Adaptive Security vs. Proofpoint

The main difference between Adaptive Security and Proofpoint is their focus. Proofpoint provides email protection with threat intelligence, email security, and DLP capabilities. Adaptive Security delivers a more complete and modern security awareness training program, with its interactive, personalized, and customized training content alongside hyper-realistic, AI-powered phishing simulations that incorporate deepfake personas, voice calls, SMS texts, and OSINT-spearphshing.

Adaptive Security provides stronger, more realisitc AI-powered phishing simulations. Adaptive phishing uses OSINT for spearphishing emails, targeting the specific duties and daily operations of employees, with scenarios like fake overqualified job applicant and journalist request for comment. Adaptive's phishing capabilities also include outbound SMS and voice call phishing, during which AI personas communicate back and forth in real-time to phish employees. Adaptive phishing is meant for organizations seeking to train their workforce on AI-powered threats. Proofpoint, on the other hand, focuses primarily on generic email phishing and filtering through technical detection, which supports a different part of the defense stack.

The best Proofpoint alternative depends on your needs. For organizations that are seeking advanced AI-native security awareness training, Adaptive Security is the stronger alternative because it offers custom deepfake capabilities, OSINT-powered personalization, and generative content tools. Teams choose Adaptive Security when they need a faster response to emerging threats, customization for training content, and deepfake simulation beyond standard email templates.

Adaptive Security is an excellent Proofpoint alternative for mid-market and fast-growing teams. It offers advanced training modules, AI-driven phishing simulations, and deep customization not found in traditional platforms. Teams benefit from its modern, user-friendly interface, dynamic content, extensive integrations, and thorough analytics. Adaptive is ideal for organizations that are seeking cutting-edge security awareness training that will feel tailored to their organization.

Adaptive emphasizes real-time behavioral risk scoring, predictive analytics, and automated remediation workflows that respond to employee actions. Visual dashboards show department-level human risk concentration and provide board-ready summaries. Proofpoint delivers compliance reporting within its email security analytics framework, tracking email threats, data loss incidents, and user behavior across messaging channels.

Adaptive handles AI-driven cyberattacks more directly. You can generate deepfake simulations, craft highly targeted spearphishing tests, and update training the same day new social-engineering tactics appear. This helps teams stay aligned with fast-moving threats. Proofpoint excels at email filtering, malware analysis, and broader threat-detection tools. Organizations that need hands-on training for deepfakes, AI-generated phishing, or non-email attack vectors often prefer Adaptive because it reacts faster to new attacker techniques.