Cybersecurity · head to head
Microsoft Sentinel vs Proofpoint
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
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft Sentinel billing is driven by the volume of log data ingested per day, so cost scales with log noise rather than with users or protected assets; 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: Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, 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 Microsoft Sentinel and Proofpoint actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft Sentinel | Proofpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $6/month |
| Pricing model | usage-based | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, Api | Email, Cloud, Web |
| Founded | 1975 | 2002 |
Identical on both: 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 Microsoft Sentinel
- AI-powered analytics
- Fusion detection
- UEBA
- Automated response playbooks
- Threat intelligence
- Hunting queries
- Workbooks
- Incident management
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.
Microsoft Sentinel
- Cloud-based security information and event management (SIEM)not Proofpoint
- Extended detection and response (XDR) across enterprise infrastructurenot Proofpoint
- Data ingestion and long-term security analyticsnot Proofpoint
Proofpoint
- A regulated organisation that needs a filtering layer, DMARC enforcement and archiving with an auditable trail across all threenot Microsoft Sentinel
- An organisation that suffered a business email compromise and must show its board a control that stops delivery rather than remediating afterwardsnot Microsoft Sentinel
- Concentrating stronger controls and training on the specific individuals who actually receive targeted attacks rather than applying uniform policynot Microsoft Sentinel
- Retracting a phishing message from thousands of mailboxes after the verdict changes, including copies that were forwarded internallynot Microsoft Sentinel
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Microsoft Sentinel
- Billing is driven by the volume of log data ingested per day, so cost scales with log noise rather than with users or protected assets
- Commitment tier discounts require reserving daily ingestion capacity in advance, and a tier cannot be downgraded until 31 days have passed
- Commitment tiers start at 100 GB per day, above what smaller estates ingest
- Charges for Log Analytics, Logic Apps and Machine Learning are billed separately on top of Sentinel itself
- The free allowance is only up to 5 MB per user per day for selected Microsoft 365 security logs
- Promotional commitment pricing is time limited and locks in only until a stated end date
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
Microsoft Sentinel
Free- Pay-As-You-Go$2.46/day
- Per GB ingested
- 90-day retention
- First 31 days free for new workspaces
- Commitment TiersFree
- 100GB to 50TB tiers
- Up to 65% discount
- Predictable billing
- Microsoft 365 E5Free
- Free data ingestion for M365 logs
- Bundled with E5 license
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 Microsoft Sentinel if
- You need ai-powered analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want fusion detection.
Choose Proofpoint if
- You need inline secure email gateway.
- You work on Email, Cloud, Web.
- You also want attachment sandboxing.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft Sentinel or Proofpoint better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Sentinel 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, Microsoft Sentinel or Proofpoint?
- Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft Sentinel and $6/month for Proofpoint.
- Does Microsoft Sentinel or Proofpoint run on more platforms?
- Microsoft Sentinel runs on Web, Api. Proofpoint runs on Email, Cloud, Web.
- Can I use Microsoft Sentinel for free?
- Yes. Microsoft Sentinel has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Proofpoint starts at $6/month.
- What is Microsoft Sentinel best used for?
- Microsoft Sentinel is most often used for cloud-based security information and event management (siem), extended detection and response (xdr) across enterprise infrastructure, data ingestion and long-term security analytics. Of those, cloud-based security information and event management (siem) and extended detection and response (xdr) across enterprise infrastructure are not what Proofpoint is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft Sentinel do that Proofpoint cannot?
- Microsoft Sentinel covers AI-powered analytics, Fusion detection, UEBA, Automated response playbooks. Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Attachment sandboxing, URL rewriting and click-time analysis, Threat Response Auto-Pull.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Microsoft Sentinel: How is Microsoft Sentinel pricing calculated?
Microsoft Sentinel uses a pay-as-you-go usage-based model where you pay only for data ingested, stored, and consumed. Flexible commitment tiers are available to reduce total cost of ownership, with specific rates not published on the public pricing page. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-sentinel/
SourceProofpoint: 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.
Microsoft Sentinel: Does Microsoft Sentinel require an Azure subscription?
Yes, Microsoft Sentinel requires a Microsoft Azure subscription to operate. Pricing is handled through Azure and varies based on data consumption and the commitment tier you select. Source: https://www.microsoft.com/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-sentinel/
SourceProofpoint: 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.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Sentinel
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