Best Phishing Simulation Software for Small Businesses

Phishing simulation software helps small businesses test whether employees can spot suspicious emails and gives security or IT teams a way to deliver targeted training. Used well, it reduces risk from credential theft, invoice fraud, malware, and business email compromise. Used badly, it becomes a blame game that teaches employees to distrust IT.

The best phishing simulation software for small businesses should make campaigns easy to run, training easy to assign, reporting easy to explain, and culture risk easy to avoid. It should integrate with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, support realistic templates, provide a phishing-reporting workflow, and show improvement over time.

For most small businesses, the shortlist should start with KnowBe4, Hoxhunt, Proofpoint Security Awareness, Cofense, Infosec IQ, GoPhish, and Microsoft Attack Simulation Training. The right choice depends on budget, admin capacity, compliance needs, existing email security stack, and how mature your security programme already is.

Before investing in simulations, make sure the basics are covered. Use our SaaS security checklist for startups, compare password managers for remote teams, and review security awareness training software if your main need is broader employee education rather than phishing campaigns alone.

Quick recommendations

Buyer scenario	Best starting shortlist	Why
Broad SMB phishing simulation and training	KnowBe4, Infosec IQ	Large template/training libraries and established awareness-program workflows.
Behaviour-focused training programme	Hoxhunt	Strong fit when engagement, continuous learning, and reporting behaviour matter.
Security-led phishing defence programme	Cofense, Proofpoint	Better fit when simulations connect to phishing reporting, SOC workflows, and enterprise email security.
Microsoft 365-heavy business	Microsoft Attack Simulation Training, KnowBe4, Proofpoint	Microsoft-native option may already be available depending on licensing; third-party tools may add richer training and reporting.
Budget-conscious technical team	GoPhish plus separate training content	Open-source simulation can work if you have security expertise and accept more admin effort.
Low admin capacity	Managed campaign services from a vendor	Worth considering if nobody has time to build, schedule, explain, and tune campaigns.

This is not just a feature comparison. The best tool for a five-person accounting firm is not necessarily the best tool for a 200-person healthcare supplier with compliance requirements.

What phishing simulation software should do

A useful phishing simulation platform should cover the full awareness loop:

1. Sync users and groups from Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, directory tools, CSV, or SCIM.
2. Send realistic campaigns using safe templates that reflect current threats without being cruel or misleading in damaging ways.
3. Track actions such as opens, clicks, form submissions, attachment interaction, reports, and training completion.
4. Assign follow-up training automatically based on behaviour or risk group.
5. Provide a report button so employees can report suspicious emails from Outlook, Gmail, or supported mail clients.
6. Show trend reporting by department, location, role, risk group, and campaign type.
7. Export evidence for cyber insurance, audits, board reporting, customer due diligence, or internal security reviews.
8. Protect employee privacy with appropriate permissions, retention settings, and manager visibility controls.

The goal is not to catch people out. The goal is to make suspicious-email reporting normal, fast, and low-friction.

Shortlist notes

KnowBe4

KnowBe4 is one of the best-known names in security awareness training and phishing simulation. Public product materials emphasize phishing templates, training content, user risk scoring, reporting, phishing-reporting tools, and broader awareness programme management.

For small businesses, KnowBe4 is often a sensible benchmark because it is widely understood and purpose-built for awareness programmes. The main buying question is whether the package, contract size, and administration model fit your actual needs.

Best fit: small and mid-sized businesses that want a mature, broad phishing simulation and awareness training platform.

Watch closely: plan tiers, template/training access, contract minimums, managed services, SSO/SCIM, report button support, and data export.

Hoxhunt

Hoxhunt focuses on continuous behaviour change, employee engagement, and phishing-reporting habits. It can be a strong fit where leadership wants awareness training to feel less like periodic compliance and more like ongoing coaching.

For a small business, Hoxhunt may be most attractive when user experience and participation matter as much as campaign administration. Buyers should verify pricing, minimums, integrations, and whether the programme is proportionate for company size.

Best fit: companies that want an engaging, behaviour-focused phishing awareness programme rather than occasional trick emails.

Watch closely: minimum user count, Microsoft/Google fit, languages, reporting, and whether the rollout style suits your culture.

Proofpoint Security Awareness

Proofpoint is a major email security vendor, and its security awareness offering is relevant for companies that want phishing simulation connected to a broader email-threat and security stack. It may appeal to IT or security-led teams that already use Proofpoint or want more mature reporting and programme controls.

For smaller businesses, the risk is complexity and cost compared with simpler awareness tools. It belongs on the shortlist when email security and awareness are part of a broader security programme.

Best fit: security-led teams that want awareness training tied to a mature email security environment.

Watch closely: packaging, implementation effort, integrations, reporting depth, and whether it is too much platform for your team.

Cofense

Cofense is associated with phishing defence, simulation, reporting, and response workflows. It can be especially relevant where the employee report button and security-team triage process are as important as training content.

For small businesses without a dedicated security function, Cofense may be more than needed. For regulated or higher-risk firms with an MSP, MDR provider, or internal security owner, it can make sense.

Best fit: teams that want phishing simulations linked closely to reporting and response workflows.

Watch closely: admin effort, managed service options, reporting workflow, integrations, and who will triage reported messages.

Infosec IQ

Infosec IQ is worth considering for small businesses that want phishing simulation plus a substantial security awareness training library. Public materials emphasize training modules, campaigns, assessments, and reporting.

It may be a good fit when compliance or customer requirements demand evidence of regular training, not just phishing tests. Buyers should demo the end-user training experience carefully because stale or annoying content reduces adoption.

Best fit: businesses that need both phishing campaigns and structured security awareness training.

Watch closely: content quality, role-based training, languages, reporting, plan gates, and administrative workload.

Microsoft Attack Simulation Training

Microsoft Attack Simulation Training can be practical for organisations already using Microsoft 365 and the right Defender for Office 365 or Microsoft 365 licensing. It keeps simulation work close to the Microsoft environment and can reduce vendor sprawl.

The trade-off is that it may not provide the same breadth of third-party training content, managed services, culture guidance, or programme support as dedicated awareness platforms. But for Microsoft-first small businesses, it is worth checking before buying another tool.

Best fit: Microsoft 365-centric organisations that may already have eligible licensing and want a native starting point.

Watch closely: licensing eligibility, template depth, training content, reporting, user targeting, and admin permissions.

GoPhish

GoPhish is an open-source phishing framework. It can be useful for technical teams, consultants, or MSPs that know how to design ethical simulations, manage mail delivery, create training content, and interpret results safely.

It is not the best fit for most non-technical small businesses. Free software can become expensive if the programme is poorly designed, mail deliverability breaks, or employees feel tricked rather than trained.

Best fit: technically capable teams that need flexibility and accept higher administrative responsibility.

Watch closely: hosting, security, mail deliverability, training content, reporting, legal review, and employee communication.

Key buying criteria

Campaign templates and realism

Templates should cover common threats such as credential harvesting, fake invoices, document shares, delivery notices, HR messages, password resets, MFA prompts, payroll changes, and executive impersonation.

Realism matters, but cruelty is counterproductive. Avoid campaigns that exploit bereavement, health scares, job security, bonuses, or personal emergencies unless there is a very specific and carefully managed reason.

Training follow-up

Clicking a simulated phishing email should trigger short, relevant coaching. Long generic modules after every mistake will frustrate employees and reduce trust.

Look for microlearning, role-based training, just-in-time landing pages, automatic assignments, reminders, manager summaries, and completion evidence.

Microsoft and Google integration

Most small businesses need clean integration with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Ask about user sync, group targeting, mail allowlisting, report buttons, OAuth permissions, SSO, SCIM, and how the platform handles email security filtering.

If setup requires broad mail-flow changes, get a written implementation plan. Misconfigured simulations can distort results or create deliverability problems.

Reporting that leaders can understand

Good reporting should show risk trends, not just who clicked. Useful metrics include report rate, repeat clickers, credential submission rate, training completion, department trends, high-risk groups, and improvement over time.

Be wary of dashboards that encourage public shaming. Department-level coaching is usually healthier than naming and embarrassing individuals.

Admin effort

Small IT teams do not have time to handcraft campaigns every week. Check how much work is required to import users, choose templates, schedule campaigns, tune difficulty, assign training, chase completions, and produce reports.

If you have low admin capacity, ask about managed campaigns or prebuilt programme paths.

Culture and privacy controls

Phishing simulation is sensitive because it tests employees. The platform should support privacy-aware reporting, role-based permissions, data retention controls, and careful manager visibility.

Before launch, explain why the programme exists: to protect employees and the business, not to punish people. Reward reporting. Avoid public leaderboards of failure.

Pricing and implementation trade-offs

Phishing simulation tools are usually priced per user, often annually, with differences by training library, report button, languages, managed services, advanced reporting, SSO/SCIM, and integrations.

Implementation normally includes:

• syncing users and groups;
• configuring Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace;
• allowlisting simulation emails where appropriate;
• installing a phishing-report button;
• selecting initial templates and difficulty levels;
• writing internal communications;
• deciding training assignments and escalation rules;
• setting privacy and reporting permissions;
• exporting evidence for insurance or compliance files.

The biggest trade-off is between platform convenience and programme ownership. A dedicated vendor may provide templates, training, reporting, and support. A lighter or open-source route may cost less but requires more security judgement.

Red flags during evaluation

Be careful if:

• the vendor talks more about catching users than improving behaviour;
• the demo does not include training follow-up after a click;
• Microsoft or Google setup sounds vague;
• the report button is missing, weak, or expensive;
• pricing hides important features in higher tiers;
• reporting focuses only on click rates;
• managers get individual-level data without privacy guardrails;
• there is no exportable evidence for customers, insurers, or auditors;
• the vendor cannot explain how to avoid damaging employee trust.

A practical rollout plan

1. Fix the basics first. MFA, password manager, backups, email security, and access reviews matter more than simulations alone.
2. Communicate before testing. Tell employees the company is starting awareness training and that reporting is encouraged.
3. Run a baseline campaign. Keep it realistic but fair. Measure clicks, submissions, and reports.
4. Train immediately. Use short follow-up training based on what happened.
5. Repeat in small doses. Monthly or quarterly campaigns are usually better than one large annual event.
6. Reward reporting. A high report rate is a success signal, even when some reports are false positives.
7. Review trend data. Look for improvement, risky departments, and topics that need clearer communication.

Bottom line

For small businesses, phishing simulation software should build safer habits without creating fear. Start with KnowBe4, Hoxhunt, Proofpoint Security Awareness, Cofense, Infosec IQ, Microsoft Attack Simulation Training, and GoPhish, then narrow based on budget, Microsoft/Google fit, admin capacity, and culture.

If you want a broad awareness platform, benchmark KnowBe4 and Infosec IQ. If behaviour and engagement matter most, look closely at Hoxhunt. If phishing reporting and security operations are central, compare Cofense and Proofpoint. If you are already deep in Microsoft 365, check your Microsoft licensing before adding another vendor.

The best programme is not the one with the trickiest templates. It is the one that makes employees quicker to pause, question, and report suspicious messages.