The mainstream security awareness training market (KnowBe4, Proofpoint Security Awareness, Mimecast Awareness Training) sells large libraries of generic content with a phishing simulation engine attached. Check each vendor’s catalogue for Canadian-specific law (PIPEDA, Quebec Law 25, PHIPA, YCJA, Alberta PIPA, BC PIPA), UK law (UK GDPR, DPA 2018, RIPA, safeguarding obligations), Australian law (Privacy Act 1988, Essential Eight, Notifiable Data Breaches scheme), and EU law (GDPR, NIS2, DORA), and whether it needs extra modules or custom content. The platform operates separately from your security stack with separate billing.
Lavawall® takes a different approach. Lavawall® is a multi-tenant RMM and remote support platform for MSPs and IT teams, with patching, security monitoring, Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace breach detection, and compliance built into the same agent and console, and training is built into it too. Courses are jurisdiction-specific for five regions (Canada, US, UK, Australia, and EU) across 25 vertical industries, 33 compliance frameworks, and standalone working-from-home and business travel courses. The Phishing Reporter Outlook add-in gives every user near-instant, plain-English feedback on every email they report. Phishing simulations, policy acknowledgement with timestamped records, and a multi-tenant admin dashboard are all included at no additional per-seat cost.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Lavawall® | KnowBe4 | Proofpoint SA | Mimecast SA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada-specific courses (PIPEDA, Law 25, PHIPA, YCJA) | ✓ Included | Partial / extra cost | Not included | Not included |
| US-specific courses (HIPAA, FERPA, COPPA, CCPA) | ✓ Included | ✓ Included | ✓ Included | Partial |
| UK-specific courses (UK GDPR, DPA 2018, RIPA, safeguarding) | ✓ Included | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| Australian courses (Privacy Act, Essential Eight, NDB scheme) | ✓ Included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| EU GDPR courses (NIS2, DORA, CRA) | ✓ Included | Partial | Partial | Not included |
| Vertical industry courses (25 industries, 5 jurisdictions) | ✓ 556 courses | Some verticals | Some verticals | Limited |
| Compliance framework courses (33 frameworks) | ✓ Included | Some | Some | Limited |
| Vulnerable sector courses (children, abuse survivors) | ✓ CA / US / UK variants | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Phishing simulation | ✓ Included | ✓ Core feature | ✓ Included | ✓ Included |
| Phishing Reporter explains email to users in plain English | ✓ Real-time, in Outlook | Admin-only analysis | Admin-only analysis | Admin-only analysis |
| Detects KnowBe4 simulation emails automatically | ✓ Automatic | N/A | No | No |
| Policy acknowledgement linked to GRC documents | ✓ Included | Separate | Separate | Separate |
| Working from home and travel security courses | ✓ 5 jurisdictions | Generic modules | Generic modules | Generic modules |
| Integrated with patch management and GRC | ✓ Same platform | Separate tool | Separate tool | Separate tool |
| Multi-tenant MSP management | ✓ Included | Extra cost / tier | MSSP tier | Partner tier |
| Pricing model | C$1.95 / US$1.50 per user per month | Per user / year | Per user / year | Per user / year |
Where KnowBe4 wins
KnowBe4 has a content library of thousands of short modules, videos, games, and assessments updated regularly. Its phishing simulation engine is mature and highly configurable, with thousands of simulation templates, deep reporting, and targeting by department or risk group. Its training platform is its core product and has had years of investment in content breadth. Organizations that need a very large library of bite-sized, regularly updated modules across many topics, or who want advanced simulation configurability with deep analytics, may prefer KnowBe4's depth of content.
Lavawall® is the right choice for MSPs and organizations that need jurisdiction-specific Canadian, US, UK, Australian, or EU content out of the box; compliance framework training included; integrated GRC policy acknowledgement; and training in the same platform as their security tools rather than as a separate product.
See how Lavawall phishing simulation works in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Phishing Reporter: the key difference
KnowBe4 PhishAlert, Proofpoint's report button, and Mimecast's equivalent are built to collect the reported email and send it to an admin queue. Check each vendor's documentation for what feedback the user sees after reporting.
Lavawall® shows the user, in the Outlook taskpane and in under three seconds, the specific reasons the email should or should not be trusted: the sender domain age, whether the sending server was authorized by the domain's SPF record, DKIM signature validity, DMARC policy, attachment type and risk, link destinations, and whether the sender domain is a typosquat. Users learn from every report. Admins get the same structured data plus richer analysis.
A report is also where clean-up starts. Lavawall® lets your team find the same email in every mailbox that received it, in one Microsoft 365 tenant or across all your clients, and move it to Junk, delete it, or purge it once a person approves. With KnowBe4, that clean-up is part of the separate PhishER Plus product.
This matters for training outcomes. Understanding why an email is suspicious reinforces the habit of checking. Clicking a report button and receiving a "thanks" message reinforces only that the button exists.