Email security for enterprise buyers
Asked as “email security platform”, and as “phishing and email threat protection tool”, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. 54 first choices recorded across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, fourteen models each.
Standing · first-choice share
41%
Clear leader
41Proofpoint Email Protection24Microsoft Defender for Office 36517Abnormal AI19others
41% of first choices, clear leader.
Since October 2026▼−7Since October 2026: 48% → 41%, −7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.Proofpoint Email Protection held the lead, −7 points on 48%, inside the 11-point floor.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment; they sit side by side and are never added together.
Small business
Microsoft Defender for Office 36543%Clear leader▲+16Since October 2026: 27% → 43%, +16 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →Mid-marketMicrosoft Defender for Office 36545%Clear leader▲+13Since October 2026: 32% → 45%, +13 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →Enterprise
Proofpoint Email Protection41%Clear leader▼−7Since October 2026: 48% → 41%, −7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This page
Microsoft Defender for Office 36543%Clear leader▲+16Since October 2026: 27% → 43%, +16 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →Mid-marketMicrosoft Defender for Office 36545%Clear leader▲+13Since October 2026: 32% → 45%, +13 points. Past the 11-point floor: movement.Standing →EnterpriseProofpoint Email Protection41%Clear leader▼−7Since October 2026: 48% → 41%, −7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.This pageThe standing
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, over all fourteen models, for an enterprise B2B company. Ordered by share.
ProductFirst-choice shareNegative rateLabelsQuadrantSince October 2026
01Proofpoint Email Protection41%15%72endorsed leader▼−7Since October 2026: 48% → 41%, −7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.48% → 41%
Proofpoint Email Protection41%15%72endorsed leader▼−7Since October 2026: 48% → 41%, −7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.48% → 41%02Microsoft Defender for Office 36524%13%63accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 29% → 24%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.29% → 24%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36524%13%63accepted challenger▼−5Since October 2026: 29% → 24%, −5 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.29% → 24%03
Abnormal AI17%4%48accepted challenger▲+7Since October 2026: 10% → 17%, +7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.10% → 17%
Abnormal AI17%4%48accepted challenger▲+7Since October 2026: 10% → 17%, +7 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.10% → 17%04
Mimecast Email Security7%16%57accepted challenger▼−1Since October 2026: 8% → 7%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.8% → 7%
Mimecast Email Security7%16%57accepted challenger▼−1Since October 2026: 8% → 7%, −1 point. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.8% → 7%05
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration4%8%37accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 4%
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration4%8%37accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 4%06
Barracuda Email Protection4%21%28accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 4%
Barracuda Email Protection4%21%28accepted challenger▲+4Since October 2026: 0% → 4%, +4 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 4%Show the four products at 0%, ordered by negative rate
08
Cisco Secure Email0%19%21accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Cisco Secure Email0%19%21accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%10
IRONSCALES0%13%15accepted challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 0%
IRONSCALES0%13%15accepted challenger▼−2Since October 2026: 2% → 0%, −2 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.2% → 0%07
Darktrace EMAIL0%0%16accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Darktrace EMAIL0%0%16accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%09
Sublime Security0%0%10accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%
Sublime Security0%0%10accepted challenger=heldSince October 2026: 0% → 0%, ±0 points. Inside the 11-point floor: within noise.0% → 0%The floor is 11 points of share, measured: how far the models move a leader on their own when the same questions are asked twice with nothing changed. A larger change is movement; a smaller one can't be told apart from repeat variation, and both are shown. Each index measures its own floor from its own repeat, over its own categories, so the floor differs from one index to the next. Both editions asked the same fourteen models. How the floor is measured
Bars are the share of first choices, 0 to 100Every product with at least 10 labels here. Every product name links to its product page.
Head to head
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Abnormal AIMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 vs Mimecast Email SecurityMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 vs Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Head-to-head pages are published for mid-market buyers, so these open on mid-market figures, not enterprise.All twenty-one head-to-head pages: the top seven products, each against each
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs IRONSCALESMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 vs Barracuda Email ProtectionAbnormal AI vs Mimecast Email SecurityAbnormal AI vs Check Point Harmony Email & CollaborationAbnormal AI vs IRONSCALESAbnormal AI vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionAbnormal AI vs Barracuda Email ProtectionMimecast Email Security vs Check Point Harmony Email & CollaborationMimecast Email Security vs IRONSCALESMimecast Email Security vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionMimecast Email Security vs Barracuda Email ProtectionCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs IRONSCALESCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs Barracuda Email ProtectionIRONSCALES vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionIRONSCALES vs Barracuda Email ProtectionProofpoint Email Protection vs Barracuda Email Protection
Recommended versus criticized
Every product with at least 10 labels here, on both axes. The 30% line names a quadrant, not the verdict above: that one needs more than 40%.
Criticized challengerCriticized default
Negative label rate →
01020304050607080910Accepted challengerEndorsed leader
0%First-choice share → · lines at 30% share and 25% negative60%
Key
01Proofpoint Email Protection41%
Proofpoint Email Protection41%02Microsoft Defender for Office 36524%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36524%03Abnormal AI17%
Abnormal AI17%04Mimecast Email Security7%
Mimecast Email Security7%05Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration4%
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration4%06Barracuda Email Protection4%
Barracuda Email Protection4%07Darktrace EMAIL0%
Darktrace EMAIL0%08Cisco Secure Email0%
Cisco Secure Email0%09Sublime Security0%
Sublime Security0%10IRONSCALES0%
IRONSCALES0%What they warned about
Seven of fourteen models held their first choice under the paraphrase. Grok 4.20, Llama 4 Maverick, Qwen 3.7 Flash, GLM 4.7 FlashX, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-6 Luna and Muse Glimmer 30B changed. A high negative share on a product with few labels is a warning. A low share on a product with many labels is salience, not sentiment.
Mimecast Email Security16%
9 of 57 labels negative · 7 of 14 models · 1 hard negative
“Do not buy another traditional Gateway (like Proofpoint or Mimecast).” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
Proofpoint Email Protection15%
11 of 72 labels negative · 7 of 14 models · 1 hard negative
“Do not buy another traditional Gateway (like Proofpoint or Mimecast).” Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt
Barracuda Email Protection21%
6 of 28 labels negative · 6 of 14 models · 3 hard negative
“Why cautious/avoid: Positioned as more SMB/mid-market focused in Gartner analyses ... At-Bay's risk report ranks it higher for associated security incidents compared to leaders.” Grok 4.20, negative prompt
Barracuda Email Security Gateway100%
5 of 5 labels negative · 5 of 14 models · 4 hard negative
“Avoid Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) entirely given its history of multiple critical, actively exploited vulnerabilities” GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt
What they cite
Fourteen of the fourteen models returned a source list in this edition: five return the pages they cited and nine the search results they consulted.
Sites the answers cite
76 of 84 answers in this category came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models: citations where the model returns them, or the search results it consulted. 958 links across 223 sites, every framing counted. Ranked by the number of answers carrying the site or page. 22 of the 252 answers across every segment cited this index's own page for the category; the method page measures whether that reading tilts an answer.
vendor site · Check Point35 answers · 61 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Proofpoint29 answers · 49 citations · 11 models
25 answers · 32 citations · 10 models
vendor site · G223 answers · 35 citations · 12 models
vendor site · Microsoft23 answers · 33 citations · 10 models
18 answers · 23 citations · 8 models
vendor site · Huntress18 answers · 20 citations · 11 models
vendor site · Mimecast17 answers · 26 citations · 10 models
15 answers · 25 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Sublime14 answers · 21 citations · 7 models
vendor site · Abnormal13 answers · 21 citations · 7 models
12 answers · 21 citations · 8 models
Pages the answers cite
The ten pages named in the most answers, by full address. A page here is one the models returned with a recommendation, not one the index endorses.
21 answers · 9 models
15 answers · 9 models
14 answers · 9 models
13 answers · 8 models
11 answers · 5 models
11 answers · 6 models
11 answers · 7 models
11 answers · 6 models
10 answers · 5 models
10 answers · 4 models
Search against answers
Each company's standing in the answers beside its site's footprint in Google search, one row a site: the products the models named on it with their shares, and the share they add up to; monthly searches on Google, and DataForSEO's estimate of AI search demand (modeled from search signals, directional, not a count of queries to any assistant), for the most-searched of the company's and its products' names (the name is in each row's hover text); estimated monthly organic visits to the site; and its best position in Google's top ten for “best email security platform”, “email security platform”, “email security platforms”. US estimates from DataForSEO and Google's Ads Transparency Center. A small company's site, or a mid-sized company's site for its flagship, is marked company; a product on a large parent's site (Google, Microsoft) has no site figures. A column with no figures for this category is left out, and an empty cell means none were seen, not none exist. Two measurements side by side: neither is read as the cause of the other.
| Company and products | Share | Own site cited | Name searches, Google | AI search demand, est. | Organic visits | Paid search a month, est. | Google ads, last 30 days | Best Google position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proofpoint proofpoint.com Proofpoint Email Protection 41% | 41% | 164 | 27,100 | 1,488 | 593,092 company | $9,336 | 43 | 4 |
| Microsoft Defender parent site Microsoft Defender for Office 365 24% | 24% | 166 | 18,100 | 3,525 | ||||
| Abnormal abnormal.ai Abnormal AI 17% | 17% | 107 | 8,100 | 130 | 30,467 company | $6 | 120 | |
| Mimecast mimecast.com Mimecast Email Security 7% | 7% | 134 | 320 | 17 | 148,929 company | 21 | ||
| Check Point parent site Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration 4%, Check Point Workspace Security Email 0% | 4% | 79 | 14,800 | 4,487 | ||||
| Barracuda barracuda.com Barracuda Email Protection 4% | 4% | 100 | 201,000 | 10,561 | 64,778 company | 116 | 4 | |
| Defender defend.network | 2% | 16 | ||||||
| Microsoft parent site Microsoft 365 2% | 2% | 123 | 2,240,000 | 403,136 | ||||
| Darktrace EMAIL darktrace.com | 0% | 23 | 65,093 | 29 | ||||
| Cisco parent site Cisco Secure Email 0%, Cisco Email Security 0% | 0% | 36 | 165,000 | 48,352 |
Google's top ten for the three searches hold 15 sites; 3 of them are among the sites the models cited here (gartner.com, proofpoint.com, sublime.security). The first result for “best email security platform” is gartner.com.
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.ShowHide
How they answered
Six framings of the same buying question, each sent to every model in a fresh session with search on. One row per model, so a row shows whether it held its answer under rewording, what it named when cost was the constraint, and what it argued against. Computed from the raw judge labels.
ShowHideModelDirect“What is the best email security platform for an enterprise B2B company?”Paraphrase“Which phishing and email threat protection tool would you recommend to a large B2B company with thousands of employees?”Comparative“What are the top enterprise-grade email security platforms and how do they differ?”Budget-constrained“What is the best email security platform for a large company that needs predictable total cost across thousands of users?”Scale-constrained“We are a 5,000 person company with SSO, SOC 2 and procurement review requirements evaluating an email security platform. What should we look at?”Negative“Which email security platforms should a large enterprise avoid or be cautious about?”
Claude Haiku 4.5Proofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionHeldagainst: Microsoft Defender for Office 365no first choiceBarracuda Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Protection, Cisco IronPort, FireEye, McAfee, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Securence, Symantec Email Security.cloud, Trend Micro Email Security, Websense
Four alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security, Sublime SecurityOne alternative
Mimecast Email SecurityFive alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionTwo alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Proofpoint Email ProtectionGPT-5.4 miniProofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionHeldAbnormal AI, Proofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365no first choicenothing named
Two alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityOne alternative
Microsoft Defender for Office 365Four alternatives
Barracuda Email Protection, Cisco Secure Email, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityTwo alternatives
Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionGemini 3.5 FlashAbnormal AIAbnormal AIHeldAbnormal AI, Proofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365no first choiceagainst: Exchange Online Protection, Forcepoint, Google Workspace, Symantec Email Security
Four alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection, Sublime SecurityThree alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Targeted Attack ProtectionThree alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityFour alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionPerplexity SonarProofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionHeldMicrosoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email ProtectionCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaborationagainst: Proofpoint Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Three alternatives
Abnormal Inbound Email Security, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityFour alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Workspace Security Email, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityFive alternatives
Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Mimecast Email SecurityOne alternative
Mimecast Email SecurityGrok 4.20Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionChangedAbnormal AI, Proofpoint Email Protectionagainst: Microsoft Defender for Office 365Barracuda Email Protectionagainst: Abnormal AI, Proofpoint Email ProtectionAbnormal AIagainst: Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Trend Micro Email Security
Four alternatives
Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAILFour alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityFour alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Egress, Mimecast Email Security, Trend Micro Email SecurityOne alternative
Microsoft Defender for Office 365Four alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionMistral SmallProofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionHeldMicrosoft Defender for Office 365against: Barracuda Email ProtectionProofpoint Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Security Gateway, IRONSCALES, OpenText
Two alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecuritySix alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Darktrace EMAIL, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionOne alternative
Microsoft Defender for Office 365DeepSeek V4 FlashProofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionHeldProofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365against: Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Security Gateway, Cisco Secure Email, Microsoft 365 Native Controls, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection, Sophos Email
Three alternatives
Abnormal AI, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityThree alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email SecuritySix alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityOne alternative
Barracuda Email ProtectionLlama 4 Maverickno first choiceProofpoint Email ProtectionChangedno first choiceProofpoint Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Three alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, SpamTitanQwen 3.7 FlashMimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionProofpoint Email ProtectionChangedMicrosoft Defender for Office 365Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protectionagainst: SpamHero, SpamTitanno first choiceagainst: AWS Security Hub, Amazon SESagainst: Google Workspace, Mailcow, Microsoft 365, Postfix
Three alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365Two alternatives
Abnormal AI, Microsoft Defender for Office 365Four alternatives
Cisco Secure Email, Darktrace EMAIL, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionThree alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure EmailFour alternatives
Barracuda Email Protection, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionKimi K2Abnormal AIagainst: Microsoft Defender for Office 365Abnormal AIHeldProofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365Abnormal AIagainst: Microsoft Defender for Office 365against: AOL Mail, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, FortiMail, Hotmail, Ivanti, Microsoft, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection, Symantec Identity Governance and Administration, Trend Micro Email Security, Yahoo Mail, iCloud Mail
Four alternatives
Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionThree alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionSeven alternatives
Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityTwo alternatives
Abnormal AI, Proofpoint Email ProtectionThree alternatives
Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection, Sublime SecurityGLM 4.7 FlashXMimecast Email SecurityProofpoint Email ProtectionChangedGoogle Workspace, Microsoft Defender for Office 365Microsoft Defender for Office 365no first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Security Gateway, FortiMail, Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway, Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Two alternatives
Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email ProtectionThree alternatives
Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Mail SecurityFive alternatives
Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Huntress Managed ITDR, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionOne alternative
Barracuda Email ProtectionMiniMax M2.5Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365ChangedMicrosoft Defender for Office 365Microsoft Defender for Office 365Abnormal AIagainst: Barracuda Email Security Gateway, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Four alternatives
Cisco Email Security, Google Workspace (Gmail) Advanced Protection, Mimecast Email Security, Sophos EmailTwo alternatives
Abnormal AI, Proofpoint Email ProtectionFive alternatives
Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Cisco Secure Email, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionTwo alternatives
Barracuda Email Protection, Proofpoint Email ProtectionFour alternatives
Area 1 Security, Egress, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email ProtectionGPT-6 LunaProofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365Changedno first choiceMicrosoft Defender for Office 365no first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Security Gateway, Cisco Secure Email, Cisco Secure Email Premier
Three alternatives
Abnormal AI, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityOne alternative
Proofpoint Email ProtectionSeven alternatives
Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionOne alternative
Microsoft Defender for Office 365Muse Glimmer 30BAbnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionAbnormal AI, Defender, Microsoft 365ChangedProofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365against: Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Fortra, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protectionno first choiceagainst: Barracuda Email Protection, IRONSCALES, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Two alternatives
Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365Three alternatives
IRONSCALES, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email ProtectionFive alternatives
Abnormal AI, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Darktrace EMAIL, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email SecurityOne alternative
Barracuda Email ProtectionBold is the first choiceAlternatives are counted; the count opens them.What the answer argued against
The record
One row per call: the version string exactly as returned, whether the model searched, sources cited, and latency.
Eighty-four rows: every prompt, every model, every answer.
| Prompt | Model | Version string | Time (UTC) | Searched | Sources | Latency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recommendation | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 14:02 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 15:45 | yes | 4 | 6 s |
| Direct recommendation | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 14:26 | yes | 9 | 22 s |
| Direct recommendation | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 11:32 | yes | 10 | 3 s |
| Direct recommendation | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 13:54 | yes | 10 | 11 s |
| Direct recommendation | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 12:02 | yes | 5 | 5 s |
| Direct recommendation | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 18:52 | yes | 24 | 33 s |
| Direct recommendation | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 12:56 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Direct recommendation | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 12:02 | yes | 5 | 18 s |
| Direct recommendation | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 09:59 | yes | 15 | 41 s |
| Direct recommendation | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 15:56 | yes | 25 | 151 s |
| Direct recommendation | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 17:49 | no | 0 | 40 s |
| Direct recommendation | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 19:36 | yes | 4 | 15 s |
| Direct recommendation | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 11:25 | yes | 15 | 25 s |
| Paraphrase | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 10:52 | yes | 19 | 10 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 16:04 | yes | 2 | 5 s |
| Paraphrase | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 18:46 | yes | 10 | 25 s |
| Paraphrase | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 17:25 | yes | 10 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 14:53 | yes | 5 | 8 s |
| Paraphrase | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 18:28 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 10:34 | yes | 23 | 23 s |
| Paraphrase | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 17:39 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Paraphrase | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 15:50 | yes | 10 | 34 s |
| Paraphrase | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 11:33 | yes | 20 | 22 s |
| Paraphrase | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 15:44 | yes | 23 | 52 s |
| Paraphrase | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 16:33 | no | 0 | 16 s |
| Paraphrase | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 10:50 | yes | 2 | 14 s |
| Paraphrase | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 15:24 | yes | 13 | 28 s |
| Comparative | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 18:59 | yes | 15 | 10 s |
| Comparative | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 13:28 | yes | 8 | 9 s |
| Comparative | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 18:19 | yes | 11 | 28 s |
| Comparative | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 11:23 | yes | 10 | 6 s |
| Comparative | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 13:53 | yes | 10 | 14 s |
| Comparative | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 19:40 | yes | 14 | 13 s |
| Comparative | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 09:02 | yes | 22 | 38 s |
| Comparative | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 10:21 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Comparative | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 13:44 | yes | 10 | 44 s |
| Comparative | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 12:44 | yes | 19 | 59 s |
| Comparative | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 10:57 | yes | 24 | 100 s |
| Comparative | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 09:18 | yes | 25 | 43 s |
| Comparative | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 11:12 | yes | 8 | 26 s |
| Comparative | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 10:52 | yes | 15 | 32 s |
| Budget constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 09:02 | yes | 14 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 17:28 | yes | 4 | 5 s |
| Budget constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 12:55 | no | 0 | 19 s |
| Budget constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 14:29 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Budget constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 18:47 | yes | 5 | 7 s |
| Budget constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 12:58 | yes | 5 | 8 s |
| Budget constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 18:38 | yes | 22 | 37 s |
| Budget constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 18:04 | yes | 5 | 3 s |
| Budget constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 17:41 | yes | 25 | 90 s |
| Budget constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 12:59 | yes | 13 | 35 s |
| Budget constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 19:29 | yes | 20 | 21 s |
| Budget constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 11:59 | yes | 15 | 66 s |
| Budget constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 11:54 | yes | 1 | 16 s |
| Budget constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 19:29 | yes | 12 | 24 s |
| Scale constrained | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 10:14 | yes | 18 | 13 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 16:29 | yes | 4 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 11:56 | no | 0 | 19 s |
| Scale constrained | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 14:01 | yes | 10 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 15:49 | yes | 10 | 17 s |
| Scale constrained | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 17:30 | no | 0 | 8 s |
| Scale constrained | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 12:31 | yes | 24 | 39 s |
| Scale constrained | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 19:33 | yes | 5 | 4 s |
| Scale constrained | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 14:27 | no | 0 | 30 s |
| Scale constrained | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 09:40 | yes | 14 | 64 s |
| Scale constrained | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 08:48 | yes | 15 | 58 s |
| Scale constrained | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 12:10 | no | 0 | 17 s |
| Scale constrained | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 17:53 | yes | 4 | 24 s |
| Scale constrained | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 10:22 | yes | 12 | 19 s |
| Negative framing | Claude Haiku 4.5 | claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 | 2026-11-01 18:55 | yes | 36 | 13 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-5.4 mini | gpt-5.4-mini-2026-03-17 | 2026-11-01 19:18 | no | 0 | 5 s |
| Negative framing | Gemini 3.5 Flash | gemini-3.6-flash (asked for gemini-3.5-flash; the API answered as this version) | 2026-11-01 12:43 | yes | 11 | 26 s |
| Negative framing | Perplexity Sonar | sonar | 2026-11-01 13:56 | yes | 10 | 4 s |
| Negative framing | Grok 4.20 | spacexai/grok-4.20-non-reasoning via xai | 2026-11-01 15:43 | yes | 15 | 17 s |
| Negative framing | Mistral Small | mistral/mistral-small via mistral | 2026-11-01 14:52 | yes | 5 | 6 s |
| Negative framing | DeepSeek V4 Flash | deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash via deepinfra | 2026-11-01 12:42 | yes | 24 | 36 s |
| Negative framing | Llama 4 Maverick | meta/llama-4-maverick via bedrock | 2026-11-01 10:17 | yes | 5 | 2 s |
| Negative framing | Qwen 3.7 Flash | alibaba/qwen3.7-flash via alibaba | 2026-11-01 13:23 | yes | 9 | 46 s |
| Negative framing | Kimi K2 | moonshotai/kimi-k2 via novita | 2026-11-01 09:41 | yes | 24 | 25 s |
| Negative framing | GLM 4.7 FlashX | zai/glm-4.7-flashx via zai | 2026-11-01 15:43 | yes | 24 | 106 s |
| Negative framing | MiniMax M2.5 | minimax/minimax-m2.5 via minimax | 2026-11-01 16:40 | yes | 15 | 44 s |
| Negative framing | GPT-6 Luna | gpt-6-luna | 2026-11-01 16:45 | yes | 4 | 26 s |
| Negative framing | Muse Glimmer 30B | meta/muse-glimmer-30b via togetherai | 2026-11-01 10:26 | yes | 25 | 32 s |
Normalization in this category
Every judgment call made between the raw labels and the numbers above, listed so it is visible and reversible.
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Category-scoped readings
Abnormal read as Abnormal AI
Barracuda read as Barracuda Email Protection
Barracuda (Email Security Gateway/ESS) read as Barracuda Email Protection
Broadcom read as Symantec Email Security.cloud
Check Point read as Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Check Point (Avanan) read as Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Check Point (Email Security, formerly Avanan/Workspace Security) read as Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Check Point (Harmony Email & Collaboration) read as Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Check Point Harmony Email read as Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration
Cisco read as Cisco Secure Email
Cloudflare read as Cloudflare Email Security
Darktrace read as Darktrace EMAIL
Fortinet read as FortiMail
Google Security read as Google Workspace
Google Workspace Security read as Google Workspace
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 read as Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Mimecast read as Mimecast Email Security
Proofpoint read as Proofpoint Email Protection
Proofpoint (Proofpoint Enterprise) read as Proofpoint Email Protection
Proofpoint Enterprise read as Proofpoint Email Protection
Proofpoint Essentials read as Proofpoint Email Protection
Sublime read as Sublime Security
TitanHQ read as SpamTitan
Trend Micro read as Trend Micro Email Security
Unresolved, counted raw
Abnormal Inbound Email Security
Area 1
Cisco Secure Email Premier
Google Workspace (Gmail) Advanced Protection
Kiteworks Email Protection Gateway
KnowBe4 Prevent (Outbound Email Security)
Mailcow
MessageLabs
Microsoft 365 Native Controls
Mimecast Mail Security
Proofpoint Targeted Attack Protection (TAP)
SpamHero
Symantec Email Security
ZixCorp
Discontinued, still offered
No shut-down product was recommended here.