The 9 Best Phin Security Alternatives For Cybersecurity Teams

While Phin Security provides a solid foundation for security awareness, the diverse needs of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Small-to-Medium Businesses (SMBs) mean a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't always work. You might be searching for a platform with more robust multi-tenancy, radically transparent pricing, or a different style of training content. Exploring Phin Security alternatives is a key step to discovering the perfect solution to grow your business and protect your clients.

This journey is about finding a tool that not only defends against threats but also aligns perfectly with your operational goals and budget. We've created the ultimate guide to help you achieve that. In this article, you will discover a range of tools, from platforms purpose-built for MSPs to powerful enterprise-grade solutions. Our goal is to give you the clarity you need to make a confident decision and unlock a new level of success for your security program.

Quick Comparison: Top Phin Security Alternatives

1. Symbol Security (The Top Choice for MSPs & SMBs)

Symbol Security emerges as a modern, human-centric security platform purpose-built for the MSP channel and SMBs who value simplicity and effectiveness. It's designed from the ground up to address the specific challenges that other platforms often overlook for this audience, making it our top recommended Phin Security alternative.

Key Features of Symbol Security

• MSP-Centric Multi-Tenant Platform: Manage all your clients from a single, intuitive dashboard. This core feature includes separate billing, co-branding, campaign management, and reporting for each client, streamlining operations for easy resale and profitability.
• Threat-Intel-Driven Phishing Simulations: Move beyond generic templates. Symbol's phishing simulations are based on real-world, trending attacks, ensuring your employees are tested against the sophisticated threats they are most likely to encounter.
• Integrated Security Awareness & Policy Management: The platform seamlessly combines phishing simulations with a curated library of high-quality training modules. It also includes a policy management feature to distribute key security policies and track employee attestation, centralizing a crucial compliance task.
• Actionable Risk Reporting & Scoring: Gain clear insights into your human risk posture. Detailed analytics track metrics like phish-prone percentage and training completion, aggregating them into a simple organizational risk score to measure your program's effectiveness over time.

Strengths: Where Symbol Security Shines

• Truly MSP-Centric by Design: Unlike many competitors who adapt enterprise tools for MSPs, Symbol was built specifically for the channel. This ground-up, multi-tenant architecture is a game-changer for MSPs looking to build a scalable and profitable security awareness service.
• Radical Simplicity and Ease of Use: The clean, modern user interface allows you to set up campaigns in minutes, not hours. This is a massive advantage for lean IT teams and MSPs who can't afford to dedicate a full-time administrator to the tool.
• Transparent and Competitive Pricing: Symbol breaks the mold by publishing its pricing directly on its website, including a generous, truly free plan for up to 15 users. This transparency provides predictable costs and eliminates the frustrating "Contact Sales" wall common among other Phin Security competitors.

Limitations to Consider

• Curated Content Library: While its content library isn't as vast as enterprise giants like KnowBe4, it provides high-quality, curated content that covers all essential security topics without overwhelming users or administrators.
• Focus on the #1 Threat Vector: The platform's primary focus is on email phishing, which addresses the most common and damaging threat vector. This targeted approach provides an effective defense without the added complexity of niche vishing or smishing features that many SMBs don't require.

Pricing Structure

Symbol Security offers per-user based pricing as well as a separate, custom pricing model that is available for MSPs.

Best Use Cases

Symbol Security is the ideal Phin Security alternative for any MSP looking to build a profitable security awareness service, and for SMBs who need an affordable, effective, all-in-one platform they can manage without a steep learning curve.

2. KnowBe4

KnowBe4 is the largest and most recognized name in the security awareness training space. It's an enterprise-grade platform known for its massive scale and an exhaustive list of features designed to manage human risk in large, complex organizations.

Key Features of KnowBe4

• Massive Content Library: KnowBe4 offers the industry's largest library of training content, including videos, games, posters, and interactive modules available in dozens of languages.
• Advanced Phishing & Vishing Simulations: The platform features thousands of phishing templates and allows for voice-based "vishing" simulations to test users against phone-based social engineering.
• PhishER Platform: This light SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response) tool helps security teams manage and triage user-reported emails, automating the analysis and prioritization of real threats.
• Individual Risk Scoring: KnowBe4 calculates a unique "Risk Score" for each user based on their role, training history, and phishing failures, helping to identify high-risk individuals.
  
  

Strengths: Where KnowBe4 Shines

• Unparalleled Content Scale: If you need a specific training module on an obscure compliance topic or in a particular language, KnowBe4 likely has it. This scale is unmatched.
• Integrated Incident Response: The PhishER add-on closes the loop between user reporting and security operations, transforming the platform into a core part of an organization's defense.
  
  

Limitations to Consider

• Cost and Complexity: KnowBe4 is a premium-priced solution, and its most valuable features are locked behind the highest tiers. The platform's complexity can also create significant administrative overhead for smaller teams.
• Inconsistent Content Quality: With such a vast library, the quality of training modules can be inconsistent. Some content can feel dated or "cheesy," potentially failing to engage all audiences.
  
  

Pricing Structure

KnowBe4's pricing is not public. It is a quote-based, per-user-per-year subscription with multiple tiers (Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) that unlock progressively more features. It is considered a high-end solution.

Best Use Cases

Best for large enterprises with a dedicated budget and admin team who need an exhaustive library of content and advanced features like vishing and the PhishER SOAR platform.

3. Proofpoint Security Awareness

Proofpoint is a giant in the email security gateway market, and its security awareness platform is a natural, powerful extension of that ecosystem. It's designed to leverage real-time threat intelligence from your email gateway to deliver highly targeted and relevant training.

Key Features of Proofpoint Security Awareness

• Threat-Driven Personalized Training: The platform integrates with Proofpoint's email security gateway to identify which users are being attacked and automatically assigns relevant training based on those real-world threats.
• Integrated Threat Reporting and Remediation: The PhishAlarm email plugin and CLEAR (Closed-Loop Email Analysis and Response) capability allow users to report threats that can then be automatically analyzed and removed from all inboxes enterprise-wide.
• CISO-Level Reporting: The "Attack Index" provides a quantifiable, business-focused metric that combines user susceptibility with the volume and severity of attacks they face.
• Realistic Threat Simulation: Phishing simulations can mimic the exact threats that Proofpoint has recently blocked, making tests incredibly relevant.

Strengths: Where Proofpoint Security Awareness Shines

• Unmatched Ecosystem Integration: For existing Proofpoint customers, the synergy between real-world threat detection, targeted training, and automated remediation is unparalleled.
• Highly Relevant, Data-Driven Training: Training is based on the actual attacks targeting your users, making every learning moment timely and impactful.

Limitations to Consider

• Diminished Value as a Standalone Product: If you don't use Proofpoint for email security, you lose the core value proposition. As a standalone tool, its features face stiff competition.
• Premium Cost and Vendor Lock-In: Proofpoint is an expensive, enterprise-grade solution. Its high value within the ecosystem encourages deeper investment, which can lead to vendor lock-in.

Pricing Structure

Proofpoint does not publish its pricing. It is a premium, quote-based solution typically sold per user, per year. Costs are often bundled with other Proofpoint email protection products.

Best Use Cases

The logical choice for enterprises already invested in the Proofpoint ecosystem, offering seamless integration between real-world threat detection and targeted training.

4. Cofense

Cofense is less a simple training tool and more a comprehensive phishing detection and response platform. It is built for organizations that understand some phish will always get through and want to empower their users and security teams to find and neutralize those threats quickly.

Key Features of Cofense

• High-Fidelity Phishing Simulations: Cofense (formerly PhishMe) is known for its high-quality, realistic simulations designed to produce well-trained employees who can spot sophisticated attacks.
• Cofense Triage: This is the platform's core. It's a phishing-specific SOAR that automatically ingests and analyzes user-reported emails, using machine learning to categorize threats and reduce the manual workload on SOC teams.
• Cofense Vision: Once a threat is confirmed, Vision allows security teams to search for and quarantine all instances of that malicious email across the entire organization in near real-time.
• Crowd-Sourced Intelligence: Cofense operates a Phishing Defense Center that analyzes millions of user-reported threats to generate and share high-fidelity intelligence on active campaigns.

Strengths: Where Cofense Shines

• Powerful SOC Automation: Cofense Triage is best-in-class for automating the analysis of suspected phish, dramatically improving key metrics like Mean Time to Detect and Mean Time to Respond.
• End-to-End Phishing Defense: The platform provides a seamless workflow from training (PhishMe) to reporting (Reporter), analysis (Triage), and remediation (Vision).

Limitations to Consider

• Built for Mature Security Teams: The platform is powerful but complex. It requires skilled security personnel to manage and tune, making it a poor fit for organizations without a dedicated SOC or incident response function.
• Premium Pricing: Cofense is a top-tier enterprise solution with a price tag to match, placing it out of reach for most SMBs.

Pricing Structure

Cofense follows a quote-based enterprise sales model with no public pricing. The solution is modular, and costs depend on which components (PhishMe, Triage, Vision) are purchased.

Best Use Cases

Perfect for mid-to-large enterprises with a Security Operations Center (SOC) that needs to automate the analysis and remediation of user-reported phishing threats.

5. Terranova Security

Terranova Security, now part of Microsoft, is a global leader in security awareness whose content and platform are being deeply integrated into the Microsoft Defender security ecosystem. This makes it a uniquely powerful choice for organizations already committed to the Microsoft stack.

Key Features of Terranova Security

• Deep Integration with Microsoft Defender: You can launch and manage training campaigns directly from the Microsoft 365 Defender portal. The platform uses threat data from Defender to automatically assign targeted training to users who need it most.
• High-Quality, Inclusive Content: Terranova is praised for its engaging, high-production-value content available in over 40 languages and designed to meet accessibility standards.
• Proven Pedagogical Framework: The training is built on a behavior-change model that combines awareness, practice, and reinforcement to create a lasting impact on security culture.
• Simplified Procurement: For existing Microsoft customers, adding Terranova's capabilities can be as simple as upgrading to the Defender for Office 365 P2 plan.

Strengths: Where Terranova Security Shines

• Unparalleled for Microsoft Shops: For any organization using Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender P2, the seamless integration, automation, and simplified management are nearly impossible for a third-party tool to beat.
• Global Reach and Accessibility: The extensive language support and focus on accessibility make it an ideal solution for large, multinational corporations.

Limitations to Consider

• Diminished Value for Non-Microsoft Environments: If your organization uses Google Workspace or other security vendors, the core integration advantages are lost, making it a less compelling choice.
• More Corporate Tone: The content, while high-quality, is generally more professional in tone and may lack the humor or "edginess" of some competitors.

Pricing Structure

Terranova's capabilities are now primarily bundled into the Microsoft Defender for Office 365 P2 plan. It can also be purchased as a standalone add-on, but all pricing is quote-based through Microsoft's enterprise sales channels.

Best Use Cases

A no-brainer for organizations with Microsoft 365 E5 licenses or Defender for Office 365 P2, offering native integration and simplified procurement.

6. Hook Security

Hook Security differentiates itself by focusing on the psychology behind security training. It uses a positive, humor-driven approach designed to create an engaged and enthusiastic security culture rather than one based on fear and compliance.

Key Features of Hook Security

• Psycho-Educational Training: The content is built around psychological principles to drive genuine behavior change in a positive, memorable way.
• Humor-Based Content: Hook Security is known for its funny, engaging, and often pop-culture-relevant training videos that employees actually enjoy watching.
• Simple, Automated Workflows: The platform is designed for ease of use, allowing administrators to quickly set up and automate ongoing training and phishing campaigns.
• Phish-Prone Reporting: Provides clear metrics on which users are susceptible to phishing, allowing for targeted follow-up and additional training.

Strengths: Where Hook Security Shines

• Focus on Positive Security Culture: This approach can be highly effective at increasing employee engagement and turning security from a chore into a shared goal.
• Memorable and Likable Content: By making training enjoyable, Hook Security improves knowledge retention and overall program participation.

Limitations to Consider

• Less Suited for Formal Corporate Environments: The humor-based approach might not be a fit for all company cultures, particularly in highly regulated or formal industries.
• Fewer Enterprise-Grade Features: The platform lacks the complex reporting, integrations, and SOAR capabilities of enterprise giants like KnowBe4 or Cofense.

Pricing Structure

Hook Security offers transparent, tiered pricing on their website. Plans are based on the number of users and feature sets, making it accessible for SMBs.

Best Use Cases

Ideal for forward-thinking companies that want to build a positive, engaging security culture and believe that humor is a powerful tool for learning.

7. Hoxhunt

Hoxhunt flips the traditional training model on its head by gamifying the process of reporting threats. Instead of only simulating attacks, it rewards users with points and leaderboard status for successfully identifying and reporting both simulated and real-world phishing emails.

Key Features of Hoxhunt

• Gamified Training Experience: Users earn points and climb leaderboards for successfully reporting threats, creating a positive feedback loop that encourages active participation.
• Personalized Simulations: The platform's AI sends thousands of micro-simulations that adapt in difficulty based on each user's individual performance.
• Instant Feedback and Remediation: When a user reports a threat, they receive instant feedback on whether they were correct, reinforcing learning at the moment of action.
• Integration with Response Workflows: Reported threats can be fed directly into security team workflows (e.g., SOAR or ticketing systems) for analysis and response.

Strengths: Where Hoxhunt Shines

• Drives High Engagement: The gamified approach is highly effective at motivating users to actively participate in the security program, leading to much higher reporting rates.
• Turns Training into a Continuous Habit: By rewarding a daily activity (reporting emails), Hoxhunt helps build a sustainable, long-term security habit across the organization.

Limitations to Consider

• Requires a Cultural Shift: The model's success depends on getting employees to embrace the game-like nature of the platform.
• Less Focus on Formal Training Content: Hoxhunt is more of a continuous testing and reporting engine than a traditional library of training modules.

Pricing Structure

Hoxhunt uses a custom, quote-based pricing model. It is typically positioned for mid-market and enterprise companies who want to invest in a new approach to security behavior.

Best Use Cases

An excellent fit for organizations that want to energize their security program with a gamified, hands-on approach that rewards employees for becoming active defenders.

8. Mimecast Awareness Training

Like Proofpoint, Mimecast is a dominant force in the Secure Email Gateway (SEG) market. Its awareness training module is an integrated component of its broader email security and archiving platform, offering a unified solution from a single vendor.

Key Features of Mimecast Awareness Training

• Humorous, Engaging Video Content: Mimecast is known for its high-quality, professionally produced, and often funny micro-training videos designed to keep employees engaged.
• Unified Management Console: For existing Mimecast customers, training and phishing simulations are managed from the same administration console used for email security, archiving, and other services.
• Risk-Based Scoring: The platform assigns a risk score to each employee based on a combination of their training performance, phishing test results, and real-world threat data from the Mimecast gateway.
• Performance Benchmarking: You can compare your organization's performance against other Mimecast customers in your industry and region.

Strengths: Where Mimecast Awareness Training Shines

• Excellent for Existing Mimecast Customers: The single-vendor approach simplifies procurement, support, and administration, creating a seamless experience.
• High-Quality, Engaging Content: The short, humorous videos are consistently praised for being effective and enjoyable for employees.

Limitations to Consider

• Less Compelling as a Standalone Tool: Much of its value is tied to the Mimecast ecosystem. Organizations not using Mimecast for email security will find more powerful options elsewhere.
• Fewer Simulation Templates: Compared to specialists like KnowBe4, Mimecast's library of phishing simulation templates is less extensive.

Pricing Structure

Mimecast Awareness Training is sold on a per-user, per-year basis and is almost always bundled with its core email security packages. Pricing is quote-based.

Best Use Cases

A fantastic choice for organizations already using or planning to use Mimecast for their email security, providing a fully integrated, all-in-one solution.

9. Barracuda Security Awareness Training

Barracuda is another major player in email and network security that offers a robust security awareness training platform. Formerly known as Barracuda PhishLine, the solution is designed to be easy to use and integrates well with Barracuda's other security products.

Key Features of Barracuda Security Awareness Training

• Multi-Vector Simulations: Barracuda goes beyond email, offering simulation capabilities for SMS (smishing), voice (vishing), and even malicious USB drives.
• Easy-to-Use Campaign Wizard: The platform is known for its intuitive interface and a simple wizard that guides administrators through the process of creating and launching campaigns.
• Integration with Barracuda Email Protection: The platform can leverage threat data from Barracuda's email gateway to inform training and simulation campaigns.
• Click-Prone User Reporting: Provides clear data on which users are most susceptible to different types of phishing attacks.

Strengths: Where Barracuda Shines

• Simplicity and Ease of Use: The platform is highly regarded for being user-friendly, making it a great option for IT teams without deep security expertise.
• Broad Simulation Capabilities: The inclusion of smishing and vishing simulations offers a more comprehensive testing program than many email-only platforms.

Limitations to Consider

• Content Library is Good, Not Great: While the training content is solid, it is not as large or diverse as the libraries offered by market leaders.
• Best Value is Within the Ecosystem: Like other gateway vendors, the strongest value proposition is for organizations already invested in the Barracuda security stack.

Pricing Structure

Barracuda's security awareness training is sold via custom quote and is often included as part of its broader "Total Email Protection" bundle.

Best Use Cases

A strong contender for existing Barracuda customers or for organizations that prioritize ease of use and want to run multi-vector simulations beyond just email.

Picking The Right Phin Security Alternative for You

Choosing the right Phin Security alternative is a critical decision that can elevate your security posture and streamline your operations. As we've seen, the "best" platform truly depends on your specific needs, whether you're an MSP focused on profitability, a large enterprise with complex compliance demands, or an SMB seeking an effective and affordable solution.

While every tool on this list offers unique value, one stands out for a significant and often underserved audience.

For Managed Service Providers and small-to-medium businesses seeking the ideal balance of powerful features, MSP-centric design, and straightforward pricing, Symbol Security is our top recommended alternative to Phin Security. Its purpose-built platform solves the exact challenges this audience faces, offering a clear path to growth and improved security without the complexity or opaque pricing of enterprise-focused tools.

Ready to see the difference and empower your human firewall?