[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":667},["ShallowReactive",2],{"money-live:best":3,"money:alternatives:microsoft-defender-for-office-365-alternatives":4,"money-links:\u002Fen\u002Falternatives\u002Fmicrosoft-defender-for-office-365-alternatives":644},true,{"page":5},{"family":6,"slug":7,"navLabel":8,"hubBlurb":9,"icon":10,"eyebrow":11,"h1":12,"lede":13,"seoTitle":14,"seoDescription":15,"reviewed":16,"heroChips":17,"sections":22,"faqs":524,"sources":546,"disclaimer":616,"related":617,"cta":640,"schema":643},"alternatives","microsoft-defender-for-office-365-alternatives","Defender for Office 365 alternatives","Alternatives to Microsoft Defender for Office 365, and why most of them are add-ons rather than replacements. Plan 1, Plan 2 and E3 changes explained.","scale","Alternatives","Microsoft Defender for Office 365 alternatives and add-ons","The best Microsoft Defender for Office 365 alternative for EU teams is Sentaro, an API-based layer that runs on top of Defender’s built-in protection, connects in four minutes with no MX change and costs a published $6 per protected account per month. Other options are upgrading to Plan 2, other API-based layers such as Check Point Harmony Email, IRONSCALES and Abnormal AI, and gateways such as Mimecast or Hornetsecurity in front of Defender. Microsoft Learn documents built-in protection in every Microsoft 365 tenant, and Microsoft announced on 17 June 2026 that Plan 1 is rolling out to Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E3, so most of these options add to Defender rather than replace it.","Defender for Office 365 alternatives and add-ons (2026)","Alternatives to Microsoft Defender for Office 365: what Plan 1 and Plan 2 cover, when to add an API layer or gateway, and 8 options compared. October 2026.","2026-10-18",[18,19,20,21],"Plan 1 now in E3","Add vs replace","11 vendors in the table","Sources listed",[23,40,45,77,89,166,281,449,452,478,482,485,504],{"t":24,"title":25,"summary":26,"points":27},"verdict","Our recommendation","Sentaro is the best Defender for Office 365 alternative, and the best addition to it, for EU teams on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace: it connects over the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace APIs in four minutes with no MX change and no agents; its BEC and vendor-fraud verdicts show their reasoning in the console, so you can audit them on your own mail; its App vector, live since Q3 2026, covers OAuth grants and AI tools in the same platform; its price, $6 per protected account per month with every feature included, is published (USD); and it is hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure, with subprocessors listed in the DPA. Sentaro is designed to run with Defender rather than replace it, so you keep Microsoft’s baseline for bulk attacks and add a layer for targeted ones.",[28,31,34,37],{"label":29,"text":30},"Why Sentaro wins","it adds Google Workspace coverage, an OAuth grant and shadow-AI inventory with one-click revocation (Microsoft Learn places OAuth app governance in a separate product, Defender for Cloud Apps), and BEC verdicts whose reasoning admins can audit, all at one published price of $6 per account per month.",{"label":32,"text":33},"Choose Sentaro if","you are an EU team that wants an API layer for BEC, QR lures and OAuth grants, hosted in Sweden, at $6 per protected account per month.",{"label":35,"text":36},"Consider Plan 2 or a gateway only if","you have a SOC that will use Threat Explorer, automated investigation and attack simulation, or you need archiving, continuity or outbound controls.",{"label":38,"text":39},"Replace Defender only if","you are leaving Microsoft 365. Its built-in protection stays on for every cloud mailbox regardless.",{"t":41,"tone":42,"title":43,"text":44},"callout","info","Disclosure","Sentaro publishes this guide and ranks itself first; competitor facts are public and sourced as of 18 October 2026.",{"t":46,"id":47,"title":48,"blocks":49},"prose","what-defender-covers","What Defender for Office 365 already covers",[50,53,72,75],{"t":51,"text":52},"p","Microsoft documents three tiers. Built-in protection (formerly Exchange Online Protection, EOP) is in every cloud mailbox. Plan 1 and Plan 2 add to it.",{"t":54,"rows":55},"table",[56,60,64,68],[57,58,59],"Tier","Included in","Adds",[61,62,63],"Built-in protection (EOP)","Every Microsoft 365 subscription with cloud mailboxes","Anti-malware, anti-spam, spoof intelligence, quarantine, zero-hour auto purge, Tenant Allow\u002FBlock List",[65,66,67],"Plan 1 ($2 per user\u002Fmonth)","Business Premium; rolling out to Microsoft 365 E3\u002FG3 and Office 365 E3\u002FG3 from 17 June 2026","User and domain impersonation protection, mailbox intelligence, Safe Attachments, Safe Links (including QR-code attacks, per Microsoft), Teams protection",[69,70,71],"Plan 2 ($5 per user\u002Fmonth)","Microsoft 365 E5, A5, G5","Threat Explorer, campaigns, automated investigation and response, attack simulation training, advanced hunting",{"t":73,"text":74},"h3","What none of the tiers include",{"t":51,"text":76},"Microsoft sells these as separate products, not as part of Defender for Office 365: OAuth app governance and shadow IT discovery (Defender for Cloud Apps), identity risk (Entra ID P2), archiving and DLP (Purview), and backup (Microsoft 365 Backup). Defender enforces SPF, DKIM and DMARC but does not manage DMARC reports. It does not cover Google Workspace.",{"t":46,"id":78,"title":79,"blocks":80},"why","Why teams look beyond Defender",[81],{"t":82,"items":83},"ul",[84,85,86,87,88],"Targeted, payload-free attacks. Microsoft documents impersonation protection for users and domains, plus mailbox intelligence. BEC sent from a real, compromised supplier account involves no impersonation and may carry no link or attachment to detonate. This is where behavioral, relationship-aware tools focus.","OAuth and shadow AI. Consent phishing and risky app grants sit outside Defender for Office 365.","Mixed estates. Organizations running both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace need a tool that covers both.","Operational load. Plan 2’s investigation tools are powerful but assume someone has time to use them. Lean IT teams may prefer automatic remediation and fewer alerts.","A second opinion. Some regulated firms want a second, independent detection engine as part of their ICT risk management.",{"t":46,"id":90,"title":91,"blocks":92},"summary","Defender alternatives and add-ons at a glance",[93],{"t":54,"rows":94},[95,102,109,116,123,129,133,139,145,152,157,161],[96,97,98,99,100,101],"Vendor","Type","Deploys via","Public price","Hosting","Best for",[103,104,105,106,107,108],"Sentaro (our pick)","API (ICES)","Microsoft 365 and Workspace APIs","$6 per account\u002Fmonth","Sweden (Microsoft Azure); see DPA","Our pick: EU teams on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace",[110,111,112,113,114,115],"Defender for Office 365","Native","Exchange Online mail flow","Plan 1 $2, Plan 2 $5 per user\u002Fmonth","EU Data Boundary","The baseline you keep",[117,118,119,120,121,122],"Check Point Harmony Email","API (ICES), inline option","API, no MX change","Quote","Ireland region option","Inline-via-API and many SaaS apps",[124,104,125,126,127,128],"IRONSCALES","API at mailbox level","Quote (tiers published)","AWS USA or Germany (subprocessor list)","SMBs and MSPs wanting simulation bundled",[130,104,119,120,131,132],"Abnormal AI","US or EU (Ireland), by subscription","Large enterprises",[134,104,135,136,137,138],"Sublime Security","API; managed or self-hosted","Free to 100 mailboxes; Enterprise quote","EU (Dublin) managed region, or self-host","SOC teams that write rules",[140,141,142,120,143,144],"Mimecast","Gateway and API","MX or API","Frankfurt data centres (2018)","Archive, continuity, on-prem Exchange",[146,147,148,149,150,151],"Hornetsecurity","Gateway, API or hybrid","MX, API or hybrid","Quote via partners","12 regional data centres (vendor)","Microsoft 365 suites via MSPs",[153,141,154,120,155,156],"Proofpoint","MX or Microsoft Graph","EU or US data centre (API product); some US processing","Enterprises wanting a full suite",[158,104,119,120,159,160],"Barracuda","Gateway: Frankfurt, London; API modules: US","SMBs wanting backup and archive bundled",[162,104,163,120,164,165],"Darktrace \u002F EMAIL","API or API plus journaling","Not publicly documented","Existing Darktrace customers",{"t":167,"id":6,"title":168,"numbered":3,"items":169},"cards","8 alternatives and add-ons to Defender for Office 365 in detail",[170,189,203,217,230,242,255,267],{"title":171,"tag":172,"own":3,"to":173,"bestFor":174,"text":175,"meta":176},"Sentaro","Our pick","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-microsoft-defender-for-office-365","EU teams on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace that want strong BEC and phishing protection without a gateway project.","Sentaro is the layer we recommend on top of Defender for Office 365 rather than instead of it: an API-based email and SaaS security platform for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, built in Stockholm and hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure. Strengths: designed to run with Defender, not replace it; scans internal and historical mail; verdicts labeled in the mailbox, with reasoning shown in the console; the App vector inventories OAuth grants and shadow AI and revokes risky grants; $6 per protected account per month, or $68 per account per year; the first account is free. Prices in USD. Keep Defender’s filtering as the first layer: Sentaro adds no gateway, archive or encryption.",[177,180,183,186],{"label":178,"value":179},"Deployment","API via the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace admin SDKs; no MX change",{"label":181,"value":182},"Platforms","Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Teams",{"label":184,"value":185},"Pricing","$6 per protected account per month or $68 per year; first account free (USD)",{"label":187,"value":188},"EU hosting","Hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure; subprocessors listed in the DPA",{"title":190,"to":191,"bestFor":192,"text":193,"meta":194},"Defender for Office 365 Plan 2","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fdefender-for-office-365-plan-1-vs-plan-2","Microsoft-only organizations with a security team that will use investigation and hunting.","The upgrade within Microsoft. Strengths: Threat Explorer, Threat Trackers, campaigns, automated investigation and response for compromised users, attack simulation training; included in Microsoft 365 E5, otherwise $5 per user per month. Limits, per Microsoft Learn as of 18 October 2026: Microsoft 365 only; OAuth governance and archiving remain separate products.",[195,197,199,201],{"label":178,"value":196},"Native to Exchange Online, in the mail flow",{"label":181,"value":198},"Microsoft 365 only",{"label":184,"value":200},"Plan 1 $2, Plan 2 $5 per user\u002Fmonth (annual); Plan 1 included in Business Premium and, from 2026, Microsoft 365 and Office 365 E3",{"label":187,"value":202},"EU Data Boundary for tenants signed up in the EU\u002FEFTA (Multi-Geo excluded)",{"title":204,"to":205,"bestFor":206,"text":207,"meta":208},"Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-check-point-harmony-email","Teams that want inline blocking via API and coverage of many file-sharing apps.","API-based protection with an inline option. Strengths: Check Point says it inspects mail before the inbox, configurable from monitor mode to inline prevention; shadow IT detection and account takeover in every tier; DLP in Complete Protect. Limits, per checkpoint.com as of 18 October 2026: pricing not published; DMARC, archiving and training are add-ons.",[209,211,213,215],{"label":178,"value":210},"API with configurable inline prevention; no MX change",{"label":181,"value":212},"Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, plus Teams, Slack, OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox",{"label":184,"value":214},"Quote-based (four published tiers)",{"label":187,"value":216},"Data residency regions include Ireland (EMEA), per the admin guide",{"title":124,"to":218,"bestFor":219,"text":220,"meta":221},"\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-ironscales","SMBs and MSPs that want a layer plus simulation, with a multi-tenant console.","Mailbox-level API protection. Strengths: behavioral baselines plus community intelligence; designed to work alongside existing filtering; simulation and training in higher tiers. Limits, per ironscales.com as of 21 October 2026: quote-based pricing; its subprocessor list names AWS in the USA and AWS Europe (Germany) for the primary application platform.",[222,224,226,228],{"label":178,"value":223},"API at mailbox level; works alongside a gateway",{"label":181,"value":225},"Microsoft 365, Google Workspace",{"label":184,"value":227},"Quote-based (plan tiers published, prices not)",{"label":187,"value":229},"Subprocessor list names AWS in the USA and AWS Europe (Germany) for the primary application platform",{"title":130,"to":231,"bestFor":232,"text":233,"meta":234},"\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-abnormal-security","Large enterprises adding a behavioral layer to E5.","Behavioral API platform. Strengths: baselines per employee and vendor; account takeover protection and posture management for Microsoft 365; states over 30% of the Fortune 500 as customers. Limits, per abnormal.ai as of 21 October 2026: pricing not published; hosting on AWS in the US or the EU (Ireland), set by subscription (subprocessor list, July 2026).",[235,237,238,240],{"label":178,"value":236},"API (ICES); no MX change",{"label":181,"value":225},{"label":184,"value":239},"Quote-based",{"label":187,"value":241},"Subprocessor list (updated 31 July 2026): AWS in the US or the EU (Ireland), set by subscription",{"title":134,"to":243,"bestFor":244,"text":245,"meta":246},"\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-sublime-security","Security engineers who want to write and inspect detection rules.","Detection-as-code. Strengths: open rule library; AI agents for triage and rule writing; managed cloud free for the first 100 mailboxes; self-hosting option. Limits: managed-cloud regions not publicly documented; rule-based tuning assumes security staff.",[247,249,251,253],{"label":178,"value":248},"API (ICES); managed cloud or self-hosted",{"label":181,"value":250},"Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, IMAP",{"label":184,"value":252},"Managed cloud: first 100 mailboxes free; Enterprise quote-based",{"label":187,"value":254},"Managed-cloud regions include EU (Dublin) and UK (London); or self-host in your own AWS or Azure region",{"title":140,"to":256,"bestFor":257,"text":258,"meta":259},"\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-mimecast","Organizations that need archiving, continuity and on-premises Exchange alongside filtering.","Gateway or API suite. Strengths: Cloud Gateway (MX) or Cloud Integrated (API); Email Archive, DMARC Analyzer and training; on-premises and hybrid Exchange. Limits: the gateway mode overlaps most with Defender; pricing not published.",[260,262,264,265],{"label":178,"value":261},"Cloud Gateway (MX) or Cloud Integrated (API)",{"label":181,"value":263},"Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, on-premises and hybrid Exchange",{"label":184,"value":239},{"label":187,"value":266},"Frankfurt data centres announced in 2018; current footprint not re-confirmed",{"title":268,"to":269,"bestFor":270,"text":271,"meta":272},"Hornetsecurity 365 Total Protection","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-hornetsecurity","Microsoft 365 customers buying through an MSP who want backup and archiving bundled.","Tiered Microsoft 365 suite. Strengths: MX, API or hybrid modes; encryption, archiving, backup, DMARC management and training across four plans; vendor states 12 regional data centres. Limits, per hornetsecurity.com as of 18 October 2026: pricing via partners only; now a Proofpoint company.",[273,275,277,279],{"label":178,"value":274},"MX, API or hybrid modes",{"label":181,"value":276},"Microsoft 365 (Google Workspace not confirmed on vendor pages)",{"label":184,"value":278},"Quote-based, sold through partners",{"label":187,"value":280},"Vendor states \"12 regional data centers, independent of Microsoft’s infrastructure\"; German data centres per third-party profiles",{"t":282,"id":282,"title":283,"intro":-1,"columns":284,"own":285,"groups":286,"footnote":448},"compare","Defender and the alternatives side by side",[171,110,117,124,130,140,146],0,[287,334,376,421],{"label":288,"rows":289},"Deployment and platforms",[290,296,307,320],{"label":178,"cells":291},[119,292,293,294,119,295,148],"Native to Exchange Online","API with inline prevention","API, alongside a gateway","Gateway (MX) or API",{"label":297,"cells":298},"Microsoft 365",[299,301,302,303,304,305,306],{"mark":300,"text":-1},"yes",{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"label":308,"cells":309},"Google Workspace",[310,311,313,314,315,316,317],{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":312,"text":-1},"no",{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":318,"text":319},"unknown","Not confirmed on vendor pages",{"label":321,"cells":322},"On-premises Exchange",[323,325,328,329,330,331,333],{"mark":312,"text":324},"Cloud mailboxes only",{"mark":326,"text":327},"partial","Standalone EOP",{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":300,"text":332},"On-premises and hybrid",{"mark":318,"text":164},{"label":335,"rows":336},"Threat coverage",[337,350,362],{"label":338,"cells":339},"BEC and impersonation",[340,342,344,345,346,347,348],{"mark":300,"text":341},"Message vector, live",{"mark":300,"text":343},"Impersonation protection (Plan 1)",{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":318,"text":349},"Advanced threat protection named",{"label":351,"cells":352},"QR-code phishing",[353,355,357,358,359,360,361],{"mark":300,"text":354},"Decoded and destination analyzed",{"mark":300,"text":356},"Safe Links (Plan 1)",{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":-1},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"label":363,"cells":364},"OAuth apps and shadow IT",[365,367,369,371,372,373,374],{"mark":300,"text":366},"App vector, live",{"mark":312,"text":368},"Separate product: Defender for Cloud Apps",{"mark":300,"text":370},"Shadow IT detection",{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":326,"text":375},"Permission management (Plan 4)",{"label":377,"rows":378},"Suite extras",[379,394,407],{"label":380,"cells":381},"DMARC report management",[382,384,386,388,389,390,392],{"mark":312,"text":383},"Reads DMARC posture as a signal only",{"mark":312,"text":385},"Enforces DMARC; no report management",{"mark":387,"text":-1},"addon",{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":387,"text":391},"DMARC Analyzer",{"mark":300,"text":393},"Plan 4",{"label":395,"cells":396},"Archiving",[397,398,400,401,402,403,405],{"mark":312,"text":-1},{"mark":312,"text":399},"Separate product: Purview",{"mark":387,"text":-1},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":318,"text":164},{"mark":300,"text":404},"Email Archive",{"mark":300,"text":406},"Plan 2 and above",{"label":408,"cells":409},"Awareness training",[410,412,414,415,417,419,420],{"mark":312,"text":411},"Not offered by design",{"mark":300,"text":413},"Attack simulation training (Plan 2)",{"mark":387,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":416},"Human Risk Management",{"mark":300,"text":418},"AI Phishing Coach",{"mark":387,"text":-1},{"mark":300,"text":393},{"label":422,"rows":423},"Buying and data",[424,437],{"label":425,"cells":426},"Public pricing",[427,428,430,431,433,434,435],{"mark":300,"text":106},{"mark":300,"text":429},"Plan 1 $2, Plan 2 $5",{"mark":312,"text":239},{"mark":312,"text":432},"Tiers published, prices on quote",{"mark":312,"text":239},{"mark":312,"text":239},{"mark":312,"text":436},"Quote-based via partners",{"label":438,"cells":439},"EU hosting documented",[440,442,443,444,445,446,447],{"mark":300,"text":441},"Hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure; see DPA",{"mark":300,"text":114},{"mark":300,"text":121},{"mark":326,"text":127},{"mark":326,"text":131},{"mark":326,"text":143},{"mark":300,"text":150},"“Not publicly documented” means we could not find it in the vendor’s public material on 18 October 2026, not that the capability is missing. Add-on means sold separately or in a higher tier.",{"t":41,"tone":42,"title":450,"text":451},"When Defender alone is the better choice","Defender is native: no connector, no MX change, and it covers Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. Microsoft publishes SLAs for built-in protection (99.999% monthly uptime, over 99% spam effectiveness), it falls under the EU Data Boundary for EU and EFTA tenants, and Plan 1 is already paid for in Business Premium and E3. If you rarely see targeted BEC or supplier fraud get through, adding a layer may not be worth it yet.",{"t":46,"id":453,"title":454,"blocks":455},"decide","Add a layer, put a gateway in front, or upgrade within Microsoft?",[456],{"t":54,"rows":457},[458,463,468,473],[459,460,461,462],"Option","How it works","Good when","Trade-off",[464,465,466,467],"Upgrade to Plan 2","Same Microsoft stack, more investigation tools","You have a SOC in Defender XDR","Still Microsoft-only; no OAuth governance in Defender for Office 365",[469,470,471,472],"API layer (ICES)","Connects to the mailbox via API, behind Defender","You want BEC and targeted phishing coverage without touching MX","Another vendor; remediation timing differs by tool",[474,475,476,477],"Secure email gateway","Sits in front of MX, filters before Microsoft","You need archiving, continuity or outbound relay","MX change, connector rules, overlap with Defender",{"t":41,"tone":479,"title":480,"text":481},"roadmap","Roadmap: Identity and Behavioral, Q4 2026","Everything compared on this page is live today: the Message vector (since Q2 2026) and the App vector (since Q3 2026). Identity (leaked credentials, lookalike-domain registration alerts) and Behavioral (account-takeover and session anomalies, forwarding-rule abuse, forced re-authentication and session revocation) reach general availability in Q4 2026, included at no added cost. Until then Sentaro does not offer account-takeover detection, so if you need it live today, weigh that against the vendors that document it.",{"t":41,"tone":42,"title":483,"text":484},"Certification status","SOC 2 and ISO 27001: certification in progress, with no target date published; Sentaro says it will announce them the day they are signed, and not before. Google CASA: verified API integration. The DPA and subprocessor list are public at sentaro.com\u002Fen\u002Flegal\u002Fdpa; an evidence pack for NIS2, DORA and SOC 2 diligence is available on request from hello@sentaro.com.",{"t":486,"id":487,"title":488,"options":489},"choose","sentaro-fit","Why Sentaro is our pick",[490,498],{"heading":29,"own":3,"items":491},[492,493,494,495,496,497],"Built to sit on top of Defender or Gmail, not replace them: Sentaro connects over the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace admin APIs in four minutes, with no agents and no MX change (your MX record stays where it is, which you can check in DNS), and shows historical mail within 15 minutes.","Adds detection for fraud without a link or attachment: The Message vector, live since Q2 2026, scores intent, sender identity and relationship signals before interaction, including vendor-compromise and thread-hijack detection, and every verdict shows its reasoning in the console, so you can audit its BEC calls on your own mail.","OAuth and shadow AI in the same product: The App vector, live since Q3 2026, inventories every app, AI tool and OAuth grant within 15 minutes of connecting, blocks consent phishing and revokes risky grants in one click.","A small, visible line item: $6 per protected account per month, or $68 per year, every feature included, published on sentaro.com\u002Fen\u002Fpricing; the first account is free, so you can test it before talking to sales. Prices in USD.","Hosting in writing: Hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure, with every subprocessor listed in the public DPA (sentaro.com\u002Fen\u002Flegal\u002Fdpa).","You want to keep Defender as the first layer and add relationship-aware detection plus OAuth grant visibility on top.",{"heading":499,"items":500},"Consider another option only if",[501,502,503],"You need an MX gateway, archiving, encryption, backup or DMARC report management. Sentaro does none of these.","You need account-takeover monitoring or a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certificate today; see the roadmap and certification notes on this page.","You run on-premises Exchange. Sentaro supports Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace only.",{"t":505,"id":506,"title":507,"items":508},"steps","add","How to add a layer to Defender without breaking anything",[509,512,515,518,521],{"title":510,"text":511},"Turn on what you already own","Apply Defender’s Standard or Strict preset security policies and check the configuration analyzer. Confirm whether Plan 1 has reached your E3 tenant.",{"title":513,"text":514},"Connect the layer over API","No MX change and no connector rules. Sentaro connects over API in four minutes and shows historical visibility within 15 minutes.",{"title":516,"text":517},"Start in tag mode","Label verdicts in the mailbox first, so you can see what the layer catches that Defender did not.",{"title":519,"text":520},"Agree who acts","Decide which tool quarantines what. Defender keeps bulk and malware; the layer handles targeted and payload-free fraud.",{"title":522,"text":523},"Document the control","Record both layers in your NIS2 or DORA ICT risk documentation, with each vendor’s DPA and subprocessors.",[525,528,531,534,537,540,543],{"q":526,"a":527},"What is the best Microsoft Defender for Office 365 alternative?","Sentaro. For EU teams on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, Sentaro is our pick as the best Microsoft Defender for Office 365 alternative: it connects over API in four minutes with no MX change, catches BEC and vendor fraud before interaction, blocks OAuth consent phishing in the same platform and costs $6 per protected account per month (USD), hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure. Sentaro runs on top of Defender rather than replacing it; if you have a SOC, Plan 2 adds Threat Explorer and attack simulation training.",{"q":529,"a":530},"Is Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enough on its own?","For bulk spam, malware and known phishing, Defender is a good baseline, and Microsoft publishes strong SLAs for it. If targeted BEC, supplier fraud or OAuth consent phishing are your concern, consider an API-based layer on top: those attacks depend on relationship context rather than links or attachments, and OAuth governance is a separate Microsoft product.",{"q":532,"a":533},"Does Microsoft 365 E3 include Defender for Office 365 Plan 1?","Yes, as of 2026. Microsoft began rolling Plan 1 out to Microsoft 365 E3\u002FG3 and Office 365 E3\u002FG3 on 17 June 2026. Microsoft’s licensing page says features are complete by 1 August 2026; the Defender blog says by fall 2026. Business Premium already included it.",{"q":535,"a":536},"What is the difference between Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 and Plan 2?","Plan 1 adds impersonation protection, Safe Links, Safe Attachments and Teams protection to built-in filtering. Plan 2 adds Threat Explorer, campaigns, automated investigation and response, advanced hunting and attack simulation training. Plan 1 lists at $2 and Plan 2 at $5 per user per month.",{"q":538,"a":539},"Can I run Sentaro and Defender together?","Yes, that is the intended setup. Sentaro connects over the Microsoft 365 API behind Defender, with no MX change. Defender handles bulk attacks; Sentaro adds behavioral detection for targeted and payload-free attacks, plus OAuth grant visibility.",{"q":541,"a":542},"Does Defender for Office 365 protect Google Workspace?","No. Defender for Office 365 is Microsoft 365 only. Organizations with Google Workspace, or both platforms, need Google’s built-in protections plus a tool that supports Workspace, such as Sentaro, Check Point, IRONSCALES, Sublime or Abnormal.",{"q":544,"a":545},"Does Defender for Office 365 detect OAuth consent phishing?","OAuth app governance is not part of Defender for Office 365. Microsoft offers it in Defender for Cloud Apps, a separate product. Sentaro’s App vector inventories OAuth grants with scope-level risk and blocks consent phishing lures in mail flow.",[547,550,553,556,559,562,565,568,571,574,577,580,583,586,589,592,595,598,601,604,607,610,613],{"label":548,"url":549},"Microsoft Learn: Why do I need Microsoft Defender for Office 365? (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Flearn.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fdefender-office-365\u002Fmdo-about",{"label":551,"url":552},"Microsoft Learn: Built-in security features for all cloud mailboxes (EOP) (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Flearn.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fdefender-office-365\u002Feop-about",{"label":554,"url":555},"Microsoft: Defender for Office 365 pricing (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fsecurity\u002Fbusiness\u002Fsiem-and-xdr\u002Fmicrosoft-defender-office-365",{"label":557,"url":558},"Microsoft Tech Community: Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 rolling out to Microsoft 365 E3 (2026-06-17)","https:\u002F\u002Ftechcommunity.microsoft.com\u002Fblog\u002Fmicrosoftdefenderforoffice365blog\u002Fmicrosoft-defender-for-office-365-plan-1-is-now-rolling-out-to-microsoft-365-e3-\u002F4527287",{"label":560,"url":561},"Microsoft licensing news: 2026 Microsoft 365 packaging and pricing updates","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Flicensing\u002Fnews\u002F2026-M365-Packaging-Pricing-Updates",{"label":563,"url":564},"Microsoft Learn: EU Data Boundary (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Flearn.microsoft.com\u002Fen-us\u002Fprivacy\u002Feudb\u002Feu-data-boundary-learn",{"label":566,"url":567},"Check Point: Harmony Email & Collaboration (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.checkpoint.com\u002Fharmony\u002Femail-security\u002F",{"label":569,"url":570},"IRONSCALES: Home page (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fironscales.com\u002F",{"label":572,"url":573},"Abnormal AI: Inbound Email Security (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fabnormal.ai\u002Fproducts\u002Finbound-email-security",{"label":575,"url":576},"Abnormal AI: About (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fabnormal.ai\u002Fabout",{"label":578,"url":579},"Sublime Security docs: Installation (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.sublime.security\u002Fdocs\u002Finstallation",{"label":581,"url":582},"Mimecast: Email Security (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mimecast.com\u002Fproducts\u002Femail-security\u002F",{"label":584,"url":585},"Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Protection (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hornetsecurity.com\u002Fen\u002F365-total-protection\u002F",{"label":587,"url":588},"Hornetsecurity: Email security modes","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.hornetsecurity.com\u002Fen\u002Femail-security-modes\u002F",{"label":590,"url":591},"Proofpoint: Core Email Protection (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.proofpoint.com\u002Fus\u002Fproducts\u002Femail-protection",{"label":593,"url":594},"Barracuda: Email Protection (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.barracuda.com\u002Fproducts\u002Femail-protection",{"label":596,"url":597},"Darktrace: Darktrace \u002F EMAIL (accessed 2026-10-18)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.darktrace.com\u002Fproducts\u002Femail",{"label":599,"url":600},"Sentaro Data Processing Agreement and subprocessor list","https:\u002F\u002Fsentaro.com\u002Fen\u002Flegal\u002Fdpa",{"label":602,"url":603},"Abnormal AI: Subprocessors (updated 31 July 2026; accessed 2026-10-21)","https:\u002F\u002Fabnormal.ai\u002Flegal\u002Fsubprocessors",{"label":605,"url":606},"IRONSCALES: List of current sub-processors (PDF, December 2024; accessed 2026-10-21)","https:\u002F\u002Fironscales.com\u002Fhubfs\u002FPDFs\u002FIRONSCALES%20Sub%20Processors.pdf",{"label":608,"url":609},"Proofpoint: Data privacy information sheet, Core Email Protection API (updated 24 July 2026; accessed 2026-10-21)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.proofpoint.com\u002Fus\u002Flegal\u002Ftrust\u002Fdata-privacy-information-sheet-core-email-protection-api",{"label":611,"url":612},"Sublime Security docs: Sublime Cloud regions (accessed 2026-10-21)","https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.sublime.security\u002Fdocs\u002Fsublime-managed",{"label":614,"url":615},"Barracuda Trust Center: Data center locations (accessed 2026-10-21)","https:\u002F\u002Ftrust.barracuda.com\u002Flegal\u002Fdata-center-locations","Comparison based on publicly available information as of 18 October 2026. Product capabilities change; check each vendor’s current documentation. Trademarks belong to their owners. Corrections: contact Sentaro.",[618,620,622,625,628,631,634,637],{"label":619,"to":173},"Sentaro vs Defender for Office 365",{"label":621,"to":191},"Defender Plan 1 vs Plan 2",{"label":623,"to":624},"Microsoft 365 email security","\u002Fen\u002Fplatforms\u002Fmicrosoft-365-email-security",{"label":626,"to":627},"API email security vs secure email gateway","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fapi-email-security-vs-secure-email-gateway",{"label":629,"to":630},"Consent phishing","\u002Fen\u002Fsolutions\u002Fconsent-phishing",{"label":632,"to":633},"EU-headquartered alternatives","\u002Fen\u002Falternatives\u002Feuropean-email-security-alternatives",{"label":635,"to":636},"ICES add-ons for Microsoft 365, compared","\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fices-vendors-compared",{"label":638,"to":639},"How Sentaro layers on Defender","\u002Fen\u002Fplatform",{"title":641,"note":642},"Add Sentaro behind Defender","Four-minute API connection, no MX change. The first account is free.","itemlist",{"links":645,"only":662,"labels":665},[646,648,649,652,653,656,659],{"label":308,"to":647},"\u002Fen\u002Fplatforms\u002Fgoogle-workspace-email-security",{"label":297,"to":624},{"label":650,"to":651},"BEC","\u002Fen\u002Fsolutions\u002Fbec",{"label":629,"to":630},{"label":654,"to":655},"Shadow AI","\u002Fen\u002Fsolutions\u002Fshadow-ai",{"label":657,"to":658},"Shadow IT","\u002Fen\u002Fsolutions\u002Fshadow-it",{"label":660,"to":661},"DMARC","\u002Fen\u002Fglossary\u002Fdmarc",{"2":663,"3":664},[658,624,661,647],[651,655,630],{"\u002Fen\u002Fcompare\u002Fsentaro-vs-microsoft-defender-for-office-365":666},"Sentaro vs Microsoft Defender for Office 365",1792761723539]