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Cybersecurity · head to head

Mimecast vs Ping Identity

Mimecast logo

Mimecast

Cybersecurity

Email and collaboration security

From
$4/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ping Identity logo

Ping Identity

Cybersecurity

Enterprise identity for workforce and customers, with a 5,000 user floor

From
$3/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mimecast no pricing is published for any product or plan, and every route ends at a quote or demo request; Ping Identity workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • They diverge on capability: Mimecast covers Advanced threat detection, Ping Identity covers Single sign-on.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mimecast and Ping Identity actually diverge.

Attributes where Mimecast and Ping Identity differ
AttributeMimecastPing Identity
Starting price$4/month$3/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
PlatformsEmail, Cloud, CollaborationWeb, Linux, Windows
Founded2003Unknown

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 Mimecast

  • Advanced threat detection
  • Secure sharing
  • Email encryption
  • Message tracking
  • Email archiving
  • Legal hold
  • eDiscovery
  • Backup and recovery

Only in Ping Identity

  • Single sign-on
  • Adaptive MFA
  • Identity orchestration
  • API access management
  • Directory services
  • Flexible deployment
  • ForgeRock capabilities

What people use each for

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

Mimecast

  • Email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacksnot Ping Identity
  • Email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisationsnot Ping Identity

Ping Identity

  • A bank that must keep identity data on premises in one country while running SaaS identity elsewherenot Mimecast
  • An airline or telco with tens of millions of customer identities needing a directory that holds that scalenot Mimecast
  • An enterprise assembling authentication journeys that call several external verification and risk vendorsnot Mimecast
  • An existing ForgeRock customer deciding what its upgrade path looks like under Ping ownershipnot Mimecast

Where each one falls short

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

Mimecast

  • No pricing is published for any product or plan, and every route ends at a quote or demo request
  • The platform is split into separately sold products for email security, awareness training, data protection and governance
  • Collaboration threat protection, DMARC analysis, incident response and email archiving are all further add ons on top of those

Ping Identity

  • Workforce pricing carries a 5,000 user annual minimum, so an organisation with 800 staff pays for 5,000 and the effective per user cost is over six times the list rate.
  • Adaptive multi-factor authentication is in the Plus tier only, doubling the per user price for a capability many buyers assume is standard in a modern identity platform.
  • ForgeRock no longer exists as an independent product, so customers who chose it specifically to avoid Ping now face a roadmap set by the vendor they did not pick.
  • Thoma Bravo ownership across both merged companies means the commercial priority is margin, and buyers report firmer renewal negotiations than they saw before 2022.
  • The portfolio has overlapping components from three product lineages, so scoping a deployment requires vendor architects and the licensing conversation is more complicated than the price list implies.

Pricing, plan by plan

Mimecast

$4/month
  • Defender$4/month
    • Per user
    • Threat protection
    • Impersonation prevention
  • Archive$3/month
    • Email archiving
    • Legal hold
    • Search & recall
  • Unified$6/month
    • All Defender features
    • All Archive features
    • Backup

Ping Identity

$3/month
  • PingOne for Workforce Essential$3/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Single sign-on and directory services
    • OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, SAML and SCIM
  • PingOne for Workforce Plus$6/month
    • Minimum 5,000 users billed annually
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive multi-factor authentication
  • PingOne for Customers Essential$35000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • No-code identity orchestration
    • Unified customer profiles
  • PingOne for Customers Plus$50000/year
    • Flat annual fee
    • Everything in Essential
    • Adaptive MFA and device management

Which should you pick?

Choose Mimecast if

  • You need advanced threat detection.
  • You work on Email, Cloud, Collaboration.
  • You also want secure sharing.
Mimecast review

Choose Ping Identity if

  • You need single sign-on.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want adaptive mfa.
Ping Identity review

Questions people ask

Is Mimecast or Ping Identity better?
Neither clearly leads. Mimecast starts at $4/month and Ping Identity at $3/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mimecast or Ping Identity?
Mimecast starts at $4/month and Ping Identity at $3/month.
Does Mimecast or Ping Identity run on more platforms?
Mimecast runs on Email, Cloud, Collaboration. Ping Identity runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
What is Mimecast best used for?
Mimecast is most often used for email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacks, email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisations. Of those, email security filtering against phishing and targeted attacks and email archiving, continuity and compliance for organisations are not what Ping Identity is typically brought in for.
What can Mimecast do that Ping Identity cannot?
Mimecast covers Advanced threat detection, Secure sharing, Email encryption, Message tracking. Ping Identity covers Single sign-on, Adaptive MFA, Identity orchestration, API access management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mimecast: How much does Mimecast cost?

Mimecast does not publish pricing on its website. Customers must request a custom quote by contacting the sales team at +1 617 393 7000 or using the Get a Quote button.

Source
Ping Identity: Can I still buy ForgeRock?

Not as a separate product. Ping acquired ForgeRock in 2023 and the capabilities are sold within the Ping portfolio. Existing customers should ask about the specific migration path for their components.

Mimecast: Is there a free trial of Mimecast?

Mimecast's trial and pricing options are not specified on the public website. Contact sales at +1 617 393 7000 or through their support portal at mimecastsupport.zendesk.com for trial availability.

Source
Ping Identity: What is the real minimum spend?

PingOne for Workforce Essential is 3 USD per user per month with a 5,000 user annual minimum, so roughly 180,000 USD a year before anything else.

Ping Identity: Is MFA included?

Basic authentication policies are in Essential. Adaptive MFA and passwordless require the Plus tier at 6 USD per user per month.

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