Top 6 Phishing Simulation Platforms Compared

Running a phishing simulation program requires tooling that handles email delivery, landing pages, tracking, reporting, and ideally post-click training. The best phishing simulation tools range from open-source frameworks you self-host for free to enterprise platforms with AI-generated attacks and comprehensive training libraries. This comparison covers six options, with honest assessments of what each does well and where it falls short.

If you are new to phishing simulations, start with How to Run a Phishing Simulation Campaign for the full methodology before choosing a tool.

1. Metric Tower -- Integrated Phishing with Auto-Remediation

Metric Tower's phishing simulator is built into the broader vulnerability management platform, which means phishing campaigns can draw on the same team management, scheduling, and notification infrastructure used for technical scanning. The key differentiator is the auto-remediation workflow: when an employee clicks a simulated phishing link, they are automatically enrolled in a security awareness training course with progress tracking and due dates.

The template library includes 30+ prebuilt scenarios across categories (password reset, IT requests, shipping, HR notices, document sharing) with brand logo support. Templates use merge tags for personalization (first_name, last_name, company) and render with a realistic email layout including brand-colored accent bars and embedded logo images. Campaign analytics provide a full funnel view: emails sent, delivered, opened, clicked, credentials submitted, and reported.

The "Send Test to Me" feature lets campaign creators preview exactly how the email renders in their own inbox before sending to the full target list. For sender authentication, organizations must verify their sending domains via DNS TXT record or HTTP file verification before they can be used in campaigns.

Pros:

• Integrated with vulnerability scanning -- phishing and technical security in one platform
• Automatic training enrollment for employees who click
• 30+ realistic templates with brand customization and merge tags
• Full campaign funnel analytics with per-department breakdowns
• Domain verification prevents unauthorized sender spoofing
• Available from the free tier

Cons:

• Template library is smaller than dedicated phishing platforms like KnowBe4
• No AI-generated attack scenarios (templates are curated, not adaptive)
• Training content library is less extensive than standalone LMS platforms

Pricing: Phishing simulator included in all tiers, including Free. Higher tiers add more campaign volume, templates, and team seats. See pricing details.

2. KnowBe4 -- Market Leader with Massive Content Library

KnowBe4 is the most widely deployed security awareness platform. Its primary strength is content volume: thousands of phishing templates covering every imaginable scenario, a library of training modules ranging from 5-minute videos to interactive courses, and compliance training content for industry-specific regulations. The platform also includes a phishing button plugin (KPB) for Outlook and Gmail that makes it trivial for employees to report suspicious emails.

KnowBe4's PhishER module adds phishing triage capabilities for security teams, automatically classifying reported emails as phishing, spam, or legitimate and suggesting response actions. The platform's AIDA feature (AI-driven phishing) generates customized attack scenarios based on the target's role, department, and region.

The trade-off is price and complexity. KnowBe4 is enterprise-priced, requires an annual contract, and has a learning curve for administrators configuring campaigns across large organizations.

Pros:

• Largest template and training content library in the market
• AI-driven phishing scenario generation (AIDA)
• PhishER module for reported email triage and response
• Deep compliance training content (HIPAA, PCI, SOX, GDPR)
• Strong integration ecosystem (Active Directory, SCIM, major LMS platforms)
• Phishing button plugin for easy employee reporting

Cons:

• Enterprise pricing -- not accessible for small teams
• Annual contracts required (no monthly option)
• Feature-heavy interface has a significant learning curve
• PhishER is a separate paid module

Pricing: Tiered by seat count. Starts around $18/user/year for basic plans (as of early 2026). Enterprise plans with PhishER and advanced features are significantly higher. No free tier. Contact sales for quotes.

3. Cofense (formerly PhishMe) -- Incident Response Focused

Cofense positions itself at the intersection of phishing simulation and incident response. While it has standard simulation and training capabilities, its differentiator is the Cofense Triage product, which lets security operations teams manage reported phishing emails at scale. When an employee reports a suspicious email via the Cofense Reporter button, Triage automatically clusters similar reports, analyzes URLs and attachments, and provides IOCs (indicators of compromise) for confirmed threats.

This makes Cofense particularly strong for organizations that see phishing simulations as one part of a broader anti-phishing program that includes real-time detection and response. The simulation feeds the training pipeline, and the reporting feeds the SOC pipeline.

Pros:

• Strong incident response integration -- simulations and real threat management in one platform
• Cofense Triage for automated reported email analysis
• Good reporting analytics with trend tracking over time
• Intelligence sharing via Cofense Intelligence network

Cons:

• Enterprise pricing with annual contracts
• Simulation and Triage are separate products (additional cost)
• Smaller template library than KnowBe4
• Less focus on training content compared to dedicated awareness platforms

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. Not publicly listed. Contact sales for quotes. No free tier.

4. GoPhish -- Open-Source, Self-Hosted

GoPhish is a free, open-source phishing simulation framework written in Go. You deploy it on your own infrastructure, create your own email templates and landing pages, import target lists, and run campaigns. It provides tracking for email opens, link clicks, and credential submissions with a clean web dashboard.

GoPhish's strength is its simplicity and cost: it does one thing (send phishing simulations and track results) and does it well, for free. Its weakness is everything it does not do: there are no prebuilt templates, no training modules, no automatic remediation, no AI-generated scenarios, and no managed sending infrastructure.

You handle email deliverability, landing page hosting, and DNS configuration yourself. For security teams with technical skills and limited budgets, GoPhish is an excellent starting point. For organizations that need a turnkey solution with training integration, it requires significant supplementary work.

# Install GoPhish
go install github.com/gophish/gophish@latest

# Or download a release binary
wget https://github.com/gophish/gophish/releases/download/v0.12.1/gophish-v0.12.1-linux-64bit.zip
unzip gophish-*.zip && cd gophish
./gophish

Pros:

• Completely free and open-source (MIT license)
• Self-hosted -- full control over data and infrastructure
• Clean, functional web interface
• REST API for automation and integration
• Active community with extensions and plugins
• Single Go binary, easy to deploy

Cons:

• No built-in training modules -- simulation only
• No prebuilt templates -- you create everything from scratch
• You manage email deliverability (SPF/DKIM, IP reputation, throttling)
• No auto-remediation or training enrollment
• Limited reporting compared to commercial platforms
• Self-hosting means you handle updates, backups, and security

Pricing: Free. Open-source.

5. Proofpoint Security Awareness Training -- Enterprise Email Gateway Integration

Proofpoint's phishing simulation is part of its broader Security Awareness Training (PSAT) product, which itself integrates with Proofpoint's market-leading email gateway and threat intelligence. For organizations already using Proofpoint for email security, adding phishing simulations creates a unified view: real threats detected by the gateway inform simulated attack scenarios, and simulation results feed back into risk scoring.

The platform includes ThreatSim for phishing simulations, a training content library with interactive modules and assessments, and CyberStrength for knowledge assessment. Proofpoint's Very Attacked People (VAP) scoring identifies which employees receive the most real phishing attacks, allowing you to prioritize simulations for the highest-risk individuals.

Pros:

• Deep integration with Proofpoint email gateway and threat intelligence
• Very Attacked People (VAP) scoring for risk-based targeting
• Real threat data informs simulation templates
• Comprehensive training content library with assessments
• Multi-language support for global organizations

Cons:

• Most valuable when used alongside Proofpoint's email gateway (less standalone value)
• Enterprise pricing with annual contracts
• Complex deployment for large organizations
• Less flexible template customization than some alternatives

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. Part of the Proofpoint Security Awareness Training bundle. Not publicly listed. Significantly more cost-effective if already a Proofpoint email security customer.

6. Hoxhunt -- Gamified, AI-Powered Awareness

Hoxhunt takes a different philosophical approach: instead of periodic campaign blasts, it delivers continuous, personalized phishing simulations to each employee based on their individual risk profile and learning progress. The platform uses AI to generate attack scenarios tailored to each person's role, department, and past performance. Employees earn points and badges for correctly identifying and reporting simulations, turning security awareness into an ongoing engagement rather than a periodic test.

The gamification is not superficial. Hoxhunt's adaptive difficulty system ensures that employees who consistently identify simulations receive progressively harder scenarios, while those who struggle get additional coaching at their current level. The platform claims that this approach drives significantly higher engagement and reporting rates compared to traditional campaign-based simulations.

Pros:

• Continuous, personalized simulations rather than periodic campaigns
• AI-generated attack scenarios adapted to each employee
• Gamification drives sustained engagement (leaderboards, points, challenges)
• Adaptive difficulty adjusts to individual learning progress
• Strong reporting analytics with behavioral insights

Cons:

• Enterprise pricing -- not accessible for SMBs
• Requires organizational commitment to the continuous model
• Gamification style may not suit every corporate culture
• Less control over exactly when and what simulations are sent

Pricing: Enterprise pricing. Not publicly listed. Contact sales for quotes. No free tier.

Choosing the Right Phishing Simulation Platform

The right choice depends on your budget, team size, and how phishing fits into your broader security program:

Limited budget, technical team: GoPhish. Free, self-hosted, and capable. You will need to build your own templates and handle training separately, but the simulation infrastructure is solid.

Small to mid-size team, need training integration: Metric Tower. Phishing simulations with auto-remediation training, available from the free tier, and bundled with vulnerability scanning if you need both.

Enterprise with existing email security: Proofpoint PSAT if you are already on Proofpoint, or KnowBe4 for the deepest standalone content library. Both offer the scale, compliance content, and reporting that large organizations need.

Enterprise prioritizing culture change: Hoxhunt if you want continuous, adaptive simulations with gamification. Cofense if you need tight integration between simulation and incident response.

Beyond Simulation: Building a Complete Anti-Phishing Program

No matter which platform you choose, phishing simulations are one component of a broader anti-phishing strategy. The most effective programs combine:

• Technical controls -- email filtering, DMARC/SPF/DKIM, URL sandboxing, attachment detonation
• Phishing simulations -- regular, varied campaigns that build recognition skills
• Training and remediation -- immediate feedback on clicks, targeted coaching for repeat offenders
• Reporting infrastructure -- a phishing report button that employees can use with one click
• Incident response process -- a defined workflow for when real phishing is reported

Simulations without training are just measurement. Training without simulations is just theory. The combination is what drives real behavioral change and measurable risk reduction.

Metric Tower combines phishing simulation with attack surface discovery and vulnerability scanning in a single platform, giving security teams a unified view of both human and technical risk factors.