for a new email security solution that was low maintenance but could fully protect customers against the ever-increasing threats associated with email communication. Read full case study.
Detection
SpamTitan's threat detection is on a very close par with Mimecast. The G2 study shows that SpamTitan is rated as the leading solution.
The three areas that were asked about include:
- Data exfiltration detection
- Activity monitoring
- Real-time detection.
Email Security
SpamTitan takes the lead in security and detection in preventing email phishing and all malware attacks. SpamTitan use a multi-vectored approach to scan emails for security threats in Office 365. According to G2's user reviews, SpamTitan is best for Anti-Malware/Anti-Spam, Quarantine, Advanced Threat Protection, Anti-Phishing & Account Takeover Protection. SpamTitan uses these methods to filter emails for phishing, malware, and malicious links.
Choices, Choices...Mimecast Alternatives, Including SpamTitan
As well as Mimecast, several other contenders are on the market for the place of the best secure email gateway.
The choice of which email protection gateway to deploy comes down to knowing what your organization needs and researching the best product to meet those needs.
Evaluation of Mimecast alternatives in the email protection gateway space should be based on the features, ease of use, threat detection functionality, and ease of administration.
The deployment and configuration of companywide solutions such as email protection are potentially long-term commitment, so picking the best product for your circumstances is essential. This guide will explore the pros and cons of Mimecast Secure Email Gateway and compare it to the competitors, Barracuda and Proofpoint to help you choose the best email protection solution for your organization:
Mimecast Secure Email Gateway
Mimecast has a portfolio of security products, including an email security gateway called Mimecast Secure Email Gateway. This cloud-based solution provides phishing and email spam detection and an email archive service to protect corporate email.
Mimecast Secure Email Gateway uses layers of protection to create an email perimeter.
These layers cover the following:
- URL filtering
- Malicious attachment blocking
- Prevention of impersonation via email to alleviate social engineering
- Browser isolation to help prevent phishing success
- Email archiving for business continuity
- Email controls extend to protect internal emails from spreading security threats
Mimecast Secure Email Gateway is designed for larger enterprises, but a subscription plan with various price points makes it a potential package for an SMB.
Like all solutions, email filters offer positives and negatives in their application, deployment, and use. The key to making the right choice is to know which are the functions most needed within your organization's environment. And to balance these with other requirements such as cost and ease of administration.
Mimecast Secure Email Gateway Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Protection for all cloud or perimeter-based inbound emails.
- Delivery of email protection is cloud-based
- Real-time threat analysis is performed.
- Email protection prevents attacks via malware, phishing, and other web-borne threats.
- Mimecast offers outbound email protection via data loss prevention (DLP) to stop sensitive data from leaving an organization.
- DMARC-compliant brand protection to help stop attacks that are based on a spoof URL made to look like the company owns it.
Cons:
A review of the user ratings of Mimecast Secure Email Gateway reveals a few areas of the product that could be improved:
- The administration of the gateway could be improved, especially in intelligence reporting and email integration. The admin console was described as "less than intuitive" and sometimes "confusing".
- Policy management has been described as 'also lacking intuitiveness.'
- No on-premise deployment options.
- No account takeover protection.
Human error is a significant factor in 95% of attacks
Comparison of Mimecast Secure Email Gateway and Proofpoint Essentials
Proofpoint Essentials is an email security gateway that is tailored for an SMB. Price points are used to differentiate packages based on available functionality.
The email protection provided by Proofpoint Essentials offers a wide range of features, including the prevention of phishing and attachment scanning to prevent malware infection.
Other features of Proofpoint Essentials include:
- URL spoof protection
- Policy-driven DLP
- Automated email encryption
- Per-user controls and quarantine access for emergencies and email continuity.
Proofpoint Essentials, as Compared to Mimecast:
- Quarantining is more limited
- Pricing is more geared towards an SMB
- Proofpoint has an advanced MLX machine-learning solution used to detect phishing
- Administration can be complicated to configure.
Gartner Peer Insights comparison .
Comparison of Proofpoint Essentials and SpamTitan
Gartner Peer Insights comparison.
Comparison of Mimecast Secure Email Gateway and Barracuda Essentials
Barracuda Essentials for email is a cloud-based spam filter used to protect against web-borne email threats. Barracuda Essentials is packaged as an ‘all-in-one’ solution providing:
- Email continuity
- Encryption
- Data leakage protection
- Archiving
Other features differentiating Barracuda Essentials from Mimecast are:
- Cloud-to-cloud email backup
- AI-enabled email protection
- AI-enabled blocking of social engineering attacks
- Limited email detection analytics and response
- Account takeover protection
- More holistic forensics
Gartner Peer Insights comparison
Comparison of Barracuda Essentials and SpamTitan
Gartner Peer Insights comparison
The Best Overall Option: SpamTitan
In this short analysis, one area, poor and confusing administration, was a clear issue across many of the solutions. Being able to configure an email gateway easily and effectively is essential.
A single phishing email that is missed by the email gateway can go on to infect an entire corporate network with ransomware. SpamTitan consistently outperforms Mimecast, Proofpoint Essentials, and Barracuda Essentials on ease of use and deployment.
Cost is another consideration; SpamTitan was a cost-effective way to protect against web-borne attacks. SpamTitan costs, based on 250 users, are $1.08 per user /month or $3,225 per year. Mimecast cost for the most basic plan for 250 users is 4X the cost of SpamTitan at $4.50 per user/month.
Finally, functionality and use of advanced AI-enabled threat detection is an essential features in a modern threat landscape that continues to find ways to evade threat detection engines.
When you evaluate an email protection gateway, it is recommended that you do your homework but also try out trials to ensure that the features fit your needs.
Sign up for a FREE Demo of SpamTitan to see how it compares against Mimecast.
Jennifer Marsh
- SECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Does Mimecast Do?
Mimecast describes itself as offering “Advanced email & collaboration security.” Mimecast has a portfolio of security products, including an email security gateway, email archiving, email content controls, and security awareness training. Mimecast describes its approach as an email perimeter. These solutions cover the security of people, emails, communications, and a company’s brand.
What is Mimecast Secure Email Gateway?
Mimecast Secure Email Gateway is a cloud-based email security solution that applies layers of protection to inbound and outbound emails. Protection includes URL filtering, malicious attachment blocking, and browser isolation to prevent phishing. Mimecast Secure Email Gateway is designed for larger enterprises; Mimecast offers a subscription plan with various price points.
Is Mimecast a Spam Filter?
The Mimecast Secure Email Gateway provides a preventative approach to spam mail, blocking spam and known threats before they hit an employee’s inbox. To block spam, Mimecast uses multiple scanning engines to identify spam and other threats. The machines perform content matching rules, DNS-based, Checksum-based, and statistical filtering.
Who is Mimecast’s Competition?
Mimecast has several competitors, including: TitanHQ SpamTitan Plus, Barracuda Essentials, Proofpoint Email Security and Protection, Cisco Secure Email, Egress Intelligent Email Security and TrendMicro. All competitors offer email security using layers of protection. However, differentiation can be seen in price points and ease of deployment and administration.
What is the Difference Between Mimecast and Proofpoint?
Mimecast and Proofpoint offer similar email security, protection against spam and phishing, and data loss prevention. However, they differ in several key areas. Expert Insights has evaluated both solutions and concluded that “Mimecast has the edge over Proofpoint Essentials.” Mimecast is better for enterprise customers, but Proofpoint has better SMB pricing.
What is Mimecast's Pricing?
Mimecast pricing plans cover several price points. The first and cheapest plan is the baseline email gateway to prevent phishing. This basic plan is $4.50 / £3.75 per user/month (Available in US/UK Only). Other plans offer more features. However, other plans offer more features, and enterprise plan prices are available on request.
How Much is Mimecast Per User?
The basic package for Mimecast is $4.50 per user/per month. This basic package has a minimum of 49 seats. Enterprise packages with richer features require contact with Mimecast for up-to-date prices per user. However, Mimecast pricing is typically on a per-user/per-month basis.
Who is Mimecast, and is the Company Owned by Microsoft?
Mimecast integrates with Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Outlook. However, the company is not owned by Microsoft. In May 2022, Permira acquired Mimecast, taking the once-public company back into private ownership. Mimecast is now a privately held company and private equity backed. Mimecast is headquartered in London, UK., but has offices worldwide.
Why is it Important to Compare Mimecast with Other Email Security Providers?
Mimecast comparisons are needed to determine which email security solution is best for your organization. Undertraining evaluation of email security gateways involves looking at many features and functions, including administration, price, and functionality. FAQs below briefly compare Mimecast and the market leaders, SpamTitan and Proofpoint. For further details, see the longer article above.
What is the Difference Between SpamTitan and Mimecast?
Both SpamTitan and Mimecast have similar email gateway functionality. However, SpamTitan performs better in terms of the following: SpamTitan is significantly lower cost than Mimecast; SpamTitan has an easy-to-use administration console; and deployment and setup of SpamTitan are more straightforward. SpamTitan also receives consistently better client reviews than Mimecast.
What is the Difference Between Proofpoint and Mimecast?
Proofpoint and Mimecast have comparable features for threat protection and spam filtering; both offer malware protection, attachment sandboxing, and URL rewriting. Both achieve 99% spam filtering effectiveness. However, Proofpoint beats Mimecast in support of Complex Routing Scenarios, whereas Mimecast beats Proofpoint for bulk email delivery support.
What is the Difference Between Mimecast and Barracuda Essentials?
Barracuda Essentials for email is a cloud-based spam & email threat filter that prevents web-borne email threats. Barracuda Essentials is presented as an ‘all-in-one’ solution, including email threat prevention, data leakage protection (DLP), and email archiving. Barracuda Essentials and Mimecast are similar, but Barracuda Essentials stands out in several areas, including lower performance in URL and spear phishing & Business Email Compromise (BEC). Mimecast has no account takeover protection.
What are the Costs Associated with Mimecast?
Mimecast costs vary depending on the plan chosen. The most basic plan is the cheapest at $4.50 per user per month, with a minimum of 49 seats. Mimecast vs SpamTitan pricing: SpamTitan price for 250 users is $1.08 per user /per month, or $3,225 per year, whereas Mimecast price for 250 users would be $13,500 per year.