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KnowBe4 vs GoPhish

A side-by-side comparison across pricing, deployment, integrations, compliance, and security awareness training-specific features. Descriptive comparison only — no recommendations.

4 min read Data verified: May 2026 Security Awareness Training
KnowBe4
Security Awareness Training
Per-user annual pricing in four tiers Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond. List pricing approximately $20-$30/user/year for smaller deployments; Diamond tier ranges from ~$2.65/user/month down to ~$1.70/user/month with volume and three-year commitments. Negotiated discounts typically 22-55% below list per CheckThat.ai community data (25-35% mid-market, 40-50% enterprise 1,000+ users)
Paid
Visit official site →
GoPhish
Security Awareness (OSS)
Free under MIT License no commercial tier from the upstream project (GitHub: gophish/gophish); community-maintained; commercial services available from third parties (red team consultancies, MSPs using GoPhish as their engine)
Free / OSS
Visit official site →
$ Pricing & plans
5 dimensions
Pricing model
Per-user annual pricing in four tiers
Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond. List pricing approximately $20-$30/user/year for smaller deployments; Diamond tier ranges from ~$2.65/user/month down to ~$1.70/user/month with volume and three-year commitments. Negotiated discounts typically 22-55% below list per CheckThat.ai community data (25-35% mid-market, 40-50% enterprise 1,000+ users)
Free under MIT License
no commercial tier from the upstream project (GitHub: gophish/gophish); community-maintained; commercial services available from third parties (red team consultancies, MSPs using GoPhish as their engine)
Pricing tier
Paid
Free / OSS
Free tier / trial
Trial only
No permanent free tier; free trial available for evaluation; demo and proof-of-value campaigns via KnowBe4 sales
Free tier
Software permanently free; no commercial version
Volume discounts
Per-user pricing decreases with volume
multi-year commitments (especially three-year) unlock significant additional savings; CheckThat.ai community data suggests enterprise (1,000+ users) commonly achieves 40-50% below list; non-profit and competitive upgrade discounts available
Not applicable
software is free
Hidden costs
Add-on products (PhishER Plus for inbox threat triage, Compliance Plus for…
compliance training, SecurityCoach for real-time coaching, KCM GRC platform) priced separately; advanced features feature-gated to higher tiers may force upgrades over time; change management and dedicated program leadership often determine ROI more than the platform itself
Sending infrastructure (SMTP server or commercial relay), domain registration…
for sending domains (often a fresh look-alike domain per campaign), engineering time for template design, target list management, result analysis, legal review and authorization, training content creation (none included), monitoring and alerting infrastructure, optional commercial support from third-party consultancies
↗ Deployment & integrations
3 dimensions
Deployment
SaaS multi-tenant cloud
web-based admin console; KnowBe4 Learner mobile app for end-user training delivery; data residency options for EU, US, and other regions; SOC 2 Type II audited platform
Single static binary on Windows, macOS, Linux, BSD
official Docker container available; runs on localhost:3333 by default; supports any SMTP relay for sending (your own mail server, SendGrid, AWS SES, etc.); HTTPS for the admin UI strongly recommended in production
Typical deployment time
Hours to days for basic phishing simulation and training deployment
weeks for full program rollout with policy design, executive sponsorship, baseline metrics, and integration setup; ongoing program management is the long-term commitment
Minutes for initial install (download binary, run, log in via web UI)
hours to days for first production campaign with proper sending domain, SPF/DKIM/DMARC alignment, template design, and target list curation; weeks for mature program with API automation, custom reporting, and integration with internal tooling
Key integrations
Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory for SSO/user sync
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for phishing simulation whitelisting and PAB reporting button; SIEM forwarding (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar) via API; ServiceNow, Jira; Slack, Teams; SecurityCoach integrates with EDR/XDR vendors for behavioral coaching triggers
REST API with Python client library (gophish/api-client-python) for full…
programmatic control; integrates with any SMTP server; outputs results in JSON for ingestion into SIEMs, BI tools, custom dashboards; no native IdP, MDM, SIEM, or LMS integrations (build via API)
🎓 Security Awareness Training-specific evaluation
7 dimensions
Phishing simulation channels
Email phishing (year-round unlimited simulations with thousands of templates),…
Callback Phishing (simulated phone-based attacks), reply-tracking for BEC simulation, USB drop tests (PhishER); voice/SMS/QR multi-channel capabilities maturing; AIDA AI-driven template selection in Diamond tier
Email phishing only in the upstream project (the most common channel)
SMS/voice/QR channels would require building custom integrations; community forks and wrapper projects extend functionality
Training content library
World's largest security awareness library in 35+ languages
covers security awareness, compliance, cybersecurity fundamentals; modular courses, interactive videos, gamified content; updated continuously; Compliance Plus add-on covers 100+ regulatory frameworks; content depth varies by tier (newest modules often Diamond-only)
None included
GoPhish is a phishing simulation framework, not a training platform; organizations either source training content separately (open educational resources, custom-developed modules, commercial content libraries) or run GoPhish purely as a phishing assessment tool
AI / personalization
AIDA (Artificial Intelligence-Driven Agent) automatically chooses the best…
phishing template for each user based on individual training and phishing history; AI-recommended training modules based on previous completions; SmartRisk Engine analyzes user behavior for human risk insights; AI-native defense agents personalize content and create realistic phishing templates — all Diamond tier
No native AI personalization
targeting and template selection are manual or scripted via the REST API; advanced personalization requires custom development
Risk scoring & analytics
Virtual Risk Officer (all tiers) analyzes risk at user, group, organization levels
SmartRisk Score (Platinum+) provides 0-100 quantified human risk score; Phish-prone Percentage as headline metric; Security Awareness Proficiency Assessment (SAPA); Security Culture Survey (SCS); Industry Benchmarking comparing against peer organizations; 60+ built-in reports with API access (Platinum+) for board-level metrics
Per-campaign metrics (sent, opened, clicked, submitted data, reported)
per-user click and submission tracking; results exported as JSON for custom analysis; no built-in cross-campaign risk scoring or behavioral analytics (build via API + external BI tools)
Compliance training
Compliance Plus add-on (separate licensing, 100+ employee minimum) covers 100+…
regulatory frameworks including HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, SOX, FERPA, GLBA, OSHA, state privacy laws; industry-specific modules for healthcare, financial services, education, government; built-in audit reporting
None — GoPhish does not provide compliance training modules
organizations layering compliance training pair GoPhish with separate LMS or content libraries
Integrations
Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, Google Workspace, Active Directory SSO/SCIM
Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace whitelisting and PAB reporting button; SIEM forwarding via API (Splunk, Sentinel, QRadar); ServiceNow, Jira for ticket integration; Slack, Teams; SecurityCoach integrates with EDR/XDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Microsoft Defender) to trigger coaching on risky behavior
REST API enables integration with any system
Python client library available; SMTP integration with any mail relay; no native IdP/MDM/SIEM/LMS integrations in the upstream project (build via API)
Deployment model
Multi-tenant SaaS only
data residency options for EU, US, APAC; no self-hosted option; MSP partner program exists but architecturally requires separate accounts per client (no consolidated multi-tenant portal per MSP-focused reviews)
Self-hosted only
fully on customer infrastructure; supports air-gapped and sovereign deployments; no SaaS vendor option from upstream (third-party MSPs may offer managed GoPhish hosting)
✓ Compliance & certifications
1 dimension
Compliance certifications
SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR
Compliance Plus add-on delivers training modules mapped to 100+ regulatory frameworks (HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, GDPR, FERPA, GLBA, state privacy laws, industry-specific frameworks); FedRAMP Moderate for KnowBe4 Government Edition
Software has no certifications (open-source project)
users responsible for their own compliance posture and legal authorization for simulations
◧ Positioning
3 dimensions
Target deployment
Mid-market to enterprise organizations wanting the broadest security awareness…
content library, mature phishing simulation, and AI-driven personalization (AIDA) — particularly strong fit when regulated industries need built-in compliance modules
Penetration testers, red teams, small security teams, and security researchers…
wanting full control over phishing simulation infrastructure and data — willing to build their own training content layer
Strengths cited
World's largest security awareness content library (training modules in 35+…
languages, frequently updated), thousands of phishing simulation templates, AIDA (AI-Driven Agent) for personalized phishing and training in Diamond tier, SmartRisk Engine for quantified human risk scoring (0-100 scale), Industry Benchmarking for comparing Phish-prone percentage against peers, 60+ built-in reports, Compliance Plus add-on for 100+ regulatory frameworks, PhishER Plus for inbox threat reporting and remediation, SecurityCoach for real-time behavioral coaching, broad integrations with IdPs and email security
Free under MIT License with active community, single static binary makes…
deployment trivial (download and run), built-in REST API enables automation, full HTML template editor in web UI for crafting pixel-perfect phishing emails and landing pages, real-time campaign tracking (email opens, clicks, credential submissions), Python client library, scheduled campaigns, Docker container available, full data sovereignty (your infrastructure, your data, your sending domains)
Where it fits less well
Tiered pricing with feature gating
many advanced capabilities (AIDA, SmartRisk Engine, API access, Smart Groups, callback phishing) only in higher tiers (Platinum/Diamond); content quality varies by tier (newest training and video content often Diamond-only); some buyers report Microsoft Defender integration friction with the PAB reporting button; per-user pricing can creep up with organizational growth; KnowBe4 acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2023 (privatized) — long-term roadmap visibility shifted
Phishing simulation framework only
no built-in training content (you create or source training separately), no SSO/multi-tenancy in the upstream project, no automated user provisioning, limited reporting compared to commercial platforms, no built-in compliance modules, community-maintained (no commercial SLA, last upstream release was December 2020 though community forks remain active), running phishing simulations requires careful legal authorization (unauthorized testing may violate computer fraud statutes), spam-list management and deliverability are operational responsibilities you take on
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Methodology Comparison data synthesized from publicly available vendor documentation, MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations, AV-TEST results, Gartner Peer Insights, G2/Capterra/TrustRadius reviews, anonymized transaction data (Vendr, CostBench, CheckThat.ai), and publicly reported pricing as of May 2026. defend.network is independent and has no commercial relationship with the vendors compared.