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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

"It's a mature product. It does a good job in detection."
"The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten."
"It's very good at identifying threats."
"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."
"There is no downtime."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to remove bad messages that were delivered, prior to being classified as unwanted."
"Proofpoint Email Protection's advantage is that, when it's working properly, it tends to catch more threats as compared to other products."
"The spam filter for email is good."
"The scalability is very good."
"I have found the implementation process to be simple and straightforward."
"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."
"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 very simple to install and you can do it by yourself."
"Sophos Phish Threat effectively identifies susceptible employees."
"The most valuable features of Sophos Phish Threat are internal web filtering and security."
"It is easy to use."
 

Cons

"Integration and filtering out who you want and don't want to have integrated ID could be improved."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is an expensive solution."
"The setup requires expertise. It needs someone with experience on managing it, and I would rate the implementation as needing someone experienced."
"The solution could be improved with the addition of PLP and email encryption features."
"The reporting section could be enhanced. I like some reports but if they could allow us to create custom reports with more flexibility it would enhance the reports more."
"Proofpoint Email Protection could improve on the training. Every organization is different and to fine-tune it to block everything properly there needs to be better training. Sometimes it can block some of the information it shouldn't."
"Integration for reporting needs to be improved, it's too complex."
"Proofpoint has a lot of false alarms."
"Sophos Phish Threat can improve load balancing."
"The security of the solution could improve."
"I would like to see more manager-level training that teaches what needs to be done after a phishing email attack is found."
"Integration with other products could be improved."
"There is a need for improvement regarding false negatives dealing with Office 365."
"Sophos should offer tests where we can emulate new attacks happening now."
"The solution could be much more secure."
"The pricing of Sophos Phish threat can be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing model for Proofpoint Email Protection is simple. It's based on the number of users. Price-wise, Proofpoint Email Protection is a five out of ten because it's a pretty expensive solution."
"Clients pay for an annual subscription of Proofpoint Email Protection. Every client always finds it 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."
"I rate the price of Proofpoint Email Protection a four out of five."
"The solution charges per user per month to use it. There are not any additional fees in addition to the standard living fees."
"Proofpoint Email Protection is a reasonably priced product, which means that it is neither too low nor too high in terms of price."
"The licensing cost of Proofpoint Email Protection is a lot higher than other solutions, such as Barracuda."
"Annually, it costs us about $92,000. This is pretty much what it costs us. There is no additional cost."
"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."
"Licensing fees are paid annually."
"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."
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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.
845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.