Proofpoint vs. Abnormal
Proofpoint stops 2x more threats than Abnormal
Augment Microsoft with email protection built for the broadest range of threats
AI-driven security, powered by millions of customers
Proofpoint is a leading choice for augmenting Microsoft 365 email security via API. When Microsoft customers are looking to strengthen their security, they overwhelmingly turn to Proofpoint. More than 2.1 million customers worldwide—including 85% of the Fortune 100—trust us as their security partner.
Proofpoint stops 99.99% of threats faster and more accurately than our competitors. With Proofpoint Nexus, we provide the world’s leading AI-based email security solution.
Abnormal falls short for customers
"Efficacy is poor, they [Abnormal] pull internal to internal e-mails they shouldn’t be pulling, and we got fooled during the POC process."
—CIO, financial services organization (4,000 users)
"Abnormal has a major detection blind spot. They don’t provide any threat intelligence visibility or telemetry into unknown or emerging threats across the global threat landscape."
—IT director, home services organization
"I wanted security platforms that I could build upon and connect together. Abnormal does not do that well."
—cybersecurity director, manufacturing organization
How Abnormal stacks up against Proofpoint
Less data means lower efficacy
Abnormal has a significantly smaller customer base—only 3.5K customers. This means less data ingested into their AI models and limited threat intelligence and real-world insights.
Proofpoint, in comparison, protects more than 2.1M customers. Our AI-powered detection stack accurately classifies this data to ensure malicious emails are quarantined and legitimate emails are delivered. This results in an astonishingly low false positive rate, enabling you to focus on real threats.
Substandard detection
Abnormal primarily uses behavioral analysis anomaly detection to identify threats. Without a well-rounded detection stack, this results in noticeably weaker detection capabilities.
Proofpoint uses five dimensions of AI-powered detection, including machine learning, language models, relationship graphs, computer vision and threat intelligence.
Point solution vs. human-centric platform
Abnormal focuses on inbound threat detection, leaving organizations unprepared to defend against an evolving threat landscape.
Proofpoint delivers a comprehensive multilayered protection platform designed to proactively detect and addresses risks across advanced phishing and BEC attacks, insider risk and data exfiltration. This protects your users from falling victim to bad actors or maliciously leaking data.
Proofpoint vs. Abnormal at a glance:
| Key features & capabilities | Proofpoint | Abnormal |
|---|---|---|
| Customer AI training dataset | 2.1M | 3.5K |
| Anomaly analysis |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Behavioral analysis |
Yes
|
Yes
|
| Sandboxing for malicious URLs and attachments |
Yes
|
|
| Lookalike domain analysis |
Yes
|
|
| Computer vision technology |
Yes
|
|
| Integrated outbound protections |
Yes
|
Zero-day threats blocked before they strike
Data from 2.1M+ customers is at the heart of what enables us to stop the widest variety of attacks today. In addition, our threat research team identifies and blocks emerging threats, including zero-day attacks, before they have a chance to attack your organization.
Simple. Intuitive. Fully automated.
Watch how Proofpoint Core Email Protection API integrates with M365 in minutes
Proofpoint and Microsoft: better together
Our expanded partnership with Microsoft deepens our technology collaboration, providing joint customers with more powerful, seamless human-centric security.
Customer Success Stories
Learn why customers choose Proofpoint over Abnormal
Full-service junk removal company switches to Proofpoint to protect users and customers from email threats
Fact vs. FUD: Setting the record straight
When evaluating email security vendors, it can be difficult to navigate competing claims. To help clarify, here is a factual comparison of Proofpoint's technology versus Abnormal.
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Claim 1:
“Proofpoint requires Microsoft security to be disabled."Proofpoint Reality: Proofpoint works in tandem with Microsoft, building true defense-in-depth through either Graph API or inline gateway deployment.Proofpoint Reality:
Proofpoint works in tandem with Microsoft, building true defense-in-depth through either Graph API or inline gateway deployment. Today, Microsoft’s filtering runs on top of third-party gateways like Proofpoint’s inline gateway, so customers can keep Microsoft detections active alongside Proofpoint for a truly multi-layered detection stack -
Claim 2:
“Proofpoint’s constrained SEG architecture is incapable of solving today’s threat landscape.”Proofpoint Reality: Proofpoint’s SEG and API deployment options both use NexusAI to stop 99.99% of email threats.Proofpoint Reality:
Proofpoint’s SEG and API deployment options both use NexusAI to stop 99.99% of email threats. The same layered stack (behavioral modeling, relationship mapping, large language models, semantic analysis, sandboxing, and global threat intelligence) protects customers no matter how Proofpoint is deployed.Abnormal’s claim is simply wrong, and they often misstate results by either flagging benign emails as “missed threats” or condemning threats detected by Proofpoint.
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Claim 3:
“Abnormal remediates threats faster than Proofpoint.”Proofpoint Reality: CEP API removes emails in milliseconds, on average, moving them into a hidden folder so users are fully isolated from risk.Proofpoint Reality:
CEP API removes emails in milliseconds, on average, moving them into a hidden folder so users are fully isolated from risk.Abnormal only analyzes a message once and frequently misses compromised but legitimate webpages distributing malware that Abnormal never remediates. When Abnormal’s remediation does occur, it happens in different cycles, leaving customers confused and exposed to inconsistent delays.
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Claim 4
“Proofpoint misses sophisticated threats because it relies on heuristics and known-bad threat intelligence.”Proofpoint Reality: The Proofpoint Nexus Platform’s ensemble of AI engines including machine learning and computer vision, combines behavioral analytics, sandboxing, deep URL inspection, and rich content analysis to identify and block threats across the full attack lifecycle.Proofpoint Reality:
The Proofpoint Nexus Platform’s ensemble of AI engines including machine learning and computer vision, combines behavioral analytics, sandboxing, deep URL inspection, and rich content analysis to identify and block threats across the full attack lifecycle. This integrated technology provides an unmatched 99.999% detection efficacy rate, delivering superior protection against the most advanced and evasive cyber threats targeting your people.By contrast, Abnormal relies primarily on anomaly detection of sender–recipient relationships, attributing most detections to “uncommon sender” signals while lacking payload inspection and deep content analysis — creating gaps that leave sophisticated threats in user inboxes.
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Claim 5
“Abnormal reduces SOC time spent on email security by 95%.”Proofpoint Reality: Proofpoint customers see just 1 reported false positive in 19.7M messages, requiring almost no manual tuning.Proofpoint Reality:
Proofpoint customers see just 1 reported false positive in 19.7M messages, requiring almost no manual tuning.Abnormal, by contrast, relies heavily on signals like “unusual sender,” which often flags legitimate app mail, invoices, or password resets as threats. Customers frequently voice concerns about these false positives and report spending hours each week manually releasing clean mail from Abnormal quarantines.