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Forcepoint Email Security [EOL] vs Proofpoint Email Protection 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Forcepoint Email Security [...
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Proofpoint Email Protection
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (3rd), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (4th), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (2nd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

MB
Senior IT Security at ALEXBANK
Easy to use and setup and expands well
We primarily use the solution for email security The solution is very easy for administration. The interface is very good.  It's easy to set up initially. We have found the product to be stable.  It can scale well.  The solution could use better integration capabilities.  There are other…
reviewer2500410 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cybersecurity Specialist at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Has provided reliable threat detection and simplified policy management
I do not have experience with Microsoft Purview products, but I know some Proofpoint products. I apologize, I do not have experience with the Purview one, but I do know the Proofpoint products. I'm not sure about the features of the Purview one. Compared to other products, Proofpoint's real-time threat intelligence makes it less noisy. They collect and share threat information effectively, which benefits all customers. I have seen a lot of improvements in Proofpoint's reporting and analytics compared to earlier days. As a leader in the market, I find the pricing for Proofpoint Email Protection is a little high. Their licensing models vary, and even the premium model adequately supports awareness campaigning, so I find it acceptable. Normally, they sell their products through resellers, not directly through AWS Marketplace. For us, we are clients of Proofpoint. I rate Proofpoint Email Protection a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Forcepoint Email Security is a good solution, and I don't have any issues with it. I found anti-spam and anti-spyware the most valuable features of Forcepoint Email Security."
"The filtering of the solution is very good. You can do URL filtering and, while you need a custom URL to filter under other solutions like Symantec, here the solution covers most categories and the database."
"The feature I find most valuable is the web, email and DLP integration."
"The email and the web filter aspects of the solution are the most valuable features."
"The Forcepoint Email Security roadmap easily integrates with the data loss prevention (DLP) suite of Forcepoint. Therefore, the customer doesn't have to buy another solution for DLP."
"It's easier to deploy than other options."
"It is good at data leakage prevention (DLP). You can create the data exfiltration profile while sending the emails, which is one of the key advantages of the solution."
"Unlike other competitors, it doesn't cause any performance issues."
"The most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection are the performance from being on the cloud."
"The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease."
"The most valuable features are the business email compromise protection and targeted attack prevention."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the TAP Dashboard. It provides more detailed information that can be used for forensic analysis. This is an advantage that other email security providers, such as Cisco, IronPort, or Microsoft do not offer in their dashboards."
"Proofpoint provides an expandable project model, including DLP, email archiving, and encryption, which makes it a complete email security solution."
"The initial implementation is pretty easy to handle."
"The solution has very strong detection for most of the phishing and malicious emails received from the outside."
"Proofpoint is the main tool for blocking spam because it denies the connection altogether."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement in Forcepoint Email Security is technical support. The agents need to be more knowledgeable. The support also needs to be faster."
"The pricing could always be just a little bit better."
"Forcepoint is the best for DLP, but it is not better than other solutions in terms of phishing emails or threat protections on the email. It has less visibility over there. They might need to enhance these components because other solutions, such as Cisco Email Security and IronPort, have more advanced features. Forcepoint should focus more on threats and spam. They have a small database for spam. They must increase their solution's capability from this perspective."
"The reporting functionality needs to be improved, as it is not customizable."
"It's quite difficult to learn this solution, it's not an entry level product. If you are a skilled user you will think it's a very useful tool, but if you are not a skilled user, you'll think it is very difficult to learn."
"Technical support is lacking. It could be a lot better."
"I would like to see some improvement like cloud application and integration capabilities and the classification part is missing from the DLP."
"It would be better if it were simpler to deploy on one or two machines instead of three or four machines."
"The flexibility of the solution can be improved."
"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve by allowing more customization of the reports, such as exceptions and black-and-white lists."
"Some use cases haven't been dealt with yet."
"The high cost of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"I would want better spear phishing protection in the essentials package."
"In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented."
"We find the cost to be prohibitive."
"Proofpoint should have better integration with complex environments that need more than one instance of Proofpoint, as there are issues with nested instances."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is a yearly subscription that is based on the number of users."
"My company pays for Forcepoint Email Security licensing annually."
"The licensing is user base (per user). The product is purchased mostly by medium to large companies. For smaller companies, we have other solutions because the pricing is not cheap."
"There are three types of support licenses."
"When compared to other email security solutions, the price is not cheap."
"Its licensing is quite easy and straightforward. They have two or three suites, and the price is negotiable. It depends upon the size of the deal. They have multiple licenses. The standard is one, and then there are additional licenses that you can go for. There are three or four licensing models. You have the network suite, endpoint suite, email security, and the standard one."
"Pricing has recently been increased and the cost is a downside"
"The solution is expensive."
"They are competitively priced, but I have been forced to get quotes for other solutions now because they haven't been responding to requests to do the work that we would like them to do."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"It is expensive."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive."
"We sell annual licenses for this solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Performing Arts
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Retailer
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise17
 

Questions from the Community

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Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Proofpoint Email Protection?
In terms of pricing, it is okay compared to others. I would say it is normal. Additional costs do come in, but it enhances security.
What needs improvement with Proofpoint Email Protection?
I believe they still need to improve by consolidating some portals, as currently, you have to log in separately to a few of them.
 

Also Known As

Websense Email Security
Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Proofpoint Digital Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Alphawest, Amadori, AudioNova, Betsson, Confartigianato Vicenza, Davies Turner, iGATE, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Landa Digital Printing, Northern California Bank, Scavolini, Toyota
Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Check Point Software Technologies, Proofpoint and others in Email Security. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.