Microsoft Defender for Office 365 VS Proofpoint_
As of 4 November 2026, Proofpoint is named by 204 companies and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 by 161; Microsoft Defender for Office 365 skews to companies under 200 people (27% vs 23%), Proofpoint to companies over 1,000 (52% vs 49%).
As of 4 November 2026 · refreshed daily · counts move as websites, DNS and career sites are re-read.
The website-and-DNS footprint is not comparable between a marketing suite and a CRM: Microsoft Defender for Office 365's script and mail records show on hundreds of thousands of small sites, Proofpoint rarely leaves a trace outside its own apps. Compare on the job-posting numbers; use the footprint for reach.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365: 2–200 employees
- 27%
- Proofpoint: 2–200 employees
- 23%
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365: 1,000+ employees
- 49%
- Proofpoint: 1,000+ employees
- 52%
- Postings per company, 90 days
- 2.3 · 2.5
- Website or DNS footprint
- 0 · 59,052
Who chooses which
Share of each tool's companies in every segment. "Leans" marks a gap of more than two points.
| Segment | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | share | Proofpoint | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-10 employees | 6 | 4% | 5 | 2% | even |
| 11-50 employees | 12 | 7% | 12 | 6% | even |
| 51-200 employees | 25 | 16% | 29 | 14% | even |
| 201-500 employees | 23 | 14% | 21 | 10% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| 501-1000 employees | 16 | 10% | 30 | 15% | Proofpoint |
| 1001-5000 employees | 43 | 27% | 49 | 24% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| 5001-10000 employees | 11 | 7% | 20 | 10% | Proofpoint |
| 10,001+ employees | 25 | 16% | 37 | 18% | Proofpoint |
| Self-employed | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | share | Proofpoint | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology & software | 44 | 27% | 72 | 35% | Proofpoint |
| Business & finance services | 40 | 25% | 49 | 24% | even |
| Manufacturing & industry | 34 | 21% | 31 | 15% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| Health care | 9 | 6% | 7 | 3% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| Utilities & infrastructure | 7 | 4% | 5 | 2% | even |
| Consumer services & leisure | 6 | 4% | 6 | 3% | even |
| Property & construction | 6 | 4% | 8 | 4% | even |
| Public, community & associations | 4 | 2% | 2 | 1% | even |
| Commerce & trade | 3 | 2% | 11 | 5% | Proofpoint |
| Media & content | 3 | 2% | 6 | 3% | even |
| Transport, logistics & rental | 3 | 2% | 3 | 1% | even |
| Automotive | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Hospitality & travel | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | share | Proofpoint | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 99 | 61% | 137 | 67% | Proofpoint |
| United Kingdom | 14 | 9% | 12 | 6% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| Germany | 11 | 7% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| India | 5 | 3% | 3 | 1% | even |
| Belgium | 3 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Canada | 3 | 2% | 11 | 5% | Proofpoint |
| France | 3 | 2% | 8 | 4% | Proofpoint |
| Netherlands | 3 | 2% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Australia | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Poland | 2 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Denmark | 1 | 1% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Italy | – | – | 3 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| PH | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Sweden | – | – | 2 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| United Arab Emirates | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Austria | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Brazil | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Segment | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 | share | Proofpoint | share | Leans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT operations & business systems | 301 | 71% | 402 | 63% | Microsoft Defender for Office 365 |
| Engineering (non-software) | 23 | 5% | 22 | 3% | even |
| Data & AI | 9 | 2% | 7 | 1% | even |
| Sales | 9 | 2% | 62 | 10% | Proofpoint |
| Customer service & success | 5 | 1% | 6 | 1% | even |
| Software engineering | 5 | 1% | 47 | 7% | Proofpoint |
| Product, program & project management | 4 | 1% | 13 | 2% | even |
| logistics warehouse and transport | 3 | 1% | 2 | 0% | even |
| General management & consulting | 2 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Administration & office | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| Business development & strategy | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| Education & training | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| facilities cleaning and security | 1 | 0% | 4 | 1% | even |
| Finance & accounting | 1 | 0% | 2 | 0% | even |
| healthcare clinical | 1 | 0% | – | – | outside top 12 |
| skilled trades and field service | 1 | 0% | 1 | 0% | even |
| Legal, compliance & risk | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Marketing & communications | – | – | 4 | 1% | outside top 12 |
| Retail & store operations | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
| Unclassified | – | – | 1 | 0% | outside top 12 |
The companies behind each column
Companies using Microsoft Defender for Office 365 →
Companies using Proofpoint →
email security awareness ranked →
Quote the sentence with the date and the link. The numbers change daily; the link always shows the current ones.
Proofpoint is named by 204 companies in job postings and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 by 161; 38 name both. (Breaknorm, 4 November 2026, https://breaknorm.co/compare/microsoft-defender-for-office-365-vs-proofpoint)
Read from the source, not self-reported
Every number on this page can be traced to a page we crawled or a posting we read. Full methodology →
- Job postingsRead hourly from career sites. A tool counts when the employer's own text names it as the team's system; both tools can count for one company.
- Website and DNSScripts and embeds on the company's pages, plus SPF, DKIM, MX and CNAME records of its domain that point at the vendor.
- SegmentsCountry, size and industry from the company profile built from its website.
- Not a reviewNo ratings, prices or feature claims. For those, read the vendors.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs Proofpoint: questions
Which is more used, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 or Proofpoint?
By companies naming it in their own job postings, Proofpoint (204) over Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (161). By website-and-DNS footprint, Proofpoint (59,052 vs 0), because its scripts and mail records sit on many small company sites.
Who chooses Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
27% of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 companies have 2 to 200 employees, against 23% for Proofpoint. 49% of Microsoft Defender for Office 365 companies have over 1,000 employees, against 52% for Proofpoint.
Do companies run both?
38 companies name both in their postings, usually Microsoft Defender for Office 365 in marketing and Proofpoint in sales, or during a migration.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the employer's own text in job postings read hourly from career sites, and from scripts found on company websites in our crawl. No vendor data, no surveys.
Get either list your way
The same data as a search, over MCP and the API, as bulk files, or pushed to you as it changes.
Every company on either tool,
with the person who owns it
Filter on Microsoft Defender for Office 365 or Proofpoint, and get 1,000 records free.