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Exterro vs Smarsh Enterprise Platform comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Exterro
Ranking in eDiscovery
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Smarsh Enterprise Platform
Ranking in eDiscovery
7th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the eDiscovery category, the mindshare of Exterro is 2.7%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smarsh Enterprise Platform is 4.0%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
eDiscovery Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Exterro2.7%
Smarsh Enterprise Platform4.0%
Other93.3%
eDiscovery
 

Featured Reviews

Khushi Gupta - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Hands-on forensic training has bridged academic learning and real-world investigation practice
Speed has been an issue, but at the same time, I wasn't sure if that is particularly something that could be improved because I understand that there are large forensic images and can take a significant amount of time to process. That has been one thing with my students. Usually when they're doing a lab, they have to take a lot of time to actually process the image. Sometimes I actually give them processed images for the latter labs, but when it comes to creating the disk images themselves and processing the images, it takes a lot of time. At the same time, sometimes the memory and hardware requirements could be demanding as well, specifically for lower-spec machines that students usually have. Although we do have lab machines that FTK runs on smoothly, for machines that students use, sometimes they can't be very high-end, so that is a real constraint. Since I am in academia, I would actually think more in terms of the academic pricing and licensing model. I would really appreciate if Exterro actually has an academic pricing or licensing model. Sometimes the cost could be a barrier. If Exterro has an academic program where it could partner up with universities to even give out exam vouchers or have some students sit for the exam with a reduced price and work with the institution, that would be really great.
reviewer2902509 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a hospitality company with 11-50 employees
Compliance monitoring has created a trustworthy, well-documented record of all team communications
I think Smarsh Enterprise Platform's WhatsApp capture solution still needs improvement; a big part of that is due to Meta's platform that puts many restrictions, but it is not as simple to set up and start using as the other tools. I understand this is something that Smarsh is pursuing to improve, and it is evolving over time. The issue is to develop something that the user finds frictionless; most tools are totally frictionless, and for example, the Teams solution is amazing because when they operate it, they see no difference at all before and after implementing the tool. It is fantastic and state of the art, but WhatsApp, unfortunately, is not the same experience due to Meta's restrictions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The biggest positive impact on students of Exterro has been readiness, as they actually graduate with hands-on experience in an industry-standard platform that employers use, which essentially bridges the gap between academic learning and real-world practice."
"In my opinion, the best feature Exterro offers is the in-depth imaging process it provides."
"It takes a lot of manual processes out, saves time, and lowers overall organizational risks."
"Exterro has had a positive impact on my organization by bringing many conveniences and delivering quick answers so that the board can make the best decision between terminating someone or even finding out if the person under investigation is or is not guilty in that incident."
"We like the reporting functionality. It just seems very clean."
"As a forensic science student, I can realistically use Exterro for all of my academic work."
"Exterro has positively impacted my organization by providing many features that aid in fast investigations of images, machines, systems, or files."
"In my opinion, the best features Exterro offers are complete, cheap, and free solutions."
"In my opinion, the best features Smarsh Enterprise Platform offers are how really easy it is to set up and very fast to start using, along with being trustworthy."
 

Cons

"Exterro could be improved because the documentation seems to be very short, and sometimes the kickoff setup is very tricky and confusing."
"Sometimes the memory and hardware requirements could be demanding as well, specifically for lower-spec machines that students usually have."
"I think one of the pain points I had was the number of emails that had to be sent out. If there was a way to just maybe reduce the bulk — that would be great."
"In my opinion, Exterro can be improved with more accessible prices."
"Exterro can be improved by adding more sandboxing plugins or features since investigations increasingly require finding malicious files, processes, or any kind of DLLs or EXEs."
"I think Smarsh Enterprise Platform's WhatsApp capture solution still needs improvement; a big part of that is due to Meta's platform that puts many restrictions, but it is not as simple to set up and start using as the other tools."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
13%
University
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Healthcare Company
9%
Hospitality Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Exterro?
The pricing for me is acceptable, though not comfortable considering I live in Brazil. The exchange questions for the dollar make it quite difficult.
What needs improvement with Exterro?
I am not frustrated with Exterro; I appreciate the changes, but I think it could enhance by continuing to evolve. The perfect score does not exist, but giving it a nine reflects that it is not perf...
What is your primary use case for Exterro?
My main use case for Exterro is to conduct forensics about fraud in payments and identify fraud in transactions while supporting federal policies in Brazil regarding fraudsters. It helps me identif...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smarsh Enterprise Platform?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been standard cost; I always use Microsoft because it is the best solution for me, and I trust them—they work properly. My whole system is ...
What needs improvement with Smarsh Enterprise Platform?
I think Smarsh Enterprise Platform's WhatsApp capture solution still needs improvement; a big part of that is due to Meta's platform that puts many restrictions, but it is not as simple to set up a...
What is your primary use case for Smarsh Enterprise Platform?
My main use case for Smarsh Enterprise Platform is teams capture, recording, and archiving, which is my most important feature, along with emails. It is important for compliance reasons to document...
 

Also Known As

Exterro Fusion
Micro Focus eDiscovery, Autonomy eDiscovery, HPE Autonomy eDiscovery, HPE eDiscovery, Actiance
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Allstate, Statoil, AOL, Nike, Citgo, Target, UnitedHealth Group, Microsoft, MetLife, VISA, Oracle, American Express
Bank AlJazira, MTS India, Vodafone Ireland
Find out what your peers are saying about Commvault, Microsoft, Google and others in eDiscovery. Updated: October 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.