8 best Material Security alternatives in 2026

The best Material Security alternative for most security teams is Sublime Security, an agentic email security platform that closes coverage gaps in hours and automates abuse mailbox triage from day one. Teams prioritizing behavioral BEC detection with minimal setup often evaluate Abnormal Security. Enterprises with compliance requirements typically look at Proofpoint or Mimecast. The right fit depends on whether phishing prevention, BEC protection, or data security is your primary job.

Key takeaways

• Most Material Security alternatives fall into two camps: legacy gateways with rigid, vendor-controlled policies or first-gen AI platforms that apply a single centralized model to every customer.
• The right alternative depends on your team's need for automation, visibility, and how quickly you need to close coverage gaps when something slips through.
• Sublime's Distributed Detection Model (DDM) gives security teams org-specific coverage that adapts as threats evolve, without waiting on a vendor update cycle.
• Platforms differ significantly in how they handle outbound and internal email; not all alternatives cover the full email surface.
• Deployment model matters: evaluate whether cloud SaaS, single-tenant SaaS, or self-hosted fits your environment before committing.
• The best Material Security alternative for your team is the one that stops more attacks with the least operational overhead, from day one.

Email security teams evaluating alternatives to Material Security are generally looking for one of two things: more coverage with fewer false positives, or faster time-to-detection when a new threat surface. Sometimes both.

Material Security has built a following, particularly among teams that value its data-protection-first approach: securing sensitive data at rest in the inbox, limiting the blast radius of account takeovers, and providing visibility into cloud workspace posture. But teams whose primary job is stopping, investigating, and adapting to inbound email threats sometimes find that posture-based protection and detection-engineering are different disciplines that call for different tools.

This guide covers eight Material Security alternatives worth evaluating in 2026, including what each does well, where tradeoffs exist, and what buyer considerations should drive the decision.

Why organizations look for Material Security alternatives

Material Security is well-regarded by its users – G2 and Gartner reviews consistently praise its API-based deployment, post-compromise data protection, and inbox-level visibility. Teams evaluating alternatives are generally not leaving because of a poor experience; they're looking for something different in scope or approach. Based on what reviewers and customers actually say, the most common reasons teams look elsewhere include:

• Scope is limited to Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Material Security is purpose-built for cloud productivity suites. Teams running hybrid or on-premises environments, may find it doesn't fit their full requirements.
• False positive rates on legitimate email. Gartner reviewers note a pattern of legitimate emails requiring manual release from quarantine, which creates operational overhead for teams that need high-precision detection.
• Dashboard and navigation complexity. Multiple reviewers across G2 and Gartner flag the ticketing dashboard and navigation as areas needing improvement, particularly for teams doing high-volume triage.
• Configuration overhead for advanced features. Initial setup is frequently praised as straightforward via API, but reviewers note that advanced features require additional configuration that can be less intuitive.
• The need for a complementary inbound threat detection layer. Several reviewers use Material Security alongside another email security tool specifically for inbound threat detection, treating the two as complementary rather than interchangeable. Teams that want a single platform covering inbound threats, outbound DLP, and post-compromise protection may look for a more unified solution.
• Investigation workflow dependencies. Material Security's search and investigation capabilities have two layers of friction. Native search is Lucene-based with limited field coverage and no support for nested logic or compound queries. Advanced multi-condition queries require BigQuery, which adds cost and workflow overhead. Teams doing deep incident analysis without dedicated data engineering resources sometimes find both constraints meaningful.

8 Material Security competitors: A detailed overview

This section covers each platform's strengths, tradeoffs, and ideal use cases. For a broader look at the email security solutions market, see our top email security companies breakdown.

Sublime Security

Sublime is an autonomous email security platform built around a Distributed Detection Model (DDM): instead of applying a single, centralized model uniformly across all customers, Sublime runs org-specific detection coverage that reasons through intent, behavior, and content to catch threats specific to your environment.

The platform deploys a team of specialized AI agents working together from day one. ASA (Autonomous Security Analyst) handles abuse mailbox triage, investigating and resolving user-reported email in seconds and eliminating the daily manual burden that accumulates on security teams. ADÉ (Autonomous Detection Engineer) generates, backtests, and deploys new detection coverage based on threats seen in your environment, closing gaps in hours, not weeks.

Where centralized models are forced to generalize (coverage has to work for all customers, so every organization inherits the same blind spots), Sublime's DDM can be precise and opinionated. It uses techniques including natural language understanding (NLU), computer vision (CV), and live link navigation to reason through messages, which enables high-fidelity decisions on novel threats that static models and signature-based systems miss.

Sublime covers inbound, outbound, and internal email from a single platform. The same detection model that catches targeted phishing also identifies outbound data exposure and policy violations – without the rigid vendor patterns that make traditional email DLP brittle.

Every decision Sublime makes is transparent: the actual logic behind each verdict is visible and auditable, tied to specific detection expressions and specific email signals. You can act on what you see – resolve a false positive, block a new campaign, scope an exception for a legitimate workflow – without filing a ticket.

Sublime deploys as multi-tenant SaaS, single-tenant SaaS, or self-hosted, and integrates with existing SIEM, SOAR, and Slack workflows via API or inline protection.

G2 rating: 4.9/5 (27 reviews)

Sublime processes messages in roughly one second, so verdicts land before users interact with mail. Slower platforms that take closer to a minute can produce a confusing experience where messages appear in the inbox and then disappear after a verdict.

Teams that evaluate these platforms side by side increasingly choose Sublime. HubSpot selected Sublime after evaluating Mimecast, Proofpoint, Abnormal, and Material, citing control over its own detections as the deciding factor. Rivian chose Sublime in a three-way evaluation against Abnormal and Material. Read more customer stories.

Best for: Security teams that need immediate and sustained efficacy against advanced inbound threats, automated triage without manual overhead, fast coverage adaptation when new threats emerge, and full visibility into every detection decision.

Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security is an AI-native platform focused on detecting socially engineered attacks, particularly BEC, vendor email compromise, and account takeover. Its behavioral approach, building a per-customer behavioral baseline that flags deviations from normal communication patterns, though this baseline runs on a centralized foundation model shared across all customers, not independent per-org detection logic, – has resonated with organizations dealing with high volumes of targeted attacks.

Abnormal integrates directly with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace via API, with no MX record changes required. Reviewers generally praise the platform's catch rate on BEC and its ease of initial deployment.

Key tradeoffs to evaluate: Abnormal uses a Centralized Detection Model (CDM), meaning all customers share a single global model,coverage has to work across every customer, so organizations inherit the same blind spots. The behavioral baseline also requires a learning period before the system reaches full effectiveness. Teams that need deep control over detection logic, custom detection authoring, or fast coverage iteration will find the centralized model limiting, Abnormal offers no self-service detection authoring, and all tuning requires working through Abnormal support. Transparency into why specific decisions were made is limited; analysts cannot inspect the underlying logic or tune detections without vendor involvement. Abnormal's AI Security Mailbox, which handles only user-reported email triage (not system-flagged queues), is also a paid add-on, not included in the base platform.

Abnormal's newer 'Attune' positioning still rests on a single centralized foundation model, not per-organization detection logic.

G2 rating: 4.8/5 (62 reviews)

For teams evaluating a broader set of options, see our full list of Abnormal Security alternatives.

Proofpoint

Proofpoint is one of the most established names in enterprise email security. Its platform combines a legacy secure email gateway (SEG) with a separate API-based layer (Tessian, acquired and integrated), covering threat intelligence, URL defense, attachment sandboxing, and compliance capabilities. The two components run as separate products with distinct consoles and policy engines.

It's particularly strong in regulated industries where archiving, eDiscovery, and compliance reporting are requirements alongside threat protection.

The platform's breadth is both a strength and a complexity driver: large enterprises with established Proofpoint deployments and dedicated security operations teams can extract value from the broad product portfolio. That breadth comes from acquisitions (including Tessian and Hornetsecurity), so teams should expect multiple consoles and integration points rather than a single unified workflow.

Smaller teams or those prioritizing speed and automation sometimes find the configuration overhead high. Detection tuning typically requires opening support tickets rather than self-service adjustments, and Proofpoint's newest AI automation layer (Satori agents, announced 2026) was still in phased rollout as of April 2026, not broadly available.

Proofpoint has announced Satori AI agents, but as of early 2026 they are in phased rollout rather than generally available. Sublime's ASA and ADÉ are GA and working from day one.

Reviewers note that false positive rates and phishing miss rates have improved, but novel attacks and sophisticated BEC campaigns can still slip through.

For a detailed comparison, see our best Proofpoint alternatives guide.

G2 rating: 4.6/5 (583 reviews)

Mimecast

Mimecast provides cloud-based email security combining threat protection with email continuity, archiving, and compliance capabilities. It's a well-established option for organizations that want to consolidate email security and archiving under one vendor.

Its threat protection stack includes attachment and URL analysis, impersonation protection, and internal email security. Reviewers appreciate the breadth of capabilities and the archiving functionality in particular. Note that archiving and continuity are often retained as standalone modules even when organizations replace the email security stack, reflecting dependency rather than integrated value.

Common tradeoffs noted include interface complexity, support responsiveness at scale, and a detection model that, like most gateway-based deployments, depends on vendor update cycles for new threat coverage. Mimecast also offers an API-integrated deployment (Cloud Integrated), though the gateway remains its primary motion. Teams dealing with novel or targeted attacks sometimes find response time to new campaigns slower than they'd like. Mimecast also has documented gaps in text-only impersonation and vendor fraud detection, which are structural rather than a function of update cadence.

For more context, see our Mimecast alternatives guide.

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Check Point email security

Check Point's Harmony Email & Collaboration is part of the broader Harmony suite, positioning it as an email security option for organizations already invested in Check Point's network and endpoint security ecosystem. It covers M365, Google Workspace, and a wide range of collaboration tools including Teams, Slack, Box, and Dropbox via API integration and includes phishing, BEC, and malware protection.

The integration story within the Check Point platform is a genuine strength for existing customers. For organizations evaluating standalone email security without that ecosystem context, the value proposition is less differentiated. Reviewers also note limited visibility into detection logic, basic dashboards, and analyst response capabilities that require a paid add-on service (IRaaS).

G2 rating: 4.6/5 (513 reviews)

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the native email security layer for M365, available in Plan 1 (basic protection) and Plan 2 (advanced threat protection with automated investigation and response capabilities). For organizations standardized on Microsoft, it eliminates a separate vendor relationship and consolidates alerts within the M365 Security Center.

The main tradeoff is coverage quality on sophisticated attacks. Reviewers frequently note that Defender's catch rate on novel phishing, BEC, and socially engineered attacks trails purpose-built email security platforms. Microsoft's detection model is also centralized and vendor-controlled, meaning coverage updates follow Microsoft's release cadence.

For organizations using M365 that want to layer additional protection on top of Defender, Sublime can deploy alongside it.

G2 rating: 4.5/5 (277+ reviews)

IRONSCALES

IRONSCALES combines AI-based threat detection with end-user phishing simulation and reporting, making it a fit for organizations that want to address both the technical and human sides of email security. Its Themis Co-pilot feature adds AI-assisted analysis for security teams reviewing reported emails.

Reviewers highlight the phishing simulation capabilities and the incident response workflow as strengths. Coverage on sophisticated, novel threats gets more mixed marks – the behavioral and simulation-focused model is strong for awareness-driven programs but may not match the catch rates of platforms built specifically around advanced threat detection.

G2 rating: 4.7/5 (53 reviews)

Darktrace email security

Darktrace Email is part of Darktrace's broader ActiveAI Security Platform, applying unsupervised machine learning to detect anomalous behavior in email. Note: Darktrace was acquired by Thoma Bravo in October 2024 for $5.32B; buyers evaluating long-term vendor stability should factor in the private equity ownership context. For organizations already using Darktrace for network or endpoint detection, the integration story and unified visibility are meaningful.

As a standalone email security option, reviewers note that the anomaly-detection approach can generate significant false positive volume during the learning period (typically 2-4 weeks), that verdicts often lack clear explanations, and that email-specific tuning support is shallower than purpose-built email security vendors.

G2 rating: 4.0/5 (12 reviews)

How to choose the best Material Security alternative

The right platform depends on your team's specific threat profile, workflow requirements, and tolerance for operational overhead. Key factors to evaluate:

• Detection model architecture. Centralized models apply the same coverage to every customer. Distributed models run org-specific coverage that can be precise about your environment. Ask vendors how quickly they can generate new coverage when a novel attack surfaces in your organization – and whether that happens in hours or weeks.
• Transparency and control. When something is blocked or missed, can you see exactly why? Can you act on it immediately without filing a vendor ticket? This matters most for teams dealing with false positives on business-critical workflows and for rapid response to new campaigns.
• Automation depth. Evaluate where automation stops. Some platforms automate detection; fewer automate the abuse mailbox, coverage generation, and detection deployment. For lean teams, autonomous operation from day one reduces the gap between deployment and value.
• Email surface coverage. Does the platform cover inbound, outbound, and internal email? If outbound DLP and internal threat visibility are requirements, confirm these are first-class capabilities, not afterthoughts.
• Integration and deployment fit. API vs. inline protection, cloud SaaS vs. self-hosted, SIEM/SOAR integration – these requirements should narrow your shortlist before you get into feature comparisons.
• False positive rate on legitimate workflows. Catch rate matters, but so does precision. A platform that blocks legitimate vendor communications or flags routine workflows creates its own operational burden. Request data on false positive rates, not just detection rates.
• Deployment model requirements. Among the platforms here, Sublime is the only one offering multi-tenant SaaS, single-tenant SaaS, and self-hosted deployment (including AWS GovCloud and Azure). Abnormal, Proofpoint, and Mimecast are SaaS-only, which can be a hard disqualifier for regulated or data-sovereignty-sensitive environments.
• Watch for hidden costs. Proofpoint's SIEM integration typically requires additional licensing. Abnormal's user-reported triage (AI Security Mailbox) is a paid add-on not included in the base platform. Sublime includes autonomous triage with ASA.

When is Sublime the right Material Security alternative?

Sublime is detection-engineering-first; Material is data-protection-first. Both are legitimate disciplines. The question for the buyer is which job is primary.

If the primary job is stopping, investigating, and adapting to active inbound threats, Sublime is purpose-built for that. If the primary job is long-term data protection, compliance retrieval, and limiting the blast radius of a compromised account, Material is purpose-built for that. Many enterprise buyers need both – which means the two can coexist, and often do.

Sublime is the stronger fit when:

You're seeing advanced inbound threats slip through – BEC, novel phishing, hijacked thread attacks, vendor compromise – and your current platform can't explain the miss or close the gap without waiting on a vendor update. Sublime's DDM runs org-specific detection that reasons through every message using NLU, CV, and live link navigation. ADÉ turns a missed attack into deployed protection in hours.

Your team needs to understand and act on detection decisions. Sublime shows you exactly which signals triggered a verdict, tied to actual email content and readable detection logic. You can resolve a false positive, tune a detection, or scope an exception in minutes – without filing a ticket or waiting on a vendor.

Your abuse mailbox is a manual bottleneck. ASA handles user-reported triage autonomously, investigating and resolving in seconds. Customers like Vimeo save 25 hours per week with ASA, with only 0.3% of messages requiring human review after analysis.

You need investigation workflows that don't require an external query stack. Sublime's hunt, pivot, and backtesting capabilities run natively inside the platform. Material's advanced search requires BigQuery for complex queries, which adds cost and workflow friction for teams doing deep incident analysis.

You want one platform for inbound, outbound, and internal email. Sublime covers all three from a single policy engine, with detection logic you can extend – not just rigid vendor patterns.

You need deployment flexibility. Sublime supports multi-tenant SaaS, single-tenant SaaS, and self-hosted (including AWS GovCloud and Azure), and integrates with existing SIEM, SOAR, and Slack workflows without MX changes.

Where Material has an edge:

Material's long-term raw message retention, inbox redaction capabilities, native account security and ATO containment, and file security for cloud workspaces are more mature than Sublime's current scope. Teams consolidating workspace security across email, files, and accounts under one vendor may find Material's broader platform positioning more compelling. Sublime's structured retention is 30 days; raw EML retention extends to five years. Material's structured retention is long-term with no published cap. If archiving and compliance retrieval are first-class requirements, evaluate that tradeoff directly.

These reflect different disciplines: Material is data-protection-first (data at rest, redaction, ATO containment), while Sublime is detection-engineering-first. Many teams run them together, using Sublime as the inbound threat-detection layer and Material for data-at-rest posture. The two address complementary jobs.

FAQs about Material Security alternatives

What is the best Material Security alternative for email security?

There's no single answer – the best alternative depends on your team's specific requirements. Organizations prioritizing fast coverage adaptation, autonomous triage, and full visibility into detection decisions tend to find Sublime a strong fit. Teams that primarily need behavioral detection for BEC and want minimal configuration often evaluate Abnormal Security. Enterprises with complex compliance requirements may prefer Proofpoint or Mimecast. The most important evaluation criteria are detection model architecture (centralized vs. distributed), transparency and control, and automation depth.

Which AI-powered email security platforms are the best Material Security alternatives?

Several platforms in this list use AI, but with meaningfully different approaches. Sublime deploys a team of specialized AI agents – ASA for triage and ADÉ for detection engineering – on top of a Distributed Detection Model that generates org-specific coverage. Abnormal Security applies behavioral AI to detect socially engineered attacks. Darktrace uses unsupervised machine learning for anomaly detection. The distinction that matters most for buyers is whether the AI operates on a centralized, one-size-fits-all model or generates coverage tailored to your organization's specific threat patterns.

Which Material Security alternatives work best with Microsoft 365?

Most platforms on this list support M365 via API integration. Sublime, Abnormal Security, and IRONSCALES all offer M365 integration without MX record changes. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is native to M365. Proofpoint and Mimecast both offer API-based deployment options alongside their traditional gateway deployments – confirm with each vendor which model applies to your environment. For organizations running M365 who want best-in-class detection beyond what Defender provides, layering a purpose-built platform like Sublime on top of native M365 protection is a common approach.

Which Material Security alternatives work best with Google Workspace?

Sublime, Abnormal Security, and IRONSCALES all support Google Workspace via API. Proofpoint and Mimecast both offer API-based deployment options that don't require MX changes, in addition to their traditional gateway deployments that do. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is native to M365 with no MX changes needed. For organizations evaluating deployment complexity as a factor, confirm with each vendor which deployment model applies to your specific configuration.

Is Sublime Security a set-it-and-forget-it platform or a highly configurable solution?

Both, depending on what you need. Sublime is autonomous by default: ASA triages the abuse mailbox, ADÉ generates and deploys new detections, and the platform protects inbound, outbound, and internal email without requiring constant tuning. For teams that want control, Sublime provides full transparency into every detection decision, with the ability to extend, customize, or scope exceptions without vendor involvement. It's designed for teams that want it to just work, and for teams that want to go deep – without having to choose.

What makes Sublime Security different from other Material Security alternatives?

The clearest way to frame it: Sublime is detection-engineering-first. Material Security is data-protection-first. Both are legitimate approaches to email security – they solve different primary jobs. Where Sublime separates itself from the rest of the alternatives list is in three areas. First, the detection architecture: Sublime's Distributed Detection Model runs org-specific coverage rather than applying a centralized model to every customer, so protection can be precise about your environment rather than generalized across thousands of organizations. Second, the agents: ASA and ADÉ don't just automate reporting. They autonomously close the coverage and triage gaps that create the most daily overhead for security teams, with ASA operating in seconds and ADÉ generating new detections in hours. Third, transparency: every verdict in Sublime traces to readable detection logic and specific email signals, and you can act on what you see without filing a ticket.

‍