Free Security Awareness Training in 2026: What the Free Tiers Include
Eight vendors compared on what their free plans, free tests and trials cover: users, training modules, phishing simulations, and the step that forces an upgrade.
Wizer is the only vendor of the eight we read on 10 October 2026 that lists a free plan for security awareness training itself. Its free plan shows no user, course or duration cap on the pricing page, but it leaves out phishing simulations, the one part that shows whether staff click. For free simulations, Gophish is a free phishing framework you run on your own machine, and KnowBe4 offers a free Attack Simulation Test with no limits stated on its page.
Free means four different things here. A free plan keeps training running. A free test checks one moment in time. A trial ends on a date. Free reference material teaches but tests nothing. The table sorts each vendor by which one it offers and gives the paid step in US dollars wherever the vendor publishes one.
Key facts8 tools compared: KnowBe4, Wizer, Gophish, Microsoft attack simulation training, Huntress…
- 8 tools compared: KnowBe4, Wizer, Gophish, Microsoft attack simulation training, Huntress Managed Security Awareness, Keepnet Labs, Hoxhunt, Proofpoint Security Awareness
- Wizer (best for: Small teams that want ongoing free training and can skip phishing simulations for now): Free plan with no user, course or duration cap listed. Boost $25/user/yr at 25+ users.
- Gophish (best for: Security teams with a machine to run it on who want free phishing campaigns they control): Free and open source, and it runs on Windows, macOS or Linux. The project page lists no price.
- Microsoft attack simulation training (best for: Microsoft 365 shops that already license E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2): Needs Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, an add-on or part of E5. Plan 2 has a 90-day trial.
Most of the vendors below sell by the seat, and their free steps sit behind a demo, a trial or a test. The free step is what a lean security team can use this quarter, so this page compares free plans, free tests and trials on their limits.
Each row says what the free step covers on users, training modules and phishing simulations, or that the vendor's page does not state it, along with the paid step after it.
Cyberpresso data: We read eight vendors' own pages on 10 October 2026.
Only Wizer lists a free plan for training itself, and Keepnet offers free resources without a plan. The other six offer a free test, a free tool, a trial, or nothing free at all.
For the paid platforms, read our best security awareness training ranking, which judges simulation quality and reporting rather than free access.
How we ranked: we put first the vendors that let you test or run training at no cost, then the ones with a free trial, then the ones with only free resources or no free step.
Within a tier we used the vendor's own limits. A vendor that states no limit gets "not stated" in the table, never a guessed figure.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
No free plan, but the most free access on this list: a phishing test sandbox and a free module preview.
No free plan. Free tools only. SAT Foundation $2.40/user/mo at 25 to 50 seats, $1.63 at 501 to 1,000.
Teams that want to test staff for free before buying the largest content library.
The only free plan for training itself among the eight vendor pages we read: no caps listed, but no phishing simulations.
Free plan with no user, course or duration cap listed. Boost $25/user/yr at 25+ users.
Small teams that want ongoing free training and can skip phishing simulations for now.
A free phishing framework with templates, scheduled campaigns and per-recipient reporting. Its page describes no training modules.
Free and open source, and it runs on Windows, macOS or Linux. The project page lists no price.
Security teams with a machine to run it on who want free phishing campaigns they control.
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| KnowBe4 | No free plan. Free tools only. SAT Foundation $2.40/user/mo at 25 to 50 seats, $1.63 at 501 to 1,000. | Teams that want to test staff for free before buying the largest content library. |
| Wizer | Free plan with no user, course or duration cap listed. Boost $25/user/yr at 25+ users. | Small teams that want ongoing free training and can skip phishing simulations for now. |
| Gophish | Free and open source, and it runs on Windows, macOS or Linux. The project page lists no price. | Security teams with a machine to run it on who want free phishing campaigns they control. |
| Microsoft attack simulation training | Needs Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, an add-on or part of E5. Plan 2 has a 90-day trial. | Microsoft 365 shops that already license E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2. |
| Huntress Managed Security Awareness | No SAT-specific free plan. MSRP $2.08/learner/mo; $1.75 at 100 learners, volume pricing on request. | Teams that want managed training and will try the general free trial first. |
| Keepnet Labs | Free training resources and a free phishing email analysis tool. Paid plans show no USD price. | Teams that want free reference material and an email analysis tool before a sales call. |
| Hoxhunt | No free plan or trial listed. Quote only, priced per employee after a 30-minute scoping call. | Teams that will take a sales call before they budget per employee. |
| Proofpoint Security Awareness | No free plan or trial. Demo request and quote only; no USD price or billing term listed. | Teams that want to see the product in a demo before any budget discussion. |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. 2 of 8 sell by quote only and publish no price; those entries say so rather than estimating. 1 of 8 has no standalone price (bundled, usage-based or free to self-host) and is described as charged, not guessed. 1 of 8 publishes prices for some plans and quotes the rest.
KnowBe4
No free plan, but the most free access on this list: a phishing test sandbox and a free module preview.
- Pricing
- No free plan. Free tools only. SAT Foundation $2.40/user/mo at 25 to 50 seats, $1.63 at 501 to 1,000.
Best for: Teams that want to test staff for free before buying the largest content library.
Pros
- Training Preview opens over 1,000 interactive modules, games and videos without a purchase.
- The Attack Simulation Test is a free sandbox for your workforce, a useful first look at how staff respond to phishing.
- Paid rates are published in US dollars as MSRP, so the per-seat cost is visible before a sales call.
Cons
- The free test page states no seat count, simulation count or time limit.
- A free test measures one moment. Keeping training running needs the paid plan, sold on a 3-year term.
Wizer
The only free plan for training itself among the eight vendor pages we read: no caps listed, but no phishing simulations.
- Pricing
- Free plan with no user, course or duration cap listed. Boost $25/user/yr at 25+ users.
Best for: Small teams that want ongoing free training and can skip phishing simulations for now.
Pros
- No credit card is needed, and the page says setup takes minutes.
- The free plan lists no user, course, simulation or duration cap, so the limit you hit is the feature set, not a count.
Cons
- Phishing simulations are marked as not included on the free plan.
- Reporting is marked limited, and buying the paid plan online starts at 25 users.
Gophish
A free phishing framework with templates, scheduled campaigns and per-recipient reporting. Its page describes no training modules.
- Pricing
- Free and open source, and it runs on Windows, macOS or Linux. The project page lists no price.
Best for: Security teams with a machine to run it on who want free phishing campaigns they control.
Pros
- The project page calls it free, with no paid plan mentioned.
- Results update close to real time, with each recipient's opens, clicks and submitted credentials in one timeline.
- A REST API with a Python client lets you connect campaigns to your own tooling.
Cons
- You run it yourself, so the real cost is staff hours rather than a license fee.
- The project page describes campaigns and reporting only, so training content has to come from another source.
Microsoft attack simulation training
Simulations and training run inside Microsoft Defender, so the free step is a Plan 2 trial, not a free plan.
- Pricing
- Needs Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, an add-on or part of E5. Plan 2 has a 90-day trial.
Best for: Microsoft 365 shops that already license E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2.
Pros
- Built-in payloads cover credential harvest, malware attachments, QR codes and OAuth consent grant, per Microsoft's documentation.
- Training campaigns assign modules without a simulation, so staff can learn before they are tested.
- Reports put the predicted compromise rate next to actual click rates.
Cons
- Attack simulation needs an E5 or Plan 2 license. E3 customers get a reduced trial limited to Credential Harvest payloads and ISA Phishing or Mass Market Phishing simulations.
- The trial terms decide who can sign up, so check Microsoft's trial page before you plan around it.
Huntress Managed Security Awareness
A general free trial of the full product, with no length or limits stated for security awareness training.
- Pricing
- No SAT-specific free plan. MSRP $2.08/learner/mo; $1.75 at 100 learners, volume pricing on request.
Best for: Teams that want managed training and will try the general free trial first.
Pros
- The page says its free trials are the same fully featured version as its paid products.
- Per-learner pricing gives a checkable entry rate: $1.75 a learner a month at 100 learners.
Cons
- The trial length and limits for security awareness training are not stated, so ask the vendor before you start.
- The page gives rates at one example volume, so a price at your size needs the volume quote.
Keepnet Labs
Free resources and an email analysis tool are the entry point, and the paid program starts with a demo.
- Pricing
- Free training resources and a free phishing email analysis tool. Paid plans show no USD price.
Best for: Teams that want free reference material and an email analysis tool before a sales call.
Pros
- The pricing page names free training resources and a free phishing email analysis tool as the starting point.
- Paid plans are priced by employee count, so headcount is the input to any quote.
Cons
- The page does not describe the free resources as phishing simulations or as a program with reporting.
- Per-user figures appear only in euros, so this list cannot compare Keepnet on a US dollar basis.
Hoxhunt
No free step at all: the first contact is a scoping call before any per-employee quote.
- Pricing
- No free plan or trial listed. Quote only, priced per employee after a 30-minute scoping call.
Best for: Teams that will take a sales call before they budget per employee.
Pros
- The basis is clear on the page: pricing is per employee, so your headcount sets the quote.
- The page names the next step, a 30-minute scoping call followed by a full quote.
Cons
- No free plan, free trial or free phishing test is listed, so nothing can be tested before the call.
- The page gives no USD price or billing term, so the budget has to come from the quote.
Proofpoint Security Awareness
The page offers a demo request and a How to buy path, with no free plan and no dollar figure.
- Pricing
- No free plan or trial. Demo request and quote only; no USD price or billing term listed.
Best for: Teams that want to see the product in a demo before any budget discussion.
Pros
- A demo request is the only way in, so you can see the product before any budget discussion.
Cons
- No free plan, free trial or free tier is mentioned, and the page states no limits.
- No USD price or billing term appears, so a cost comparison needs the quote.
What it is
A free security awareness plan is the no-cost tier of a training product, or a free test or tool that a vendor offers to bring your staff onto its platform. Four limits decide whether it helps. The first is how many people it covers.
The second is which training modules it opens. The third is whether it runs phishing simulations. The fourth is the step that forces an upgrade, and it is the one a buyer usually finds last. Free password managers follow the same logic, and our free password managers guide lists their caps.
Why it matters
A free tier without simulations leaves the most useful control untested. Phishing simulations show which staff click and which report. A plan without them gives you training records and no test. A free test that runs once tells you a click rate today, not whether training changes it next quarter.
Read the limits before you sign up, not after your first campaign.
Our free vulnerability scanners guide applies the same limit test to scan tools, and our free antivirus guide does the same for endpoints.
Per head, the paid step is small, so the terms of the first paid seat matter more than the free tier.
For a 50-person team, KnowBe4's SAT Foundation list rate at 25 to 50 seats comes to $1,440 a year, and Huntress's $2.08 MSRP per learner comes to $1,248 a year. Both multiply a monthly list rate by 12. KnowBe4 sells on a 3-year term, so its annual figure is a list-rate estimate, not a bill.
Teams that would rather outsource the program can compare it with our managed security services guide.
Key features to look for
Pricing
Prices and limits below were verified on vendor pages on 10 October 2026, in US dollars where the vendor publishes them. KnowBe4's pricing page lists SAT Foundation at $2.40 a user a month for 25 to 50 seats and $1.63 for 501 to 1,000 seats.
Those are MSRP rates per seat per month on a 3-year term, before taxes and fees.
Its free tools page lists the Attack Simulation Test and Training Preview with no seat or simulation limit stated.
Wizer's pricing page describes a free plan with no user, course, simulation or duration cap listed.
Its paid Boost plan costs $25 a user a year at 25 or more users, falling to $12 at 1,001 users. The free plan marks phishing simulations as not included and reporting as limited. Huntress lists its managed training at an MSRP of $2.08 a learner a month, with $1.75 as the example at 100 learners.
It says its free trials are the same fully featured version as its paid products, but it gives no trial length for this product.
Microsoft's documentation requires Microsoft 365 E5 or Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 for attack simulation training and names a 90-day trial of Plan 2.
Keepnet's pricing page shows no US dollar figure. Hoxhunt's pricing page and Proofpoint's product page publish no USD price.
Gophish's project page calls the software free and lists no price. For the wider market, KnowBe4 on Toolradar and Hoxhunt on Toolradar show where each sits among other listings.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| KnowBe4 Attack Simulation Test | Free | Free sandbox test; no seat or simulation cap stated |
| KnowBe4 Training Preview | Free | Access to over 1,000 interactive modules, games and videos |
| KnowBe4 SAT Foundation | $2.40 a user a month at 25 to 50 seats | MSRP in US dollars on a 3-year term; $1.63 at 501 to 1,000 seats |
| Wizer Free | Free | Basic training with no user, course or duration cap listed; no phishing simulations |
| Wizer Boost | $25 a user a year at 25+ users | Falls to $12 a user a year at 1,001+ users; buying online starts at 25 users |
| Gophish | Free | Self-hosted; campaigns, templates and per-recipient reporting; no training modules |
| Microsoft attack simulation training | Needs E5 or Defender Plan 2 | 90-day Plan 2 trial; E3 gets a reduced trial |
| Huntress Managed Security Awareness | $2.08 a learner a month (MSRP) | $1.75 at 100 learners; general free trial with no SAT length stated |
| Keepnet Labs free resources | Free | Free training resources and a free phishing email analysis tool |
| Hoxhunt | Contact sales | Per employee after a 30-minute scoping call; no free plan |
| Proofpoint Security Awareness | Contact sales | Demo request only; no free plan or USD price listed |
The bottom line
For a free program that keeps training going, start with Wizer and accept that it leaves out phishing simulations. If you need simulations for free, run Gophish on your own machine and use KnowBe4's free Attack Simulation Test to see where staff stand.
Microsoft 365 teams licensed for E5 or Defender Plan 2 already have simulations in their own stack. Hoxhunt and Proofpoint have no free step, so plan for a sales call.
For the paid comparison, read our best security awareness training ranking, and for the email side our email security tools guide.
Cite this: Cyberpresso, "Free Security Awareness Training in 2026: What the Free Tiers Include", vendor pages read 10 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free security awareness training platform in 2026?
Does KnowBe4 have a free plan?
How much does security awareness training cost per employee?
Can I run phishing simulations for free?
Does Microsoft 365 include phishing simulations?
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- KnowBe4 pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Huntress Managed Security Awareness pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Hoxhunt pricing
- Proofpoint Security Awareness pricing
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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