Barracuda Email Protection is a cloud email security suite from Barracuda Networks covering phishing and impersonation defence, DLP, encryption and sandboxing, with archiving and security awareness training available in the top tier, sold in three tiers (Advanced, Premium, Premium Plus) with no published per-seat price.
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Barracuda Email Protection is a cloud email security suite from Barracuda Networks that combines a secure email gateway, account takeover protection, DMARC-based domain fraud protection, data loss prevention, email encryption and attachment sandboxing, with cloud archiving and security awareness training available as an add-on. It is sold in three tiers: Advanced covers gateway filtering, encryption, DLP and sandboxing; Premium adds unlimited Microsoft 365 backup with point-in-time recovery and file scanning for PII and malware; Premium Plus adds cloud archiving, security awareness training and attack simulation on top of Premium. It suits MSPs who want to sell email security, Microsoft 365 backup and awareness training as one bundle under a single Barracuda contract rather than combining separate vendors for each piece, and who manage many client tenants from one console.
Barracuda does not publish a per-seat price for any of the three tiers; all pricing is quote-only through Barracuda sales or its MSP partner program (checked September 2026). Barracuda's site lists a free trial in its navigation alongside a separate free email threat scan tool, but there is no free version of the paid product once a trial ends. All three tiers include 24/7 live human support, and support is also available through a customer community site and a documentation portal.
Barracuda Email Protection deploys by API against Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace mailboxes, with no MX record changes required, which Barracuda positions against gateway-only competitors that need mail routing changed. Barracuda also sells Cloud-to-Cloud Backup and Intronis Backup, which the vendor bundles into the same Premium and Premium Plus tiers for MSPs that want backup alongside email security from one supplier. Barracuda Networks is based in Campbell, California, and has been owned by the private equity firm KKR since August 2022, having previously been taken private by Thoma Bravo in 2018. MSPs should ask Barracuda or a distributor for the exact price per seat at the tier they need, since none of the three tiers shows a published figure, and should confirm which tier a quote actually covers, since cloud archiving and awareness training sit only in Premium Plus rather than the entry Advanced plan.
Barracuda Email Protection suits an MSP that wants to sell gateway filtering, Microsoft 365 backup and awareness training from a single vendor and contract, rather than assembling Mimecast or Proofpoint Essentials for the gateway and a separate tool such as KnowBe4 for training. Its main drawback for comparison shopping is that Barracuda publishes no price at all, not even a from-figure, so budgeting against a rival with published pricing needs a quote first. Cloud archiving and awareness training sit only in the top Premium Plus tier, not the entry Advanced plan, so check exactly which tier a quote covers before comparing it to a competitor's all-in-one price. On a demo, ask about per-seat cost at your typical client size, whether MSP billing is monthly or annual, and whether the quoted tier includes the Microsoft 365 backup Barracuda bundles into Premium.
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Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Microsoft 365 email security against phishing and malware, priced per user per month. No reviews yet · from £1.54 All alternatives to Barracuda Email Protection| Feature | Supported | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing and malware filtering | yes | AI-based gateway filtering against phishing and malware, included in the base Advanced tier. |
| Spoofing and impersonation protection | yes | Account takeover protection and behavioural detection for compromised accounts, included in all tiers. |
| Email continuity | unknown | Not mentioned on the product, plans or MSP pages checked. |
| Archiving | yes | Cloud Archiving is included only in the top Premium Plus tier. |
| Security awareness training bundle | yes | Security awareness training and attack simulation are bundled into Premium Plus, not the lower tiers. |
| API-based post-delivery scanning | yes | Barracuda markets Email Protection as API-first, deploying against mailboxes with no MX record change. |
| DMARC monitoring | yes | DMARC reporting and domain fraud protection are listed on the Advanced tier and carried through higher tiers. |
| Attachment sandboxing | yes | Attachment sandboxing is listed on the Advanced tier. |
| Data loss prevention | yes | Data loss prevention is listed on the Advanced tier. |
| Email encryption | yes | Email encryption is listed on the Advanced tier. |
| Microsoft 365 integration | yes | Microsoft 365 protection is one of the two named deployment options, alongside Google Workspace. |
| Self-service quarantine | unknown | Not confirmed on the pages checked. |
| Feature | Supported | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing simulation campaigns | yes | Hundreds of real-world phishing simulation templates drawn from Barracuda's threat database, part of Premium Plus. |
| Training content library | yes | A training content library plus monthly ClickThinking video, poster and infographic bundles. |
| Automated remediation training | unknown | Not confirmed on the pages checked. |
| Phish-reporting button | unknown | Not confirmed on the pages checked. |
| Multi-language content | unknown | Not mentioned on the training page checked. |
| Compliance training modules | yes | Vendor describes ready-to-launch training designed to meet compliance requirements. |
| Client-facing reporting | unknown | The training page mentions benchmarking and dashboards but does not confirm client-facing reports for MSPs specifically. |
| Microsoft 365 and Google user sync | unknown | Not confirmed on the pages checked, though the platform integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace generally. |
| Smishing and vishing simulation | unknown | Not mentioned on the training page checked. |
| Gamification | unknown | Not mentioned on the training page checked. |
| Campaign scheduling automation | unknown | Not confirmed beyond a quick-launch setup option. |
| PSA integration for billing | unknown | Not confirmed on the pages checked. |
Barracuda Email Protection has no published per-seat price at all, so there is no confirmed per-mailbox or per-user figure to quote. All three tiers, Advanced, Premium and Premium Plus, are sold through a quote from Barracuda sales or through Barracuda's MSP partner program. Ask for pricing at your actual seat count, since Barracuda does not list a starting figure on its site.
Yes, Barracuda lists a free trial in the navigation of its Email Protection product page. Barracuda also offers a separate free email threat scan that checks a mailbox for existing threats without requiring a full trial signup. There is no ongoing free version of Email Protection once a trial period ends.
Barracuda Email Protection Advanced covers gateway filtering, DMARC reporting, email encryption, data loss prevention and attachment sandboxing. Premium includes everything in Advanced plus unlimited Microsoft 365 backup with point-in-time recovery and scanning of files for PII and malware. Premium Plus includes everything in Premium plus cloud archiving, security awareness training and phishing attack simulation, which are not available in the two lower tiers.
Barracuda Email Protection supports both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace as deployment targets. It connects by API rather than by changing MX records, which Barracuda positions as faster to deploy than a gateway that requires mail routing to change. MSPs running mixed Microsoft and Google client bases can use the same Barracuda contract for both.
Barracuda Networks is owned by the private equity firm KKR, which bought it from Thoma Bravo in August 2022 for about $4 billion. Thoma Bravo had taken Barracuda private in 2018 after several years as a public company on the NYSE. Barracuda Email Protection continues to be sold and supported under the Barracuda Networks brand, not under a KKR-branded product line.
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