Email Security · Comparison

Abnormal AI Alternatives
in 2026: 8 Options Compared

Quick answer
The closest Abnormal AI alternatives are other API-based email security tools: Check Point Harmony Email (Avanan), IRONSCALES, Sublime Security, Material Security and TigerGate. Proofpoint and Mimecast suit teams that want a gateway, sandboxing or archiving. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the lowest-cost baseline for Microsoft 365 shops. Pick based on price model, tuning effort and platform breadth.
By TigerGate Research · Published · Updated
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Why teams look for Abnormal alternatives

Abnormal AI (formerly Abnormal Security) is widely cited as a top behavioural AI email security vendor and claims 5,000 customers including 30% of the Fortune 500 as of October 2026 (abnormal.ai/platform). Teams still shop for alternatives for four recurring reasons:

  • Minimum order and quote-only pricing. A State of Florida procurement document lists Abnormal Inbound Email Security at $40.48 per mailbox for 150–2,999 mailboxes with a $25,000 minimum initial order (dms.myflorida.com, PCS Solution).
  • False-positive tuning. Reviewers on G2 and rfp.wiki cite legitimate messages briefly held or auto-remediated and needing admin review.
  • Need for a gateway, sandboxing or archiving. Abnormal runs post-delivery and is not an MX gateway. Teams that need those capabilities keep Proofpoint, Mimecast or Microsoft Defender for Office 365.
  • Broader platform coverage. Abnormal's platform page covers email, identity and AI security, but not code, cloud posture, Kubernetes, container or runtime workload security.

Below are eight options we see teams evaluate most often. For each, we list what it does well, what reviewers caveat, and public pricing where it exists.

8 Abnormal AI Alternatives Compared

#1

TigerGate

API-based email security + the rest of your security platform

Our tool
Deployment: API, no MX changes (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace)
Pricing: Usage-based per mailbox; 14-day free trial, no credit card
Best for: Teams below Abnormal's enterprise minimum that also want code, cloud, runtime and endpoint security in one platform

Strengths

  • + Usage-based pricing and self-serve trial
  • + Same console as code, cloud, Kubernetes, runtime and endpoint
  • + Passive 'run alongside' proof-of-value mode
  • + Email posture: M365/Workspace settings + SPF/DKIM/DMARC/MTA-STS

Caveats

  • - No independent efficacy benchmarks yet (newer entrant)
  • - Smaller customer base than Abnormal or Proofpoint
#2

IRONSCALES

API-based; often named as 'closest like-for-like' to Abnormal

Deployment: API, no MX changes
Pricing: Per mailbox; published tiers (Starter / Core / Core+ / Ultimate)
Best for: Mid-market teams wanting Abnormal-style detection with published tiers and a lighter procurement process

Strengths

  • + Explicit per-mailbox tiers published
  • + User-reported phishing triage ('Themis' assistant)
  • + Phishing simulation included in higher tiers

Caveats

  • - Smaller behavioural signal set than Abnormal
  • - Tuning effort reported on review sites
Reviewer sources: mspcompared.com Abnormal alternatives roundup, 2026
#3

Sublime Security

Open detection rules, self-serve community tier

Deployment: API, no MX changes
Pricing: Free Community Edition; paid tiers for teams and enterprise
Best for: Security engineering teams that want to read, write and version-control detection rules themselves

Strengths

  • + Open-source Message Query Language (MQL) rules
  • + Transparent detection logic (unusual in this category)
  • + Free Community tier for small teams

Caveats

  • - More hands-on than Abnormal; requires detection engineering
  • - Smaller account-takeover feature set
#4

Material Security

API-based with a strong post-compromise and data-protection angle

Deployment: API, no MX changes
Pricing: Quote-based
Best for: Teams whose top worry is 'what happens after a mailbox is compromised' — Material locks down historic mail and sensitive content

Strengths

  • + Historic email encryption and access control (differentiator)
  • + Phishing protection + data protection in one API-based product
  • + Strong Google Workspace coverage

Caveats

  • - Pricing not published
  • - Less marketed for BEC specifically than Abnormal
#5

Check Point Harmony Email (Avanan)

API-based ICES from Check Point; frequently paired with Microsoft 365

Deployment: API, no MX changes
Pricing: Per mailbox; published list pricing around $4–$6 per mailbox / month depending on tier
Best for: Microsoft 365 shops that want API-based phishing protection from a large security vendor at a lower unit price than Abnormal

Strengths

  • + Lower per-mailbox pricing than Abnormal in most tiers
  • + Mature product with large install base
  • + Integrated with Check Point's broader threat intel

Caveats

  • - Behavioural detection reviewed as less sophisticated than Abnormal on BEC
  • - Admin console complexity reported
Reviewer sources: toolspotter.co Abnormal alternatives, 25 May 2026
#6

Proofpoint

Gateway + add-ons; the enterprise incumbent in email security

Deployment: MX gateway + API add-ons
Pricing: Quote-based; enterprise contracts
Best for: Large enterprises that want a gateway, sandboxing, DLP, archiving and training from one vendor

Strengths

  • + Breadth: gateway + API + training + archiving + DLP
  • + Strong threat intelligence feed
  • + Deep audit and compliance tooling

Caveats

  • - Heavier deployment than API-only tools (MX changes)
  • - Behavioural BEC detection less specialised than Abnormal
Reviewer sources: Gartner Peer Insights, 2026
#7

Mimecast

Gateway + archiving + continuity; the Proofpoint alternative

Deployment: MX gateway + API add-ons
Pricing: Quote-based
Best for: Enterprises that specifically need email continuity (fallback mailbox) and archiving in the same contract

Strengths

  • + Email continuity (keeps mail flowing during M365 outages)
  • + Long-term archiving and e-discovery
  • + Established channel and MSP ecosystem

Caveats

  • - MX-based deployment; longer to onboard
  • - Behavioural AI story less developed than Abnormal
Reviewer sources: TrustRadius Abnormal alternatives, 2026
#8

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

The native Microsoft 365 baseline — cheapest, already licensed in E5

Deployment: Native in Microsoft 365; no third-party connection
Pricing: Plan 1 $2/user/month; Plan 2 $5/user/month; bundled in Microsoft 365 E5
Best for: Microsoft 365 E5 shops that already have Defender and want to decide whether an API layer is still worth it

Strengths

  • + Already included in Microsoft 365 E5
  • + Native integration with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem
  • + Published pricing

Caveats

  • - Behavioural BEC detection weaker than specialist API tools
  • - Reviewers add an API-based layer when BEC is a real concern
Reviewer sources: microsoft.com/security pricing, 2026

At a glance

ToolModelBECATOPublished pricingTrial
TigerGateAPIYesYesPer mailbox, usage-based14-day self-serve
Abnormal AIAPIYesYesNot publishedDemo
IRONSCALESAPIYesPartialPer-mailbox tiersYes
Sublime SecurityAPIYesLimitedFree Community + paidSelf-serve
Material SecurityAPIYesYes (post-compromise)Not publishedDemo
Avanan (Check Point)APIYesPartial~$4–6 / mailbox / moDemo
ProofpointMX + APIYesYesNot publishedDemo
MimecastMX + APIYesYesNot publishedDemo
Defender for O365NativeBaselineBaseline$2 / $5 per user / moM365 trial
Prices sourced from each vendor's public materials and third-party procurement documents (dms.myflorida.com, costbench.com, vendr.com). Last verified October 2026.

How to choose

Choose Abnormal if you want a dedicated behavioural AI email + identity specialist, can work with a quote-only enterprise contract, and don't need to extend the budget to code, cloud or runtime security in the same purchase.

Choose IRONSCALES or Sublime if you want an Abnormal-style API-based tool with published tiers, a lighter procurement process, or (Sublime) the ability to read and write detection rules yourself.

Choose Material if your top worry is what happens after a mailbox is compromised and you want historic email encryption as a first-class capability.

Choose Avanan or Microsoft Defender if you want the lowest-cost API or native layer on Microsoft 365 and are willing to accept weaker BEC behavioural detection than Abnormal.

Choose Proofpoint or Mimecast if you need an MX gateway, sandboxing, DLP, archiving or continuity in the same contract.

Choose TigerGate if you want API-based phishing, BEC and ATO protection with usage-based pricing and a self-serve trial, and want it in the same platform as code, cloud, Kubernetes, runtime and endpoint security. See the dated head-to-head comparison.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best alternative to Abnormal Security?

There is no single best alternative — it depends on budget and scope. API-based peers (IRONSCALES, Sublime Security, Material Security, Check Point Harmony Email / Avanan, TigerGate) are the closest like-for-like. Proofpoint and Mimecast suit teams that still want a gateway. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the lowest-cost baseline for Microsoft 365 shops.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Abnormal?

Yes. Abnormal is quote-only and a Florida state procurement document lists it at $40.48 per mailbox for 150–2,999 mailboxes with a $25,000 minimum initial order (dms.myflorida.com, 2024). Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 is $5 per user per month at list. Avanan, IRONSCALES, Sublime and TigerGate are mid-market priced and typically land well below Abnormal's minimum.

Does Abnormal replace a secure email gateway?

Abnormal is designed to run alongside Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace native filtering and remove threats post-delivery, not to replace a gateway for mail flow. Teams that want MX-level filtering, URL rewriting, sandboxing or email archiving usually keep a gateway (Proofpoint, Mimecast) or use Microsoft Defender for Office 365.

Which Abnormal alternatives are API-based?

IRONSCALES, Sublime Security, Material Security, Check Point Harmony Email (Avanan), TigerGate — and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is API-connected to its own tenant. Proofpoint and Mimecast are primarily MX-gateway deployments with API add-ons.

Is Microsoft Defender for Office 365 enough on its own?

For many small and mid-market Microsoft 365 shops, Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 is a reasonable baseline, especially bundled in Microsoft 365 E5. Teams targeted with BEC, vendor impersonation or payroll fraud typically add an API-based layer (Abnormal, IRONSCALES, Sublime, TigerGate) because Defender's behavioural detection of these attacks is weaker than specialist tools.

Which Abnormal alternative is best for teams under 500 mailboxes?

Teams below Abnormal's $25,000 minimum initial order typically look at IRONSCALES, Sublime (self-serve), Avanan, or TigerGate — all offer per-mailbox pricing without an enterprise floor. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is the cheapest baseline if the organisation is already on Microsoft 365 E3 or E5.

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