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Barracuda Security Awareness Training vs KnowBe4 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 19, 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

Barracuda Security Awarenes...
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
19th
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 April 2026, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of Barracuda Security Awareness Training is 1.7%, down from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of KnowBe4 is 14.1%, down from 29.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Awareness Training Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
KnowBe414.1%
Barracuda Security Awareness Training1.7%
Other84.2%
Security Awareness Training
 

Featured Reviews

DW
Owner at Datalink Networks
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.
Amran Hossain - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineering Manager at Field Nation
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Barracuda PhishLine is a very good solution and I strongly recommend it to others."
"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."
"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."
"KnowBe4 has a lot of high-quality content, and their interface is very user-friendly."
"KnowBe4 has a training program that lasts approximately 15 or 30 minutes, and we provide this security training for our employees so they learn which emails they should open, which links they should click, which links they should not click, and which software they should install."
"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's AI integration has enhanced email authenticity."
"KnowBe4's formulas for risk reduction simply work. Being a technical company, our initial phish-prone percentage wasn't super high, but it was still around 18%. Since we have been requiring ongoing training and simulated phish testing, our average phish-prone percentage hovers in the 0 to 3% range now."
"The training platform of KnowBe4 is engaging and interactive because it is user-friendly and easy to navigate, offering a variety of training formats."
"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."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of Barracuda PhishLine is very easy."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"As an exceptional product, they are relatively expensive, but it is worth it because compared to offline education with hired dedicated people, it would be much more expensive and not obviously more efficient."
"Enhancing the product's emotional intelligence, particularly by providing training content tailored to specific audiences, is an area for improvement."
"It can be more interactive with users. We want to put the users in different scenarios and let them make decisions. For example, instead of making users go through a video and then asking questions, it can have a video where they click on the scenarios and have to make decisions. It can maybe have something like a live simulation. It would be nice for users."
"It could be more localized for Ukrainian users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are different package plans available, such as email protection advanced, premium, and premium plus."
"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."
"It's about five dollars a seat per month."
"I rate the product pricing as four out of ten."
"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
Construction Company
42%
Healthcare Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
5%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise10
 

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.
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

PhishLine
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Humanitas, Mount Sinai
West Aurora Public School District 129
Find out what your peers are saying about KnowBe4, Huntress, Proofpoint and others in Security Awareness Training. Updated: April 2026.
892,383 professionals have used our research since 2012.