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Cybersecurity · head to head

Mimecast vs Visual Studio

Mimecast logo

Mimecast

Cybersecurity

Email and collaboration security

From
$4/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Visual Studio logo

Visual Studio

Developer Tools

IDE for .NET and C++ development on Windows

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Visual Studio has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Visual Studio community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mimecast and Visual Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where Mimecast and Visual Studio differ
AttributeMimecastVisual Studio
Starting price$4/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsEmail, Cloud, CollaborationWeb
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools
Founded2003Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Visual Studio

Nothing recorded that Mimecast does not also cover.

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 Visual Studio
  • Email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisationsnot Visual Studio

Visual Studio

  • Managing complex, large-scale projects across multiple platformsnot Mimecast
  • Commercial development in small businessesnot Mimecast
  • DevOps and automated deployment workflowsnot Mimecast
  • Windows/SQL Server developer and tester rolesnot Mimecast
  • Short-term or month-to-month IDE access needsnot 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

Visual Studio

  • Community edition is free only for individual developers, classroom use, academic research and open-source contribution, not general commercial use
  • Monthly subscriptions are $45 per user per month for Professional and $250 per user per month for Enterprise, and do not include perpetual use rights the way annual Standard subscriptions do
  • A standalone perpetually licensed Visual Studio Professional 2022 costs $499 as a one-time purchase, separate from the subscription tiers

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

Visual Studio

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Visual Studio review.

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 Visual Studio if

  • You want to start without paying.
Visual Studio review

Questions people ask

Is Mimecast or Visual Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. Mimecast starts at $4/month and Visual Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mimecast or Visual Studio?
Visual Studio has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $4/month for Mimecast and Free for Visual Studio.
Does Mimecast or Visual Studio run on more platforms?
Mimecast runs on Email, Cloud, Collaboration. Visual Studio runs on Web.
Can I use Visual Studio for free?
Yes. Visual Studio has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mimecast starts at $4/month.
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 Visual Studio is typically brought in for.
What can Mimecast do that Visual Studio cannot?
Mimecast covers Advanced threat detection, Secure sharing, Email encryption, Message tracking.

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
Visual Studio: What are the pricing differences between subscription types?

Standard subscriptions include access to more benefits, such as Azure dev/test pricing, monthly Azure individual credit, software and download access, services, training, and support. Monthly subscriptions offer flexibility but fewer benefits.

Source
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
Visual Studio: Are discounts available for startups?

There aren't any discounts available to start-ups, however an unlimited number of users within an organization can use Visual Studio Community for specific scenarios like open source work.

Source
Visual Studio: Who can use Visual Studio Community for free?

In non-enterprise organizations, up to five users can use it. Enterprise organizations (greater than 250 PCs or greater than $1M annual revenue) cannot use it beyond academic/open-source scenarios.

Source
Visual Studio: What's the renewal pricing structure?

Enterprise standard renews at $214.09/month (after initial $499.92); Professional at $66.59/month (after $99.99).

Source
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