Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Proofpoint vs Springbrook Software

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
Springbrook Software logo

Springbrook Software

Government

Cloud ERP built only for small and mid-sized local governments and utility districts

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Springbrook Software nothing is publicly priced, and public sector quotes bundle licence, implementation and conversion so tightly that comparing two vendors requires a formal procurement.
  • They diverge on capability: Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Springbrook Software covers Cirrus cloud platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Proofpoint and Springbrook Software actually diverge.

Attributes where Proofpoint and Springbrook Software differ
AttributeProofpointSpringbrook Software
Starting price$6/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsEmail, Cloud, WebWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment
Founded2002Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), 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 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

Only in Springbrook Software

  • Cirrus cloud platform
  • Fund accounting
  • Utility billing
  • Payroll and human resources
  • Cashless payments
  • Permitting and land management

What people use each for

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

Proofpoint

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

Springbrook Software

  • A city of a few thousand residents retiring an on-premises finance server nobody on staff can maintainnot Proofpoint
  • A water and sewer district needing meter-based utility billing tied directly to the general ledgernot Proofpoint
  • A town that must produce GASB-compliant annual financial reports without a full-time systems accountantnot Proofpoint
  • Adding online resident payment for utility bills and licences without integrating a third-party gateway by handnot Proofpoint

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Springbrook Software

  • Nothing is publicly priced, and public sector quotes bundle licence, implementation and conversion so tightly that comparing two vendors requires a formal procurement.
  • It is scoped for small and mid-sized agencies, so grant accounting, capital project tracking and human resources depth fall short for larger cities.
  • Data conversion from a legacy municipal system is the largest risk and cost in the project, and historical utility billing data in particular frequently converts badly.
  • The integration list is short compared with entrenched public sector vendors, so agencies already committed to a large incumbent ecosystem will have gaps to bridge.
  • Being cloud-native means the agency cannot defer upgrades, which is an advantage for security but removes control over timing from finance teams working to a fiscal calendar.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Springbrook Software

On request
  • Springbrook Cirrus$undefined/year
    • Cloud ERP for local government
    • Priced by population, module selection and user count
    • Implementation, data conversion and training quoted separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Proofpoint if

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

Choose Springbrook Software if

  • You need cirrus cloud platform.
  • You also want fund accounting.
Springbrook Software review

Questions people ask

Is Proofpoint or Springbrook Software better?
Neither clearly leads. Proofpoint starts at $6/month and Springbrook Software at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Proofpoint or Springbrook Software?
Proofpoint starts at $6/month and Springbrook Software at On request.
Does Proofpoint or Springbrook Software run on more platforms?
Proofpoint runs on Email, Cloud, Web. Springbrook Software runs on Web.
What is Proofpoint best used for?
Proofpoint is most often used for a regulated organisation that needs a filtering layer, dmarc enforcement and archiving with an auditable trail across all three, an organisation that suffered a business email compromise and must show its board a control that stops delivery rather than remediating afterwards, concentrating stronger controls and training on the specific individuals who actually receive targeted attacks rather than applying uniform policy, retracting a phishing message from thousands of mailboxes after the verdict changes, including copies that were forwarded internally. Of those, a regulated organisation that needs a filtering layer, dmarc enforcement and archiving with an auditable trail across all three and an organisation that suffered a business email compromise and must show its board a control that stops delivery rather than remediating afterwards are not what Springbrook Software is typically brought in for.
What can Proofpoint do that Springbrook Software cannot?
Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Attachment sandboxing, URL rewriting and click-time analysis, Threat Response Auto-Pull. Springbrook Software covers Cirrus cloud platform, Fund accounting, Utility billing, Payroll and human resources.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Springbrook Software: Who is Springbrook for?

Small and mid-sized cities, towns, water and sewer agencies and special districts, not counties or states.

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.

Springbrook Software: Is Cirrus really cloud-native?

Yes, it is a multi-tenant rebuild rather than a hosted version of the older client-server product, which is the main reason agencies switch to it.

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.

Springbrook Software: Is pricing published?

No. Local government ERP is quoted through procurement, bundling licence, implementation and data conversion.

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.

Springbrook Software: What is the hardest part of implementation?

Converting historical data, particularly utility billing history, from the outgoing system.

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 Proofpoint

More on Springbrook Software

Keep looking

Other head to heads