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Cybersecurity · head to head

Mimecast vs Periscope Holdings

Mimecast logo

Mimecast

Cybersecurity

Email and collaboration security

From
$4/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mimecast no pricing is published for any product or plan, and every route ends at a quote or demo request; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: Mimecast covers Advanced threat detection, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mimecast and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where Mimecast and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeMimecastPeriscope Holdings
Starting price$4/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsEmail, Cloud, CollaborationWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Mimecast

  • Advanced threat detection
  • Secure sharing
  • Email encryption
  • Message tracking
  • Email archiving
  • Legal hold
  • eDiscovery
  • Backup and recovery

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Mimecast

  • Email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacksnot Periscope Holdings
  • Email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisationsnot Periscope Holdings

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Mimecast
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Mimecast
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Mimecast
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Mimecast

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Mimecast

  • No pricing is published for any product or plan, and every route ends at a quote or demo request
  • The platform is split into separately sold products for email security, awareness training, data protection and governance
  • Collaboration threat protection, DMARC analysis, incident response and email archiving are all further add ons on top of those

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Mimecast

$4/month
  • Defender$4/month
    • Per user
    • Threat protection
    • Impersonation prevention
  • Archive$3/month
    • Email archiving
    • Legal hold
    • Search & recall
  • Unified$6/month
    • All Defender features
    • All Archive features
    • Backup

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

Choose Mimecast if

  • You need advanced threat detection.
  • You work on Email, Cloud, Collaboration.
  • You also want secure sharing.
Mimecast review

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is Mimecast or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. Mimecast starts at $4/month and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mimecast or Periscope Holdings?
Mimecast starts at $4/month and Periscope Holdings at On request.
Does Mimecast or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Mimecast runs on Email, Cloud, Collaboration. Periscope Holdings runs on Web.
What is Mimecast best used for?
Mimecast is most often used for email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacks, email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisations. Of those, email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacks and email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisations are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can Mimecast do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
Mimecast covers Advanced threat detection, Secure sharing, Email encryption, Message tracking. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mimecast: How much does Mimecast cost?

Mimecast does not publish pricing on its website. Customers must request a custom quote by contacting the sales team at +1 617 393 7000 or using the Get a Quote button.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Mimecast: Is there a free trial of Mimecast?

Mimecast's trial and pricing options are not specified on the public website. Contact sales at +1 617 393 7000 or through their support portal at mimecastsupport.zendesk.com for trial availability.

Source
Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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