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Proofpoint Email Protection vs Proofpoint’s ZenGuide comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 2, 2025

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

Proofpoint Email Protection
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (2nd), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (3rd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
Proofpoint’s ZenGuide
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 8.9%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint’s ZenGuide is 4.2%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Awareness Training
 

Featured Reviews

AhmedRamadan - PeerSpot reviewer
Optimize email security with effective sandboxing and auto Pull for quarantine
Proofpoint is used as an email security gateway for big enterprises, primarily for their on-premises servers. Many customers also use it alongside Office 365 Proofpoint offers a complete solution for email security with features like DLP, email archiving, and encryption. The most valuable…
DM
Customizable features and seamless setup enhance security training
In my opinion, some of the most valuable features of Proofpoint's ZenGuide include the customization, allowing us to add our own branding and themes to the automated emails that are sent, as well as the training. The phishing simulations, from what I've seen so far, run pretty well. There's a significant amount of campaign options to choose from. I appreciate how customizable they are so that we can fine-tune it to specifically target things related to what we work on. The training content seems comparable based on what I've seen compared to other tools such as KnowBe4 ( /products/knowbe4-reviews ). The implementation of Proofpoint's ZenGuide has affected my IT team's workload regarding email security management, but not significantly. Most of these features seem fairly automated and easy to set up. For example, setting up a phishing campaign doesn't take too long, so it hasn't affected us substantially.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The anti-spam features are excellent on the email firewalls."
"The setup was easy."
"Proofpoint is the main tool for blocking spam because it denies the connection altogether."
"Its main defense is to stop malicious emails from coming through. There is a sandbox environment where you can open malicious or suspicious emails to make sure that they're not malicious, instead of taking the risk of having your employees do it. This is definitely something that everybody needs nowadays, especially with the rise in cyber attacks."
"The stability is very good."
"The most valuable features are the business email compromise protection and targeted attack prevention."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"It's the top choice because no company can operate without security. Ensuring email protection is a major priority for any organization when building its infrastructure."
"Most valuable is the SSO integration with our AD, so the users can employ our federation service to log in."
"I would definitely recommend Proofpoint's ZenGuide to others, as I think the branding and the ability to add your own branding on all different avenues, through the email communications, training, simulations, and everything, is probably the biggest advantage I've seen so far."
 

Cons

"The setup requires expertise. It needs someone with experience on managing it, and I would rate the implementation as needing someone experienced."
"In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented."
"The Secure Mail aspect should have an Outlook add-in, instead of an external dashboard that outside users have to access."
"Pricing for the platform could still be cheaper."
"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve by allowing more customization of the reports, such as exceptions and black-and-white lists."
"Proofpoint Email Protection has a new approach to email security with its API feature. Currently, it only works with Office 365. In the future, it would be beneficial if it also works with Gmail, as Check Point is currently the only brand that has API email security for Gmail. It would be beneficial if Proofpoint Email Protection could add this integration, they would be more competitive with other vendors."
"The solution should add post-sales training."
"Phishing detection could improve further to match some of the capabilities offered by competitors."
"We would like to create reports for local IT leaders in a different way, more suitable for upper management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They are competitively priced, but I have been forced to get quotes for other solutions now because they haven't been responding to requests to do the work that we would like them to do."
"Pricing has recently been increased and the cost is a downside"
"Proofpoint is fairly expensive."
"The licensing is basically $8/user."
"It is multiple times more expensive, which made it very much less attractive."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"The solution is expensive."
"received very good pricing, as we are also working with the Proofpoint spam appliances."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
26%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of pricing, it is okay compared to others. I would say it is normal. Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training, Wombat Security Education Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Carnegie Mellon University, Royal Bank of Scotland, City of Garland, Texas
Find out what your peers are saying about KnowBe4, Proofpoint, Sophos and others in Security Awareness Training. Updated: April 2025.
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