Email security · October 2026 Edition
Proofpoint Email Protection vs IRONSCALES
Three of fourteen models named Proofpoint Email Protection first on the direct prompt; one named IRONSCALES. Proofpoint Email Protection was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and IRONSCALES by twelve and Proofpoint Email Protection carries 59 labels and IRONSCALES 26, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in three categories this edition.
First-choice share8%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate24%0%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#8A position in a field of 9; printed, not drawn.
Labels5926A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Proofpoint Email Protection reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Abnormal AI was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Proofpoint Email Protection · Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs IRONSCALES · SpamTitan vs Proofpoint Email Protection
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the email security page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Proofpoint Email ProtectionFirst choices, of fourteen modelsIRONSCALES
Direct312 against Proofpoint Email Protection
Paraphrase102 against Proofpoint Email Protection
Comparative50
Budget-constrained002 against Proofpoint Email Protection
Scale-constrained002 against Proofpoint Email Protection
Negative116 against Proofpoint Email Protection
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Proofpoint Email Protection and IRONSCALES were named in the same answer fifty-five times, of the 178 answers naming Proofpoint Email Protection and the 75 naming IRONSCALES. In those answers IRONSCALES took the first choice nine times and Proofpoint Email Protection ten.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Proofpoint Email Protection and IRONSCALES stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | ||||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | |||
| Mistral Small | | | ||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | |||
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | |||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | ||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | |
Proofpoint Email Protection IRONSCALES first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Proofpoint Email Protection on the left and IRONSCALES on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Proofpoint Email Protection and IRONSCALES stood in it.
Proofpoint Email Protection first, IRONSCALES an alternative
3 of 14 modelsIRONSCALES was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Mistral SmallCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Proofpoint Email Protection alternatives: Mimecast Email Security, Symantec Email Security.cloud
Qwen 3.7 FlashProofpoint Email Protection alternatives: Abnormal AI, IRONSCALES, Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Muse Glimmer 30BProofpoint Email Protection alternatives: Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Guardian Digital, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, ThreatDown Email Security, Trustifi
IRONSCALES first, Proofpoint Email Protection an alternative
1 of 14 modelsProofpoint Email Protection was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Kimi K2IRONSCALES alternatives: Abnormal AI, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Neither was the first choice, one was named
6 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Barracuda Email Protection alternatives: IRONSCALES, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
GPT-5.4 miniMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 alternatives: Abnormal AI, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Gemini 3.5 FlashCheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration alternatives: Abnormal AI, Barracuda Email Protection, IRONSCALES
DeepSeek V4 FlashAbnormal AI alternatives: Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Proofpoint Email Protection
GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 alternatives: Abnormal AI, Barracuda Integrated Email Protection, IRONSCALES, Proofpoint Email Protection
GPT-6 LunaAbnormal AI alternatives: Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Mimecast Email Security, Proofpoint Email Protection
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Perplexity SonarMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 alternatives: Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security
Grok 4.1 FastProofpoint 365 Total Protection alternatives: Abnormal AI, Mimecast Email Security
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
MiniMax M2.5Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration, Mimecast Email Security
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Level: the same share of first choices.
Proofpoint Email Protection11%#2 of 10IRONSCALES11%#3 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Proofpoint Email Protection leads by six points.
Proofpoint Email Protection8%#5 of 9IRONSCALES2%#8 of 9Enterprise
Proofpoint Email Protection leads by forty-six points.
Proofpoint Email Protection48%#1 of 8IRONSCALES2%#5 of 8What the models said about Proofpoint Email Protection
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“the email security landscape has shifted heavily away from traditional, complex Secure Email Gateways (SEGs like traditional configurations of Proofpoint or Mimecast)” Gemini 3.5 Flash · paraphrase prompt · soft negative
“The industry has largely moved away from legacy, complex Secure Email Gateways (SEGs) that require changing MX records (such as Proofpoint or Mimecast).” Gemini 3.5 Flash · direct prompt · soft negative
“some email providers, such as Proofpoint, rely on static rules and predefined regex expressions to identify sensitive data, which may not be effective” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · soft negative
“Proofpoint and Check Point Harmony Email & Collaboration are top choices due to their strong performance, scalability, and mid-market suitability.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“Proofpoint Essentials is the most frequently cited "sized and priced for smaller environments" solution in 2026 vendor round-ups.” Muse Glimmer 30B · direct prompt · first choice
“Prioritize Gartner Leaders: Proofpoint, Abnormal Security, Mimecast... They score highest (4.4-4.8/5 on G2/Peer Insights)” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · first choice
What the models said about IRONSCALES
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“prioritize Behavioral AI (like Abnormal AI or IRONSCALES) over signature-based gateways” GLM 4.7 FlashX · negative prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies, I'd recommend IRONSCALES as the top choice” Kimi K2 · direct prompt · first choice
“Modern solutions (like Abnormal Security, Check Point/Avanan, Ironscales, or Sublime Security) connect directly to Microsoft or Google via API.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · scale prompt · alternative
Also compared
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionMicrosoft Defender for Office 365 vs IRONSCALESSpamTitan vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionSpamTitan vs IRONSCALESMimecast Email Security vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionMimecast Email Security vs IRONSCALESBarracuda Email Protection vs Proofpoint Email ProtectionBarracuda Email Protection vs IRONSCALESProofpoint Email Protection vs Check Point Harmony Email & CollaborationProofpoint Email Protection vs Abnormal AICheck Point Harmony Email & Collaboration vs IRONSCALESAbnormal AI vs IRONSCALESAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full email security standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.