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SANS Phishing Platform
What SANS Phishing Platform is
SANS Phishing Platform helps organizations test employees against phishing and social-engineering attacks and provide follow-up training. Teams can run preconfigured or customized email simulations, just-in-time instruction and automated remedial courses. A campaign wizard schedules up to 12 months of continuous simulations using randomized templates and target groups. SANS lists expert-curated templates in five difficulty tiers and 33 languages. Users can sync targets from the SANS LMS, Azure AD or other sources. Reports cover simulation results, interactions with business systems and potential exposure to financial, personal and business email-compromise risks. Prebuilt stakeholder reports are designed to discuss metrics without compromising privacy, and custom reports are available. Human detection uses signals such as mouse movement and mobile-device motion to filter erroneous failures. The web platform is paid, with price and subscription limits set in a customer-specific quote for the subscription term and named phishing users.
Who it suits
It suits organizations running continuous phishing-awareness programs that need campaign automation, multilingual templates, training and reporting.
What it does well
- Campaigns can run continuously for up to 12 months
- Templates span five difficulty tiers and 33 languages
- Target lists sync from LMS, Azure AD or other sources
- Automated remedial courses and just-in-time training
- Reports include privacy-focused stakeholder formats
What to know first
- Pricing and limits require a customer-specific quote
- No free plan is listed
- Simulated phishing requires authorization for domains and recipients
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Phishing Training (CIS Aggregate Buy, 2017) | 1-year price · 1,200 users included · $2.50 per additional user · 2-year price $5,520 | $3,000 a year |
| SANS Phishing Platform | Price and subscription limits are set out in a customer-specific quote. | On request |
| SANS Security Awareness / Phishing | Annual subscription; quote required · Pricing varies by users and selected features | On request |
As sans.org lists them, read 15 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
SANS Phishing Platform combines recurring simulations, training and exposure reporting in a web service. Its licensing and authorized-testing requirements mean organizations should establish scope and subscription terms before campaigns begin.
Facts from SANS Phishing Platform's own pages
- Access and license
- Use is licensed for the subscription term and number of phishing named users stated in the customer’s price quote. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Accessibility
- SANS says its training was built with Section 508 and other accessibility frameworks in mind and that a VPAT is available on request. · assets.contentstack.io, 15 Oct 2026
- API
- SANS states that its platform includes a full API for custom integrations. · assets.contentstack.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Authorized testing
- Customers may conduct simulated phishing only against domains and recipients for whom they have authorization. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Campaign scheduling
- The campaign wizard can schedule up to 12 months of continuous simulations using randomized templates and target groups. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Company
- SANS says it launched in 1989 as a cooperative for information security thought leadership. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Company profile
- LinkedIn lists SANS Institute as privately held, founded in 1989, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, with 201–500 employees. · linkedin.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Compliance alignment
- SANS says regular awareness training can support PCI DSS, ISO 27001 and NIST objectives. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Content customization limit
- SANS says its videos are off-the-shelf and cannot be edited, although organizations can add branding, policies and homegrown material. · assets.contentstack.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Executive reporting
- Prebuilt C-suite reports present program results while protecting individual privacy, and administrators can create custom reports. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 1989 · sans.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- North Bethesda, Maryland, United States · sans.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Human detection
- Human detection uses indicators such as mouse movement and mobile device motion to filter erroneous simulation failures. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The platform offers prebuilt SSO, SMTP and Active Directory integrations. · assets.contentstack.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- SANS describes the platform as a way for organizations to train and test employees continuously and manage their phishing awareness programs. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Legal maker
- SANS identifies the legal entity as The Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies, Inc., doing business as SANS Institute. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
- License model
- The master agreement grants customers a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable and nonsublicensable license during the subscription term. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: customization and scoring
- G2's 2025 grid reports lower feature scores for white-labeling, customization and risk-scoring than category averages. · knowbe4.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: onboarding and support
- Gartner includes a critical review alleging poor onboarding, slow implementation and difficulty obtaining SCORM guidance from support. · gartner.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: price
- G2 reviews repeatedly describe SANS training as expensive or unaffordable compared with alternatives. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: usability
- G2 reviewers report cumbersome multi-window viewing, learning-curve issues and some language limitations. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Measurement method
- SANS recommends tracking reporting and click rates, benchmarking, trends, real-world incidents and its Normalised Reporting Score and Human Risk Score. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Metrics
- Reporting covers simulation results, user interactions with business systems, and potential exposure to financial, personal, and business email compromise risks. · sans.org, 5 Oct 2026
- Phishing tests
- Administrators can use prebuilt campaigns or create customized phishing tests. · sans.org, 15 Oct 2026
Where SANS Phishing Platform stands on Freedom251
- Phishing Simulation Software#18 of 31