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KnowBe4 vs Proofpoint Email Protection vs Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

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)
Secure Email Gateway (SEG) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Webroot Advanced Email Encryption powered by Zix0.7%
Microsoft Defender for Office 36527.5%
Proofpoint Email Protection21.0%
Other50.8%
Secure Email Gateway (SEG)
 

Featured Reviews

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…
John Zupancic - PeerSpot reviewer
Inexpensive, with good email security, but the technical support could be improved
We don't have as many problems with email security. They have some areas that could be improved. For example, we also use this solution for email encryption, which was clunky and could be improved, but the email security itself has been excellent. The web interface works well but the Outlook plug-in has been problematic. We've had to uninstall/reinstall it. On some Outlook clients (including mine), it causes Outlook to stop responding. I disabled the Outlook plug-in and only use the web interface.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has helped us tremendously in cybersecurity awareness."
"Their customizable nature allows us to create scenarios that closely resemble real-world phishing attempts, making them highly relatable to our end users."
"KnowBe4 has a lot of high-quality content, and their interface is very user-friendly."
"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."
"Since we did not have any security program initially, this training program was introduced by our CTO as the first training program in our company."
"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 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 most valuable feature is the option to edit the inbound security."
"From a business perspective, the solution was very helpful as it speeded our business flow and increased email delivery."
"I would recommend Proofpoint Email Protection to others because it is useful, simple to use, and provides whatever is required."
"The solution is very user-friendly."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is a good product, and its most beneficial feature is the Threat Response Auto-Pull. I also like that it's an integrated email security solution."
"The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease."
"Proofpoint Email Protection's initial installation is straightforward. It took us less than a day to complete the implementation."
"URL scanning and online relay service are the most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection."
"They do a better job of determining what's real and what's not than most of the other solutions we have tried, and it's been very painless to use."
 

Cons

"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."
"Enhancing the product's emotional intelligence, particularly by providing training content tailored to specific audiences, is an area for improvement."
"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."
"I would like to see Novo4 expand to other channels outside of emails to things such as text messages."
"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."
"I don't find KnowBe4's real-time insights and analytics very useful because I found it a bit repetitive."
"During the last downtime, it caused significant disruption as users couldn't access the system."
"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."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The stability and UI are the two areas of the solution with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"The reporting section could be enhanced. I like some reports but if they could allow us to create custom reports with more flexibility it would enhance the reports more."
"The solution could lower its price."
"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."
"It has too many screens. It is kind of a conglomeration of products. In other words, they built product A, product B, and product C, and they are yet to integrate them into a single administrative console. I would certainly like to see a more seamless administrative interface. I would also like to see them include more bang for the buck, by including features like email fraud protection, rather than making their product so piecemeal, where you are buying little pieces. I agree with the idea of having multiple tiers or layers, but maybe as small, medium, and large, as opposed to an a la carte menu."
"The incident reporting on offer needs to be improved. It's lacking right now. It should be on the platform somewhere."
"I believe they still need to improve by consolidating some portals, as currently, you have to log in separately to a few of them."
"They have some areas that could be improved. For example, we also use this solution for email encryption, which was clunky and could be improved, but the email security itself has been excellent."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"I rate the product pricing as four out of ten."
"It's about five dollars a seat per month."
"Annually, it costs us about $92,000. This is pretty much what it costs us. There is no additional cost."
"I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five."
"The end customer is buying our solution, which can be for monthly or annual usage depending on our payment and business model."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"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."
"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."
"It is expensive."
"Proofpoint Email Protection has comparable pricing."
"In terms of pricing, I believe they provide excellent value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
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 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?
I believe they still need to improve by consolidating some portals, as currently, you have to log in separately to a ...
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Also Known As

No data available
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
Zix Email Encryption, ZixEncrypt
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

West Aurora Public School District 129
Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Erie County of Pennsylvania’s Human Services Department, Justice Federal Credit Union, STAR Financial Group, Chisago County, Minn., The National Banks of Central Texas, Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), Frankfort, Ky, Athletico Physical Therapy, District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB), CIBM Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about KnowBe4, Proofpoint, Sophos and others in Security Awareness Training. Updated: September 2025.
868,288 professionals have used our research since 2012.