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Proofpoint Email Protection vs Proofpoint’s ZenGuide comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 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
7.1
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (2nd), Digital Risk Protection (3rd), Office 365 Protection (2nd), Secure Email Gateway (SEG) (3rd)
Proofpoint’s ZenGuide
Ranking in Security Awareness Training
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.5
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Security Awareness Training category, the mindshare of Proofpoint Email Protection is 9.4%, down from 12.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Proofpoint’s ZenGuide is 6.4%, up from 2.6% 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…
DM
Customizable features and seamless setup enhance security training
In my opinion, some of the most valuable features of Proofpoint's ZenGuide include the customization, allowing us to add our own branding and themes to the automated emails that are sent, as well as the training. The phishing simulations, from what I've seen so far, run pretty well. There's a significant amount of campaign options to choose from. I appreciate how customizable they are so that we can fine-tune it to specifically target things related to what we work on. The training content seems comparable based on what I've seen compared to other tools such as KnowBe4. The implementation of Proofpoint's ZenGuide has affected my IT team's workload regarding email security management, but not significantly. Most of these features seem fairly automated and easy to set up. For example, setting up a phishing campaign doesn't take too long, so it hasn't affected us substantially.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The Phish Alarm button allows users to submit questionable emails for review and complete analysis."
"The solution blocks malicious emails containing viruses and malware and reduces them out of spam."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to remove bad messages that were delivered, prior to being classified as unwanted."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is a good product, and its most beneficial feature is the Threat Response Auto-Pull. I also like that it's an integrated email security solution."
"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's advantage is that, when it's working properly, it tends to catch more threats as compared to other products."
"The solution offers very good flexibility. You can blacklist or whitelist with ease."
"As a cloud-based product, it can scale well."
"Most valuable is the SSO integration with our AD, so the users can employ our federation service to log in."
"I would definitely recommend Proofpoint's ZenGuide to others, as I think the branding and the ability to add your own branding on all different avenues, through the email communications, training, simulations, and everything, is probably the biggest advantage I've seen so far."
 

Cons

"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve the Mail Trace feature and make navigation easier."
"It's scalable, but the devil's in the details — you have to know your email volumes."
"The scalability can be improved, and the solution can be optimized."
"The accessibility of Proofpoint Email Protection, particularly access to product trials, could be improved. It's hard to get a trial for Proofpoint Email Protection, and many customers prefer not just to do the POC or demo but try the product out."
"The initial setup is complex."
"The Secure Mail aspect should have an Outlook add-in, instead of an external dashboard that outside users have to access."
"Proofpoint Email Protection's interface is confusing and could be improved."
"Proofpoint should have better integration with complex environments that need more than one instance of Proofpoint, as there are issues with nested instances."
"We would like to create reports for local IT leaders in a different way, more suitable for upper management."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is multiple times more expensive, which made it very much less attractive."
"Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it expensive."
"The tool's pricing depends on the customer's preference, offering options for an annual license or a monthly subscription. The cost varies based on factors such as the number of users and specific requirements. Overall, the pricing is competitive."
"It is on a yearly basis. Their floor for SMB doesn't matter. The user count is 100 users and below at $2,500 a year. Its cost is higher than other solutions. It is probably about 20% to 30% higher than what you would get with Microsoft. There are no additional costs. All costs are factored in. It can be improved pricing-wise so that it is affordable for the SMB market."
"The solution uses a licensing model that is reasonable compared to other products."
"I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five."
"The solution is expensive."
"We sell annual licenses for this solution."
"received very good pricing, as we are also working with the Proofpoint spam appliances."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
6%
Manufacturing Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Performing Arts
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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?
It became very expensive due to the nature of local circumstances, and I may advise Proofpoint to adjust marketing solutions based on each country.
What needs improvement with Wombat Security Education Platform?
I do not have many recommendations for improvements for Proofpoint's ZenGuide right now. I am still fairly new to it, so I might find some recommendations as I use it more, but at the moment, I don...
What is your primary use case for Wombat Security Education Platform?
Our use cases for Proofpoint's ZenGuide involve training company-wide on security awareness, phishing, and running phishing simulations every quarter or so.
What advice do you have for others considering Wombat Security Education Platform?
I am not actually sure about the compliance enforcement capabilities of Proofpoint's ZenGuide, so I cannot comment on whether that has an impact. Based on my experience, I would rate Proofpoint's Z...
 

Also Known As

Proofpoint Enterprise Protection, Cofense PhishMe, Proofpoint Digital Protection
Proofpoint Security Awareness Training, Wombat Security Education Platform
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blocket, University of Waterloo, Lincoln Memorial University, WellSpan Health, U-Haul, Carestream Health, Westinghouse
Carnegie Mellon University, Royal Bank of Scotland, City of Garland, Texas
Find out what your peers are saying about Proofpoint Email Protection vs. Proofpoint’s ZenGuide and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.