Cofense PhishMe vs Gophish

Cofense PhishMe is a web-based phishing simulation and security awareness training platform for organizations. Its simulations draw on real phishing data and can model smishing, vishing, and QR-code phishing to measure employee readiness and identify training gaps. Training content and reinforcement can be targeted to areas where employees need more practice. Reporting and analytics track performance and risk, while one-click reporting feeds a global intelligence network. PhishMe includes phishing simulations, risk scoring, a phish reporting button, and automated training. Data travels over HTTPS and is encrypted at rest using AES-256. Simulation data includes click-related statistics, while data entered by employees is not collected or stored. Controls include role-based configuration, auditing, and multi-factor authentication; Enterprise also supports SAML 2.0 single sign-on. Cofense says its SOC 2 Type 2 certification covers PhishMe, with the report available through a sales representative under an NDA. Hosting locations include Ashburn, Montreal, Frankfurt, Sydney, and Tokyo; the Free edition is hosted only in Ashburn. The free plan costs nothing.

Gophish is an open-source framework for testing an organization's exposure to phishing through simulations. It is intended for penetration testers and businesses conducting real-world exercises. Users can create or import phishing templates and edit them in a browser-based HTML editor. Campaigns send emails in the background and can be scheduled. Results arrive near real time: recipient timelines show email opens, link clicks, and submitted credentials, and campaign results can be exported for reports. For programmatic work, Gophish provides a REST API and a Python client. It can run from a downloaded binary or the official Docker container, across API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, and Windows environments. The Gophish Community Edition repository includes an MIT License, permitting use, copying, modification, distribution, and sale subject to its terms. The plan is free at free. Listed attachment tracking covers docx, docm, pptx, xlsx, xlsm, txt, html, and ics files. Version 0.12.1 added configurable trusted origins to the CSRF handler for configurations where TLS terminates at an upstream load balancer.