KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training vs. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
KnowBe4 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
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training (formerly ThreatSim from Wombat Security) is a cloud-based training platform that simulates threat scenarios (e.g. phishing) and also provides assessment testing developed by Wombat Technologies, which was acquired by Proofpoint in March 2018.N/A
Pricing
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
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
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalOptional
Additional DetailsPricing listed is for SAT Advanced. Other levels available. For organizations with over 1,000 seats, get a quote.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Considered Both Products
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Although not a training tool, the Sophos Intercept X software allows the user to clearly note what threats the software has identified on the endpoint and why it was blocked or a warning issued, and if these actions were automatically done by the application itself or if IT …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
I haven't used any other platform.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We have been with KnowBe4 for a long time and cannot remember the past product.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 is provided by the state of Indiana to our institution. There was some talk about discontinuing the practice but the feedback from tech directors was overwhelming that the product should be kept.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 has good capability to provide more up-to-date content that related to several industries
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
I think a lot of them copied KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training without adding much to the platforms other than being a different skin.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
By far, KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training had the most phishing and training templates available. They also had the most professional and fun templates. that helps keep it more interesting to our users.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
also use the Barracuda phish line for simulation testing - but KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is much easier to use and in my opinion much more advanced.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 has an extensive training library and is adaptable to various industries and regulatory needs, while Hoxhunt does not.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
No issues!
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
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.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
The cost benefit ratio was significantly better for KnowBe4, the seamless integration was considered to be the best for our needs.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Three years ago, we chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training based on its cost and features. However, I've since discovered that there are very sophisticated modules available in the market at a similar cost.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We really havent used any other products and KnowBe4 seems to have a place in our company for years to come.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
One of the other platforms may have some features where they excel. This is to be expected. But there is no other platform that covers all the topics and most of them very well, as KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training does. Also there is no other platform that offers such a huge …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We have used both the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training solution and the Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness solution and the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is the clear winner. Though the Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness solution is a good one, it is simply not …
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 …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
N/A not used any others.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training coming with much more content to cover if not most of the ways and tracks that hackers and Scammers that will might let the employees get them to do an action like clicking suspicious links or attachments which might lead to hacking the …
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.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We looked at HookPhish before we went with KnowBe4 but it was like comparing apples to oranges and KnowBe4 is far superior for roughly the same cost
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Due to Proofpoint large experience on phishing/e-mail protection market. This analysis ran through financial decisions, but the product capabilities were a important aspect to the decision makers.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training because we already use their email gateway. The combination of these two are very powerful!
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We felt Proofpoint product was easier to use and administer. Proofpoint also had better features like PhishAlarm button, VAP reports, TRAP etc.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint is not on par with its competitors.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We ultimately chose Proofpoint because it was the best fit for our company with regard to our internal technology, processes, and budget. However, the other products we reviewed all had their strengths.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
I think that Proofpoint Security Awareness Training pricing is one of the main reasons that we went with them. We only have the lowest tier, and it does a pretty good job for what we pay. We are using Proofpoint for our email security solution, so we ended up saving some money …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Their support was what really drew us to them.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
I have used both and can say they are comparable. KnowBe4 has all the content out there for the admin to add but Proofpoint only had a limited number of courses available per the contract. Seems like KnowBe4 has more content or allows more per bundle.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
The decision was based on the ease of use and the better security awareness material at Proofpoint.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We have not used other security training. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training has been our first selection. We have been happy with the purchase! We have also created some training in-house, but we like that Proofpoint gives us the flexibility to train our staff on other …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We have selected Proofpoint Security Awareness Traning to work on the major weakness of the cybersecurity chain (human factor). We believe that working on the human factor is fundamental to achieve our goals.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We initially shopped two products: Proofpoint Security Awareness Training (at the time, it was called Wombat) and Cofense PhishMe. After some extensive internal testing in the IT department, we concluded that Proofpoint's robust reporting and pre-baked content (tests, guides, …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
The "Managed Service" (a dedicated ProofPoint Account Rep c/w weekly status calls) significantly reduces the resource demand on the area within your company managing the program. The KnowBe4 Platform does all the same stuff (Training Modules, Reports, ThreatSim Tools), but you …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Wombat is our first security awareness vendor
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint was the only company we looked at. We had heard from other companies using the product how great it was and we were excited to implement it. I don't think there is another company that is in the market place that even comes close to what they offer. We are happy …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Our team decided to go with Proofpoint prior to me being involved, so I was not involved in the assessment. However, I do believe that PhishMe was the tool that we used before. I am not sure of the exact reasons for the switch, but we are very happy with Proofpoint.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
I think Wombat beats most of its competitors by default by simply being another piece of the Proofpoint security platform. Other phishing platforms do not have this additional piece, so you will end up paying for a phishing awareness software and also an email security platform …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
At the time we selected Proofpoint (Wombat) they appeared to have the best solution. They have a simple to use interface and the phishing platform was quite impressive. However, over time I have found that their training catalog is not as large as it could be. KnowBe4 has …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We selected Proofpoint, because originally Wombat was a local company to us and many people in the area were using the product. It got great reviews from others technology directors in our area, which made the decisions easy to make.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We already used ProofPoint so we thought it would be a better fit. The other products may have looked better but pricing was good. Do not increase pricing.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
I think Proofpoint's design and training are the best in the bunch, but the other products certainly hold their own.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Peer input, piloting with a number of key users, previous positive experience with Wombat training and financials supported our choice for Wombat.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training -- Wide offerings (training, simulated campaigns, report phish button, phish analyzer); invaluable integrations with TRAP & Phish Alarm/Analyzer; incredibly helpful and kind support, very quick to assist & knowledgeable. PSAT was and …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint's platform is way ahead of that of Deloitte, has far more training modules and flexibility.
TrustRadius Insights
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Proofpoint Security Awareness are both security awareness training software designed to train and test users on defending against social engineering attacks such as phishing. Both software options are most popular with larger enterprises, likely because as staff sizes increase, it becomes more difficult to train staff without a dedicated tool.  

Features

KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Proofpoint Security Awareness both provide essential security awareness features, but they also have some unique features that set them apart from each other.

KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training provides over 2,000 phishing templates, allowing businesses to safely test their staff’s vulnerability to social engineering attacks and report on the results. Social Engineering tests can also be automated using KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training’s artificial intelligence tools, which can push social engineering tests out through email, text, or voicemail.

Proofpoint Security Awareness provides detailed and customizable reporting tools that can be run after each phishing simulation campaign.  Businesses can use Proofpoint Security Awareness reporting features to see where there are vulnerabilities in their organization.  Proofpoint Security Awareness also provides a simple to use interface for creating phishing simulations and generating reports.

Limitations

KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Proofpoint Security Awareness both help businesses to defend their organization against social engineering attacks, but they also have some limitations that are important to consider.

KnowBe4 Security Awareness includes tools for testing users on social engineering attacks, but its reporting features are more limited than the detailed reports businesses can generate with Proofpoint Security Awareness. Additionally, while KnowBe4 provides a variety of email templates, many uses find they need some customizing to be presentable as social engineering tests.

Proofpoint Security Awareness does not include significant automation tools, so if your organization wants to run tests automatically, KnowBe4 Security Awareness may be a better choice.  Additionally, while the interface for creating tests and reports is straightforward with Proofpoint Security Awareness, its interface for managing large amounts of users is less flexible.  If your business makes frequent staffing changes, software with better user management may be preferred.

Pricing

Pricing for KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is dependent on the number of users, as well as the feature needs of the organization.  Pricing starts as low as $8.00 per user per year, but can reach as high as $29.50 per user per year.

Pricing for Proofpoint Security Awareness depends on the size of the business in question.  Organizations can reach out to the vendor for a detailed quote.

Features
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
8.9
Ratings
3% above category average
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
9.0
Ratings
4% above category average
Single sign-on capability9.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.80 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Security Awareness Training
Comparison of Security Awareness Training features of Product A and Product B
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
8.3
Ratings
2% below category average
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
9.4
Ratings
10% above category average
Training Content Library8.60 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multilingual Training Content8.40 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Training Gamification7.70 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Industry-Specific Security Training7.70 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Individualized Security Training Plans8.20 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Phishing Simulations9.20 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Security Reporting8.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Integration with Security Tech Stack8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.1
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
6.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Likelihood to Recommend
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
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I think that Proofpoint is the best product on the market for Security Awareness Training. They make it easy, they have taken all the guess work out of it. You are supplied with everything you need to have a successful program and you don't have to be a "teacher" to do this. They have taken all of the guess work out of it.
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Pros
  • 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.
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  • The report phish Outlook add-in button has had a positive influence on our users. We have many users regularly reporting suspect phish emails.
  • The templates for the phish campaigns are very up to date, using real life recent phishing attacks. This makes our phishing campaigns much more realistic.
  • The training modules from PSAT are very effective and useful with our LMS system.
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Cons
  • The provided templates for phishing simulations are mainly available in English. There are also some templates available in our native language, but their number is small. We have seen other platforms offer way more phishing simulation templates in our language.
  • Although there is a really huge number of training videos available, some of them are outdated and no longer have much to offer. Some cleaning up could help in this direction.
  • Although there a some games / puzzle like trainings available, we have seen other platforms offer more and better ones (on the other platforms had they had almost no videos at all...). It would help significantly to also invest in enriching the provided puzzles / games.
  • We have seen other platforms offer games, where, for example, employees of the company can compete against each other while working together in groups to achieve a common goal (e.g., eliminate a fictional security threat that has "hit" the company. Plan the steps needed to be taken, take the steps one after another and have a chance to see the impact each action has. At the end the team that has suffered the least cost to end the threat is the one that wins. Just an example. The point is to make this challenging, using gamification and to make the employees part of the prevention force of the company against cybersecurity threats.
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  • The platform provides options for many different reports (with some customization options), however, there are reports that I would want that are not available.
  • Adding new staff (we have a lot of turn-over) into an existing training plan can be cumbersome for the system administrator. Although End-User Sync can be set-up to "add" new users to the system, the new users still need to manually be added to the assignments and sent past assignments to complete. (NOTE: this was made more difficult because of our decision to implement a training plan the way we did).
  • Some of the ThreatSim campaigns (simulated phishing or malicious attachment emails) will only work if you are using their PhishAlarm plug-in (add-on button for Outlook, etc. for users to easily report suspected threats). Our users access email by iPhones, Android, iPads, PCs, and Macs. PhishAlarm cannot be used for all of these platforms.
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Likelihood to Renew
This product has many benefits that we depend on. Even without the trainings/campaigns, having a program that can easily report suspicious emails as well as pull those emails from all inboxes is a major benefit. With everything combined together, KnowBe4 is a complete package that is great for any business.
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  • The product is great for what we use it for
  • We have a good relationship with our vendor/Proofpoint, which I believe is needed to be successful in Security Awareness and using tools like this
  • The package/service as a whole is incredibly helpful
  • The integrations with Proofpoint's Trap is one of the most valuable things we could do. It turns your entire email user base into members of IT security, to be on the look out to report cyber attacks, and have them pulled out of everyone's email if the email is condemed/found malicious.
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Usability
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.
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Overall, PSAT is integral to what we do. PSAT is a helpful tool to help us improve our employees ability to recognize, report, and respond to phishing. It works for us to use a longterm partner, who is incredibly helpful/supportive, and also bringing Proofpoint's greater cybersecurity & attack intelligence into PSAT. Honestly, we are pretty happy and would make the choice to go with PSAT again (we evaluated the major players in the space via Gartner's Magic Quadrant). The team behind the products are excellent and the product of itself is both intuitive and expansive. This combination allows us to reach our 10k+ employees who are located in over 20 countries
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Reliability and Availability
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
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No answers on this topic
Performance
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.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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I have never had any issues with receiving support and have always had my questions answered in a timely manner. When we do have suggestions, the support has been ready to step in and provide advice or take our suggestions seriously. But normally, there aren't any issues that come up when using this product.
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In-Person Training
Helpful and knowledgeable account managers have helped us navigate and use the system to our full potential
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
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
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
Read full review
The "Managed Service" (a dedicated ProofPoint Account Rep c/w weekly status calls) significantly reduces the resource demand on the area within your company managing the program. The KnowBe4 Platform does all the same stuff (Training Modules, Reports, ThreatSim Tools), but you (or your staff) need to do considerably more work to manage the Overall Program. The uplift in cost for this service is minimal.
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Scalability
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
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • We've had several phishing attempts that were "emergencies" to update banking information that users didn't fall for, so that has saved potentially thousands of dollars.
  • I don't have specific-hard numbers, but I do believe KnowBe4 has been very valuable to us.
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  • I don't think there are hard and fast numbers when it comes to Security Awareness ROI, as it would be next to impossible to come up with any defined metrics.
  • Phishing campaigns vary in their effectiveness, what I've found is that there is always something that will trigger your employees to click. Finding what that is for your company can help you train everyone to see the red flags.
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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.