Communications archiving and compliance · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Purview vs Google Vault
Zero of fourteen models named Microsoft Purview first on the direct prompt; zero named Google Vault. Microsoft Purview was named by thirteen of the fourteen models and Google Vault by eleven and Microsoft Purview carries 25 labels and Google Vault 17, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in nine categories this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share8%8%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate16%18%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#3#4A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels2517A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Purview reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Smarsh Enterprise Archive was named alongside these two in eleven of the fourteen direct answers. Smarsh Enterprise Archive vs Microsoft Purview · Smarsh Enterprise Archive vs Google Vault · Mimecast Cloud Archive vs Microsoft Purview
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the communications archiving and compliance page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Microsoft PurviewFirst choices, of fourteen modelsGoogle Vault
Direct00
Paraphrase311 against Microsoft Purview · 1 against Google Vault
Comparative103 against Microsoft Purview · 1 against Google Vault
Budget-constrained24
Scale-constrained00
Negative001 against Google Vault
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Purview and Google Vault stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | ||
| Perplexity Sonar | | | ||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | |||||
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | ||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | |||||
| Kimi K2 | | | | |||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | |||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | |
Microsoft Purview Google Vault first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Purview on the left and Google Vault on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Purview and Google Vault stood in it.
Neither was the first choice, one was named
3 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.GPT-5.4 miniSmarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Archive360, Microsoft Purview, Mimecast Cloud Archive, Theta Lake
Mistral SmallMimecast Cloud Archive, Smarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Microsoft Purview, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive
GPT-6 LunaMimecast Cloud Archive alternatives: Global Relay, Microsoft Purview, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, Smarsh Enterprise Archive
Neither was named
11 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5Mimecast Cloud Archive, Smarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Arcserve UDP Archiving, ComplyKEY MailMeter, MailStore Server
Gemini 3.5 FlashMimecast Cloud Archive alternatives: Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, Theta Lake
Perplexity SonarSmarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Global Relay, Mimecast Archiving, Wordwatch
Grok 4.1 FastSmarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Global Relay, Jatheon
DeepSeek V4 FlashJatheon alternatives: Mimecast Cloud Archive, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Qwen 3.7 FlashMimecast Cloud Archive, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive alternatives: Global Relay, OpenText, Smarsh Enterprise Archive, Wordwatch
Kimi K2Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service, MailStore Server alternatives: Jatheon, Mimecast Cloud Archive, Smarsh Enterprise Archive
GLM 4.7 FlashXGlobal Relay, Smarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Mimecast Cloud Archive, Theta Lake, Wordwatch
MiniMax M2.5Global Relay, Smarsh Enterprise Archive alternatives: Mimecast Cloud Archive, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, Theta Lake
Muse Glimmer 30BBarracuda Archiving Service / Barracuda Cloud Archiving Service alternatives: Global Relay, Proofpoint Enterprise Archive, Smarsh Enterprise Archive, Wordwatch
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Google Vault leads by nine points.
Google Vault20%#1 of 10Microsoft Purview11%#3 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Microsoft Purview8%#3 of 12Google Vault8%#4 of 12Enterprise
The order flips: Microsoft Purview leads at enterprise.
Microsoft Purview5%#6 of 10Google Vault0%#10 of 10What the models said about Microsoft Purview
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. One of one in this category shown.
“Barracuda Cloud Archiving (for email) or Microsoft Purview (if you're already on M365) are the safest, most cost-effective choices” DeepSeek V4 Flash · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Google Vault
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“built-in tools like Microsoft 365 retention, Google Vault, and Slack’s native archive are repeatedly described as insufficient for full compliance” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Limitation: Less robust than dedicated platforms for regulated industries” Kimi K2 · comparative prompt · soft negative
“Google Vault will not easily archive MS Teams” Gemini 3.5 Flash · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“start with MailStore Server (if you can handle on-premises) or Google Vault (if already using Google Workspace)” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · first choice
“Google Vault stands out as the best communications archiving platform for a company with a limited budget” Grok 4.1 Fast · budget prompt · first choice
“Google Vault is often recommended as a cost-effective communications archiving solution” Mistral Small · budget prompt · first choice
Also compared
Smarsh Enterprise Archive vs Microsoft PurviewSmarsh Enterprise Archive vs Google VaultMimecast Cloud Archive vs Microsoft PurviewMimecast Cloud Archive vs Google VaultMicrosoft Purview vs JatheonMicrosoft Purview vs MailStore ServerMicrosoft Purview vs Barracuda Cloud Archiving ServiceMicrosoft Purview vs Proofpoint Enterprise ArchiveGoogle Vault vs JatheonGoogle Vault vs MailStore ServerGoogle Vault vs Barracuda Cloud Archiving ServiceGoogle Vault vs Proofpoint Enterprise ArchiveAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full comms archiving standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.