Hermes Secure Email Gateway vs IRONSCALES Email Protect

Hermes Secure Email Gateway is a self-hosted Docker Compose stack for email security, mail hosting, encryption, and collaboration. It can sit in front of Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Exchange, or Postfix, run as a full mail server, or combine those roles in a hybrid setup. Incoming mail passes through Postfix postscreen and RBL checks, followed by scanning orchestrated by Amavisd-new with SpamAssassin and ClamAV. Hermes checks SPF, signs and verifies DKIM, enforces and aggregates DMARC, and signs and verifies ARC. Encryption options include SMTP TLS, S/MIME, PGP, encrypted PDF fallback, and Dovecot mail-crypt at rest. Full-server mode adds Dovecot mailboxes, IMAPS, POP3S, Submission, LMTP, quotas, shared mailboxes, and Sieve rules. Bundled Nextcloud supplies file sync, webmail, calendars, and contacts; Authelia provides single sign-on and multi-factor options. The free Community Edition is open source. Pro costs $750.00 per year per server and has a free 30-day trial. Hermes requires a Linux host with Docker Engine 24.0 or later and Docker Compose v2.

IRONSCALES Email Protect is a cloud email-security product that scans links and attachments and uses Adaptive AI with customizable automation. Its detection covers phishing, business email compromise, VIP impersonation, QR code attacks, and generative AI attacks. Themis automatically classifies, clusters, and remediates threats identified by machine learning or reported by users. Native API connections support Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace without MX record changes or agents. The platform can also connect with SIEM, SOAR, XDR, and EDR systems for incident-response workflows. Optional email encryption uses OTP and AES-256 encryption in transit and at rest; a separate add-on provides policy-triggered encryption with DLP templates for HIPAA, PCI, and GDPR. IRONSCALES describes a threat intelligence network of more than 36,000 security professionals across more than 18,000 organizations. The company states it is SOC 2 Type II certified, with the report available to customers by written request. Pricing is on request, and a 14-day free trial is available. Listed platforms are Android, iOS, API, and web.