Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

DataGrail vs Proofpoint

DataGrail logo

DataGrail

Cybersecurity

Privacy platform that finds shadow data systems and automates data subject requests across them

From
On request
Rated
-
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
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DataGrail no pricing is published, and while benchmarking suggests it undercuts OneTrust for comparable scope, cost still scales with request volume and connected systems, which grow with the business.; 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: DataGrail covers Live data discovery, Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DataGrail and Proofpoint actually diverge.

Attributes where DataGrail and Proofpoint differ
AttributeDataGrailProofpoint
Starting priceOn request$6/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, APIEmail, Cloud, Web
FoundedUnknown2002

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 DataGrail

  • Live data discovery
  • Request automation
  • Audit trail
  • Consent management
  • Integration catalogue
  • Risk monitoring
  • Consumer request portal
  • Reporting

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.

DataGrail

  • A consumer brand whose deletion requests keep missing data in marketing tools the privacy team did not know existednot Proofpoint
  • A company processing hundreds of CCPA requests a month where manual fulfilment has become a full-time jobnot Proofpoint
  • A privacy team leaving OneTrust because the platform tracked requests but staff still completed them by handnot Proofpoint
  • An organisation needing evidence for a regulator that deletion actually occurred in every system, not that a ticket was closednot Proofpoint

Proofpoint

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

Where each one falls short

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

DataGrail

  • No pricing is published, and while benchmarking suggests it undercuts OneTrust for comparable scope, cost still scales with request volume and connected systems, which grow with the business.
  • Automated fulfilment only works for systems with a supported connector, so homegrown applications and legacy databases still need manual handling, and those are usually where the awkward data lives.
  • Discovery works by observing integrations and traffic patterns, so genuinely isolated systems, offline data and files on employee machines remain invisible and outside the data map.
  • It is narrower than the enterprise privacy suites, lacking the assessment, third-party risk and wider GRC modules a large regulated organisation will also need, so it may be one of two platforms rather than the only one.
  • Deletion automation is irreversible and mistakes are unrecoverable, so teams need real confidence in identity verification before enabling it, and that caution often keeps deletion semi-manual for months after purchase.

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

DataGrail

On request
  • DataGrail Platform$undefined/year
    • Data discovery and mapping
    • Data subject request automation
    • Consent management

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 DataGrail if

  • You need live data discovery.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want request automation.
DataGrail 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 DataGrail or Proofpoint better?
Neither clearly leads. DataGrail starts at On request and Proofpoint at $6/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DataGrail or Proofpoint?
DataGrail starts at On request and Proofpoint at $6/month.
Does DataGrail or Proofpoint run on more platforms?
DataGrail runs on Web, API. Proofpoint runs on Email, Cloud, Web.
What is DataGrail best used for?
DataGrail is most often used for a consumer brand whose deletion requests keep missing data in marketing tools the privacy team did not know existed, a company processing hundreds of ccpa requests a month where manual fulfilment has become a full-time job, a privacy team leaving onetrust because the platform tracked requests but staff still completed them by hand, an organisation needing evidence for a regulator that deletion actually occurred in every system, not that a ticket was closed. Of those, a consumer brand whose deletion requests keep missing data in marketing tools the privacy team did not know existed and a company processing hundreds of ccpa requests a month where manual fulfilment has become a full-time job are not what Proofpoint is typically brought in for.
What can DataGrail do that Proofpoint cannot?
DataGrail covers Live data discovery, Request automation, Audit trail, Consent management. Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Attachment sandboxing, URL rewriting and click-time analysis, Threat Response Auto-Pull.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

DataGrail: How is DataGrail different from OneTrust?

OneTrust orchestrates the workflow; DataGrail focuses on connecting to systems and completing the request, and benchmark data suggests it prices materially below OneTrust for comparable scope.

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.

DataGrail: Does it find systems we do not know about?

Yes. Continuous discovery of unsanctioned tools processing personal data is its main technical claim.

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.

DataGrail: What does it cost?

Not published. Pricing is quoted by request volume and connected systems, with multi-year commitments typically discounted.

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.

DataGrail: Does it cover consent as well as requests?

Yes, it includes consent management, though publishers needing certified advertising consent usually use a specialist CMP.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on DataGrail

More on Proofpoint

Keep looking

Other head to heads