KnowBe4

What KnowBe4 actually does

KnowBe4 delivers security awareness training and simulated phishing campaigns. The platform includes the world’s largest library of training content — thousands of modules covering phishing, social engineering, ransomware, compliance topics, and more. Content ranges from short videos to interactive courses in dozens of languages.

The phishing simulation engine lets you send realistic test phishes to employees, track who clicks, and automatically enroll clickers in remedial training. You can customize campaigns by department, risk level, or past performance. The reporting shows improvement over time, which is what auditors and boards want to see.

KnowBe4 also offers a PhishER module for triaging user-reported phishing emails. It auto-classifies reported messages and can create response rules, turning your employees into a human detection layer.

Who it’s best for

• Organizations that need a compliance-driven security awareness program at any scale
• Security teams that want to measure phishing susceptibility with simulated campaigns
• Companies in regulated industries that need documented training completion records
• Large enterprises needing multi-language content across global offices
• Teams that want to build a phishing email triage workflow with employee-reported messages

Pricing reality check

KnowBe4 offers three tiers: Silver, Gold, and Platinum/Diamond. Silver covers basic training and phishing simulation. Gold adds more content and features. Platinum and Diamond include PhishER, advanced reporting, and AI-driven training recommendations. Per-user pricing decreases with volume.

The entry price is accessible, but most organizations end up on Gold or higher to get the reporting and content variety they actually need. Don’t buy Diamond unless you’ll genuinely use PhishER and the advanced features — the price jump is significant.

Alternatives to consider

• Proofpoint Security Awareness — Strong integration with Proofpoint’s email security. Good if you’re already a Proofpoint shop.
• NINJIO — Short animated episodes. Better engagement for organizations that find traditional training boring.
• Cofense — Focused specifically on phishing simulation and reporting. Less training content, stronger phishing workflow.
• Hoxhunt — Gamified phishing simulation with adaptive difficulty. Popular with tech-forward companies.

The Charting Cyber take

KnowBe4 is the safe choice for security awareness training. The platform works, the content library is enormous, and the phishing simulation engine is mature. If you need a program that satisfies compliance requirements and demonstrably reduces phishing click rates, KnowBe4 delivers.

The honest criticism: content quality is uneven. Some modules are excellent; others feel dated or overly cheesy. The sheer volume of content means you need to curate what your employees actually see, or they’ll disengage. Also, security awareness training has inherent limits — it reduces risk but doesn’t eliminate it. Pair KnowBe4 with strong email security and don’t expect training alone to stop determined phishing attacks.