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KnowBe4 vs Proofpoint Email Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 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

KnowBe4
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
1st
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
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 (3rd), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (1st), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of KnowBe4 is 26.6%, down from 34.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 8.9%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Awareness Training
 

Featured Reviews

Brad Mathis - PeerSpot reviewer
Lowers human element risks and has innovative training
Some more AI-driven automation for creating training and phishing testing campaigns, as well as automated reporting would help. The Phish Alert button could be improved, although it is understood this is due to Microsoft's constant changes. Any improvements in wizards and documentation are always a good thing!. Additonal areas for improvement could be around the technical training and best practice training areas such as NIST CSF, CISv8, Cyberinsurance, and more. Clearer whitelisting requirements are always appreciated. However, the current levels are significant and appreciated.
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Their customizable nature allows us to create scenarios that closely resemble real-world phishing attempts, making them highly relatable to our end users."
"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 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 solution is very well priced and very affordable."
"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."
"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."
"Proofpoint is the main tool for blocking spam because it denies the connection altogether."
"The most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection are the performance from being on the cloud."
"There is no downtime."
"The initial implementation is pretty easy to handle."
"It's a mature product. It does a good job in detection."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the central location dashboard for viewing all the related information for risk."
"URL scanning and online relay service are the most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to remove bad messages that were delivered, prior to being classified as unwanted."
 

Cons

"Enhancing the product's emotional intelligence, particularly by providing training content tailored to specific audiences, is an area for improvement."
"I would like to see Novo4 expand to other channels outside of emails to things such as text messages."
"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."
"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."
"I would want better spear phishing protection in the essentials package."
"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve by allowing more customization of the reports, such as exceptions and black-and-white lists."
"In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented."
"We find the cost to be prohibitive."
"Phishing detection could improve further to match some of the capabilities offered by competitors."
"The solution could be improved with the addition of PLP and email encryption features."
"They do not have an on-demand scan for the internal viruses and internal users, and they don't have a scan for the exchange server against viruses and spam as Symantec does."
"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve the Mail Trace feature and make navigation easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"I rate the product pricing as four out of ten."
"It's about five dollars a seat per month."
"The licensing model for Proofpoint Email Protection is simple. It's based on the number of users. Price-wise, Proofpoint Email Protection is a five out of ten because it's a pretty expensive solution."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"It is on a yearly basis. Their floor for SMB doesn't matter. The user count is 100 users and below at $2,500 a year. Its cost is higher than other solutions. It is probably about 20% to 30% higher than what you would get with Microsoft. There are no additional costs. All costs are factored in. It can be improved pricing-wise so that it is affordable for the SMB market."
"Proofpoint Email Protection has comparable pricing."
"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."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is a reasonably priced product, which means that it is neither too low nor too high in terms of price."
"The tool's pricing depends on the customer's preference, offering options for an annual license or a monthly subscription. The cost varies based on factors such as the number of users and specific requirements. Overall, the pricing is competitive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Construction Company
7%
Government
6%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The solution is very well priced and very affordable. It's about five dollars a seat per month.
What needs improvement with KnowBe4?
I would like to see Novo4 expand to other channels outside of emails to things such as text messages.
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.
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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 KnowBe4 vs. Proofpoint Email Protection and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.