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Proofpoint Email Protection vs Sophos Phish Threat comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 2, 2025

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

Proofpoint Email Protection
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
51
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (3rd), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (1st), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (2nd)
Sophos Phish Threat
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 9.0%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sophos Phish Threat is 4.9%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Security Awareness Training
 

Featured Reviews

AhmedRamadan - PeerSpot reviewer
Optimize email security with effective sandboxing and auto Pull for quarantine
Proofpoint is used as an email security gateway for big enterprises, primarily for their on-premises servers. Many customers also use it alongside Office 365 Proofpoint offers a complete solution for email security with features like DLP, email archiving, and encryption. The most valuable…
Shaun Gordon - PeerSpot reviewer
Identifies vulnerable employees through customized simulations
Sophos Phish Threat effectively identifies susceptible employees. It depends on knowing my staff. For example, if I receive an email claiming my Facebook account is compromised, I immediately recognize it as suspicious, as I don't have Facebook. If I know my staff use LinkedIn, I utilize the LinkedIn simulation. Similarly, if they bank with Absa, I use the Absa simulation. There isn't a single 'one size fits all' approach. Sophos Phish Threat ensures users do not click on dodgy emails or dodgy links within an environment.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution scales quite well."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is stable enough and does its job of virus, malware, and email scam detection. Setting it up is not too complicated."
"The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease."
"The solution has very strong detection for most of the phishing and malicious emails received from the outside."
"The most valuable feature of Proofpoint Email Protection is the dashboards and their visibility, easy configuration, and artificial intelligence. Additionally, the reports are very important and helpful."
"I like all the features with Proofpoint, such as how it filters the spam and marketing mail, lost reality mail, blocks phishing attacks, blocks malicious attachments, and stops phishing links. Also it can defend against the business email compromise impersonation technique. It is a complete solution for all email attacks. It filters for the bad, malicious attachments. If there is any executable file, it can be deleted. It is a good, complete solution."
"Provides better control over emails, especially those sent via Office 365 on the cloud."
"The solution scales well."
"Sophos Phish Threat is valuable as it is easy to use and effectively educates end users on the threats they may face and how to identify them."
"I have found the implementation process to be simple and straightforward."
"Sophos Phish Threat effectively identifies susceptible employees."
"The solution is easy to integrate because it is on the cloud. We have been able to limit users to only accessing the Sophos platform by modifying the firewall and Sophos platform settings. The dashboard gives us detailed reports allowing us to be able to manage better."
"It is easy to use."
"The installation is straightforward. You only need to upload the user's email address to the cloud and you can start using it."
"It is very simple to install and you can do it by yourself."
"It is simple to push tests out to a group of users."
 

Cons

"In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented."
"Integration and filtering out who you want and don't want to have integrated ID could be improved."
"Sometimes it detects false positives."
"Proofpoint Email Protection has a new approach to email security with its API feature. Currently, it only works with Office 365. In the future, it would be beneficial if it also works with Gmail, as Check Point is currently the only brand that has API email security for Gmail. It would be beneficial if Proofpoint Email Protection could add this integration, they would be more competitive with other vendors."
"We find the cost to be prohibitive."
"Pricing for the platform could still be cheaper."
"The solution's server console and cluster dashboard have been the same for four years so need to be upgraded."
"I want Security Awareness Training in there as a package deal. A lot of companies are starting to value email security a little bit more and take it a little bit more seriously, and the great product that we link together with a lot of these sales is a training product called Security Awareness Training. It is an upsell that we do with Proofpoint, and it is definitely something that I recommend everybody with email security to look into. It would be great if Security Awareness Training is included with the email security."
"I would like to see more manager-level training that teaches what needs to be done after a phishing email attack is found."
"Sophos should offer tests where we can emulate new attacks happening now."
"The product's price is an area of concern, and it can be improved if Sophos reduces the prices by seven to nine percent, considering the current market price at which the product is offered."
"Sophos Phish Threat can improve load balancing."
"The security of the solution could improve."
"The pricing of Sophos Phish threat can be improved."
"The security could be simplified within the product."
"There is a need for improvement regarding false negatives dealing with Office 365."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is reasonable."
"Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive."
"The licensing is basically $8/user."
"I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five."
"In general, the pricing is competitive."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"Customers pay around $90,000 yearly for a 1,000-user organization, with the subscription license being the main expense, apart from implementation fees."
"There are monthly and annual subscriptions available to use Sophos Phish Threat. The price is reasonable."
"There is a license required for this solution and the cost depends on the number of users."
"The license for the product comes with the firewall offered by Sophos, so a user need not buy it separately."
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"The pricing is very good, and some of my customers who have used other vendors say that Sophos is priced well within the market."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Real Estate/Law Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
In terms of improvement, the price could be better. Additionally, more security could be implemented.
What do you like most about Sophos Phish Threat?
I find the solution's reports very valuable.
What needs improvement with Sophos Phish Threat?
There is a need for improvement regarding false negatives dealing with Office 365. The issue stems from policies in Office 365 that prevent scanning certain elements, which might trigger errors. I ...
What is your primary use case for Sophos Phish Threat?
I use Sophos Phish Threat to test employee security awareness. Essentially, my clients utilize Phish Threat to ensure that users are not clicking on suspicious emails or links. It is a simulated ca...
 

Also Known As

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
Phish Threat
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint Email Protection vs. Sophos Phish Threat and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.