Considering a KnowBe4 alternative? Compare training methods and platform fit

Compare KnowBe4 and CyberPlay by learning experience, simulations, administration and evidence. Use a practical pilot scorecard to decide what fits your team.

CyberPlay editorial team · Published · Updated · 8 min read

Guide and exercises in English

Scene from Find the Fake Login.

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From the CyberPlay Find the Fake Login gallery. Illustrative game scene; any interface text shown is in English.

If you are looking for a KnowBe4 alternative, first decide which job you need to replace. You might want a different learning experience, less administration, specific language coverage, a different commercial arrangement, or a platform that meets particular technical requirements. Those are separate buying decisions.

CyberPlay is a candidate for teams seeking security practice through browser games. It can also be considered alongside an existing awareness programme. This comparison was prepared on 13 September 2026 using KnowBe4’s public product pages and CyberPlay’s current product implementation. It is a buyer’s framework, with unverified requirements clearly identified; it is not a claim of feature parity or an independent head-to-head effectiveness study.

What you’ll take away

  • KnowBe4 already offers games as well as other training formats.
  • A learning-content change does not automatically replace simulation and administration workflows.
  • Verify must-have requirements before scoring preferences.
  • Compare total programme cost and observed pilot results, not unsupported superiority claims.

Write down why you are considering a change

Begin with a concrete problem. “Employees rush through assigned modules” suggests a learning-design investigation. “We cannot produce the required report” is an evidence or administration issue. “The contract no longer fits our headcount” is a commercial problem. A new game may address the first and leave the others unchanged.

Ask the programme owner, IT administrator and a few employees to contribute separately. Convert their answers into acceptance criteria before attending demonstrations. For example: a learner must practise a supplier-verification decision; an administrator must identify incomplete assignments; the selected language must cover instructions and feedback. This makes a vendor conversation more useful than a long feature tour.

Recognise the capabilities KnowBe4 publishes

KnowBe4’s current library includes videos, interactive modules and games, and its library page describes LMS export options including SCORM. Its security awareness platform page describes attack simulations, automated training and reporting. It would be inaccurate to frame the choice as KnowBe4 offering only passive videos.

Published capabilities are a starting point for verification. Ask which are included in the proposed package, how they work with your environment, and which content meets your learning objective. A sample of a specific lesson is more informative than the size of the catalogue. Likewise, a report generated from your pilot is more informative than a demonstration with preloaded data.

Section sources: Security Awareness Training Library · Security Awareness Training

Use a dated capability comparison

The table distinguishes a documented product feature from a requirement that still needs demonstration. “Unverified” means this comparison has not established the capability; it is not a statement that the feature can never exist. Confirm the current offer and implementation before procurement, especially for integrations and contractual requirements.

Use a dated capability comparison
RequirementKnowBe4 public offerCyberPlay comparison position
Learning formatLibrary includes games, videos and interactive contentBrowser-game catalogue focused on security practice
Delivered attack simulationsDescribed on the security awareness platform pageEquivalent email-campaign capability unverified; in-game practice is a different function
Organisation administrationTraining automation and reporting describedOrganisation members, assignments and game-result records exist; confirm plan and workflow
LMS content exportSCORM options described by the libraryEquivalent SCORM package export unverified
Identity integrationConfirm the required provider and package in a demoSSO configuration exists; verify the required provider end to end
Languages and accessibilityCheck the exact selected modulesCheck each selected game and an equivalent accessible activity
Price and contractObtain an offer for the required packageCheck current plan, seats, term and included administration

Section sources: Security Awareness Training Library · Security Awareness Training

Ask both products to teach the same decision

Choose one objective before the demo: “When payment instructions change, verify independently before acting.” Ask the presenter to show the learner making a mistaken choice and receiving feedback. Then ask how the activity handles an uncertain request and a legitimate control example. The exercise should demonstrate more than recognition of a suspicious logo.

For CyberPlay, select an appropriate topic and play the relevant game yourself. Judge whether the security decision affects the outcome and whether the explanation transfers to your workplace. For a KnowBe4 module, apply the same questions. Your decision should follow the actual experience and audience needs, not assumptions attached to a format label.

Phishing Detective 3D gameplay: reviewing a supplier invoice.

Expand image · Game screenshot · English interface

  1. Compare the changed details

    Check which payment details changed and whether the request matches the expected invoice and work.

  2. Compare with trusted records

    Compare with a trusted invoice, then verify changed bank details through the supplier contact already on record.

Phishing Detective 3D gameplay: reviewing a supplier invoice.

Test the administrator’s ordinary week

Write a short task list using fictional pilot members: add a learner, assign the relevant activity, find someone who has not completed it, inspect a result, export the records you need, and remove access. Include a changed department or duplicate import if those are common problems in your organisation.

Record the steps that require manual work and the permissions needed to perform them. CyberPlay’s organisation functionality includes member management, assignments and game results, with features controlled by plan and permissions. That does not establish compatibility with every HR system or learning platform. Ask for the specific integration or export you need rather than treating the word “dashboard” as a complete answer.

Learning: Test one realistic decision in each product. Operations: Check assignments, access and integrations. Evidence: Examine the reports you actually need. Fit: Document strengths, gaps and total effort.

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Compare the job you need done. A buying rubric, not a vendor score or feature-parity claim. Original CyberPlay explanatory diagram.

Keep simulation dependencies visible

If your existing programme sends test emails, uses a mailbox reporting button, or routes reported messages to a security team, map those dependencies before replacing it. List the system that sends messages, the component that handles reports, the people who investigate, and the records that must remain available.

Game-based phishing practice can help people learn what to inspect and how to respond. It should not be assumed to replace delivery infrastructure or message triage. If those functions are mandatory and remain unverified in a candidate, keep them as a gate. You can still pilot the candidate’s learning content as a complement while preserving the established operational workflow.

Phishing Detective 3D gameplay: inspecting an incoming request.

Expand image · Game screenshot · English interface

  1. Read the requested action

    Identify what the message asks you to do before judging its familiar name or appearance.

  2. Verify through known contacts

    Use an established contact route to verify an unexpected request, even when the sender seems familiar.

Phishing Detective 3D gameplay: inspecting an incoming request.

Compare the full cost of the programme

Use the same assumptions for both offers: eligible learners, billing term, support, required integrations, implementation work and data export. Include the time spent choosing content, managing exceptions and facilitating discussions. A lower subscription price may be outweighed by additional manual work; a broader package may include functions you do not need.

This article does not publish a claimed savings percentage or a universal per-user price. A useful comparison requires an actual current offer for your organisation. Record renewal terms, minimum commitments, treatment of inactive seats, and what happens to records when the contract ends. Keep commercial assumptions beside the capability assessment so a price is not detached from its scope.

Run a pilot with a decision scorecard

NIST SP 800-50r1 describes evaluating and improving a learning programme. Apply that discipline to procurement: agree success criteria before the pilot and collect evidence tied to each criterion. Separate mandatory requirements from preferences; a critical integration failure should not be averaged away by attractive visuals.

Run a pilot with a decision scorecard
CriterionEvidence from pilotTreatment
Learner can explain the next safe actionUnfamiliar scenario and written reasonLearning criterion
Audience can operate the activityObserved device, language and access checksMandatory where needed
Administrator can produce required recordsActual pilot export with understood fieldsMandatory requirement
Required operational workflows continueDemonstrated simulation/reporting/integration flowMandatory where in scope
Facilitation and administration effort are acceptableTime recorded by the programme teamCost criterion
Learners want to revisit useful practiceFeedback plus voluntary repeat usePreference, not effectiveness proof
The Social Engineer gameplay: checking a caller's claimed support role.

Expand image · Game screenshot · English interface

  1. Find the existing directory

    Use the organisation's established helpdesk directory to find a trusted contact before continuing a sensitive request.

  2. Do not reuse supplied numbers

    A number supplied by the caller is part of the request and cannot independently verify it.

The Social Engineer gameplay: checking a caller's claimed support role.

Section sources: Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program, NIST SP 800-50r1

When staying with KnowBe4 may be the better fit

If your organisation already depends on KnowBe4’s documented simulation, content-export or programme-management functions, and a candidate has not demonstrated the necessary replacements, keeping the existing platform may be the sound decision. You might improve content selection or add targeted game practice without a full migration.

CyberPlay is worth evaluating when the primary need is a game-centred learning experience and the required organisation workflow fits the product. A small pilot can establish whether the chosen activities work for your employees. Neither a positive satisfaction survey nor a high score establishes that one supplier produces better real-world security outcomes across every organisation.

Make any transition a controlled programme change

Before a migration, export the records you need, verify retention and access arrangements, identify who owns outstanding assignments, and explain the new process to employees. Test the required sign-in path with a small group and document support contacts. Keep a clear cutover decision rather than quietly running two incomplete systems.

Your final recommendation should be specific: replace defined learning activities, retain an existing simulation workflow, or keep the current programme while revising its delivery. Explore CyberPlay’s relevant games and use the scorecard to decide whether their practice model fits the problem you started with. That produces a reviewable buying decision instead of a generic “best alternative” label.

Put the decision into practice

Explore the relevant CyberPlay games, choose a suitable challenge, and discuss how its decisions connect to your own workplace procedures.

Explore practice games

Sources and further reading

  1. Security Awareness Training Library — KnowBe4. Accessed 2026-09-13
  2. Security Awareness Training — KnowBe4. Accessed 2026-09-13
  3. Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program, NIST SP 800-50r1 — NIST. Accessed 2026-09-13

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