Best Data Loss Prevention Software in 2026
One of these is $12 a month on E3. Another is already inside a $60 E5 seat. Three will not print a number until a sales call.
Microsoft Purview DLP is the only product on this list with a public sticker. Microsoft 365 E5 is $60 per user per month paid yearly and includes Purview. On E3 ($39 per user per month) the Purview Suite add-on is $12 per user per month. E3 already covers DLP for Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive; the add-on is the rest of the suite.
Nightfall prices per user per year but prints no dollar amount on its pricing page. Vendr's median from 41 purchases is $25,000 a year (range $12,000-$73,200). Forcepoint, Symantec DLP and Cyberhaven are quote-only. Third-party 2026 ranges sit around $30-$80 per user per year for the legacy suites; Vendr's Cyberhaven median is $37,872 a year.
Key facts5 tools compared: Microsoft Purview DLP, Nightfall, Forcepoint DLP, Symantec DLP, Cyberhaven
- 5 tools compared: Microsoft Purview DLP, Nightfall, Forcepoint DLP, Symantec DLP, Cyberhaven
- Nightfall (best for: Teams that need Slack, Google Drive, GitHub and AI paste covered, without an on-prem file share): Quote-only, per user per year; 7-day proof of value
- Forcepoint DLP (best for: Companies with file shares and a network that want one policy for email, web, endpoint and cloud): Quote-only (cloud SaaS or on-prem)
- Symantec DLP (best for: Large companies on Symantec that need exact record and document matching, plus a DLP team): Quote-only (Core on-prem or Cloud suite)
Data loss prevention is sold as one category and invoiced as three different products. Microsoft folds DLP into an E5 seat or a $12 Purview Suite add-on. Forcepoint and Symantec still sell modular suites for endpoint, network, email and cloud, and they will not show the number on a page.
Nightfall and Cyberhaven sell a SaaS seat for SaaS apps, browsers and GenAI paste, and they also wait for a call.
You are not choosing a classifier library. You are choosing which channels the tool can actually see, and whether the invoice is a Microsoft SKU you already own or a second vendor with a deployment project attached.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
The only published DLP price here: $12 a month on E3, or $0 extra if you already bought E5.
From $12.00/user/mo (Purview Suite add-on on E3, paid yearly)
Microsoft 365 teams on E5, or E3 teams adding the $12 Purview Suite
Cloud DLP priced per user per year, with the dollars hidden until sales; Vendr's median contract is $25,000 a year.
Quote-only, per user per year; 7-day proof of value
Teams that need Slack, Google Drive, GitHub and AI paste covered, without an on-prem file share
The modular enterprise suite: SaaS or on-prem, 1,800+ classifiers, and a price you request on a form.
Quote-only (cloud SaaS or on-prem)
Companies with file shares and a network that want one policy for email, web, endpoint and cloud
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Purview DLP | From $12.00/user/mo (Purview Suite add-on on E3, paid yearly) | Microsoft 365 teams on E5, or E3 teams adding the $12 Purview Suite |
| Nightfall | Quote-only, per user per year; 7-day proof of value | Teams that need Slack, Google Drive, GitHub and AI paste covered, without an on-prem file share |
| Forcepoint DLP | Quote-only (cloud SaaS or on-prem) | Companies with file shares and a network that want one policy for email, web, endpoint and cloud |
| Symantec DLP | Quote-only (Core on-prem or Cloud suite) | Large companies on Symantec that need exact record and document matching, plus a DLP team |
| Cyberhaven | Quote-only, per endpoint per year | Teams asking where a file came from: source code, a design folder, or a departing laptop |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Sep 2026. 4 of 5 sell by quote only and publish no price; those entries say so rather than estimating.
Microsoft Purview DLP
The only published DLP price here: $12 a month on E3, or $0 extra if you already bought E5.
- Pricing
- From $12.00/user/mo (Purview Suite add-on on E3, paid yearly)
Best for: Microsoft 365 teams on E5, or E3 teams adding the $12 Purview Suite
Pros
- List prices you can put in a budget without a sales call
- If E5 is already paid, turning DLP on is a policy job, not a procurement cycle
- Native on Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Copilot, which is where a lot of the files already sit
Cons
- E5 at $60 is a whole productivity and security suite. Do not treat $60 as the DLP line
- Coverage outside Microsoft 365 is the weak side: Slack, GitHub, consumer ChatGPT and a personal Drive need other controls
Nightfall
Cloud DLP priced per user per year, with the dollars hidden until sales; Vendr's median contract is $25,000 a year.
- Pricing
- Quote-only, per user per year; 7-day proof of value
Best for: Teams that need Slack, Google Drive, GitHub and AI paste covered, without an on-prem file share
Pros
- API connectors for the SaaS apps Purview treats as someone else's problem
- Endpoint agent is meant to catch paste and upload into tools that have no API
- A 7-day proof of value on your own tenant, which is more useful than a slide
Cons
- The pricing page exists and still will not tell you the number. Budget from Vendr until you have a quote
- On-prem file shares and network DLP are not the product
Forcepoint DLP
The modular enterprise suite: SaaS or on-prem, 1,800+ classifiers, and a price you request on a form.
- Pricing
- Quote-only (cloud SaaS or on-prem)
Best for: Companies with file shares and a network that want one policy for email, web, endpoint and cloud
Pros
- Same policy engine across endpoint, email, web and cloud, including on-prem, which Purview and Nightfall do not fully replace
- SaaS deploy if you do not want appliances; on-prem if the data cannot leave
- Risk-adaptive controls exist as an add-on if you want enforcement to change with user behaviour
Cons
- No list price, and the modules are easy to buy twice (endpoint plus cloud plus email)
- A hybrid rollout is a project. Plan months, not a weekend
Symantec DLP
The other legacy suite: EDM and IDM fingerprinting, partner-sold, no page you can screenshot for finance.
- Pricing
- Quote-only (Core on-prem or Cloud suite)
Best for: Large companies on Symantec that need exact record and document matching, plus a DLP team
Pros
- Exact Data Matching and Indexed Document Matching are still the reason regulated shops keep it
- Core plus Cloud suites cover endpoint, network, email, web and sanctioned SaaS if you buy both
- MIP label enforcement from the endpoint agent, useful if Microsoft labels are already the source of truth
Cons
- Broadcom will not publish a seat price. Partner quotes and professional services are the real bill
- You need people who already know the product. A new team learning Symantec DLP is a long year
Cyberhaven
Lineage DLP: traces the file's life, billed per endpoint, median Vendr contract $37,872 a year.
- Pricing
- Quote-only, per endpoint per year
Best for: Teams asking where a file came from: source code, a design folder, or a departing laptop
Pros
- Lineage is a different signal from a keyword hit, which is why people use it for IP and insider cases
- Covers modern egress (browser, SaaS, GenAI, USB) without an on-prem appliance
- Vendr's median is at least a budget number while you wait for a quote
Cons
- No public price list, and the high end of Vendr's range ($193,993) is a reminder that endpoint count moves the bill
- AI features may be a second line on the order form. Ask before you compare it to Nightfall Complete
What it is
DLP software watches data at rest, in motion and in use, then blocks, encrypts, quarantines or coaches when someone tries to send it somewhere policy does not allow. The old channels are email, web upload, USB and a file share.
The channels that now decide a bake-off are Slack, a personal Drive account, a ChatGPT paste and an AI coding agent.
Classification is regex and templates on the legacy suites, machine-learning detectors on Nightfall, and data lineage on Cyberhaven (where the file came from, not only what string it contains). The engines differ. The invoice differs more.
Why it matters
Five hundred Purview Suite seats are $72,000 a year on top of E3. Five hundred Forcepoint seats at the commonly cited $50 per user per year are $25,000, if that quote includes the modules you need, which it often does not. Those two numbers are not the same product.
Purview is already in the Microsoft tenant. Forcepoint is a second console, a policy rewrite and, on a hybrid estate, months of rollout.
The other reason is coverage. Purview is strong inside Microsoft 365 and weaker the moment the file hits Slack, a personal browser session or a consumer AI tool.
That gap is what Nightfall, Cyberhaven and the Forcepoint cloud modules exist to close. Buying a second DLP without listing the channels you actually lose data through is how teams pay twice and still miss USB.
Key features to look for
Pricing
Microsoft is the only vendor here that publishes a price: E5 and E3 are yearly per-user licenses, and the Purview Suite add-on is the printed way to buy the rest of the suite on E3. Nightfall, Forcepoint, Symantec DLP and Cyberhaven keep the number for a sales call.
The cheapest credible entry is the Purview Suite add-on at $12.00 per user per month, paid yearly, and E5 already includes that suite. Costs jump off Microsoft 365, where Nightfall's Vendr median is $25,000 a year and Forcepoint, Symantec and Cyberhaven are annual quotes.
Forcepoint and Symantec price modules separately, and Cyberhaven can bill AI apart from the endpoint license. Microsoft's published list is in USD and may vary by agreement, and VAT may apply.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Purview DLP E5 | $60.00/user/mo, paid yearly | Includes DLP, information protection, insider risk, eDiscovery |
| Microsoft Purview DLP E3 | $39.00/user/mo, paid yearly | DLP for Exchange, SharePoint and OneDrive only |
| Microsoft Purview Suite | $12.00/user/mo, paid yearly | Add-on needs E3 or Office 365 E3 plus EMS E3 |
| Nightfall Complete | Custom quote | Per user per year; 7-day proof of value; 2 devices per user |
| Nightfall Complete + AI Agent Security | Custom quote | Per user per year; 150 GB included, then paid data packs |
| Nightfall (estimate, Vendr 2026 median) | $25,000/yr ($12,000-$73,200) | Median of 41 purchases, with the observed range |
| Nightfall (estimate, Vendr Business-tier list) | $20,000-$60,000/yr | Typical price for 100-300 users |
| Forcepoint DLP | Custom quote | SaaS or on-prem; endpoint, cloud/web, email, Risk-Adaptive Protection |
| Forcepoint DLP (estimate, Underdefense) | $30-$60/user/yr | Cited 2026 range, per user per year |
| Forcepoint DLP (estimate, Ciphers Security) | $40,000-$60,000/yr | Cited range for 1,000 seats |
| Symantec DLP | Custom quote | Core (on-prem) or CloudSOC CASB + DLP Cloud Detection, enterprise-only |
| Symantec DLP (estimate, Ciphers Security) | $50,000-$80,000/yr | 2026 estimate for 1,000 seats |
| Cyberhaven | Custom quote | DDR SKU CYB-SW-DDR, per endpoint per year; AI billed separately |
| Cyberhaven (estimate, Vendr) | $37,872/yr ($30,000-$193,993) | Median annual contract and the observed range |
The bottom line
If the estate is Microsoft 365, start with Purview DLP. E5 at $60 already includes it. E3 at $39 plus Purview Suite at $12 is the published path when you need more than Exchange and OneDrive DLP.
Do not buy a second product until you can name the channel Purview misses.
Nightfall is the SaaS and GenAI call when that channel is Slack, Drive or a paste into ChatGPT, and you can live with a per-user quote (Vendr median $25,000 a year).
Forcepoint and Symantec DLP are still the right tools for hybrid and on-prem, and they will not give you a number on a webpage; cite $30-$80 per user per year only as a 2026 third-party range.
Cyberhaven is the lineage product, quote-only, Vendr median $37,872 a year, and a poor substitute for a network DLP stack.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best DLP software in 2026?
How much does data loss prevention software cost?
Is Microsoft Purview DLP enough on its own?
Forcepoint vs Symantec DLP vs Purview: which should we buy?
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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