KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training vs. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Score 9.4 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 human 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 human risk management through personalized training and automation. With…
$0.95
per month (billed annually) 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
Silver
$0.95
per month (billed annually) per seat
Gold
$1.10
per month (billed annually) per seat
Platinum
$1.25
per month (billed annually) per seat
Diamond
$1.70
per month (billed annually) 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 Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Considered Both Products
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
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
KnowBe4 had better options in Phisihng templates and a very good option with content in training
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
I can't speak for any of them, but all had been considered. Proofpoint came highly rated but we decided to go with KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
It provided us cheapest rate and had best reputation in market.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Is purely superior to any other solution tested over time. Language availability and materials being dubbed vs subtitled significantly increase the UEx.
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 …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4's console is more vibrant, organized, and displays news on login. KnowBe4's training modules are more engaging and have a store front with easy filtering/search to find the right training for your business. Phishing simulations have many more options and templates to …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 has training content in languages other than English
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We tried Proofpoint because of a huge benefit in how to integrate the awareness training with antispam, in another hand, the content of KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training is much better, mainly for Diamond agreement. This Diamond level provided us with training with better …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
For phishing simulations and awareness, KnowBe4 had a simple, effective product at a better price.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training has a better platform for SAT than Proofpoint SAT and the templates are great. I compared these in 2020-2021, around the time when it was called Wombat. One nice thing that Proofpoint's SAT had is that if you also had their email security …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
I have used Wombat in the past. There was no action group that you could be used with wombat, but you are able to utilize KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training. In the event, a user fails on a phishing campaign the associate is automatically thrown into an action group that will …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 has a larger library of awareness training modules, so the quarterly training don't get repetitive.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Because we have been so happy with KnowBe4, we have not evaluated any competitors for many years. Initially, the great pricing that KnowBe4 offered to us as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit was a big selling factor, but the product itself has turned our organization into a big fan of …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
The level of customer service provided by KnowBe4 to their consumers is well above that of any other vendor. Because of this, there has been no consideration past initial due diligence in switching providers for security training. They go above and beyond every day to ensure …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We have been with knowBe4 before there were any competitors in this market space. KnowBe4's experience continues to outshine its competitors. The last time we looked at these competitors, their features were not close to what we had in our current product, BUT they were less …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We liked the ease of use for end-users and how the content feels a bit less formal. It shouldn't be such a boring task to train.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Proofpoint SAT (formerly Wombat) had much less intuitive reporting to help assist staff who are struggling, had less interesting training videos, and much more US-based phishing templates making them almost a dead giveaway for our staff unless we spent time customizing them. …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
Better automation and more module content are available than other evaluated solutions. The bundling of modules and competitive pricing made this a very attractive option and one we are happy with. Additional content like training posters and content related to supporting a …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 showed superior content and integration with our technology stack. Their overall platform is easily configurable and doesn't tie into an SEG as most of the other offerings do. Allowing us to be flexible with our use case and continue to train no matter our selection of …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
I had used KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training previously and therefore knew that it's intuitive, easy to use, quick to customize where I'm able to and works well for reporting. I did like Cofense's ability to customize training modules but ultimately went for KnowBe4 Security …
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 was slightly more user-friendly out of the box. Both products do a lot of similar things, but KnowBe4 was doing it all when Proofpoint was still Wombat.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 is a secure, inexpensive platform that has relevant and up-to-date content. Their marketing team does a great job at advertising events and webinars to attend that helps you explore the platform more.
Chose KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training
We performed a bakeoff against Proofpoint, Mime cast, and KnowBe4. KnowBe4 had more content and flexibility to automate processes. The PhishER tool was a great addition that we didn't even know we had and has improved our security operations significantly also. KnowBe4 had a …
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
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 "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
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
We looked at KnowBe4 but found that it was not quite as comprehensive as Proofpoint. The biggest difference was the ability to send out threat simulation emails with Proofpoint. This is an invaluable tool to test the effectiveness of our security awareness training program. …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4 is more focused on security awareness since it is it's main source of business whereas Proofpoint security awareness is just an adjunct to the proof-point suite of products. KnowBe4 has an advantage here since their main focus is on security awareness rather than other …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
We chose Proofpoint (Wombat at the time) because of the better variety of offerings in their training assessments. KnowBe4 was much more expensive and did not provide us with the confidence that they could meet the same level of delivery as Wombat (Proofpoint) could. I …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Ninjio and Proofpoint seem to be a lot different. I feel like Ninjio keeps people's interest because their training is based on short animation videos that are released monthly and then they have questions to answer. I really wish these two companies would merge. I think they …
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
The user interface is more modern and provides a little bit better reporting. The ability to risk rank and identify weak areas is easier to manage via KnowBe4.
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
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
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 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
All three products have the pros and cons. Since we use other Proofpoint products, TAP, TRAP, etc. the integration with PSAT is much better. The other products do not integrate with TRAP nearly as well as PSAT.
Chose Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
Still evaluating.
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
8.8
Ratings
3% above category average
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training
9.0
Ratings
5% above category average
Single sign-on capability9.60 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions8.00 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
11% above category average
Training Content Library8.80 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Multilingual Training Content9.30 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Training Gamification8.40 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Industry-Specific Security Training6.20 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Individualized Security Training Plans7.50 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Phishing Simulations9.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Security Reporting8.30 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
9.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.4
(0 ratings)
8.6
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(0 ratings)
8.3
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.4
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
8.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
KnowBe4 Security Awareness TrainingProofpoint Security Awareness Training
Likelihood to Recommend
I don't have any frame of reference for comparison, but the training that I have used has proved impactful for my staff. Since starting KnowBe4 training, we've seen a great increase in the number of phishing attempts, but also a great increase in the number of attempts that have been recognized by staff, and we have thus not been the victim of phishing or other cyberattact vectors
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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
  • Campaign settings are overwhelming and non-intuitive
  • While the domains available for sending phishing emails are numerous, they are still often obviously fake
  • Certain features are locked away behind paid addons, when they should be incorporated in the base tool/licence, e.g. PhishER. It's fine that, for example, Compliance+ is an added feature, but PhishER is practically integral to the task KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training performs
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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
I chose 8 because Microsoft has a version of software bundled in Azure that may fulfill our needs. If this software does not measure up then we will be continuing with Knowbe4. They keep their offerings fresh so training is not redundant this is important when asking for engagement from employees
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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.
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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
  • 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!
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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 the Virtual Risk Officer functionality, which helps identify risk to support data-driven decisions about a security awareness plan.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.