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Barracuda PhishLine vs KnowBe4 comparison

Barracuda Networks and KnowBe4 are both solutions in the Security Awareness Training category. Barracuda Networks is ranked #15, while KnowBe4 is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5. Barracuda Networks holds a 1.9% mindshare in SAT, compared to KnowBe4’s 26.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of KnowBe4 users are willing to recommend the solution.
Barracuda PhishLine
Read 1 Barracuda PhishLine review
  • 218 Views
  • 205 Comparison Views
0% willing to recommend
KnowBe4
Read 18 KnowBe4 reviews
  • 1,817 Views
  • 1,799 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Barracuda PhishLine and KnowBe4 based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about KnowBe4, Proofpoint, Sophos and others in Security Awareness Training.

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To learn more, read our detailed Security Awareness Training Report (Updated: August 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Security Awareness Training
August 2025
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Helped 865,295 peers since 2012

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

Barracuda PhishLine
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
15th
Average Rating
0.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
KnowBe4
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of Barracuda PhishLine is 1.9%, down from 4.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KnowBe4 is 26.8%, down from 33.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Awareness Training
 

Featured Reviews

DW
Efficient threat repelling, continual updates, and friendly support
Barracuda PhishLine continues to evolve because as the attacks get more sophisticated, they get integrated into the campaigns. Then the users are exposed to the latest attacks in the form of a training session rather than in real life. They're much better prepared for these real-life ransomware attacks that come through via email.
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Amran Hossain - PeerSpot reviewer
Training program enables comprehensive security awareness and cautious email practices
One feature that would be highly beneficial in a future release is the ability to automatically send training articles or security tips to users on a regular, scheduled basis—for example, weekly or monthly. While the current training modules and phishing simulations are highly effective, ongoing awareness is equally important to keep security top of mind in day-to-day operations. These short, digestible articles or micro-learning content could cover recent phishing trends, real-world examples of security breaches, or quick tips on secure online behavior. Periodic delivery would serve as a continuous learning touchpoint, reinforcing key concepts from the main training and adapting to evolving threats. Ideally, this feature would also include personalization, allowing content to be tailored based on a user’s role, previous training performance, or common mistakes observed in phishing simulations. This kind of proactive, lightweight training approach could significantly enhance employee engagement with security practices and help maintain a strong security posture over time.
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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Barracuda PhishLine continues to evolve because as the attacks get more sophisticated, they get integrated into the campaigns. Then the users are exposed to the latest attacks in the form of a training session rather than in real life. They're much better prepared for these real-life ransomware attacks that come through via email."
"The ability to have business leadership be aware of their users' security posture as well as any kind of security awareness training being pushed by cybersecurity insurance and underwriters is valuable."
"KnowBe4 has been quite useful for us as a mid-size company, providing a lot of information."
"I appreciate the training methodology. It is detailed with videos and real examples about handling phishing emails and dealing with social media links received through WhatsApp, email, or other platforms."
"There are many valuable features. It's already deployed in the cloud, and you don't have to install anything. You just upload your users to the cloud and tweak something if needed. You can whitelist some servers to work with this properly. When everything is ready, you can start using the platform and its many automated features."
"The main thing is the overall report card. We get to tell the percentages of users who click on links and who don't click on links. We also get an overall score or risk score from them, which also helps us."
"The main advantages are the user-friendly UI and its overall ease of use."
"The impact of KnowBe4's automated training campaigns on the overall cybersecurity posture is quite comprehensive because it covers everything from the very basics of cybersecurity to evolving and emerging threats."
"The benefits I have seen from using KnowBe4 include that many people are now cautious."
More KnowBe4 pros
 

Cons

"The initial setup of Barracuda PhishLine is very easy. All of it can be set up in approximately one hour with someone that has some IT training and previous exposure to Barracuda."
"Much of the content they have might not be required, and that might cause frustration, especially when you're trying to implement a cybersecurity program where you're training your entire workforce, as it may frustrate someone if they're forced to do training on how to set a password."
"This product has a questions and answers section which is in text form. It could be updated to include a video game format where an employee uses the game to answer these scenarios."
"KnowBe4 should focus more on these issues and provide guidance on dealing with links received from individuals who attempt to manipulate our emotions, particularly on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn."
"Some courses have the same type of content, the same type of page. But not too much, I think some repeated content exists in multiple courses in KnowBe4."
"In terms of improvement, we would appreciate having the attachments or more details on the raw messages used in the PhishER site, as sometimes it can be a bit buggy."
"It could be more localized for Ukrainian users. This platform is international, and it has a lot of material in different languages, but not in Ukrainian and Russian languages. There's plenty of different content updated regularly for English, French, and German users. They have a lot more information, and Ukrainian users also want more."
"If a new feature is introduced and a user without an IT background faces difficulty in operating the new feature, chat bots would be very helpful to ask questions and get responses."
"A lot of their training is designed for people who are almost entirely computer illiterate, which is fine because you want to be comprehensive in your cybersecurity training, but much of the content they have might not be required, and that might cause frustration, especially when you're trying to implement a cybersecurity program where you're training your entire workforce."
More KnowBe4 cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are different package plans available, such as email protection advanced, premium, and premium plus."
"I rate the product pricing as four out of ten."
"It's about five dollars a seat per month."
"I don't know the cost, but I believe we are paying yearly. We did like a three-year or five-year contract. I am not aware of any extra costs in addition to a standard licensing fee."
"Licensing is paid on a yearly basis. You can go to the official site to check their approximate pricing. It's based on the number of users or staff. It can vary from country to country, but for Ukraine, it works as it's stated on the site."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
14%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about KnowBe4?
Their customizable nature allows us to create scenarios that closely resemble real-world phishing attempts, making them highly relatable to our end users.
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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for KnowBe4?
I would not know about the pricing because it has been subsidized for us, so I am not fully aware of the actual cost.
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What needs improvement with KnowBe4?
I have a challenge with the stability while using KnowBe4. I have made an observation regarding the login process. For every login attempt, because my organization uses KnowBe4 with a large staff s...
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Comparisons

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Compared 12% of the time
Terranova Security vs KnowBe4 Logo
Terranova Security vs KnowBe4
Compared 10% of the time
Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness vs KnowBe4 Logo
Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness vs KnowBe4
Compared 10% of the time
MetaCompliance MetaLearning vs KnowBe4 Logo
MetaCompliance MetaLearning vs KnowBe4
Compared 4% of the time
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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Security Awareness Training
August 2025
Barracuda PhishLine reportDownload Barracuda PhishLine product report
Buyer's Guide
KnowBe4
August 2025
KnowBe4 reportDownload KnowBe4 product report
 

Also Known As

PhishLine
No data available
 

Overview

With PhishLine, you guard against every facet of social-engineering threats with continuous simulation and training for employees. Show them the latest attack techniques, how to recognize the subtle clues and help stop email fraud, data loss, and brand damage. Embed learning into your everyday business processes with customized simulations that test and reinforce good behavior.

Barracuda Networks

Old school Security Awareness Training is static. It’s a one-time event without follow-up. KnowBe4's Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training starts with a baseline test to show the actual Phish-prone percentage of your users. Then it steps users through effective, interactive, on-demand browser-based training. As step three, you send frequent simulated phishing attacks to your employees to reinforce the training. This last feature, frequent simulated phishing attacks (we recommend at the very least once a month) really creates a change in behavior.

KnowBe4
 

Sample Customers

Humanitas, Mount Sinai
West Aurora Public School District 129
Buyer's Guide
Security Awareness Training
August 2025
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