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Government · head to head

Citizen vs Proofpoint

Citizen logo

Citizen

Government

Real-time Safety Alerts

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Proofpoint logo

Proofpoint

Cybersecurity

Email security and data protection suite from a private company owned by Thoma Bravo, licensed per user with modules sold separately.

From
$6/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Citizen has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Citizen no premium or paid features mentioned; Proofpoint licensing is per user per year with each capability as a separate stock item, so the platform shown in a proof of concept is normally several products, and adding awareness training, data loss prevention or insider threat monitoring later is a fresh negotiation rather than enabling a feature.
  • They diverge on capability: Citizen covers Real-time Alerts, Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Citizen and Proofpoint actually diverge.

Attributes where Citizen and Proofpoint differ
AttributeCitizenProofpoint
Starting priceFree$6/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsIos, AndroidEmail, Cloud, Web
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded20162002

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Citizen

  • Real-time Alerts
  • 911 Monitoring
  • Live Video
  • Safety Map
  • Personal Safety
  • Emergency Services
  • Social Media
  • Location Services

Only in Proofpoint

  • Inline secure email gateway
  • Attachment sandboxing
  • URL rewriting and click-time analysis
  • Threat Response Auto-Pull
  • Email Fraud Defense
  • Security awareness training
  • Insider Threat Management
  • Enterprise DLP

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Citizen

  • Citizen Servicesnot Proofpoint
  • Records Managementnot Proofpoint
  • Public Safetynot Proofpoint
  • Civic Engagementnot Proofpoint

Proofpoint

  • A regulated organisation that needs a filtering layer, DMARC enforcement and archiving with an auditable trail across all threenot Citizen
  • An organisation that suffered a business email compromise and must show its board a control that stops delivery rather than remediating afterwardsnot Citizen
  • Concentrating stronger controls and training on the specific individuals who actually receive targeted attacks rather than applying uniform policynot Citizen
  • Retracting a phishing message from thousands of mailboxes after the verdict changes, including copies that were forwarded internallynot Citizen

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Citizen

  • No premium or paid features mentioned
  • App is completely free with no monetization model disclosed
  • No in-app purchases or premium tier mentioned
  • Subscription or paid features may exist but not disclosed

Proofpoint

  • Licensing is per user per year with each capability as a separate stock item, so the platform shown in a proof of concept is normally several products, and adding awareness training, data loss prevention or insider threat monitoring later is a fresh negotiation rather than enabling a feature.
  • It sits inline with MX records pointed at it, so any service degradation is a mail outage for the entire organisation, and both migrating on and migrating off are cutovers with queueing, rollback planning and a real risk of message loss.
  • Most customers on Microsoft 365 E5 or Google Workspace Enterprise are already paying for native filtering, so Proofpoint is a second licence layered over a capability the organisation owns, and that comparison is raised by finance at every single renewal.
  • The administration console carries a decade of acquisitions: the classic gateway policy routes and filters do not share a model with the newer module interfaces, rule evaluation is order-sensitive in ways that surprise untrained administrators, and mistakes there silently change what is delivered.
  • Quarantine management is a standing helpdesk workload because legitimate bulk mail, invoices and supplier notifications are held, and unless end-user digests are configured and users are taught to use them, the security team becomes the mail release desk.

Pricing, plan by plan

Citizen

Free
  • BasicFree
    • Real-time Alerts
    • Incident Feed
    • Safety Map

Proofpoint

$6/month
  • Email Protection$6/month
    • Per user
    • Advanced threat detection
    • Data loss prevention
  • Compliance$8/month
    • All Email Protection
    • Archive & search
    • eDiscovery
  • Advanced Threat$10/month
    • All Compliance features
    • Targeted attack detection
    • Behavior analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Citizen if

  • You need real-time alerts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android.
  • You also want 911 monitoring.
Citizen review

Choose Proofpoint if

  • You need inline secure email gateway.
  • You work on Email, Cloud, Web.
  • You also want attachment sandboxing.
Proofpoint review

Questions people ask

Is Citizen or Proofpoint better?
Neither clearly leads. Citizen starts at Free and Proofpoint at $6/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Citizen or Proofpoint?
Citizen has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Citizen and $6/month for Proofpoint.
Does Citizen or Proofpoint run on more platforms?
Citizen runs on Ios, Android. Proofpoint runs on Email, Cloud, Web.
Can I use Citizen for free?
Yes. Citizen has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Proofpoint starts at $6/month.
What is Citizen best used for?
Citizen is most often used for citizen services, records management, public safety, civic engagement. Of those, citizen services and records management are not what Proofpoint is typically brought in for.
What can Citizen do that Proofpoint cannot?
Citizen covers Real-time Alerts, 911 Monitoring, Live Video, Safety Map. Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Attachment sandboxing, URL rewriting and click-time analysis, Threat Response Auto-Pull.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Citizen: How much does Citizen cost?

Citizen is available as a free app download for iOS and Android. The app includes core safety and alert features at no cost.

Source
Proofpoint: Does it replace Microsoft Defender for Office 365?

Functionally it overlaps heavily, and running both means paying twice for filtering. Most Proofpoint customers on Microsoft 365 keep Defender licensed because it is bundled in E5 and use Proofpoint as the inline gateway. Expect to justify that duplication annually.

Citizen: Are there paid features or premium subscriptions in Citizen?

Citizen's website does not mention paid features, premium subscriptions, or in-app purchases. All advertised features appear to be included in the free app.

Source
Proofpoint: Who owns Proofpoint?

Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm, which took the company private in 2021. It has continued to acquire since, including Tessian, Normalyze and Hornetsecurity, which is why the portfolio spans so many adjacent categories.

Proofpoint: Do I have to change my MX records?

For the gateway, yes. That is what makes it inline and able to block before delivery. Some newer capabilities integrate through the mailbox API instead, but the core protection model is MX-level.

Proofpoint: Is security awareness training included?

No, it is a separate subscription. It integrates well with the threat data, so training can target the users actually being attacked, but it is a distinct line item on the quote.

Proofpoint: What does Threat Response Auto-Pull actually do?

It removes messages from mailboxes after delivery when the verdict changes, including copies that users forwarded internally. It is the answer to the case where a link was clean at delivery and weaponised an hour later.

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