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Cybersecurity · head to head

Proofpoint vs Yoti

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
Yoti logo

Yoti

Cybersecurity

Reusable digital identity, facial age estimation and identity verification

From
On request
Rated
-
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.; Yoti age estimation returns a probabilistic range rather than a verified date of birth, so it only works with a safety buffer above the legal threshold and cannot prove an exact age.
  • They diverge on capability: Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Yoti covers Facial age estimation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Proofpoint and Yoti actually diverge.

Attributes where Proofpoint and Yoti differ
AttributeProofpointYoti
Starting price$6/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsEmail, Cloud, WebWeb, iOS, Android, API
Founded2002Unknown

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 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 Yoti

  • Facial age estimation
  • Reusable digital ID
  • Identity verification
  • UK right to work and rent
  • Digital ID for retail
  • Selective disclosure

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 Yoti
  • An organisation that suffered a business email compromise and must show its board a control that stops delivery rather than remediating afterwardsnot Yoti
  • Concentrating stronger controls and training on the specific individuals who actually receive targeted attacks rather than applying uniform policynot Yoti
  • Retracting a phishing message from thousands of mailboxes after the verdict changes, including copies that were forwarded internallynot Yoti

Yoti

  • A social platform meeting UK Online Safety Act age assurance duties without collecting identity documents from teenagersnot Proofpoint
  • A supermarket removing staff interventions at self-checkout for age-restricted purchasesnot Proofpoint
  • A UK employer running digital right-to-work checks under the certified trust framework rather than inspecting passportsnot Proofpoint
  • A gambling operator needing an age gate with high completion rates before the account funding stepnot 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.

Yoti

  • Age estimation returns a probabilistic range rather than a verified date of birth, so it only works with a safety buffer above the legal threshold and cannot prove an exact age.
  • Estimation accuracy varies by demographic and reported error margins widen at the age bands that matter most for eighteen-year thresholds, which pushes borderline users into a document fallback you still have to pay for.
  • Pricing is not published, so buyers cannot compare the cost of an estimation check against a document check without going through sales.
  • Regulatory acceptance of facial estimation differs by jurisdiction, so a method that satisfies Ofcom may not satisfy a regulator elsewhere and multi-market platforms need more than one approach.
  • The reusable digital identity app depends on consumer adoption, which is meaningful in the UK and thin elsewhere, limiting the reusability benefit outside its home market.

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

Yoti

On request
  • Yoti Age and Identity Services$undefined/year
    • Per-check pricing quoted by volume and method
    • Age estimation, document verification and digital ID priced differently
    • Right to work and right to rent checks 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 Yoti if

  • You need facial age estimation.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want reusable digital id.
Yoti review

Questions people ask

Is Proofpoint or Yoti better?
Neither clearly leads. Proofpoint starts at $6/month and Yoti at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Proofpoint or Yoti?
Proofpoint starts at $6/month and Yoti at On request.
Does Proofpoint or Yoti run on more platforms?
Proofpoint runs on Email, Cloud, Web. Yoti runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
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 Yoti is typically brought in for.
What can Proofpoint do that Yoti cannot?
Proofpoint covers Inline secure email gateway, Attachment sandboxing, URL rewriting and click-time analysis, Threat Response Auto-Pull. Yoti covers Facial age estimation, Reusable digital ID, Identity verification, UK right to work and rent.

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.

Yoti: Does age estimation store my face?

The image is used to produce an estimate and then deleted rather than retained, which is the specific property that makes it usable for age assurance on minors.

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.

Yoti: Is it accepted for UK Online Safety Act compliance?

Facial age estimation is one of the methods regulators have accepted as highly effective age assurance. Confirm the current position with your own counsel for your content category.

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.

Yoti: Can it prove someone is exactly 21?

No. It gives a range. If you need a precise age you need a document or database check, which Yoti also sells.

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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