TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training

    Score9 out of 10
    N/AKnowBe4 is a security awareness and compliance training and simulated social engineering product. It is used by organizations worldwide to strengthen their security culture and reduce risk. The product includes a comprehensive suite of awareness and compliance training, real-time user coaching, AI-powered simulated social engineering, crowdsourced anti-phishing defense and an AI suite that enhances risk management through personalized training and automation. With…

    $2.79

    per seat

    Microsoft 365

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is a Microsoft Cloud subscription service that includes Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access). The software can be installed across multiple devices and ensures that users always have the most up-to-date version of the included Office applications.

    $5

    Per User Per Month

    Pricing
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Editions & Modules
    SAT Advanced 501-1000 Monthly Pricing 3 Year
    $2.79
    per seat
    SAT Advanced 251-500 Monthly Pricing 3 Year
    $2.96
    per seat
    SAT Advanced 101-250 Monthly Pricing 3 Year
    $3.19
    per seat
    SAT Advanced 51-100 Monthly Pricing 3 Year
    $3.40
    per seat
    SAT Advanced 25-50 Monthly Pricing 3 Year
    $3.75
    per seat
    Business Basic
    $5.00
    Per User Per Month
    Individual
    $5.84
    *Per Month
    Business - Apps
    $8.25
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - F3
    $10.00
    Per User Per Month
    Business Standard
    $12.50
    Per User Per Month
    Business Premium
    $20.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E3
    $32.00
    Per User Per Month
    Enterprise - E5
    $57.00
    Per User Per Month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsPricing listed is for SAT Advanced. Other levels available. For organizations with over 1,000 seats, get a quote.*When billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Considered Both Products
    KnowBe4
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is by far the most polished and advanced out of the vendors we reviewed. If you are in an environment with Microsoft E5 licensing, you will want to evaluate Microsoft Attack Simulation Training which comes included with Defender. It lacks …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    While similar in offerings, we found that KnowBe4 offered the widest variety of training programs and had the best integration into our system.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Main reason was for the phishing simulation content, not all users get the same content, the content goes out at different times on different days and the targeted phishing element. The training content is also great and very intuitive with videos / games and you can create …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 is easy to integrate with AD and Outlook so onboarding and off boarding users is easy.
    The reporting, training, and templates are varied and easily changed to tailor to our business.
    PhishMe is strictly a security training and reporting tool, while KnowBe4 includes …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Proofpoint has a more streamlined product that tries to do to many things where Knowbe4 is a more specialized tool focusing on security awareness training without all the other IT tools and data. It's like they say you can be a jack of all trades but a master at none. Knowbe4 …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 is similar in many ways to its competitors, but has an edge in terms of training content, usability, and integration. I would like to see more technical options with our level of subscription.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 integrates seamlessly with Drata to monitor security compliance. It is possible to chose which training campaigns are mandatory to consider the security awareness training control passed. The integration is easy to configure and works with complex scenarios (optional …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Although Cofense was a good product, years of limited updates of any substance caused us to look into additional products. We have reduced our time of needing to review phishing emails by almost 90%. For example, 800 messages delivered into our phishing platform resulted in 650 …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    In the past I have used ThriveDX/Lucy for security awareness training, and I liked that platform, but I liked the KnowBe4 interface more. I was using Microsoft Defender for O365 as my security awareness training platform, but unless you have an E5 license the cost of fully …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    I like how KB4 has more options in the simulations and training as well as more depth of services than the other companies
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    N/A
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    We chose KnowBe4, and stayed with them, because of their robust offering of training material/content. We did look at other products, but nothing compared to KnowBe4. Every couple years we'll look at the market and see what else is out there. So far, there is nothing even close …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 is better designed, user friendly and has deep content.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Great product and quality friendly account managers. We recommend this platform to anybody who is thinking of implementing a cyber security program within their organization. The simulation platform is like nothing we have seen with other vendors. Our employees can't cheat …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    N/A
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training, relative to the competition, is best-in-class. Superior training materials, simulations, user interface, and customer support. The application integrates particularly well with our other technology offerings. The provider gives us access …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Microsoft's training offering is not as extensive as KnowBe4's. KnowBe4's interface is very easy to use if you're an administrator.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    SANS was good, but the functionality we have gotten with KnowBe4 was what our company needed.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4, by far, has the most complete solution. It has the largest library of simulation emails, as well as training. It is so easy to set up campaigns and automatically have users who fail these campaigns to be added to groups that receive additional training. Those who are …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    We used Barracuda for backups and wanted to test their training platform. KnowBe4’s platform is much more intuitive and is much better catered to our users. The metrics that we are able to generate through KnkwBe4 are also much more defined, allowing us to give better reports …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    We have not evaluated or used any other products. We had many other institutions reference their use of KnowBe4 while attending IT conferences. Once we evaluated it for ourselves, we were convinced that KnowBe4 training would be a great fit for our organization as well. We did …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 is by far the easiest and most cost effective solution to implement. Their customer service contacts us quarterly and walks us through the setup of the next campaign. The always make us aware of the latest content that has been added.
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    It isn't the same, but there wasn't an option for nothing. I didn't review or use any other programs before using KB4
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is our first and only security awareness training solution. I cannot speak for any of the competition as I do not have first-hand experience configuring or using any other solutions. KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training does an exceptional job …
    Incentivized
    Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    Barracuda's email's tricked more of our users and looked more believable. Since Barracuda is at no extra cost with their email filtering, we have decided this will be our primary solution. Their training is less polished and effective. Others do not have content or management …
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft 365
    N/A.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    679 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    195 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    645 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    179 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    99%
    Happy with the feature set
    685 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    198 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    537 Answers
    94%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    134 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    97%
    Implementation went as expected
    578 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    142 Answers
    Features
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Security
    Comparison of Security features of KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Microsoft 365
    Feature
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    8.7
    355 Ratings
    0% above category average
    Microsoft 365
    -
    Ratings
    Single sign-on capability8.7317 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-based user permissions8.6343 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security Awareness Training
    Comparison of Security Awareness Training features of KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Microsoft 365
    Feature
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
    8.2
    387 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Microsoft 365
    -
    Ratings
    Training Content Library8.4384 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multilingual Training Content8.4220 Ratings00 Ratings
    Training Gamification7.6321 Ratings00 Ratings
    Industry-Specific Security Training7.7339 Ratings00 Ratings
    Individualized Security Training Plans8.0329 Ratings00 Ratings
    Phishing Simulations9.1382 Ratings00 Ratings
    Security Reporting8.6372 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with Security Tech Stack8.1224 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Hoxhunt
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Google Workspace
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Microsoft 365 Business Premium
    Score8.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (732 ratings)
    8.4
    (262 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.9
    (57 ratings)
    9.5
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    9.1
    (220 ratings)
    8.7
    (30 ratings)
    Availability
    8.4
    (21 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.9
    (22 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.5
    (261 ratings)
    8.9
    (54 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (6 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.5
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.8
    (25 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.2
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    8.1
    (39 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    7.0
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.9
    (22 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    8.9
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    8.4
    (18 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.4
    (17 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingMicrosoft 365
    Likelihood to Recommend
    KnowBe4
    I think the most important factor is that our risk has decreased significantly among staff. Our staff is well below the industry (Education) benchmark in terms of users that are "prone to phishing". We also have multiple instances over the years where employees have stopped real efforts to access data illegally or an attempt to take funds from our institution
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 would be well suited for medium to large enterprises. This is where there are several hundreds or thousands of people. Since most everyone has used one of the applications the learning curve would be reduced. Another reason would be the ability to implement security measures to prevent access to sensitive data. This could justify the cost of an Enterprise license.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    KnowBe4
    • Phish tests can be set to various difficulty levels as staff becomes more knowledgeable in catching phish emails.
    • Automated phish tests and training save a lot of admin time. The product can also test for phone and USB stick practices.
    • The phish alert button in Outlook, along with PhishER and PhishFlip allow easy managing and response to actual phishing emails.
    • The interactive training is well designed to cover all types of phishing and safe email and phone behavior.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Chat with teams and the integrations with the other apps, and many more smaller ones, like to-dos, news, and the recent Outlook integration.
    • Easy embedding on SharePoint to broadcast all the content created in the different tools.
    • The office package is still robust with the good things from the past and new additions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    KnowBe4
    • Many items in the library aren't applicable to our use case, and it's sometimes difficult to filter out what I'm looking for.
    • I don't love the training dashboard, but maybe that's just a "me" thing.
    • Setting up groups can be tedious.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Slack is 1000x better than teams. Why put a 250 limit on a chat? Our company hasn't moved fully to channels and it's making us lose transparency. Plus, the teams channels we do have nobody is going to. 90% loss in visibility and engagement.
    • Teams for web meetings. I think the UI/UX should match Zoom which is the standard for all our customers. They don't like it when we use Teams.
    • Chats and Channels need to somehow be on one screen automatically without having to choose that view because majority of our company hasn't opened Teams Channels and only stays in chats.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    KnowBe4
    No question, KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is a great value to our organization. Properly training our users in the proper use of email and how to be aware of possible dangerous emails is incredibly important now. Also, training users in the best practices for phone calls, as well as internet browsing can prevent data or information from being stolen or exposed. Users have even benefited when using their personal devices as a result of the trainings they have received at work.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    There are many features of Office that we cannot replicate in any other tool. Plus people know it already. It's not going away anytime soon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    KnowBe4
    The training videos we have access to are high quality, and provide a wide variety. The Inside Man videos has a cult following within our organization, and has driven a much greater interest in security awareness. And KB4's willingness to negotiate pricing for us as a nonprofit has been very valuable to us as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft 365 is the gold standard for performing project tasks in a professional environment, enabling the quick transfer and exchange of files and ideas for team members who work locally and remotely. Its suite of tools is familiar and has evolved to being cloud based, allowing for files to be updated in real time from near and far.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    KnowBe4
    There have only been a handful of outages in the 2 years we have had the product. Even during those instances, parts of the system were still operational
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    KnowBe4
    Pages load quickly, filter/sort quickly, and don't slow down or freeze. Everything is smooth and very easy to use. There are a places in the UI where you can forget how to get there, but other than that everything is great. We have had no issues using any part of the website.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    KnowBe4
    Tech prod support is great! I did have to ask for a new customer success rep, needed a more experienced person to match my 12 years of experience running Cybersec training programs. Would suggest that more matching of rep level of knowledge to client level knowledge would help.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Over the past 8 years of using Microsoft 365, I have noticed that they change vendors often. This always leads to a poor experience in the beginning, then levels out after some time for the company to get things worked out. As a customer, it is really frustrating because I don't have time when something isn't working to have them "look into my issue" and get back with me. They have even closed a ticket I specifically told them to keep open. Your applications are only as good as the support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    KnowBe4
    Helpful and knowledgeable account managers have helped us navigate and use the system to our full potential
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    KnowBe4
    confusing question. I inherited this application so I didnt get any formal training other than the person who was leaving. The CSM provided some later on when I asked in a zoom call
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    KnowBe4
    The implementation went really well and KnowBe4 was there the whole time on setup to make sure things were setup correctly. The only thing we had to figure out on our own was to script users automatically being added to security groups. So that when they sync to knowBe4 from AD they are placed into the same/correct groups.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Everything works and I use it all the time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    KnowBe4
    KnowBe4 offered a significantly more favorable cost-benefit ratio compared to other solutions. Its seamless integration with our existing infrastructure—particularly Active Directory and email systems—was the most compatible with our operational and security requirements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Its very user-friendly, collaborative and efficient that boosts productivity using cloud tools. their security is strong and it provides data protection. There are regular updates that shields us from attackers too. It offers a wealth of learning resources, including tutorials, help articles and video guide to help users make the most of the application and personally upgrade their skills.
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    KnowBe4
    I was not involved in the pricing, billing or contract terms.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    KnowBe4
    The product scales greatly. As long as you upgrade the license to support the number of users you are needing, adding in those new users is easy. Also getting those users set up with trainings/campaigns is very easy as well
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    KnowBe4
    The team was great to work with and took their time to ensure that we knew what we were doing with the product and that it was set up to meet the specific needs of our organization. This wasn't just a cookie-cutter deployment, but rather they focused specifically on our needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    KnowBe4
    • There is really no way one can make all the needed trainings with in house resources anymore! The cost for this would be way way more than that of any platform!
    • There is no way to even calculate the damage a company would suffer in case of a cybersecurity breach! So the cost for the use of the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training platform if minimal compared to that of a possible breach!
    • The cost of creating content for security awareness training is no longer realistic for a company. This is really no option, and it is in no way comparable to the cost of access to the training material available in the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training platform. Also the training content needs to be constantly updated!
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • We have a lot of nonprofit users, so they have a good ROI.
    • I like the constant updates without having to purchase the software repeatedly.
    • I used to purchase each Office (insert year here) often, so the software was up to date and had the newest options and connectors. I think my return on investment would have been much better if Microsoft had updated those versions to keep them current; after all, we did pay for them.
    • Microsoft 365's offering a monthly fee or a discount for a year helps, and you can look at it as a free backup if you have everything set to back up to One Drive. (Cloud-based document filing you can access anywhere ( with an internet connection)—you Can't beat that!)
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Screenshots

    Screenshot of The Phishing Dashboard. This displays how end users are doing at-a-glance and in comparison to peers across industries with Industry Benchmarking.Screenshot of KnowBe4's partners, including The Security Awareness Company, Popcorn Training, exploqii, Twist & Shout, El Pescador, CLTRe, Saya University, and MediaPRO. Together, they create security awareness training content available in the ModStore.Screenshot of A security training quiz question showing "Security Moments Series: Spot the Bad Link" asking what Lisa should do when receiving an unexpected email with an HTML attachment, with three answer options and Submit/Cancel buttons.Screenshot of The AIDA Phishing Template Generator interface, which displays a customizable phishing simulation tool with template setup options on the left and a preview of a generated "Annual Bonus Announcement" email featuring a QR code attack vector on the right.Screenshot of The AIDA Configure Training interface, which displays settings for personalized remedial phishing training, including user enrollment options, completion timeframes, knowledge refresher schedules, and notification preferences, with an "Activate Remedial Training" button to implement the configuration.