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Fortinet FortiMail Cloud vs KnowBe4 vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
ROI from Fortinet FortiMail Cloud is hard to quantify, though enhanced security and decreased incidents indicate value satisfaction.
Sentiment score
4.9
KnowBe4 provides cost-effective security training, enhances cybersecurity awareness, reduces incidents, and mitigates risks, increasing organizational security culture.
Sentiment score
7.0
Proofpoint Email Protection effectively reduced threats and costs, excelling in phishing defense, leading to significant efficiency improvements.
Return on investment in the time is difficult to quantify, however, the return on investment for us was achieved since we did not have similar incidents again in our environment.
We learned extensively about cybersecurity with the training, and the automated trainings are very convenient and feasible for us.
This soft ROI shows value within the company and how security and data are being protected.
The solution proved valuable for audit reporting and successfully raised awareness while reducing phishing click rates.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud support is generally praised for its responsiveness and knowledge, despite some concerns about occasional delays.
Sentiment score
5.7
KnowBe4 is praised for responsive, effective customer service, fast technical support, and timely feedback with minimal interactions needed.
Sentiment score
7.3
Proofpoint Email Protection's customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some report slow responses or portal issues.
As far as Fortinet secure support, I will rate them nine out of ten.
I would rate the technical support from Fortinet as ten out of ten.
Fortinet's support is really good.
Their support is very quick and informative.
We have escalated questions to KnowBe4's technical support, and it has been quite helpful in guiding us, especially when we request feature edits or face buggy issues.
The content is regularly updated to reflect current threats.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud offers scalable user expansion, though experiences vary due to subscription and deployment choices impacting flexibility.
Sentiment score
6.0
KnowBe4 supports scalable growth and compliance with automation, aiding diverse industries in reducing phishing risks despite synchronization challenges.
Sentiment score
7.6
Proofpoint Email Protection excels in adaptability and scalability, serving both small and large enterprises with ease and flexibility.
It is highly scalable, so I can give it a ten out of ten on that.
I would evaluate the scalability of KnowBe4 as quite scalable, giving it an 8.5 on a scale of one to ten.
The product is pretty much scalable.
Proofpoint is scalable for multi-site organizations with thousands of users.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud is highly stable with minimal downtime, consistently reliable performance, and high user satisfaction ratings.
Sentiment score
6.4
KnowBe4 is considered stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and praised for its performance and dependable support.
Sentiment score
8.2
Users rate Proofpoint Email Protection highly for reliability and performance, with minor UI challenges and rare stability issues.
I would give it a high stability rating of nine out of ten.
KnowBe4 works without interruptions and is very stable.
In terms of stability, KnowBe4 is stable; based on the training we are receiving, I would rate it at nine out of ten.
During the last downtime, it caused significant disruption as users couldn't access the system.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud requires improved filtering, encryption, UI simplicity, and competitive pricing, while lacking sorting, archiving, and AI features.
KnowBe4 can boost engagement by adding interactive, personalized content, localization, and more effective, stable, diverse training options.
Proofpoint Email Protection struggles with setup complexity, feature enhancements, pricing issues, and requires improved support and interface design.
If we go for FortiMail Cloud and have a separate endpoint security solution, there are two agents that have to sit on a customer endpoint.
It would be beneficial to enhance flexibility for better adaptation to various customer environments.
We can't import files into the Fortinet FortiMail Cloud sensors.
KnowBe4 could educate people about OWASP Top 10 in web security testing and API security.
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.
The more complicated things they do about phishing, AI, and social engineering are very important, and the way they do it is very structured and good.
Proofpoint could expand its phishing detection capabilities to improve its efficiency.
More security could be implemented.
I may advise Proofpoint to adjust marketing solutions based on each country.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud offers competitive subscription pricing, with annual licenses around $4,000, varying by organizational needs.
KnowBe4's pricing is reasonable, varying by user count and location, but may seem costly, especially in government sectors.
Proofpoint Email Protection is considered costly, with pricing starting at $8 per user and varying by features.
The price is relatively expensive.
The pricing for Fortinet FortiMail Cloud seems a bit high, although it is considered acceptable for the product's value.
Cost-wise, it's a bit expensive, but it's totally worth it.
It's about five dollars a seat per month.
The solution was considered expensive, particularly in government contexts.
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.
Customers pay around $90,000 yearly for a 1,000-user organization, with the subscription license being the main expense, apart from implementation fees.
Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiMail Cloud offers robust email protection with advanced threat detection, seamless integration, and comprehensive management features.
KnowBe4 provides automated phishing simulations, engaging training, AI-enhanced checks, and scalable, customizable security solutions with multilingual support.
Proofpoint Email Protection offers advanced threat defense, user-friendly interface, and seamless Office 365 integration for comprehensive email security.
FortiMail's integration with other Fortinet solutions enhances the security part of the organization.
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud has had a positive effect on our organization since we can classify each email coming to our organization.
The return on investment for us was achieved since we did not have similar incidents again in our environment.
Modern phishing emails appear authentic, as if from friends. This enables full-blown ATP operations using AI to generate convincing phishing emails, making it crucial to focus on AI-based detection against AI-generated threats.
This is the biggest benefit to raise caution in the digital world, making people aware of the importance of verifying the sources 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.
The main feature I find most effective is that Proofpoint Email Protection scans emails and quarantines the doubtful ones.
The most beneficial feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is mostly spam filtering; it was very efficient, and we were very happy with the functionality as only relevant emails were allowed for mailboxes.
 

Mindshare comparison

Cloud Email Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiMail Cloud2.8%
SendGrid17.9%
MailChimp14.2%
Other65.1%
Cloud Email
Security Awareness Training Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
KnowBe426.6%
Proofpoint Email Protection9.8%
Proofpoint’s ZenGuide6.9%
Other56.699999999999996%
Security Awareness Training
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Proofpoint Email Protection21.0%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36527.5%
Abnormal Security12.7%
Other38.8%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

Pravin Mandlik - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides enhanced email security with potential agent compatibility issues
There are definitely features that Fortinet should work on. I'm not the right person to implement those features. For a portable cloud solution, a customer has more affinity towards a solution where endpoint security is already in place. In endpoint security, they are not at the latest quadrant. That is why a customer with existing endpoint security solutions like Trend Micro might prefer a main security solution from that vendor. If we go for FortiMail Cloud and have a separate endpoint security solution, there are two agents that have to sit on a customer endpoint. From that perspective, Fortinet policies add an extra load to the endpoint. Maybe other solutions have an advantage when it comes to Fortinet.
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.
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…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
University
7%
Non Profit
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
Content disarming and analysis are essential features in our email security setup
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
The price of Fortinet FortiMail Cloud in Egypt is very competitive against other products, including the setup cost a...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiMail Cloud?
The improvement in Fortinet FortiMail Cloud can be made regarding the classification process itself because it has so...
What do you like most about KnowBe4?
Their customizable nature allows us to create scenarios that closely resemble real-world phishing attempts, making th...
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. Fo...
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 enh...
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
It became very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances, and I may advise Proofpoint to adjust marketing so...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
West Aurora Public School District 129
Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Find out what your peers are saying about MailChimp, Twilio, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others in Cloud Email. Updated: August 2025.
866,561 professionals have used our research since 2012.