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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

"Its anti-phishing functionality is the most valuable. Certainly, the biggest problem I have is phishing."
"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."
"It's the top choice because no company can operate without security. Ensuring email protection is a major priority for any organization when building its infrastructure."
"It was easy to set up."
"They have customized security rules, mature rules, anti-virus protection, as well as email authentication similar to SPF, DKIM, and DMARC."
"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 Email Protection is the best solution from the perspective of email security."
"The most valuable features of Proofpoint Email Protection are ease of use, data loss prevention, antivirus, and spam protection."
"I have found the implementation process to be simple and straightforward."
"The scalability is very good."
"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 easy to use."
"The most valuable features of Sophos Phish Threat are internal web filtering and security."
"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."
"I find the solution's reports very valuable."
"It is simple to push tests out to a group of users."
 

Cons

"The Secure Mail aspect should have an Outlook add-in, instead of an external dashboard that outside users have to access."
"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."
"The flexibility of the solution can be improved."
"Proofpoint Email Protection's interface is confusing and could be improved."
"The solution could lower its price."
"The solution could be improved with the addition of PLP and email encryption features."
"Sometimes it detects false positives."
"Some use cases haven't been dealt with yet."
"The security could be simplified within the product."
"Sophos should offer tests where we can emulate new attacks happening now."
"I would like to see more manager-level training that teaches what needs to be done after a phishing email attack is found."
"Sophos Phish Threat can improve load balancing."
"The solution could be much more secure."
"There is a need for improvement regarding false negatives dealing with Office 365."
"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."
"The security of the solution could improve."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five."
"In general, the pricing is competitive."
"It is multiple times more expensive, which made it very much less attractive."
"Proofpoint Email Protection has comparable pricing."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"Customers pay around $90,000 yearly for a 1,000-user organization, with the subscription license being the main expense, apart from implementation fees."
"The solution uses a licensing model that is reasonable compared to other products."
"The license for the product comes with the firewall offered by Sophos, so a user need not buy it separately."
"There is a license required for this solution and the cost depends on the number of users."
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"There are monthly and annual subscriptions available to use Sophos Phish Threat. The price is reasonable."
"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.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.