Sentaro is the best KnowBe4 alternative for EU teams on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace that want a technical control first instead of training as the control. It scores every inbound message before interaction and removes or quarantines malicious mail automatically, treats payload-free BEC and vendor fraud as a core design target, blocks OAuth consent phishing in the same platform, connects over API in four minutes and costs a published $6 per protected account per month (USD). It is hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure. If auditors or insurers require a training program, keep a training tool alongside it.
- Why Sentaro wins
- technical control first: malicious mail is removed before anyone has to spot it, so protection does not depend on a click rate. Verizon’s 2026 DBIR finds that 62% of breaches involve a human element.
- Choose Sentaro if
- your goal is fewer successful BEC and phishing attacks, not more simulations.
- Replacing the training itself?
- Hoxhunt and SoSafe are the closest like-for-like platforms, Proofpoint ZenGuide fits Proofpoint shops and Microsoft’s Attack simulation training fits E5 tenants; compared below. Sentaro does no simulation or training by design, and runs alongside any of them.
What you are replacing: KnowBe4 at a glance
- Products
- Security Awareness Training, Real-Time Coaching, Compliance Training, AIDA (AI Defense Agents), Cloud Email Security (Defend, Prevent, Protect, from Egress), Incident Response
- Installed base
- 70,000+ organizations (2024, vendor-stated)
- Email security
- Egress acquisition completed 9 July 2024; Defend covers inbound threats on Microsoft 365
- Training pricing
- Published MSRP (May 2026, 3-year term): SAT Foundation $2.40 and SAT Advanced $3.75 per seat per month at 25–50 seats, falling to $1.63 and $2.79 at 501–1,000 seats; 1,001+ quoted
- Training scope
- Phishing and voice (vishing) simulations; content in 47+ languages, AI translation into 51+ (vendor-stated); Phish Alert Button; PhishER Plus add-on for report triage
- EU hosting
- Customer may choose main storage in the US, Ireland, Germany, the UK or Canada for training and Cloud Email Security; some data is processed by subprocessors elsewhere (Data Transfer Impact Assessment, 13 October 2026)
- Ownership
- Private, Vista Equity Partners since 1 February 2023
Why organizations look for a KnowBe4 alternative
- European hosting and language. EU buyers, especially in the public sector, often want training data hosted in the EU and content in local languages. SoSafe states its platform is "EU Hosted"; eBuilder states Swedish data residency for Complorer.
- Simulation already licensed. Microsoft 365 E5 and Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 include attack simulation training, which overlaps with part of KnowBe4.
- Price at renewal. KnowBe4 publishes per-seat MSRP for its training, so you can compare it against Microsoft’s Attack simulation training, which is included in Microsoft 365 E5 and Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, and against quotes from Hoxhunt and SoSafe, which do not publish prices.
- Channels beyond email. Buyers increasingly want SMS, phone, Teams and deepfake simulations; Hoxhunt and Adaptive Security describe these channels on their sites.
- Ownership. KnowBe4 has been private, owned by Vista Equity Partners, since February 2023, and some procurement teams re-run due diligence after a change of control.
- A different theory of the problem. Some teams question whether more training is the best use of budget for targeted attacks such as BEC, and look at technical controls instead.
Security awareness training platforms compared
For buyers replacing KnowBe4’s training, this is the like-for-like comparison. Every entry is from the vendor’s own page or documentation, checked 20 October 2026. “Not stated” means the page we checked did not say; ask the vendor.
| Platform | Simulation channels | Content and languages | Reporting and triage | Hosting statement | Public price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training | Email phishing; voice (vishing) | 47+ languages; AI translation 51+ | Phish Alert Button; PhishER Plus add-on | Customer-chosen main storage incl. Ireland or Germany (DTIA, October 2026) | Yes: $1.63–$3.75 per seat/month MSRP, 25–1,000 seats |
| Hoxhunt | Email, SMS, phone calls, Microsoft Teams | Library packages or AI-generated training; languages not listed | AI triage of user-reported email | Not stated on home page; lists SOC 2 Type II | No |
| SoSafe | Multi-channel (channels not listed) | Microlearning in 34+ languages | One-click reporting; audit exports mapped to NIS2 and DORA | “EU Hosted” (vendor) | No |
| Proofpoint ZenGuide | AI-recommended simulations; ThreatFlip turns real attacks into templates | Adaptive learning paths; languages not counted | “Report Suspicious” button across email and mobile | Not stated | No |
| Microsoft Attack simulation training | Email: credential harvest, malware attachment, link in attachment, link to malware, drive-by URL, OAuth consent grant; links can be QR codes | Built-in training modules and training-only campaigns | Reports in the Defender portal | Stored with Microsoft 365 data; available in the EUR region | Included in Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender Plan 2 ($5 per user/month) |
| Adaptive Security | Email, voice call and SMS; deepfake scenarios | Modules on AI threats, voice cloning and deepfakes | Not stated | Not stated (New York HQ) | No |
| eBuilder Complorer | Phishing simulation, run as a managed service | Swedish and English | Reporting mapped to NIS2, GDPR, ISO 27001 | Swedish data residency (vendor claim) | No, proposal |
How to choose a security awareness training platform
- Languages your staff actually read. Count them: SoSafe states 34+, KnowBe4 47+. Microsoft and Proofpoint do not publish a count on the pages we checked.
- Channels your attackers use. If phone and SMS lures matter, check for voice and SMS simulation (Hoxhunt, Adaptive Security, KnowBe4 for voice). Microsoft’s simulations are email-based, with QR-code payloads.
- What happens when someone reports. A report button is standard; triage of the reports is the expensive part. KnowBe4 sells PhishER Plus, Hoxhunt and Proofpoint describe AI-assisted triage.
- Audit evidence. If NIS2, DORA or ISO 27001 auditors ask for training records, check the export format before you buy. SoSafe advertises NIS2- and DORA-mapped exports.
- Data hosting and works councils. EU buyers, especially in Germany and the Nordics, often need EU hosting and works-council approval for behavior data. Ask for the DPA and subprocessor list.
- Measure behavior, not completion. Track reporting rate and time to report, not just course completion. Verizon’s 2026 DBIR puts the median simulation click rate at 1.4%.
Training or a technical control: an honest look at both
Training and technical controls solve different parts of the problem. Training builds reporting habits, gives auditors evidence of awareness activity and helps with threats that never touch email, such as phone and SMS scams. A technical control removes malicious mail before a person has to make a decision.
Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report puts the median phishing-simulation click rate at 1.4% and finds that 62% of breaches involve a human element. A low click rate is a real achievement, but across the thousands of messages an organization receives each year, even a small rate still leaves some clicks.
Sentaro’s position, stated on its company page, is that security tooling had made employees the last line of defense, and that this is “a design flaw, not a training problem”. That is a vendor’s view, and we publish it as one. The fair summary is this: if your auditors or insurers require a training program, keep one, and choose it on content and data hosting. If your goal is to stop BEC and targeted phishing, measure what a technical control catches before adding more training.
Two numbers worth knowing
KnowBe4 alternatives at a glance
| Option | Type | Simulation | Stops attacks in the inbox | Hosting statement | Public price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sentaro (our pick) | API email and SaaS security | No, by design | Yes (Message vector) | Hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure; see DPA | Yes, $6 per account/month |
| KnowBe4 | Training plus email security (Egress) | Yes | Via Defend (Microsoft 365) | Customer-chosen main storage incl. Ireland or Germany | Yes, training MSRP from $1.63 per seat/month |
| Hoxhunt | Human risk management | Email, SMS, phone, Teams | Triage of user-reported email | Not stated on home page | No |
| SoSafe | Human risk management | Yes, multi-channel | Not described | “EU Hosted” (vendor) | No |
| Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 | Native email security | Attack simulation training | Yes | EU Data Boundary | Yes, $5 per user/month |
| Adaptive Security | Training, simulation and email security | Email, voice, SMS, deepfake | Describes agentic email security | Not stated | No |
| eBuilder Complorer | Managed training service | Yes | No email security product found | Swedish data residency (vendor) | No |
| IRONSCALES | API email security plus training | Yes (Human Risk Management) | Yes | Subprocessor list: AWS in the USA and Germany | No |
| Proofpoint ZenGuide | Security awareness training | Yes, AI-recommended | Via Proofpoint email protection | Not documented | No |
The 8 KnowBe4 alternatives in detail
- 1
Sentaro
Our pickBest for: Teams that want to stop relying on training as the control: EU organizations on Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace that want phishing and BEC removed before people see it.
Sentaro is the technical control to put next to, or instead of, a training budget: an API-based email and SaaS security platform for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, built in Stockholm and hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure. Strengths: scores every inbound message before interaction and removes or quarantines malicious mail automatically; payload-free BEC and supplier fraud are a core design target; OAuth consent phishing blocked in the same layer; $6 per protected account per month, or $68 per account per year; the first account is free. Prices in USD. Limits: no simulation or training by design, so it does not produce training evidence for audits; Identity and Behavioral vectors reach general availability in Q4 2026; SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certification in progress. Evidence pack on request.
Sentaro vs KnowBe4 - 2
Hoxhunt
Best for: Organizations that want adaptive, gamified simulation and training from a Nordic vendor.
A human risk management platform; its site lists offices in Helsinki, Minneapolis and Singapore, with Helsinki first. Strengths: AI-personalized phishing simulations across email, SMS, phone calls and Teams; customizable or AI-generated training packages; AI triage of user-reported email; lists SOC 2 Type II. Limits: no data hosting statement on its home page; pricing not published.
- 3
SoSafe
Best for: EU organizations that want EU-hosted training with NIS2- and DORA-mapped reporting.
A human risk management platform that describes itself as “German Engineered”. Strengths: gamified microlearning in 34+ languages; multi-channel simulations; one-click reporting and an AI assistant; audit exports mapped to NIS2 and DORA; ISO 27001 and TISAX badges; vendor states “EU Hosted” and says it “fully clears strict European works council co-determination checks”. Limits: not an email filter; pricing not published.
Best for: Microsoft 365 E5 organizations that want simulation without another vendor.
Native email security with built-in simulation. Strengths: Attack simulation training offers credential-harvest, malware-attachment, link-in-attachment, link-to-malware, drive-by-URL and OAuth-consent-grant techniques, QR-code payloads, payload automation from real detected phish, training modules and training-only campaigns; included in Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender Plan 2 at $5 per user per month; available in the EUR region. Limits: Microsoft 365 only; email-based simulations; E3 tenants get only a limited trial subset, per Microsoft.
- 5
Adaptive Security
Best for: Teams worried about deepfake, voice-clone and SMS lures, not just email.
A training and simulation platform from TeamGuard AI Inc, New York. Strengths: multi-channel simulations including voice call and SMS phishing, with CEO-impersonation phone-call scenarios; training modules on AI threats, voice cloning and deepfakes; also describes agentic email security and AI governance products. Limits: pricing not published; hosting not stated on the home page.
- 6
eBuilder Security Complorer
Best for: Swedish organizations, including municipalities, that want training run for them in Swedish.
A managed awareness and phishing-simulation service from eBuilder Security in Kista, Sweden. Strengths: configured and run by eBuilder; Swedish and English content; reporting mapped to NIS2, GDPR and ISO 27001; vendor claims Swedish data residency. Limits: managed service rather than self-serve; we found no email security product from eBuilder; pricing on proposal.
Best for: SMBs and MSPs that want email security and simulation in one console.
API email security with a Human Risk Management module. Strengths: behavioral detection plus phishing simulation and training in Complete Protect; states 3,000+ MSPs. Limits: pricing not published; its subprocessor list names AWS in the USA and AWS Europe (Germany) for the primary application platform.
Best for: Organizations already on Proofpoint email protection.
Proofpoint’s security awareness training. Strengths: risk scoring by behavior, role and threat exposure; adaptive grouping that assigns training automatically; AI-recommended simulations, including ThreatFlip, which turns real attacks into training templates; a “Report Suspicious” button across email and mobile; sits alongside Proofpoint’s email protection from one vendor. Limits: pricing not published; language count and hosting not stated on the product page.
How to choose a KnowBe4 alternative
| Your goal | Look at |
|---|---|
| Training evidence for auditors, in EU-hosted form | SoSafe (“EU Hosted”), eBuilder Complorer (Swedish residency) |
| Adaptive simulations across email, SMS, phone and Teams | Hoxhunt, SoSafe |
| Deepfake and voice-clone simulations | Adaptive Security, KnowBe4 (vishing) |
| A published per-seat training price | KnowBe4 (MSRP), Microsoft (in E5 or Defender Plan 2) |
| Simulation without a new vendor on Microsoft 365 E5 | Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 |
| Training run for you, in Swedish | eBuilder Complorer |
| Fewer BEC and phishing messages reaching people | Sentaro, IRONSCALES, Check Point, Abnormal, behind Defender or Gmail |
| Training and email security from one vendor | IRONSCALES, Proofpoint, Mimecast, Hornetsecurity |
Why Sentaro is our pick
Why Sentaro wins
- Stops the message instead of testing people: The Message vector, live since Q2 2026, scores intent, sender identity and relationship signals before interaction, including vendor-compromise and thread-hijack detection, and every verdict shows its reasoning in the console, so you can audit its BEC calls on your own mail.
- Live in minutes, not a campaign cycle: Sentaro connects over the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace admin APIs in four minutes, with no agents and no MX change (your MX record stays where it is, which you can check in DNS), and shows historical mail within 15 minutes.
- Consent phishing covered in the same layer: The App vector, live since Q3 2026, inventories every app, AI tool and OAuth grant within 15 minutes of connecting, blocks consent phishing and revokes risky grants in one click.
- Price published: $6 per protected account per month, or $68 per year, every feature included, published on sentaro.com/en/pricing; the first account is free, so you can test it before talking to sales. Prices in USD.
- Hosting in writing: Hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure, with every subprocessor listed in the public DPA (sentaro.com/en/legal/dpa).
- You are spending on simulations mainly to stop BEC and targeted phishing, and would rather stop those messages directly.
Consider another option only if
- You need account-takeover monitoring or a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certificate today; see the roadmap and certification notes on this page.
- You need an MX gateway, archiving, encryption, backup or DMARC report management. Sentaro does none of these.
- You run on-premises Exchange. Sentaro supports Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace only.
- You need a training program for culture, onboarding or audit evidence. Keep a training tool for that; Sentaro can run alongside it.
“We chose Sentaro because it gave us an extra layer of security without creating more work. It was quick to roll out and gave us the visibility we had been missing.”
From quarterly awareness training to zero clicks required.
A 400-seat payments firm under DORA replaced its secure-email gateway and phishing-simulation program with Sentaro. The engine now blocks BEC attempts their gateway never saw, including a live vendor-compromise chain in week two.
- 14
- BEC attempts blocked in the first month
- 4 min
- from contract to full deployment
- $0
- spent on phishing simulations since
How to move off KnowBe4
- 01
Decide what training is for
Write down whether you need it for compliance evidence, culture, reporting habits or to stop specific attacks. The answer decides between a training platform and a technical control.
- 02
Export your history
Export training completion and simulation records before the contract ends, so audit evidence is not lost.
- 03
Pilot the replacement
Run a new training platform with one department, or connect a technical control in parallel. Sentaro connects over API in four minutes, with historical visibility within 15 minutes.
- 04
Measure outcomes, not completions
Track reported phish, real incidents and BEC attempts blocked, not just course completion rates.
- 05
Update your documentation
Record the change in your ISMS and NIS2 or DORA documentation, with the new vendor’s DPA.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best KnowBe4 alternative?
Sentaro, for teams that want to stop relying on training as the control. Sentaro is our pick because it removes phishing and BEC before people have to judge them: every inbound message is scored before interaction, malicious mail is quarantined automatically, and consent phishing is blocked in the same platform. It costs $6 per protected account per month (USD) and is hosted in Sweden on Microsoft Azure. If you need a training program, Hoxhunt and SoSafe are the closest like-for-like options.
Who are KnowBe4’s main competitors?
In security awareness training, KnowBe4’s competitors include Hoxhunt, SoSafe, Proofpoint ZenGuide, Adaptive Security, Mimecast’s awareness training and Microsoft’s Attack simulation training in Defender for Office 365 Plan 2. In email security, after buying Egress, it competes with API-based vendors such as IRONSCALES, Abnormal AI and Sentaro.
What is the best KnowBe4 alternative for security awareness training?
If you are replacing the training program itself, Hoxhunt and SoSafe are the closest like-for-like platforms: Hoxhunt runs simulations across email, SMS, phone and Teams, and SoSafe states 34+ languages, EU hosting and NIS2- and DORA-mapped exports. Proofpoint ZenGuide suits Proofpoint customers, and Microsoft 365 E5 tenants already have Attack simulation training. Pair any of them with Sentaro as the technical control.
Is there a European alternative to KnowBe4?
Yes. Hoxhunt lists Helsinki, Finland, first among its offices. SoSafe describes itself as “German Engineered” and states its platform is “EU Hosted”. eBuilder Security in Kista, Sweden, offers Complorer as a managed service with Swedish data residency (vendor claim). Ask each for its DPA.
Does Microsoft 365 include phishing simulation?
Yes, in Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, which is included in Microsoft 365 E5 or costs $5 per user per month. Attack simulation training runs email simulations (credential harvest, malware attachments, OAuth consent grant and others, including QR-code payloads) and assigns training modules. Microsoft says E3 tenants get only a limited trial subset.
Can email security replace security awareness training?
Partly. A technical control removes malicious messages it detects before anyone sees them, which reduces how much depends on people. It does not cover phone or SMS scams and does not produce training evidence for auditors. Sentaro’s case-study customer, a 400-seat payments firm, replaced its phishing-simulation program with Sentaro.
Who owns KnowBe4?
KnowBe4 is privately owned by Vista Equity Partners, which completed its acquisition on 1 February 2023 at $24.90 per share in cash. KnowBe4 then acquired Egress, a UK cloud email security company, completing the deal on 9 July 2024.
How much does KnowBe4 cost compared with the alternatives?
KnowBe4 publishes training MSRP: on a 3-year term, SAT Foundation is $2.40 and SAT Advanced $3.75 per seat per month at 25–50 seats, falling to $1.63 and $2.79 at 501–1,000 seats (May 2026). Hoxhunt, SoSafe, Proofpoint and eBuilder quote. Microsoft’s Attack simulation training comes with Defender Plan 2 at $5 per user per month. Sentaro costs $6 per protected account per month (USD).
Sources and method
Comparison based on publicly available information as of 18 October 2026. Product capabilities change; check each vendor’s current documentation. Trademarks belong to their owners. Corrections: contact Sentaro.
- KnowBe4: Security Awareness Training (accessed 2026-10-20)
- KnowBe4: Security Awareness Training pricing, MSRP as of May 2026 (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Microsoft Learn: Get started using Attack simulation training (ms.date 2026-07-03)
- Proofpoint: ZenGuide security awareness training (accessed 2026-10-20)
- Adaptive Security: Home page (accessed 2026-10-20)
- KnowBe4: Cloud Email Security (accessed 2026-10-18)
- KnowBe4: To acquire Egress (April 2024)
- KnowBe4: Vista Equity Partners completes acquisition of KnowBe4 (2023)
- Hoxhunt: Home page (accessed 2026-10-18)
- SoSafe: Home page (accessed 2026-10-18)
- eBuilder Security: Employee cybersecurity training (Complorer) (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Microsoft Learn: Why do I need Microsoft Defender for Office 365? (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Microsoft: Defender for Office 365 pricing (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Microsoft Learn: EU Data Boundary (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Microsoft Tech Community: Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 rolling out to Microsoft 365 E3 (2026-06-17)
- IRONSCALES: Home page (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Proofpoint: Core Email Protection (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Mimecast: Email Security (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Hornetsecurity: 365 Total Protection (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Check Point: Harmony Email & Collaboration (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Abnormal AI: Inbound Email Security (accessed 2026-10-18)
- Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report 2026
- Sentaro Data Processing Agreement and subprocessor list
- KnowBe4: Data Transfer Impact Assessment (updated 13 October 2026)
- IRONSCALES: List of current sub-processors (PDF, December 2024; accessed 2026-10-21)
- Abnormal AI: Subprocessors (updated 31 July 2026; accessed 2026-10-21)
- Proofpoint: Data privacy information sheet, Core Email Protection API (updated 24 July 2026; accessed 2026-10-21)